Faith

I'm reading through Hebrews at the moment and just hit Hebrews 11 which has to be probably my favourite chapter in the whole bible (I say probably because there are so many awesome chapters that that is likely inaccurate!).

Hebrews 11 begins with an amazing explanation of what faith is...

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11.1)

It is a beautiful verse even before you grasp all that it means...but I'll do my best to explain.

Faith comes from trust, and trust comes from knowing someone really well.

Think about it like this...you wouldn't tell your secrets to just anyone. You would wait to get to know someone, see them actively demonstrate an ability to keep schtum when it comes to important information, and then when you'd seen it enough times, you would entrust them with your secret, having faith that they will keep their word to you and not tell anyone.

It's the same in faith with God. God is personal; as in He knows us inside and out and wants us to know Him and have a relationship with Him and be ourselves with Him. As with any relationship, it takes time to build up that kind of familiarity and trust and such a deep friendship only comes from spending time with Him; reading His word (the bible) and talking to Him (prayer) and hearing what others who know Him personally have to say about Him and what He's done in their lives (the testimonies of other Christians). The more you hear and see of Him the more you trust Him!

That's what Hebrews 11 is all about. It's about what happens when you take the leap of faith and get to know God and trust Him with your heart and hopes and future. Hebrews 11 is all about the amazing miracles that happened when people took the step of faith to trust God.

The thing about a relationship with God is that the faith it produces is extraordinary. It starts small. Maybe you trust God with something you feel you have no real control over anyway, like friends at a new school...and then when God blesses you with good friends you trust Him with something bigger, and so on until you're trusting God with everything, you put all your eggs in His hand and wait to see what He does with them.

What makes trusting God even better than just empty hope is the fact that in a world where nothing is certain - people are corrupt, sickness and death are everywhere, wars and famines abound everywhere - God is certain.

He is the same yesterday today and forever (Hebrews 13.8). He never leaves us (Deuteronomy 31.6). He always holds our hands (Psalm 37.24). He has good plans for us (Jeremiah 29.11). He is not a man that He could lie (Numbers 23.19). He promises that even though we see trouble in this life He has overcome and we are with Him (John 16.33).

So our hope for the future isn't an empty one. It's not this empty wish we have that maybe if we are good people, or maybe if we work hard,or maybe if we are lucky, maybe everything will work out.

The hope we have anchors us because it is certain. It is rooted in something, in someone; Jesus Christ; the author and finisher of our faith, the Saviour, the Messiah, the King, God's final word, Emmanuel - God with us!

Faith in God and His word saved the human race when the earth flooded, faith in God and His word led Abraham into the promise land, faith in God and His word gave the Israelites Jericho and that isn't even all of it, there is so much more!

Faith requires nothing more than trusting God. You don't have to be sure of yourself, you just have to be sure of Him.

If I'd moved to this country just because it's nice, the moment it got tough (a week in) I would have packed up and gone back home. BUT because I knew without a shadow of doubt that Stockholm was where God wanted me right now, even after three months of unemployment, I knew I'd made the right decision and I was in the right place.

Our feelings and emotions are about as certain and sure as on-time buses or hospital waiting times...they aren't at all!!! But God is certain. You know that if He says He'll do something He will for sure do it, and not only will He do it, He'll do it better than you could have ever imagined, over and above your expectation (Isaiah 55.9, Ephesians 3.20).

Such is the God of the bible. If you put your life in His hands, He will do far better things with it than you EVER could have.

"Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass." Psalm 37.5

Thanks and Praise

"Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name."

-Psalm 30.4

I posted a few weeks back about making praise a problem for our problem, and I just wanted to elaborate a bit on it.

Have you ever told someone something really important, only for them to forget it? I'm not talking 'don't forget I put the leftovers in the fridge', I'm talking 'don't forget to turn off the oven in five minutes'.

The thing is, forgetfulness is so natural. We're human, we have a lot of stuff going on, and we have a tendency to get caught up in what is happening in front of us and forget about whatever it was.

You can't deny it. You get caught up in the last few seconds of 'Deal or no Deal', or you play just one more level of 'Angry Birds', and forget about the food in the oven until the smoke alarm goes off.

I was talking to my parents a few days ago about why we are so encouraged in the bible to give thanks and praise God for what He's done, and I was struck by something. God does not require our thankfulness. He actually doesn't need anything. Which means us taking the time to be thankful, fundamentally makes no difference to Him.

So then I wondered, why encourage us to do it?

It was then that I remembered the human tendency to forget. We wake up every morning, and in the normal human way, immediately become consumed with whatever it is we are facing that day.

It could be an exam we have at school that day, and we wake up in a cold sweat, panicked about failing if (funnily enough) we forget an equation or quote. We forget that God goes with us and ahead of us, that we aren't taking the exam alone.

It could be that on our walk to work someone in a van drives through a puddle and covers us from head to toe in muddy water and we tell them to roll over and die, forgetting about the grace and forgiveness God extended to us in the sending of His son Jesus.

It could be that halfway through a really great day, we get terrible news that somebody close has died, and we begin to question God's existence, forgetting that He said that because we are in this world we will experience trouble and difficult life situations, but that we should take comfort in Him during them, as He has overcome.

I was at a Conference a few weeks ago, and a preach was given on the feeding of the five thousand and the storm the disciples were in directly after it. The preacher shared about the fact the disciples forgot about the miracle they had just seen, even though the evidence of it accompanied them in the very boat in the storm. They had evidence there with them, that nothing was too difficult or too big for God and yet in a storm, they were afraid. They'd already forgotten about God and His capabilities!

So often we are like the disciples. We witness God doing something awesome and then the moment we face any difficulty of any kind we forget about the same God that just performed a miracle!

It's crazy! But it's also human nature. We were born with the tendency to forget.

The challenge is to remember.

In Jonah 2.9, it says '...when my life was slipping away, I remembered God, and my prayer got through...' (The Message)

In Isaiah 46.11, the people of Israel are urged to remember their long and rich history, and the God who was with them then.

In Deuteronomy 7.19 and Exodus 13.3, the Israelites are urged yet again to remember what God did for them in Egypt and how He set them free.

After the salvation of the Jews in the time of Esther (Read Esther, it's not too long!), a festival is thrown in order to help the people remember, not just those that were there but also the generations to come, all that God did for them and how He saved them.

That's why God wanted us to have this book that tells us all about Him and the people that loved and served Him over the years, so that no-one would forget and so that all would know and remember, all that He has done.

When we thank God for what He's done, we remind ourselves of who He is and what He is capable of doing for us. When we praise Him, we become part of the positive testimonial of God's nature and personality as we share our experiences with others, helping them to remember too.

Make a conscious effort to remember what God has done. It helps you maintain perspective, encourages you and encourages others, and reminds you exactly who God is and what He can do.

"Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek God . Live a happy life! Keep your eyes open for God , watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence. Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles, and the verdicts he's rendered— O seed of Abraham, his servant, O child of Jacob, his chosen." [The Message Version]

- Psalm 105.1-6

Deuteronomy 31.8

"And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed."

My friend gave me this verse before I left for Stockholm, and it's one I've really been holding onto. It's in Deuteronomy, in a turning point in Joshua's life, when Moses gives him his mission and sends him out as the new leader for Israel.

V3 - "The Lord your God Himself crosses over before you..."

V6 - "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid..."

As Joshua led Israel across the Jordan, Moses warned them not to be afraid. He was warning them because he knew that whatever it was they were going to encounter on their way to the land of promise, it was going to be difficult.

God calls us into and through certain situations, much like He called Joshua to lead the Israelites across the Jordan. In such situations, to reach what we came for we often have to go through difficulty. Thankfully, God does not leave us to fend for ourselves in these situations. He goes ahead of us. He tells us not to be scared by the situations we are facing, but to continue to be confident in Him, knowing He has gone before us.

So whether, like me, you've moved to a new country, you're starting a new job, or just in a testing time in your life, know that God has gone before you, will never leave you or forsake you. Be bold and courageous, even as the going gets tough.

x

My Vision - "Your Kingdom come... on Earth as it is in Heaven"

Have you ever thought about what the last part of the prayer in Matthew 6 is all about?

"Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven."

-Matthew 6.10

It's about bringing heaven to Earth. It's about doing things on Earth, the way God does them in heaven. As I move abroad to start a church with others, here are some of the ways I would really love to see heaven come to Earth:

1. SELF SUFFICIENCY WITHIN THE CHURCH - Acts 4.32: "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common"; Acts 4.34-35: "Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need."
2. LOVE DEMONSTRATED, ALWAYS - John 13.34: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another"; John 15.12: "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you"; John 15.17: "These things I command you, that you love one another."
3. GRACE OVERFLOWING - Colossians 4.6: " Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one"; Proverbs 16.24: "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body."
4. MARRIAGE AS GOD INTENDED - Ephesians 5.25: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her"; Ephesians 5.28: "So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself"; Colossians 3.19: "Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them"; Ephesians 5.22: " Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord"; 1 Peter 3.1: "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives"; Titus 2.4: "...admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children..."
5. MERCY AND FORGIVENESS - Matthew 6.14: "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you"; Luke 6.37: "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
6. SELF-DISCIPLINE, RATHER THAN OVER-INDULGENCE - Proverbs 25.28: "Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls"; 1 Peter 1.13: "So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world"; 2 Peter 1.5-6: "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;"
7. HONESTY - Ephesians 4.25: "Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,”for we are members of one another"; Proverbs 12.17: "He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit."
8. DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT - Deuteronomy 6.6: "And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today"; Deuteronomy 11.18: "So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders."
9. LIVES TRANSFORMED - Romans 12.2: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what isthat good and acceptable and perfect will of God"; 2 Corinthians 3.18: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

The Greatness of Our God, A Beautiful Exchange, Hillsong Live

"There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, And in His excellency on the clouds."

- Deuteronomy 33.26