The Nature of Faith (and other devotionals)

The Nature of Faith

In our last devotional, we talked about how important faith is to pleasing God.  It is not just important, it's essential, because without it, you and I cannot please God.

The natural question is, "What is faith?"

In Hebrews 11:1, the writer gives us the technical definition of biblical faith,

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith deals with unseen reality.  In fact, Weymouth's translation says, "Faith is a conviction of the reality of things we do not see."

You might think, "That's a nice definition, but what does that really mean?"  That is a good question.  And it is answered by the examples given in Hebrews 11  which show different ways people expressed their faith in God, because there is not just one way to demonstrate faith in God:

• Abel shows us that faith is giving our best to God.  He deserves our first and our best.
• Enoch shows us that faith is walking with God.  It is living a life in constant connection with God, even when you can't sense or feel Him.
• Noah shows us that faith is making preparations as though Christ is coming back today, even when there is seemingly no evidence.
• Abraham shows us that faith is obeying God, even though you may not know where He is leading you.
• Sarah shows us that faith is receiving God's promise, even when public opinion says, "No way!"
• Moses shows us that faith is living life in light of eternity, and allowing that focus to affect all of life's decisions.

Commit today to live this life of faith. If you do, you will truly please God! 

~Bayless Conley~

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Not Staying on the Mountain? by Jack Graham

Have you ever had a spiritual mountaintop experience with Christ? I hope you have. We need glimpses of Christ in all his glory to fill us with faith and boldness. And yet, as wonderful as mountaintop experiences are, you and I are called to more! Let me explain. In [Mark 9:2] Jesus has taken disciples Peter, James, and John up on what we call the Mount of Transfiguration, because it was there that they saw Jesus transfigured in all of his resplendent glory. The disciples could see everything that Christ was on the inside demonstrated on the outside. For that dazzling moment his inherent, intrinsic, incarnate glory was revealed. Now having seen Christ's glory, Peter wanted to stay right there on the mountain. Jesus had been talking about dying for the sins of mankind. So Peter said, "Lord, let's just stay here. Let's build a church and we'll stay here and worship." Well, Peter is like many believers today, but that's not what God had in mind. We must translate our faith from the mountaintop to the valley! God doesn't intend for us just to buy ascension robes and wait on a roof somewhere for Jesus to return. You are called to a mission! Not just to bask in his glory on the mountaintop, but to share his message with a lost and dying world. _________________________________________ The Fellowship of Prayer BIBLE MEDITATION: “If any two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it will be done for them of My Father which is in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.”Matthew 18:19-20 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: God is pleased when His children pray, but God is more pleased when His children pray in fellowship. There’s nothing that will bind us together as a church more than praying. If you’ve ever had a prayer partner, you know that your hearts are linked together. There are times when God comes, when the church prays, and it is glorious and wonderful. It’s what we call “the fellowship of prayer.” This prayer is the prayer we see happening in Acts 12 when the church came together to pray for Peter. ACTION POINT: Gather together with other believers to pray this week. ~Adrian Rogers~