Embraced by millions over the vicissitudes of time, but understood by none, the life-altering, heaven connection of faith, abounds greater than the sum of all the ugliness, hideous, and condemning factors of sin in a largely God-rejecting world. Just think about it!
Hebrews 11:1 calls this spiritual avenue, “. . . the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The blessedness, power, and essence of faith follows throughout that tremendous chapter as the responsible agent of triumph over the overwhelming agents of sin and death. It is arguably the greatest chapter of Christian sustainment in the Bible.
Faith, hope, and love are a triad of very real intangibles which defy the test tubes and microscopes of science, and also the understanding of those who are the recipients of them.
They are the provisions of grace: the Creator to the created that rectifies, even excels the Edenic cosmos that our federal parents cast down so long ago.
It all has to do with the decision making processes. Adam and Eve decided to transgress the commands of the Creator thus adding sin inexorably to the makeup of the species.
Paul argues in I Corinthians chapter fifteen, that as the decision of Adam brought condemnation, the decision and perfect work of Jesus brings light and life; albeit not to the species, but by every individual who is exercised thereby. The greatest wonder of it all is its possibility. It took the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus to do it. But death is the direct result of sin, and Jesus had no sin—no not one. How then could the sinless become sin for us, and pay the penalty for sin that we could not? Again, it is the decision making process, and specifically of one Who is qualified to make the decision with the wherewithal to pay the uttermost.
Thus are we blessed with the substantiating of eternal things. That substantiation creates the intangible reality of hope in the human heart. Hope is the earnest, intense expectation of knowing and experiencing the physical realities so intangibly planted. It is by faith that we understand creation, Heb. 11:3. So, the essence is reserved in faith: without it, it is impossible to please God 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. Truly, a faithless life is a life that would be better served had it never existed.
FOR THOUGHT: What do you think to be the difference between faith and a wish? How deeply into the psyche do you think decisions must reach to allow entrance into, or the acquisition of faith? Does mental acquiescence qualify as faith? Why? Why not?
THE GRASS WAS NOT GREENER, BUT DANGEROUS
As a small boy in the coal strip-mining country of south Sebastian County, Arkansas, our family had a wonderful Jersey cow. Sometimes, ole Jersey would find a way out of the pasture to get at the greener grass beyond. One evening, milking time came but there was no Jersey, Upon calling, a faint cattle cry could be heard in the woods beyond the pasture, Ole Jersey had fallen into an experimental mining hole that was filled with water, but the shaft, though deep, was small enough to wedge her body, She struggled but could not get out, Neighbor men were summoned to help, they had to cut enough trees to construct a triangle hoist support. Then with rope and belting straps placed beneath her body, they were able to lift the cow, and swing her enough to get her feet on solid ground. However her weakened condition necessitated four men to support her with two long poles beneath her body, walking her back to the barn. Her rescue was a joy and the talk of the community for some time.
How many times are God’s people guilty of Ole Jersey’s greener grass allurement! When pastors get tired of studying, they may prefer to change churches where old sermons can be repeated instead of knuckling down to study to build newer and more needful ones. Besides, the grass looks greener over there. Church members who do not always get their way, or feel that nothing exciting is happening in their church will “church hop” because the grass always looks greener over there. Godly people will sometimes yield to the allurement of financial gain that requires them to move away from the fellowship of any church because more money always makes the grass look greener. Jesus admonished His disciples to judge righteous judgment, not the kind that is predominant in the world. A move away from the fellowship of God’s people is a bad move unless you are a missionary with a specific purpose of winning people and helping to constitute a New Testament church. Think about it, and remember Old Jersey! Indeed, the grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence, but once there it has a way of turning dirty brown or sometimes even dangerous.
One does well to revisit the admonition of Paul to the church at Corinth ,”Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” I Corinthians 15:58.
FOR THOUGHT: If a church is a scriptural, New Testament church, it matters not if it is large or small. The same God must be the object of worship, and the Holy Spirit must be the director.
God gets glory in ways sometimes foreign to men’s thinking. How do you feel about your church? Is the grass greener somewhere else? Do you think men often seek to please themselves rather than search for, and determine, the Will of God for their life?
Describe what you're looking for in as much detail as you'd like.
Our AI reads your request and finds the best matching books for you.
Popular searches:
Join 2 million readers and get unlimited free ebooks