Faith

"What is faith?  It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen.  It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.  God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith.  By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen."    Hebrews 11:1-3 

Promises are a big deal.  I've made quite a few of them in my life.  My intentions were good and sincere when I made most of them.  I didn't want to let my wife down, my child down, my co-worker down, my friend down, my family down, my church down, but on occasion I have.  Unforeseen circumstances, human limitations, failure to think before speaking, and dissipating motivation have steam-rolled my best intentions.  The net result is I feel awful and their faith in me is shaken.  Promises are a big deal.

God makes promises too.  To date, he's batting a 1000.  He's never had to ask for forgiveness.  He hasn't been stymied by the unforeseen.  No backtracking.  No excuses.  Just pure perfection.  Herein lies the reason why faith in him and his promises is solid.  It's not a hope that says, "That would be really great if that happened."  Nope.  It's a hope that says, "I can't wait until it does happen."  The One who commanded the formation of the universe has said, "I promise."

Broken promises sting like nothing else.  That sting has never been felt by anyone who has stood on the promises of God.  Our faith is only as strong as the object in which it is placed.  Jesus promised his disciples they would see him three days after he died and they did.  Jesus promised that all who come to him will find rest for their souls and they are.  Jesus promised to return to take all who've put their trust in him home to be with him and he will.  You see, for God, a promise made is a promise kept.  You can count on it.

Grace and Peace,

Tom

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tested

"He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do." John 6:1-13 Test day. I remember all too well the feelings of discomfort connected to that expression from my school days. I was so thankful the last time I had to take one. Tests felt so much like a cruel game of, "Guess What I'm Thinking?" with the author of the test. During one particularly grueling test, I noticed one of my classmates cheating like there was no tomorrow. Predictably, he aced it and I let's just say, didn't. It occurred to me later that I was actually being tested in two different ways that day. By God's grace alone, I passed them both. Philip was in the hot seat that day. Jesus, out of the twelve disciples, decided to single him out for testing. From all appearances, there was a massive resource shortage. Five thousand men plus women and children all hungry up against whatever money Judas had in the money bag. Philip was apparently incredulous as he emphaticall
Read more

Nothing Left

"'What do you mean what's the matter?' Micah replied. 'You've taken away all the gods I have made, and my priest, and I have nothing left!" Judges 17, 18 Unaware of some purchases that my wife had made earlier in the day, I didn't even hesitate to use my debit card at the checkout line. However, our bank was fully aware of all those purchases as well as the one I was attempting to make at the present moment. Clearly, the math didn't add up. Something from nothing is something less than nothing and that, as it turns, is frowned upon by our aforementioned bank. In short, the bank told the merchant there was nothing left and the merchant told me, "Declined." Micah was one panicked individual. His personal little self-directed and self-centered religion was coming apart at the seams. He had idols. He had priests. He had a shrine and even a sacred ephod (a priestly garment). All this, he thought, secured the LORD's blessing. When the warri
Read more

Who is Jesus?

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:15, 16 NIV) What are your thoughts about Jesus? Every major religion on earth has an opinion on who he was. Mostly they say that he was a good man, a powerful teacher, and a peacemaker. All of that is true. But what about him being the Son of God? Peter, after being with Jesus non-stop for 4 years was confident of his identity. He was assured that Jesus was God in the flesh, the Messiah that was to come. You essentially have three options when it comes to what you believe about Jesus: 1) He was a Liar 2) He was a Lunatic (out of his mind) 3) Or that He was Lord If he was, and is, Lord, then he deserves our worship and our entire lives. If Jesus is Lord, it is true that we have access to God by His sacrifice on the cross. Join us Friday night at 7, as we reflect on Jesus going to the cross for the sins of the entire world (Good Frida
Read more