Faith: The ability God gives us to look through the crashing waves and straight into His wonderful eyes. Additionally, this faith is an inner buoyancy growing into something that enables us to believe and engage the very Power, Goodness, and Grace of God in our lives. Fully born, faith then is an absolute confidence which facilitates the work of Almighty God in us, through us and on our behalf.
~ Makala Barnabas Doulos
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
~ Romans 10:17
For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
~Romans 12:3
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
~Hebrews 11:6
~Hebrews 11:6
So, what is the flow here?
Romans 10:17 is pretty clear: Faith comes from hearing about G_d through His Word.
Romans 12:3 is surely about humility, and especially that our faith does not come from ourselves. Rather that faith is allotted in different measure to each believer. Said simply: G_d gives different amounts and areas of faith to different believers according to His own counsel.
Hebrews 11:6 gives more light to the overall issue: In order to please G_d, we actually have engage the faith He has given us and believe He is who He says He is; that He does what He says He does.
Bottom-line: If we do not apply the faith that G_d has given us in our life, our relationship with Him will not be pleasing to Him. Refusing to engage one’s own measure of faith impinges on the two cardinal purposes of mankind: (1) to Glorify God (2) to Enjoy Him forever.
- First, without faith, the world will not get the proper opinion of who G_d is by watching our lives. They will, in fact, see a business-as-usual human. And this is pretty unimpressive. Even downright yucky sometimes.
- Second, without faith, most of what He has promised in His Word simply does not get applied to our lives. It is a dull, lifeless, religious exercise being a faithless “christian.” Not only do we not enjoy our relationship with Him, we would probably rather be doing something else. G_d will surely allow this, but it is a viciously dangerous course – even eternally lethal.
So, what then should we do?
Well, this writer is pretty big on avoiding works at all costs. But remember, faith is a gift that G_d has given us to use. It is from Him, but we actually have to use it for it to work. So, with that said… again, what do we do?
Unequivocally, i would suggest that you take whatever faith G_d has given you, tear open the whole package and put it in place. Don’t save the wrapping paper, don’t keep the receipt. Just plan on keeping this gift forever. Further, assume that whatever He has given you comes with a dial. Then crank that knob all the way past maximum – and rip the knob off the console and throw it away! Just do it.
Then watch Him start to work. He is really Good at what He does!
But! Some may say: “I can’t see this happening. Too many issues. I can’t see clearly enough to make this leap.”
Well, it’s called faith….
But, before we walk away too discouraged. Might this fool of a writer suggest a few items for your consideration? They have been effective steps in many people’s lives:
- Get up real early, read your Bible, ask G_d to help you understand and live it. Then start to live it.
- Repeat continuously.
And to get the most out of the above:
- Turn off the TV. Unplug it. Put it in the closet for emergencies. What?
- Stop consuming copious portions of printed media, images and news. Huh?
- Trash the video game consoles. Oh, don’t go there buddy!
- Be very careful about what you put into your body. Who is this nut?
- Listen only to music that is uplifting to your spirit. Oh come on!
- Drink lots of clean water. You gotta be kidding me!
- Get good rest and physical exercise. Oh, now this guy is starting to sound like a Puritan!
Please, beloved, it is not about rules. We know this. We simply over-indulge in the world under the guise of freedom in Christ. We know that if we remove most of the shiny, loud, crunchy, entertaining stuff – we might actually be able to hear Him speak.
And that scares us. Because once we can hear Him speak, we know that He will have places He wants to take us, and things He wants us to do.
Do it anyway. Would that we take that portion of faith He has given us and make a deposit into the account of our lives, and simply believe that the places He wants to take us, and the things He wants us to do are Infinitely better than our base desires.
Perhaps, even, we could allow this faith to grow into a conviction that His will is entirely good, and that WHATEVER HE WANTS is what we want. Then we could, without worry, engage in a broad-spectrum Life that makes Him happy just by our living it. And it would be a life so full of joy in Him, that we would never want anything else.
UltraFaith. Just use EVERY bit of what He has given you. It’s already there.
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Thomas Obediah Chisholm
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
