Faith is...

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” Hebrews 11:1-3

What is faith? It is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11 is the conclusion of Hebrews 1-10 where it talked about the old covenant where animal sacrifice was what they depended on. This was built into the law because it was obvious that people would not live up to it. The fact is that we could have lived up to the law, but it required faith to be able to do it. It requires trust in God to provide you with the ability to live up to the law. The law was put there to be a tutor to us. To teach us the way to the Father. This is what he had planned for us from the beginning of time. It says it in Deuteronomy 30:11-14

“For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.”

The fact is that we cannot live up to the law in and of ourselves. It requires faith. We have a cloud of witnesses that represent people of faith and the deeds that were accomplished through faith. Faith is the key to our life in Him. We can live up to the law by faith in the one who created us. He created us originally where we did not even know what sin was so that there was not even a desire to go there. Unfortunately, because of the fall we were brought into this realm of the knowledge of good and evil. We need the Spirit of God to revive us. Like David said in Psalms 51:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” Psalm 51:10-11

This was written before Jesus died on the cross. The Spirit of God was available to people of faith in the Old Testament. When we keep our eyes focused on Him, He will provide the strength we need to find Joy in our Salvation. This is what David wanted to have restored to him. The Joy of his salvation. God loves us regardless of our sins, but He cannot dwell in the presence of iniquity. It is not something that He will allow. God is Holy, Righteous, and Just and this is not something that He can have in His Presence. He will forgive us for our iniquities if we repent, because He is a God of mercy. He will blot out our transgressions because He loves us. He wants us to have a humble and contrite heart however and to realize our weakness. His strength is made perfect in weakness because that is when we are wholly dependent on Him. It says over and over in the bible that God sets Himself against the proud, but He grants grace to the humble. God wants us to have faith in Him. Faith requires trust. God is trustworthy. He has proven it over and over again throughout history and especially throughout our own histories. He loves each and every one of us with a love that will never fail and that nothing can separate us from. This is the kind of love that He is all about.

Perfect love expels fear. We do not have to fear because we have a loving father that will take care of us and provide for our every need. We will have tribulation, but he says that we should be of good cheer because nothing that happens is not something that He will not turn around for our good. The fact is that if we believe in God and trust in Him, the Spirit of God dwells within you. You ARE the temple of God and His glory can fill that temple. He loves you that much that He would choose to dwell inside of you. This is an amazing thing to have the Spirit of the Living God dwelling inside of you. Think on that for a while and let it sink in. He knows our needs even before we do. He knows how many hairs are on our heads. He is there for you all the time working behind the scenes. You may not even know it, but He is causing all things to work together for our good. Sometimes we don’t see it, but we can believe that it is true because God is faithful. We can have assurance that this is so because He said so. There is a song that goes like this:

“Jesus said it, I believe it, I believe it cause He said it and I know, yes I know, yes I know He’s going to see me through.”

These are words we can live by. God Bless you!