Happy Saturday, January 3, 2015 my friends! We have come this far by faith. Glory to God! Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Kingdom living is a life wholly dependent upon God. For example, the act of committing one’s life to Christ, by accepting His finished work on the cross is an act of faith. Yes friend, it takes faith to believe in a God we cannot see with the natural eyes; and to put our trust in someone who died in our stead, so that we might be saved. Faith causes us to believe, although we may not be able to physically observe the immediate transformation that occurs at the moment we accept Jesus Christ as savior and Lord. Our faith convinces us that something life-changing, spiritually transforming took place in our heart, making us new creations. We are saved by grace “through faith.” In addition, faith in God gives us an unwavering assurance, deep down on the inside that all is well, even when the storms of life are raging and victory seems like an impossibility or wishful thinking, through the eyes of the casual observer. The Shunamite woman (in 2 Kings 4:1-38) taught us something about faith in the presence of the most horrendous situation. Her faith rose above her pain and anguish, at a time when the death of her only child, a son, her miracle from God, could have shrouded every ounce of hope and cast her into self-pity and inconsolable mourning. Her faith in the God of possibilities consoled her; and she knew without a shadow of doubt that the man of God, by the power of God, would bring her son back to life. It was the kind of faith that moved Elisha, the prophet to touch heaven on her behalf and resurrected her child. We will need to exercise our faith in God throughout this New Year, 2015. Our text indicates that pleasing God is not possible without faith; and conversely, it is our faith that pleases God. Also, according to Hebrews 11:6, God rewards us when we show a tenacious kind of faith that says to Him, like Jacob told the angel in Genesis 32:26 “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” That show of faith on Jacob’s part, resulted in his receiving a new name (Israel) and a blessing (Genesis 32:27-29). Saints, that’s the kind of faith we need in times like these. We need to hold on to God, remain focused on His promises; until the windows of heaven open pour the blessing upon us. We need faith like Jairus, a ruler of the synagogues, who went to Jesus when his daughter was already dead and the mourners had gathered in his house. His faith transcended the doom and gloom he had left behind at his home. Faith in Jesus had lifted him above the hopelessness of his household, and those whom could only have believed in the dismal outcome of a burial. Jairus went passed the naysayers, passed the unbelieving persons, with his faith firmly planted in the One who would say eventually: “… Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.” Faith sees heaven’s outcome and not the impossibility portrayed by the facts. Read Mark 5:35-43. Hebrews 11:1 declares, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.” Faith in God requires us to see a positive outcome even when the natural order of things point to impossibility and wishful thinking. Faith pushes past the darkness and sees the light of God shining on the circumstance. Faith that pleases God motivates us to climb above limitations and harvest the goodness and mercies of God. Faith in God says: “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” Faith seeks after God, long after the last door has been shut and your success looks like a lost cause, a castle in the sky, to your antagonists. Without a doubt child of God, our faith does please God; and He rewards those who seek after Him. Habakkuk 2:4 tells us that “The just shall live by faith.” And Hebrews 10:38 warns, “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” We have come this far by faith. My prayer is that we all will continue trusting and believing God, regardless of how we feel or the pressures we face from the ups and downs of 2015. I like what the Apostle John says in 1 John 5:4, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” Have a blessed day!
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 12:59:39 +0000
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