A Disciple's Renewal

From the Valley of Vision:

O my Saviour,
help me.
I am so slow to learn, so prone to forget, so weak to climb;
I am in the foothills when I should be on the heights;
I am pained by my graceless heart,
my prayerless days,
my poverty of love,
my sloth in the heavenly race,
my sullied conscience,
my wasted hours,
my unspent opportunities.
I am blind while light shines around me:
take the scales from my eyes,
grind to dust the evil heart of unbelief.
Make it my chiefest joy to study thee,
meditate on thee,
gaze on thee,
sit like Mary at thy feet,
lean like John upon thy breast,
appeal like Peter to thy love,
count like Paul all things dung.
Give me increase and progress in grace so that there may be
more decision in my character,
more vigour in my purposes,
more elevation in my life,
more fervour in my devotion,
more constancy in my zeal.
As I have a position in the world,
keep me from making the world my position;
May I never seek in the creature
what can be found only in the creator;
Let not faith cease from seeking thee until it vanishes into sight.
Ride forth in me, thou king of kings and lord of lords,
that I may live victoriously, and in victory attain my end.

Hebrews 10:19-12:2

The Full Assurance of Faith

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For,

"Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him."

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

By Faith

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.

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 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. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets - who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated - of whom the world was not worthy - wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Faith

Lamentations 3:21-24 - "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in him."

I've been thinking about something for a while now. That something is this: Faith, Hope, Love; what do they mean? I mean, what do they REALLY mean? How does God define these things for us? How do we apply them to our own lives? It's not easy sometimes, that's for sure. But I believe God has given us the tools to study.

You might be wondering, why do we have to study faith, hope, and love? Don't they come naturally?

Well...yes. Sort of. But we're on a journey - a journey of faith. A journey with God. He is leading us. He is teaching us. And elsewhere in the Bible there are blueprints for the Christian life laid out for us. I think that studying these three things is actually quite important. Why? Because these three things are so...with us. All the time.

We have faith that something will come about. We hope for things. We love so often and so deeply. These three things are there from birth to death, ever-present in our lives.

Sometimes, hope fails. Sometimes, faith stumbles. Sometimes, love falters. But they never truly leave us alone. Not completely. Not indefinitely.

I think I'll ramble on too long about this for it to be one post alone. I'll tackle each one separately.

I'm beginning with Faith.

~
1 Corinthians 13:13 - "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

There are two kinds of Faith.

One, our faith in God.
Second, God's faith. God's faithfulness, specifically toward us. Let's start with God's faithfulness, because it's so much better. :)

God's Faith

Psalm 117 - "Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!"
Psalm 146:5-7 - "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry."

a) God's faith endures forever.

Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

b) God gives us our faith.

Psalm 57:10 - "For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds." (see also Psalm 108:4)

c) God's faithfulness is far reaching, immeasurable.

Deuteronomy 32:4 - "The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he."

d) God's faithfulness is not stained by iniquity, by imperfection; God's faithfulness is a perfect faithfulness.

Romans 3:3-4 - "What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,

"That you may be justified in your words,
and prevail when you are judged."

e) God is true though everyone else is a liar. God is faithful though everyone else is not.

1 Corinthians 1:9 - "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

f) God is faithful to call us to salvation through Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:13 - "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

g) God is faithful to protect us from temptation beyond our power to endure.

God is faithful to us even when it seems that He is not. He is faithful even when our faith is failing. Think about this, and let it set your mind to spinning: He was faithful to us even before He created us! He was faithful to us even before we knew Him! Even before we knew ourselves. He has been, is, and always will be faithful. It is His way.

Our Faith

We know we're supposed to have faith. Sometimes, though, our weakness - worry - gets in the way. We worry that maybe God isn't so big and strong after all. We worry that maybe this time He forgot about His promises. Or maybe we even worry that God is in control - but He isn't going to do what we want Him to do.

What is faith, anyway?

Here's the definition from Merriam-Webster:

1 a: allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty b (1): fidelity to one's promises (2): sincerity of intentions2 a (1): belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2): belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1): firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2): complete trust3: something that is believed especially with strong conviction ; especially : a system of religious beliefs

So, it's allegiance, loyalty, belief, trust...

Here's the definition from the Bible:

Hebrews 11:1 - "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

You know, in all of my musings about faith, I've come to a single conclusion: faith is almost, almost stubbornness. There's no proof that this thing will happen - no reason, really, to believe in it; but faith believes anyway. In spite of the lack of sufficient evidence.

If faith were a woman, it would be a fiery-eyed woman indeed, her head tossed upward in defiance, her arms thrown back, her shoulders squared...daring you to try and change her mind. Faith is an assurance, a conviction.

D. L. Moody once said, "Faith takes God without any ifs."

So, now let's go to the word of God to see how Faith applies to us.

Matthew 8:5-13 - The Faith of a Centurion
"When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,
"Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly."
And he said to him, "I will come and heal him."
But the centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it."
When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment."

The Centurion had faith that Jesus could command even physical disease.

Matthew 15:21-28 - The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
"And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon."
But he did not answer her a word.
And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."
And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly."

The Canaanite woman had faith that Jesus was the Master, the Lord.

Mark 5:25-34 - "And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.
For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well."
And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my garments?"
And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’"
And he looked around to see who had done it.
But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.
And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

This woman had faith that Jesus was powerful enough that she had only to touch His garment to be healed - not that she had faith in the garment itself, but that she had faith in Jesus' ultimate power.

These three stories show people in moments of faith - and God blessed them. They are eternal witnesses to the power of God for salvation.

The book of Romans is basically a book about faith (and the difference between grace and works). I would suggest that you read it, no matter how many times you've read it before. It's worth another look.

Especially consider these passages:

Romans 1:16-17 - "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith.""

The Bible is God's message to us - we read it and take faith from it. The accounts of other people - who suffered, who triumphed, who died, who lived - give us faith in God, for what He has promised will come to fruition - it always has. There is no reason to doubt.

a) We are called to live by faith. This means taking all things into account - our thoughts, our actions, our speech - and only thinking, doing, and saying things that are set upon faith in God. Faith is foundational for Christians. God often does not tell us the answers. More often than not He "waits to see what we'll do".

Romans 3:21-28 - "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it - the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law."

b) Our faith is not ours to claim. It is given us by God, as a gift. We receive God's gift by the faith that He also gave us as a gift. We therefore cannot boast.

Romans 4:13-25 - "For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring - not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations" - in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be." He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness." But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification."

c) The promise depends on faith. Look at the example set before us - Abraham, old and "as good as dead", was fully convinced that God would fulfill His promises. This is what faith is - being fully convinced.

Romans 5:1-2 - "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

d) Our faith brings peace with God through Jesus. Our faith brings rejoicing.

(Whew! Lots of reading. Good job making it this far. :) There's more, though, sorry. )

1 Corinthians 2:3-5 - "And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

e) We should remember that we are examples to others, saved and unsaved alike. We must not show ourselves capable outside of God. We must fully show others that the power of God is the only thing that can save them - not the wisdom of men, or their own strength - the power of God alone. To live by faith means to live in an example of faith as well. Show your faith, that God may be glorified.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 - "So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord."

f) We walk by faith, not by sight. We follow the One Who is trustworthy, but we've never seen Him - yet we cling to the conviction of what is not seen.

Galatians 2:15-21 - "We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."

g) We live by faith in the Son of God, the one who justifies us by faith in Him. We are not justified through what we do, but only through Who we believe. "For I know whom I have believed..."

Read Galatians 3. The whole chapter, yes. I'm serious. Read it. Now.

Philippians 3:8-11 - "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."

2 Timothy 4:7 - "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

I will put Hebrews 10:19-12:2 in a different post. It needs full attention. Look for it right after this post.

1 John 5:4 - "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith."

This is what we cling to with hope and joy! h) Our faith has overcome the world! Through Jesus Christ we have the victory! Amen!

Here is a decree from our Lord and Saviour:

Revelation 13:10 - "If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints."

Run the race with endurance. Have faith. Augustine wrote, "Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe."

The finish line will come. We are not in an eternal race - but we will receive an eternal prize. Believe it. Stubbornly if you have to.

Don't forget:

"Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading." - Oswald Chambers