Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…During this past week, I had various discussions with friends where the subject of faith became the central topic. The point of concern was not so much about what faith is; the dilemma was centered around “how do I grow in my faith”. I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed those conversations, because I think that is a hazy area for many Christians. Therefore, I am drawn to that topic today because the issue of faith can be a sticky-wicket unless it is soundly rooted in Spiritual Truth.
The truth is, we operate on faith every day of our lives. When we walk into a room and sit down on a stool, we are operating on faith; we believe the stool will support us. When we come to a green light, we continue right through the intersection believing that the people facing the red light will stop. When we flip a light switch, we expect (or have faith) that it will turn on the light. So, what are the commonalities in these three examples? Well, we have experienced the truth that the stool can support us, that the cars will stop, and that the light will turn on. But what about this…if you come to a suspension bridge across a deep cavern, and the bridge looks old, some of the planks are splintered and moldy, and the ropes suspending it are frayed and moldy, how likely are you to volunteer to be the first to cross? Probably not very likely, right? Since you have not experienced the trust-worthiness of this bridge, you are doubtful and fearful about its reliability. Therefore, I believe that we can postulate that our faith is related to our experience with reliability.
The Bible presents this definition of faith in Hebrews 13:1: “Faith is the confident assurance that what we hope for will come to pass; it is the evidence of things not yet seen.” Neil Anderson, author of “Victory Over the Darkness”, stated that Spiritual faith is not so much about “what we believe”, but rather, “in whom we believe”. God Jehovah of the Old and New Testament, is THE object of our faith. He created us for a relationship with Himself, and not just for a here and now relationship, but for an eternal relationship!
Relationship is a key word here, because for a relationship to exist, it is imperative that both parties desire to participate in the endeavor. So, you might be asking yourself, “How can we, as finite human beings, relate to God, who is a spirit?” Well, the good news is…because God is God, He knows a thing or two about relationships. He gave us free-will so we can choose to enter into that relationship, then He chose to reveal Himself to us so we could come to know Him. He did that by speaking through prophets. He told us Who He is, what He thinks, what He thinks about us, what His plans are, what His plans are for us, and what His standards are. In addition, He made many covenants, and more than three thousand promises to His proudest creation.
Now let’s take a close look at the character of God. He is described with one word in 1John 4:7: “God IS LOVE! (my edit) Notice it doesn’t say that He is “loving”, or “has loved”, or “will love.” John was very emphatic that the very essence of God IS LOVE! It is His character, His nature. Nothing emanates from Him that isn’t rooted in love. Therefore, love, forgiveness, mercy, grace, compassion, acceptance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, holiness, wisdom, freedom and patience define His nature. “There is NO darkness in Him!” (1John 1:5) Anything that is not rooted in these qualities is from the dark domain.
Now let’s look at God’s Majestic qualities. He is Creator of the Universe and all that is in it. He is Godhead of the Trinity; He is Alpha and Omega (the beginning and the end); He is omniscient (all knowing); omnipotent (all powerful); omnipresent (capable of being everywhere at once); immutable (unchangeable over time). God introduced Himself to Moses by saying, “I AM”, (Exodus 3:14) meaning He IS everything!
The manifestation of God’’s love can be found in His Word. His Word is Truth, Life, Power, Wisdom, Courage, Strength, Perseverance and Joy! Only God, as manifested through Jesus Christ, is totally satisfying. The answer to every question or desire is found in His Word.
Because of God’s love for His proudest creation, He did everything to bring to fruition the reality of that all-important relationship. For instance, when Man(kind) proved its inability to overcome the dilemma of sin, God provided a Redeemer to save us from ourselves. Once we were redeemed, meaning made right in God’s eyes, He grafted us into His family as His children. Now we qualify for eternal life because we are sin-free! Revelation 21:27 makes that crystal-clear: “Nothing evil will be allowed to enter (the New Jerusalem – or heaven, as some might say); Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (This is a reference to those of us who are in Christ.)
Wonderful, right? Well, the gift doesn’t stop yet. God didn’t forget about those of us who are still living in this fallen world. He knows we are no match for the wiles of our adversary, satan, so He empowered us with the indwelling Holy Spirit so we can rise above the decadence of the world to become the person He created us to be. These three gifts, forgiveness of sin, eternal life, and the indwelling Holy Spirit make up what I will call “our salvation package.” Everything I have just written is rooted in the truth that God IS LOVE!
The subject of this blog is “How Do I Increase My Faith?” I believe it all begins with the proper understanding of who God and Jesus Christ are. First, they are one; they are the same. THEY ARE…
No doubt there is a plethora of books written on this subject, so what I have written here, while true, only scratches the surface. I challenge you to read slowly, and with prayer and meditation, the above paragraphs. God’s Word is filled with wisdom, knowledge, truths, and promises. The more these truths and promises become engrafted in your heart, and the more you participate in the process of becoming, transformation takes place because YOU are now the living word. You have experienced these truths and promises coming true in your life. Therefore, your faith has been growing proportionately to your transformation. Thank you God for your incredible plan, available to all Man(kind)!
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May God Bless You abundantly,
Dan Presgrave, (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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