April 13, 2015 NOT BY SIGHT
2 Corinthians 5: 7: “for we walk by faith, not by sight”
Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Living or walking by what we see, by what we understand, and by logic is the natural way. In fact, many would consider it foolish to live any other way. “After all, we have a mind and we are to use it to live by”-they would argue. Certainly, God gave us a wonderful mind by which we learn; but He also gives His followers the gift of faith. In a sense, the mind touches the tangible while faith touches the spiritual. We learn an amazing truth in 2 Corinthians 4:18: “while we look not at the natural things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” This verse is the “fork in the road”, or the dividing point in that it presents two distinct platforms from which we live- either by what is temporal or by what is eternal. The tangible things- houses, cars, land, money, jobs, even people as we know them-are all temporal and will one day be no more! The things we don’t see with the eye-God, angelic beings, heavens, faith, hope, love, etc.-will never pass away! It is a giant leap for one to live his or her life based on the eternal rather than the temporal-but that is what faith is all about. So, is the tangible somehow evil? Is it wrong to own a house? Certainly not. In fact, we are to be good stewards of the tangibles that God puts in our hand and our stewardship also includes being good stewards of our mind. The point of danger is that if we are not alert spiritually, we will become focused on the temporal and our life will be guided by the temporal-those things destined to pass away.
How do we get faith and where does it come from? The faith we are talking about is not something we just muster up in our own strength. We know that God is the giver of all good things and faith is one of the things that God gives. Faith is at work when one responds to the promptings of God. Our faith can grow or increase. I believe that our faith and our knowledge of God are linked-the more we know God, the greater our faith. Knowing God starts in our heart by having a desire to know Him (God even gives the desire to know Him). As we respond to God, as we study the scriptures, as the Holy Spirit reveals truth to us, as we pray, and as we worship Him, we come to know Him on a deeper level. As our knowledge of Him increases-as we discover just how great He is and how much He loves us-faith arises. We come to know that God encompasses all of life-there is nothing outside of His realm. This is why even the most menial task in life can be done in faith-because God is in whatever we do. When our eyes are opened to the greatness of God, our faith is at work in all we do because we know that as it says in Acts 17:28: “for in Him we live and move exist…” There is no detail of our lives that escape His notice. God brings purpose and life to all we do when we do what we do as unto Him-when we acknowledge Him. When we think about it; all of life is to be lived by faith in the Son of God who gave Himself that we might know Him.
Romans 14:23b: “whatever is not from faith is sin.”
Hebrews 11:6: “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.”
1 Thessalonians 5:8: “But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.”
Blessings,
Buddy
2 Corinthians 5: 7: “for we walk by faith, not by sight”
Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Living or walking by what we see, by what we understand, and by logic is the natural way. In fact, many would consider it foolish to live any other way. “After all, we have a mind and we are to use it to live by”-they would argue. Certainly, God gave us a wonderful mind by which we learn; but He also gives His followers the gift of faith. In a sense, the mind touches the tangible while faith touches the spiritual. We learn an amazing truth in 2 Corinthians 4:18: “while we look not at the natural things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” This verse is the “fork in the road”, or the dividing point in that it presents two distinct platforms from which we live- either by what is temporal or by what is eternal. The tangible things- houses, cars, land, money, jobs, even people as we know them-are all temporal and will one day be no more! The things we don’t see with the eye-God, angelic beings, heavens, faith, hope, love, etc.-will never pass away! It is a giant leap for one to live his or her life based on the eternal rather than the temporal-but that is what faith is all about. So, is the tangible somehow evil? Is it wrong to own a house? Certainly not. In fact, we are to be good stewards of the tangibles that God puts in our hand and our stewardship also includes being good stewards of our mind. The point of danger is that if we are not alert spiritually, we will become focused on the temporal and our life will be guided by the temporal-those things destined to pass away.
How do we get faith and where does it come from? The faith we are talking about is not something we just muster up in our own strength. We know that God is the giver of all good things and faith is one of the things that God gives. Faith is at work when one responds to the promptings of God. Our faith can grow or increase. I believe that our faith and our knowledge of God are linked-the more we know God, the greater our faith. Knowing God starts in our heart by having a desire to know Him (God even gives the desire to know Him). As we respond to God, as we study the scriptures, as the Holy Spirit reveals truth to us, as we pray, and as we worship Him, we come to know Him on a deeper level. As our knowledge of Him increases-as we discover just how great He is and how much He loves us-faith arises. We come to know that God encompasses all of life-there is nothing outside of His realm. This is why even the most menial task in life can be done in faith-because God is in whatever we do. When our eyes are opened to the greatness of God, our faith is at work in all we do because we know that as it says in Acts 17:28: “for in Him we live and move exist…” There is no detail of our lives that escape His notice. God brings purpose and life to all we do when we do what we do as unto Him-when we acknowledge Him. When we think about it; all of life is to be lived by faith in the Son of God who gave Himself that we might know Him.
Romans 14:23b: “whatever is not from faith is sin.”
Hebrews 11:6: “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.”
1 Thessalonians 5:8: “But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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