Background of Faith

The Word of God in the Old Testament or Hebrew Writings as well as in the New Testament or Greek Messianic Writings speaks about people who had a faith or certain believe in a Higher Power, the Most High Maker Elohim Hashem Jehovah.

We can see or read that faith has something to do with having a belief in things which we are not sure of and of things we can not see. When there is faith present than this means that person is being sure of the things he or she hopes for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. For those people having faith "Faith" is the reason they remember great people who lived in the past, like Enoch, Noah, Abraham who were all great people who died in faith and whose stories are told in the set apart or Holy Scriptures.

Those great people whose stories can be an example for us did things because they believed in them and believed in the One for Whom they did it. The Nazarene man Jeshua (Jesus Christ) also had such a strong believe in the One Whom sent him, that he was prepared to put his own will aside to do the Will of his heavenly Father, the Only One True God of Israel. He totally trusted his heavenly Father and asked us also to trust Him Who had sent him.

With our belief in Jesus we should trust in what Jesus told us and in what his heavenly Father has to offer us. Looking at figures as Sarah, King David, Isaiah, Jeremiah we can find reason enough to believe in their writings and find Zechariah and other prophets telling us about what we might expect in the near future, the Messiah bringing us a world of peace.

Looking at Scriptures we may find assurance that all the prophesies told in it which did not come true shall also come true as the other accomplished. We can live by hope that it shall not be not for nothing to live a sanctified life and to have put our hope on the yet unseen with the absolute conviction that there are realities we have never seen but may be sure of that they shall come true.

It was by faith that our forebears were approved. Through faith we understand that the universe was created by the Word of God; everything we now see was fashioned from that which is invisible.

Faith begins as hope and indeed is unseen; so many doubt that it is real. The bible gives all the answers we need to know and provides the proof that faith is a reality that can be trusted.

+

Please read also Hebrews 11 and following articles

1. Devotees and spotters
2. Can you question the existence of God
3. Are there certain books essential to come to faith 
4. Looking to the East and the West for Truth
5. Israeli leaders delight in Europe’s cruelty toward refugees
6. Islam says it admires faith based on logic, what about the others
7. Honest-hearted people are losing faith in humanity and humanity losing faith in God
8. No insurmountable obstacles to come to know God
9. Challenging claim 2 Inspired by God 1 Simple words
10. Challenging claim 4 Inspired by God 3 Self-consistent Word of God
11. Miracles of revelation and of providence 1 Golden Thread and Revelation
12. Disobedient man and God’s promises
13. God’s forgotten Word 5 Lost Lawbook 4 The ‘Catholic’ church
14. Cognizance at the doorstep or at the internet socket
15. Daily Spiritual Food To prepare ourselves for the Kingdom of God
16. Knowing The Truth and Loving The Truth
17. Faith
18. God Will Lead 
19. The Right One to follow and to worship
20. Omniscient God opposite a not knowing Jesus
21. Meaning of Sacrifice
22. For The Love of Stuff
23. Matthew 6:1-34 – The Nazarene’s Commentary on Leviticus 19:18 Continued 2 Prayer and neighbour love
24. Matthew 8:5-13 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Servant of Army Officer Healed
25. Matthew 9:18-26 – What others say about Jesus knowing how to care for people
26. Redemption #7 Christ alive in the faithful
27. God has not destined us for wrath
28. Hope by faith and free gift
29. Memorizing wonderfully 3 Practical Tips for Memorizing Scripture
30. Leaving the Old World to find better pastures
31. Like grasshoppers
32. With all your heart
33. Establish your hearts blameless in holiness
34. When having found faith through the study of the Bible we do need to do works of faith
35. Do those who want to follow Christ to be Jews
36. The works we have to do according to James

Quakertime

luke.lea wrote on October 16 2011, @08:08 pm concerning the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly
"This GA concept is fucking genius -- a most beautiful product of collective imagination, more promising by far than anything else I've seen in my 70 years.
A few hundred Quakers helped change the course of English history 4 centuries ago by keeping it simple and sticking to their principles, or so I have read; one can only hope it might happen again."
The Quakers did as every Christian should do: to turn up one's sleeves.
They put one's hand to the plough and did not wait until governments or organisations took action. They themselves went to work in hospitals and shelter-houses. They tried to do something against bad situations.
Today many people do find themselves pushed in a corner. Some were even wealthy persons a few months or years ago, but have to live on the street today. The world has come back into a crises situation which could turn out to be a Second Great Depression if we are not careful.
In such time of trouble Christians should be ready to stand clear and to work the ropes to keep everything safe. For that reason it is also important that we know what is going on and what happens to people around us, giving them assurance that they can count on us and that we are ready to throw out the safety-line.
The question which can bother us is how far may we go in our reaction? Can we stand on the barricades?
May the Indignados become desperados?
Read more about the happenings:

1. Dexia-debacle met venijnig staartje

2. Op straat voor waardigheid #1 Zieke broertje

3. Op straat voor waardigheid #2 Grote broer

4. Op straat voor waardigheid #3 de Rest van de Familie

5. Op straat voor waardigheid #4 de Erfenis

6. Anti-Crisis anger calling out

What is your thought?

A call easy to understand

"'Follow me' said the King.

The call is so simple any child can understand it.
Its meaning is so sublime that no philosopher, be he ever so clever, can exhaust the infinite meaning of the mystery — its genius.
It is not misery — it is joy.
It is not doubt — it is conviction.
It is not fear — it is blessed assurance.

Disciples are bond servants, but also friends who know their Master’s will. They are not dragging themselves along reluctantly hoping that their misery may win them some reward. They follow gladly for love’s sake, trusting that because he lives, they will live also.

The genius of discipleship — the transformation — touches every aspect of life.
Being called, conviction, trust, surrender, purity, peace, prayer, service."

- Dennis Gillett
-------
The New Man
The Genius of Discipleship

Nederlandse versie / Dutch version > Een te begrijpen oproep
+++
2013 update:

You Don't Understand Me (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Related articles

• Discipleship Practices for Lent
• Messengers of Jesus will be hated to the end of time
• Time For A New Mission?
• The Foundations: An Introduction to Intentional Discipleship
• Discipleship: A journey into vulnerability
• The Foundations: An Introduction to Intentional Discipleship
• A darker and stranger place
• A heart in the right place and brightly burning faith
• New Flemish tryptich for those who want to know more about God
• For Dutch speaking readers #2 Second component of triptych

A Living Faith #1 Substance of things hoped for

A LIVING FAITH

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Heb 11:1

This is a well known quote from Paul spelling out the principles of faith. We have never met Abraham, Isaac, or any of the Patriarchs.  We have never met any of the prophets and not even one of the faithful men and women whose lives are recorded in scripture as examples for us. We have never walked the streets of the Jerusalem of David’s day nor witnessed the building of Solomon’s temple.  Unlike the disciples we have never seen the Lord Jesus Christ nor been privileged to hear his words first hand. We have not seen the Kingdom or even a glimpse of the glory and wonder of that time to come. But faith provides substance to the words of scripture and provides evidence of that which is not yet seen.

But faith is not blind; it is not a blind unknowing belief in the insubstantial. Faith is based upon a solid foundation and not on an elusive, flimsy account of a mans dreams. Faith looks up at the heavens and the myriads of stars each in their place and all governed by unchanging physical laws. Faith views nature and sees the myriad forms of life on the earth. Then faith sees in all things, the wonder of life wrought by the hand of an Almighty Creator.

Faith is born out of a knowledge about lives and events that are as real and tangible as any historical account. Faith sees the reality of promises and prophecy already fulfilled, and then concludes that what has not yet come, will equally be fulfilled.

Faith sees substance in the scriptures that paint a wonderful picture about a time to come of peace and safety such as has never been. The world as it is today maybe appears permanent, its roads, vast cities, transport systems and institutions unassailable. Yet the eye of faith sees a vastly changed vista, for faith views amongst many things:

Ø  A time when a vast temple over a mile square will be built as a ‘house of prayer for all nations’.

Ø  A time when ‘the desert will blossom as the rose’

Ø  A time when all shall know the Lord ‘from the least of them to the greatest of them’.

Faith is an essential component of salvation, for Paul writes that “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 diligently seek Him.” Heb 11:6

Now, there are three key words in that quote from Hebrews, namely faith, substance and evidence.

The word ‘faith’ comes from the Greek word ‘pistis’, meaning assurance, belief, fidelity and faithfulness (the character of one who can be relied on). Faith therefore is a confidence engendered by knowledge, for as we read “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Rom 10:17

Now the word ‘substance’  comes from the Greek ‘hupostasis’, meaning confidence, substructure or foundation, steadfastness of mind, firmness, courage, resolution, firm trust, assurance. Faith can thus be viewed as an attitude of mind that is convinced of the Truth and which has a firm foundation for hope.

Finally we come to the word ‘evidence’ which comes from the Greek ‘elegchos’ meaning that by which a thing is proved or tested. Faith in that which is to come, has its evidence in the Word, which as Paul writes is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof (‘elegchos’ translated ‘for proof’ Diaglott, conviction YLT )… ..for instruction in righteousness” 2Tim 3:16

You may recall that Jesus once upbraided the disciples for having ‘little faith’.  There they were in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, the waves threatening to sink the boat. Jesus though had calmly fallen asleep in the stern of the boat. His disciples went to him saying:

"Lord, save us! We are perishing!”  His reply: "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"

With Jesus in that boat it was unsinkable, for his time had not yet come. The disciples had witnessed the expressions of belief and faith of others, particularly the profound faith of the Centurion of whom Jesus had said “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” Matt 8:10. They had witnessed acts of healing and listened to the parables Jesus had told concerning the Kingdom, yet they themselves were chided for having ‘little faith’. I wonder how Jesus would view our level of faith when faced with the storms and the tossing waves of life. Are they viewed as simply time and chance, or do we see the hand of Yahweh at work moulding and shaping our lives? Most certainly the minutiae of life are very often time and chance, but the overall tenor of life is overruled, all things working to our good. Thus do we see trial and tribulation as an opportunity for our characters to develop and faith to be tested?

The term ‘little faith’ comes from the Greek ‘oligopistos’ meaning to be incredulous or lacking confidence.  One of the root words in Greek means puny, small, brief (in extent/duration). The other root word means persuasion, reliance and belief. Therefore having ‘little faith’ implies being little persuaded and lacking in reliance.

Thus a lesson is driven home which in effect says that it is easy to express faith when life is easy, harder when life events get tough.  It is the testing by the trial and tribulations of life that proves the value and depth of faith, plus of course our level of understanding. There are times when the storms and waves in life threaten to swamp our boat, yet Paul writes “no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man”. Therefore, the evidence of faith will recall the promise, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” 1Cor 10:13

The disciples once asked Jesus "Lord increase our faith". The reply came:

"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree - be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it will obey you" Luke 17:5

Such a small amount of faith could accomplish so much! I wonder what an honest self examination would say about our personal level of faith. Is it as great as a small mustard seed or would Jesus upbraid us for having ‘little faith?

To be continued….A Living Faith #2

Andy Peel.

+ 
In this series:

A Living Faith #1 Substance of things hoped for
A living faith #2 State of your faith
A Living Faith #3 Faith put into action
A Living Faith #4 Effort
A Living Faith #5 Perseverance
A Living Faith #6 Sacrifice
A Living faith #7 Prayer
A Living Faith #8 Change
A Living Faith #9 Our Manner of Life
A Living Faith #10: Our manner of Life #2
A Living Faith #11 My place in the body of Christ and my ecclesia
A Living Faith #12 The Love for Jesus

Of interest: > Faith Requires a Basis

+++ 

2016 January update

Related articles

• The Messiah in the Manger
• Tyrese Gibson Celebrating 'Miracle' As Mother Recovers In Hospital
• Your Word for This Day: Jesus is ...Truth
• 'Same God' Standoff: Wheaton College, Suspended Professor Hold Ground, Miroslav Volf Weighs In
• When the Batteries Run Out
• Rare gold coin worth $1,100 dropped in Roseville Red Kettle
• "People look forward to it:" Salvation Army set to feed more than 8,000 people on Christmas Day
• Scripture of the Day, 12/16
• Christ as Burnt Offering

God should be your hope

Dutch version / Nederlands > God moet je hoop zijn

“Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fulness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.” (Ps 16:11 RSV)
“Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God.” (Ro 5:2 RSV)
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.” (Ro 5:3-5 RSV)
“And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work.” (2Co 9:8 RSV)
“For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love which you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Heb 6:10-12 RSV)

Hope does not disappoint us

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 5:5, New International Version

Dutch version / Nederlands > Hoop zal niet worden beschaamd

---

    Hope has become such a "wimpy" term in modern vocabulary. It hardly qualifies as an adequate translation of the meaning in most New Testament passages. Hope is the assurance that what we believe will happen. We could call it spiritual confidence. We have that spiritual confidence because more than just a wish, more than just an emotion, more than just a belief rests in our hearts; God himself lives in us through his Holy Spirit. When we become Christians, Jesus pours out the Spirit upon us (Titus 3:3-7) as God's gift to us (Acts 2:38; 5:32) to cleanse us (1 Cor. 6:11), make us part of the same Body (1 Cor. 12:12-13), and live inside us (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Paul adds one more thing to that list of blessings from God's presence within us -- God's love. We don't just have it; God keeps refreshing it through the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus had promised (John 7:37-39).

    Holy and Almighty God, awesome in power and majestic in holiness, thank you for not only coming to us, but thank you also for living in us through your Spirit. Please pour your love into my heart so that the fruit of your grace may flow from me to those around me and everyone around me will know of your grace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

+++

2014 January update:

Related articles

• Intimacy or Blasphemy?
• Looking for True Spirituality 5 Fruitage of the Spirit
• Many forgot how Christ should be our anchor and our focus
• The Spirit of Leadership
• The Holy Spirit
• Take Your Healing
• The Joy of the Lord
• 2nd Timothy 1:6-14 Appeal for Loyalty to Paul and the Gospel