Wednesday, October 18, 2006

By faith, today I will.....

"Jesus said to him, 'Go your way; your son lives.' So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went his way." John 4:50

We as Christians are challenged to walk by faith not by sight; (For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7) but what exactly is faith?
A common verse used when we attempt to define faith is Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
The dictionary defines faith: "(1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion (3) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (4) : complete trust" Merriam-Webster Online 9/13/06
I have to chuckle at definition 3-firm belief in something for which there is no proof. Oh, please!! No proof? I think that would be rather foolish, don't you? We do not believe in something of which there is no proof.... Let's consider...
1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Gen 1:1
2. The plagues in Egypt. Exodus 7-11
3. The parting of the Red sea. Exodus 14
4. The healing of the sick. Matthew 8:1-4
5. The raising of the dead. Matthew 9:23-26
6. The resurrection. Matthew 28
7. 70, 000 million million million stars held in place by something, Someone
8. Healing of Joyia Paul from the brink of death.
9. Changed lives of thousands of men and hundreds of women in the Colony of Mercy at America's KESWICK.
10. Peace that passes all understanding.

Oh, my...the list can not be contained in this Victory Call, or this website, or the internet, or the world. "And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen." John 21:25 Proof? Absolutely!!

So what is faith? I have often defined faith as "taking God at His word". This definition is evidenced in our day's verse. "So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went his way." How do we know that the man believed the word that Jesus spoke? The obvious answer is that the Bible says so, but look at the next phrase, "and went his way." Faith is not some ethereal feeling, or sixth sense. Faith is based in truth and results in action.
By faith Able offered to God... Hebrews 11:4
By faith...Noah...prepared an ark... Hebrews 11:7
By faith Abraham obeyed... Hebrews 11:8
By faith Abraham...offered up Isaac... Hebrews 11:17
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob... Hebrews 11:20
By faith Moses...kept the Passover... Hebrews 11:28
By faith Diane...
Faith is active.
By faith, today I will.....
Diane

No comments: