10-2-2015

        Good Morning All!!

        Hebrews 11:6; “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

    We speak a lot about faith yet what is it?  The writer of the Book of Hebrews tells us that faith “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  Yet even this can seem foggy to us and unclear.  Stripped down to its basics, faith is confidence that God exists, and the conviction that He “rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Faith is the determination that God is God and that he rewards those who seek him out.  In this seeking, we earnestly desire to please him and to thank him for supplying our needs.

    Yet this type of faith is often intellectual in its existence.  So we can see that true faith moves us even closer to God.  Faith should be seen as the desire to trust God.  Faith is the deep, heartfelt desire to trust in the promises of God.  This desire is given to us by the Holy Spirit.  This is why we view faith as a gift of God rather than a work of man.  Yet we as humans use faith and rely on faith to give us the comfort and the peace that we desire.  Only those who know God not only as a power but also as a Person who loves will dare truly seek Him, to truly trust him.

    This trust goes to the core of who you are.  This type of faith is the type that sustains us in the bad times and gives us the hope for better.  This faith sees past the current temporal events forward to eternal events in which we have eternal comfort and eternal life in paradise.  This faith knows that the promise of God is sure and will never fail.  This faith holds onto this promise over everything else.

     Now this faith can give us confidence for more than some distant event but it can give us confidence for events as they occur.  God promises to be with you always.  God promises to hear you when you call upon him.  God promises to prosper you according to his will.  These are promises that we can use today.  This faith lets us live in quiet confidence and in solid hope.  This faith is more than a retirement account.  This faith is the day to day checking account.  We can withdraw from it as we have need.  We can use it whenever the desire arrives.

     We can take our fears and worries and lay them at the feet of Jesus.  Faith is trusting God to calm those fears and relieve those worries.   When we trust God with our life and with our future we can rest in the peaceful arms of our loving God.  God’s love will always be there to guide, guard, comfort and sustain you.  Faith trusts in that truth.

Gracious Father, you give us faith to trust you so we may not fear or worry.  Give me the wisdom to cling to this truth and to cling to you.  Keep me safe from the devil’s arrows.  Be with those whose faith is shaken.  Relieve their fears, calm their hearts and give them peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret