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Faith, Unwavering

What is faith? Now faith is the assurance of things
hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:1.
        
Where does faith begin?  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped
for, the conviction of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:3. The
following verses contain the ‘roll call’ of the men and women of faith long
ago.
        
I often ponder the strength of their faith. We have the Words of our Lord God
in the Bible to refer to and study. From Abel, Enoch, and Noah, to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, the told of the ways our Lord is faithful through His many
deeds of Love. The writer of Hebrews, Apostle Paul listed these men and women in
the 11th Chapter.
When I read about Abraham and think of
God’s call for him to travel with all his household, I wonder what my reply
would be?  Abraham reached the age of ninety-nine when the Lord appeared
to Abraham. Abraham is willing to go, but there were no Rand McNally’s roadmaps
to learn about the journey. God told Abraham about the son he would have. 
Abraham had no son and wondered how that could be. 
Although many scriptures admonish us to,
‘Wait on the Lord,’ Abraham tried to hurry God along by fathering Ishmael with
Sarah’s handmaiden.
        Impatience
is what we all fall prey to, even though Patience is one of the Fruit of the
Spirit. Every morning, while drinking instant coffee, I think about the gift of
Patience.  The Lord is good to those who wait for
him, to the soul who seeks him.  It is good that
one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It
is good for a man that he bears the yoke in his youth. 
Lamentations 3:25-27.
How do we know we have faith?  We
believe and trust God will do as He promises. What impedes fully believing and
trusting our God?  From the whispers of Fear from the Evil One, Doubt
is born and the veracity of Truth shatters in our minds.  For those who stand
firm, believing God created the universe, His laws are supreme.  He cannot
be thwarted in any way, for He is Spirit. God sent Jesus to the earth to
teach the Truth.
When Jesus came before the world, we
learn more about truth. Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus
answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose, I was born and
for this purpose, I have come into the world—to bear witness to the
truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”  Pilate
said to him, “What is truth?” John 18:37-39.
           
Jesus taught the Jews, who believed, “If you abide in my word, you are
truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will
set you free.”  They answered him, “We are
offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it
that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
        
 How did Jesus answer this? Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I
say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.  The
slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains
forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 
           
The winds of each culture in the world deriding the thought of God’s power and
forbidding faith in The One who offers salvation will fail.  Man can make
laws to silence prayers and praises, Bibles can be destroyed, and yet the
Truth, our Faith in God continues on in the hearts of those faithful to God.
           
In Ephesians 4:11-14, we learn about the gifts and how Jesus equips His
followers.  And he gave the apostles,
the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to
equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body
of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the
faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to
the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,  so
that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and
carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness
in deceitful schemes. 
        
Jesus, the Son of God, calmed the waves, and we have seen the power of winds
that topples trees and buildings. It isn’t Mother Nature’s power, it is
the power of our Lord God.
        
The first time I realized God’s mighty power happened when I stepped ankle-deep
in the Pacific Ocean. I felt the power in the pull of the waves, even in
shallow water. I praised God for that moment of learning! And knew I would
never doubt again.  No matter how fierce life’s storms threaten, I know
and praise Him. Being faithful is more than a ‘mind’ issue, it is a heart
matter.   
        
Being faithful is knowing Who is the Lord of my life.  A faithful
Christian man once told me, If I don’t believe in Father God, who is left
for me to believe in?  
        
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way
into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body,
joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when
each part works properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up
in love. Ephesians 4:15-16.
        
Truth cannot exist without Love. The first commandment is to love God
with all our hearts, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is
the great and first commandment.  And a second
is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  Mathew
22:37-39.
        
Being faithful is loving others as Jesus loves them. When we reflect the Lord
our God in all that we say and do, we abide in Him and He abides in us.

         Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is
in the skies.  Awesome is God from
his sanctuary; the God of Israel—He is the one who gives power
and strength to his people.  Blessed be God! Psalm 68:34-35.

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