Faith - 5

And we continue our faith examples with another story about Abraham. Not only was Abraham supposed to leave home, but, after a lifetime of wanting children, and not having any, God told Abraham, and Sarah, that they were going to have a son. And the son was going to be the start of a great nation. And the nation would be a blessing to the world.

And, indeed, a son was born.

Then, God said to offer the son as a burnt offering. ???

That son, who will become a great nation, and bless the world, kill him, and burn his body. ???

Does that in any way make sense?

Apparently, it did to Abraham. He did not sacrifice Isaac, but he had decided to in his heart. But God stopped him at the last moment.

Abraham believed that God could keep his promise to make a nation, even if Isaac was offered as a sacrifice. The writer of Hebrews suggests that, maybe, Abraham believed that Isaac would be raised from the dead.

And that's the point. No matter how crazy it seems, God is able, and he will complete, what he has spoken. So, faith, at its most basic, is believing, and trusting, God to do exactly what he says.

So, a large part of walking with God is knowing what he says. That is why he gave us the Bible. That is why reading, and meditating, on the Bible is necessary.

Another large part of walking with God is grabbing onto what he says, and living as if what he says is as real as gravity. And it is that real, because God said it.

Faith - 4

I am taking the fourth and fifth examples together. There is, in a sense, a place where faith seems to be crazy.

God told Noah to get ready for lots of water. So, Noah spent 100 years building a really big boat, hundreds of miles from the ocean. God told Abraham to move approximately 2000 miles from his family, and his support system, to create something new that would turn the world upside down ... in a good way. And both of them acted in faith, agreeing with what God said.

Each man responded to a word given to them. They responded in ways, to those around them, may have seemed foolish. But it was not foolish to them, because they knew, and trusted, the one who spoke to them.

I wonder how many others have responded similarly. Were people scratching their heads when Charles Finney left his law practice, and became an intolerant preacher? What did people think when William Carey got on the boat, to go to India? Or when Hudson Taylor, and his family, got on the boat to go to China?

Indeed, everyone, who responds to the gospel, turns away from their past, and life as usual, to embrace something new, different, and unknown. And this change should provide improvement in the character of the person. And, as a result, it should provide an improvement of society, and culture. Especially, if these changed individuals band together into a changed community.

Of course, it depends on how they embrace, and practice, the change. 

Faith - 3

The third example was Enoch. Enoch's story barely exists. He was the father of Methuselah. And he walked with God. And one day he disappeared. Scripture says he did not die. Rather, God took him. Perhaps like God took Elijah?

Scripture says Enoch walked with God, and he pleased God. I am sure that does not mean Enoch never sinned. He recognized God as Creator, and Ultimate Authority. And if he is these two things, then the wisest thing anyone can do is adjust the way one lives, to agree with God's heart.

It does not say how, but if Enoch walked with God, we can assume he made some adjustment in attitude, mind set, and behavior, that demonstrated his agreement with God.

So, thus far, we can see faith is acceptance, and reliance, concerning something we personally have not witnessed. This acceptance might not be completed in a vacuum. We believe, and accept, the authority of God in our lives. We have not personally witnessed evidence for our need to give him our allegiance. But we have received testimony from others who have.

And, as a result of our faith, in accepting those unseen things, we take steps to change our mind-sets, and our lifestyles. 

Faith - 2

 The second example was Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer; Abel was a shepherd. They both offered gifts to God from what they produced.

In Leviticus, the Bible allows for both a grain offering, and an offering of a live stock. But in Hebrews, it says that Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. Since, both type are allowed, it was not the specific material that God judged. Indeed, in Genesis, God warns Cain about the condition of his heart.

It seems like Cain thought he was pretty great. He planted, watered, weeded, and harvested. And he was successful, because of his work. Abel, on the other hand, recognized that he did not have control over his flock's growth. So, Abel's offering was an expression of gratitude. And Cain's was "look how great I am!" So, God was more inclined to Abel, because of his humility. Cain was at the beginning of a downward cycle of sin, selfishness, and violence, that culminated in Noah, and God's judgment.

The writer's comment about faith point to Abel's humility, and dependence on the Father. Faith is, in part, a recognition of the need of humanity, and their dependence on the Father. And it also recognizes God's willingness, and readiness, to give, and meet the needs of his family. And he meets the needs of all people, because the world would fall apart without God's hand maintaining it.

It is good to give thanks for all of God's grace, daily. Thanksgiving is a declaration of our dependence and need. And it is a declaration of God's willingness, and ability, to provide. It does not negate our work. We can still work, but we are not able to bring to completion all that need.

Faith - 1

Faith is a funny thing. The writer of Hebrews writes "Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see." (NLT) That's like looking into the future, and saying that something is definitely going to happen, while everyone else says maybe it will, and maybe it won't.

Then to give further insight, he lists several examples, to act as pictures of what faith looks like.

The first example concerns creation. Some people say God spoke, and out of nothing -- no matter, no energy, not anything -- brought into being everything that is. And some people say there was a bunch of stuff, and either the stuff exploded, or the stuff crashed to together, and the resulting "mish mash" resulted in everything that is, purely by chance. 

Which makes me want to ask the question: where did the stuff come from? Seems to me, some people believed there was stuff, that there was an explosion -- as the result of a collision, or the result of an internal reaction -- and the got rearranged in some way that it generated light, water, an oxygen rich atmosphere, and finally, life. Sounds to me like evidence of things we cannot see. Sounds to me like faith.

No one was there in the beginning to witness how it happened. People, the world, and the universe exist. So, they got here somehow. But no one really knows how. They can only theorize how, and believe one of the theories.

And it cannot be a scientific theory. The scientific method requires an observation, a theory, and a test, or experiment, that demonstrates the truth of the theory. And the experiment can be repeated a million times, and get the same results. Can we repeat exploding a bunch of matter, and the universe, and all of life is created? I am sure that someone has tried on a small scale to repeat the big bang creation. But no matter which system, creation must be understood, and accepted, by faith.

====================

I will probably look at all the examples myself. I don't know if I will share my thoughts about all of them here. I will certainly share several of them.

Jesus' Prayer - 3

We are looking at Jesus' prayer, when he was with the Twelve, right before his arrest. His primary concern, and focus, was those who would give him their allegiance. The Twelve, and those who would respond to the gospel through the Twelve.

There seems to be two things he brings to the Father, concerning his followers. The first is the Truth. He was. And  concerned how they saw, kept, and were committed to the Truth. We looked this in the previous post.

Second, he was concerned about the relationships his followers had with one another. And he described that relationship as being united.

Unity is usually a bond formed around agreement in the same issue. In God's family, unity is formed around agreement about Jesus. Who he was. What he did. Who he did it for. And what our response should be.

Jesus knew there was going to be a learning curve after he returned to the Father. Jesus knew there was going to be issues, misunderstandings, and maybe some out and out fights. But he also knew his family needed to stand together, and behind one another.

Now Jesus did not use the word "unity." He said, "May they be one, as we are one." He prayed that the connection in his family would be as strong, as complete, as the connection with the Trinity, within God himself.

All those, who have allegiance to Jesus, should stand with, and behind, those who have allegiance to Jesus. Whoever. Wherever. However. Reformed. Baptist. Charismatic. Cru. Intervarsity. Navigators. India. Africa. Asia. America.

We need to have the same commitment to Jesus' children, as Jesus does. Practically, this is hard to do. Parts of God's family have a particular focus that they believe is really important. So, there are divisions in practice, in emphasis, and how they operate. It is easier to stay within the borders each group has set for themselves.

But there are two things in Jesus' prayer that he said, that we need to be aware of.

One, the unity of God's people demonstrates that God sent Jesus. Unity is a weapon of the gospel. Unity amid all the diversity of God's family proclaims the truth about Jesus. The connection, and commitment, of God's people to one another is a loud bell, or siren, that say this is new, and different. Pay attention!

Two, the unity of God's people demonstrates God's loves for his family. Unity is a weapon of the gospel. It shows that God sits in the midst of his family. It shows God's positive attitude toward his people. It shows what God's love can do in people.

Jesus' Prayer - 2

 Jesus was looking ahead to his return to the Father. So, Jesus get to the main concern in his prayer. Those who follow him. Not just the Twelve. Not just the Seventy. But all of us who have chosen to give allegiance to Jesus.

Jesus walked before, and lived with his disciples. He showed them, who the Father was -- his nature, and his heart -- and the way they should live. The disciples saw what Jesus said, and did. And they accepted, and believed it all came from the Father.

Jesus prayed for his disciples continued faithfulness, and connection to the  truth. There are many, who have argued, that God's family have not completely been faithful to God's commands, and practices. Peter writes that all of God's family are God's priests. [1 Peter 2:9] So, every child of God represents the Father, and his family. Every child has the duty of giving spiritual care (pastoring), sharing God's forgiveness (evangelizing), and helping to begin new expressions of God's family (church planting). But many have professionalized those responsibilities. Only those, who have received special training and recognition, can complete those responsibilities. But God calls all his children to participate. And God calls those in leadership to teach, train, and enable all disciples to obey, and be effective.

And Jesus' concern here is that those giving him allegiance would stay connected to what he has taught them, and what the Holy Spirit will continue to reveal to them.

He is concerned they will be influenced by the world, instead of his truth. Their mission is to continue his mission, and take his word to the world. Not just the professionals. All of his family. So, his word meed to become part of who they are. It needs to affect their thinking, their speaking, and their actions. The world needs to see a difference in them. And that difference is more than attending weekly meetings.

God's mission is to reveal himself to the world, and to call the world back into relationship with him. That mission has now been given to his family. Proclaiming the gospel, demonstrating God's love, praying for one another and the nations, are all part of that mission. And God's family need to remain close to the Father, close to his word, and close to his family, in order to remain faithful to our part of God's mission, and to complete all parts of that mission.