Strangely warmed

Had picked out Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom, intending to read it today but while I was cataloging the books, I chanced upon Strangely Warmed, which was given to me by the church on my baptism day (April 2014). I'd never touched the book and didn't think about reading it till today, a whole 2 years later. 

It is quite captivating to read about the founding of the Methodist faith, how it was all started by the strangely warmed feeling that John Wesley experienced. The book gave several short stories of those who had contributed to the building of the faith in Singapore. It certainly is not easy giving your life to work like these- church planting, evangelism, preaching, missionaries, etc. A truth that I didn't realize till now that it should always have been faith before holiness. By faith, we believe in our salvation through Christ, that we have been pardoned from all sins, and because of this holiness is manifested. Oftentimes, we have the idea that we need to do good to please God and to attain salvation. But that is not true. Salvation is given freely and is not attainable by our own strength. No matter how much good we do, without faith, there is no salvation nor holiness. I've also been reminded that the faith can't be practiced alone, that Methodism, is really about being part of a big family. You look out for each other and keep each other safe in this walk with God. Admittably, it is often easier said than done. It is so much more comfortable and less burdensome, to practice the faith in solitude and to believe that the faith is a personal one. Unfortunately, this is not the case. We are called to be accountable for one another and we do need to be part of the family.