It's A Matter of Faith!

"Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love."  - Oswald Chambers

Since the arrival of the internet we have been bombarded with more information than ever before in history. And while most of it is good and reputable, much of it is not. That's why we need to approach it with some skepticism and common sense.

Before acknowledging the validity of any source of the facts or circumstances you may encounter while searching online, it pays to do your homework or due diligence. Simply believing what you see, or hear is getting more and more difficult to do as time goes on.

You've probably heard of something called "blind faith." Biblically speaking, this is defined as "belief that is not based on reason or evidence." Many can find themselves in bad situations, or sticky predicaments by trusting the words of others without any checking the source.

Maybe you, or someone you know has recently been deceived, or mislead by blindly trusting in bad information or advice given by another party. Besides embarrassment and humiliation, it can create some pretty serious problems. No matter how you try to dress it up, it isn't very pretty!

Although things like trust and blind faith can be problematic in the secular world, we as Christians see these a little differently. Faith, trust, belief, confidence, conviction; optimism, hopefulness, hope are integral pieces to our relationship with Jesus Christ. More than just words to us, they are a part of our lives.

Being able to trust, or have faith in his promises is what we base our belief on. Hebrews, Chapter 11 explains this rather nicely. In fact, the opening verse, Hebrews 11:1 lays it all out on the line for us: "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." 

Faith is not something to be accepted lightly. Too many believers have lived and died for it. Nevertheless, it can be the basis for ridicule, at the hands of unbelievers and cynics (2 Peter 1:16). My guess is that there are a good number who have never truly read God's Word, or just go by the words of others (Matthew 15:14).

Jesus Christ is not going to force himself on anyone. He doesn't want us to come to him as a result of coercion, bullying, or intimidation. That's not why he came to live among us, and die for our sins. Everything he did, he did for us, plain and simple. His promise of eternal life is offered freely. 

Our faith, belief, and trust in him is all we are asked (John 14:1). No contracts, agreements, or deals are asked for, or required. Our faith in Him is what drives us onward; in what He is, and what He did for us. There are plenty of facts by which our reliance on him can be trusted and verified (Hebrews 11:3-31).

Plain and simple, a Christian believes in what God says. And though he's never seen heaven, an angel, the Redeemer, or a body rising from the dead, there's enough evidence in scripture to satisfy his mind that God has disclosed all of these things to us. God's Word is proof enough, and that is more than sufficient.

Scripture: John 12:44; Isaiah 43:10; John 6:36; John 14:11; John 17:20

Prayer: Dear Jesus, my faith is refreshed and nourished by Your Word; Your presence touches my heart, Your tender voice soothes my soul, Your mighty works surround me; as my love for You grows by leaps and bounds every day. Amen

Have a blessed Monday!

Hailey