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

Praise

"Sometimes your praise can be a problem for your problem." - Carl Lentz

Isaiah 61:3 NKJV
"...The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness..."

1 Thessalonians 4,5

I've been working my way through the New Testament, and hit 1 Thessalonians. I read it initially, taking my time to work through the verses and allow the Holy Spirit to help me and speak to me from them.

I found it so difficult.

The earlier books; Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, I found much easier to read through and get blessed by.

I was extremely tempted to just forget about 1 Thessalonians and move onto the second book, but I didn't want to miss out on anything in there that God wanted to say to me. So I tried again.

On the YOU Version Bible App, there is a function on some translations that allows you to listen to the chapter as you read it, so this time as I read through 1 Thessalonians, I listened to it at the same time.

Massively helpful.

God really blessed me through the last two chapters, so I just thought I'd share with you guys what stuck out for me. Hope God blesses you with this too!

Ch.4 v.3-8

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord  is  the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects  this  does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit."

These verses talk about 'sanctification' (the setting apart of ourselves as Holy to God), keeping our bodies free from sexual sin in particular, remembering that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1Corinthians 3.16, Acts 13.52), and should be used to glorify God (show to unbelievers how awesome and great He is). I was particularly struck here by two things; first, that if we go ahead with sexual sin, not only are we sinning, but we are 'taking advantage of' and 'defrauding' the person we commit it with; and second, that when we reject this instruction, and deliberately choose to sin anyway, we aren't rejecting the person who told us we shouldn't do it, we're rejecting God, whose instruction it is.

Ch. 4 v.11-12


"that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and  that  you may lack nothing."

It's more verse 12 that I like, but the latter part of verse 11 I found very interesting as well. The whole concept of minding our own business and working with our own hands. We do not need to be busy bodies!!! There is a tendency in church, especially in smaller ones, to talk about what other people are doing all the time, and I also think a lot of the time this is when judgement can occur. God wants us to mind our own business and be quiet, we need to constantly be focusing on our own walk with God so that we can 'walk properly toward those outside'. For those of you who are Christians, you've probably heard the saying 'you might be the only bible/Jesus someone ever gets to read/see.' It's so important that we keep ourselves in check with God; number one, so we make sure that we stay on the right path, and also number two, so that others can see what it's really like to know Jesus, and how it affects our lives. I like to think of it as infectious Christianity, so that when people see how awesome it is to be in relationship with God, they can't help but feel a little bit jealous and want in.

Ch. 5 v.14
"Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all."

This verse speaks for itself really. (But if you aren't familiar with biblical terms, exhort means  to charge, or to commission, or to task someone to do something). It talks about how we are to relate among one another, and I believe this applies to how we treat everyone (Christians and non-Christians alike).

• Warn those who are disruptive and disobedient
• Comfort and encourage the fainthearted
• Lift up the weaker people
• Be patient with everyone

Ch. 5 v. 16-22

I won't quote this one because I'm literally about to go through it word for word, but feel free to look it up on Blue Letter Bible or Bible Gateway.

v. 16, 18 - Rejoice always/in everything give thanks; no matter what we go through in this life, as Christians we always have something to be thankful and praising God for. First, our salvation, and second, the way in which our salvation opened up the way for us to have relationship with God, the creator of the entire universe.

v.17 - Pray without ceasing; We serve the God who hears and sees, so even when we've been praying for a while and have not seen the desired effect, God wants us to keep on praying. Prayer is less about us getting what we want and more about us recognising God's sovereignty (how powerful He is), so every time we pray, we humble ourselves before God and tell Him we can't do anything without Him, that we need His help in all things and that because we know He is good, strong and knows what is best for us, we trust Him entirely. Pray until something happens.

v.19 - Do not quench the Holy Spirit; I think there are two ways in which we can do this. First, by grieving the Holy Spirit with our sin (Ephesians 4.30, Isaiah 63.10), and secondly, by not intentionally spending time soaking in God and His word and working on our gifting (speaking in tongues, prophesying etc. 2 Timothy 1.6)

v.20 - Do not despise prophecies; we can have no doubt that what God says will happen, will happen. What God says, happens. He said let there be light, and there was light. He said the walls of Jericho would fall down and they did. His word never goes out without accomplishing what it says it will (Isaiah 55.11). So when God says He's going to do something, trust Him that He will, hold onto it.

v. 21 - Test all things; hold fast what is good; In the same breath as verse 20, we are warned that whatever prophecies we do hear, we weigh them up with the truth. Anybody can say they heard from God, but we need to make sure that we aren't taking just anything that we hear to be gospel. God is still speaking to us now in the same way He spoke to people then, but He does not contradict Himself. Check that what you are told is in line with God's scripture, and if it is, hold on to it.

v. 22 - Abstain from every form of evil; this goes back to chapter four and the verse about sexual immorality, but this isn't just about sex. As Christians we need to live lives that show we are God's people and have chosen to live our lives differently (Matthew 3.8, Luke 3.8, Romans 12.2, Ephesians 5.27).

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1 Corinthians 1.25

"Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

Wiser, higher, stronger, greater, better.

But even more than that;

Wisest, highest, strongest, greatest, best.

There's a verse I love in the bible (one of many!). In the verse, God (speaking through Isaiah) says this; "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55.9)

On a personal level, I'm in a kind of wilderness at the moment. I'm in London, when I was hoping to be making tracks to Stockholm. I'm a little lost because I'm not a one hundred percent sure what I'm doing here right now. I'm in an Internship, which I am thoroughly enjoying, but it's in London, not Stockholm.

I'd be lying if I said that I was sure about what I'm doing or where I think I'll be in the next year. God has a way of surprising us and taking our plans and turning them on their heads. So I don't know.

However, one thing that has always comforted me, is the knowledge that all the stuff I don't know, God knows. And I trust God. I believe that His wisdom, planning, foresight and provision are far better than mine will or could ever be. And I believe that He has a plan for my life and that it's a good one (Jeremiah 26.11).

I can't remember if I've ever shared this here, but something that struck me when I read the story of Noah in the Old Testament was the fact that there was only one window in that ark, which in a boat of such size, filled with that many animals, would have made it difficult to see what was going on outside.

Now, whilst Noah knew how long it would rain for, he didn't know how long he'd be on the waves for, and he didn't really have that much of an insight into what was going on around him. But he did know that God was with him, and had put him in the ark in a place of safety, to preserve him despite what was taking place around Him.

God's done the same for me. He's got a plan for me, and even amidst the change going on around me, I know I'm where I am now for divine purpose (because God has organised it for a reason of eternal (everlasting) significance) and that He's with me and will never leave me (Matthew 28.20b)

It might not make sense to me, but it makes sense to God, and with wisdom like His, what more do I need?

Peace, Perfect Peace

I was really nervous this morning as I woke up and had to go to uni to collect all the assignments I slaved over last term. I was even more nervous than usual because a) I had worked even harder than I usually do, and b) there were six assignments to pick up, which six times the nerves I would feel had it been just one.

As I was walking I felt God bring to mind the verse in Isaiah 26.3:

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!"

And immediately grasped hold of these two things:

1. My marks were not going to change based on whether or not I worried

2. The ultimate end was not whether or not I got the grades I desired, it was God's plan, which would be realised regardless of my grades.

And so, as I focused my mind on Him, I found myself in perfect peace, isn't He great?

"FOR UNTO US...

...a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."

- Isaiah 9.6

Today is the day that we remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus, God's greatest gift to mankind. The idea of celebrating the birth of a little baby born in Bethlehem may seem strange to you, but actually, it was just an intermediate step in God's plan to save mankind and make sure that each and every one of them, or rather, each and every one of us knew true, redeeming, everlasting and unfailing love.

Merry Christmas, and God bless,

Savedbygrace

The Solution

"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

-2 Corinthians 5.21

Here's mathematical problem for you to solve:

God likes ONLY 100% Righteousness/Goodness, Humankind = 97% Righteousness/Goodness

If God wants to be friends with Humankind without going back on His standard, how does He do it?

God puts himself, in the body of a man, Jesus = 100% Righteousness

God takes all of humankind's unrighteousness and swaps it for Jesus' righteousness, so that now it looks like this;

Humankind through Jesus = 100% Righteousness

"...the LORD has laid on Him
the iniquity of us all."

-Isaiah 53.6

This is salvation.

God can't fellowship with anything that is not 100% good, even if it's only 3% bad. [2 Corinthians 6.14]. But God wants to be in a relationship with us. So to provide a solution to this problem, He sent Jesus who is fully good, to take all our sin, so that we could be 100% good, and He could have a relationship with us.

And because of this; because of Christ's atonement for our sins, no matter what our past before Jesus, or what sins we have committed or even have yet to commit, God extends the arm of kindness, love and graciousness to us, so that instead of perishing and facing eternal separation from Him, we have eternity with Him.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

-John 3.16

Isaiah 26.3

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!"

Isaiah 43.1

"... I have called you by name, you are mine."

A Way In The Wilderness

Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness [And] rivers in the desert.

-Isaiah 43.19

All I Need Is You - Jesus Culture, We Cry Out

"For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?"

- Psalm 18.31

The act of pressing into God produces a dependency on Him that is vital for healthy Christian life [John 15.5]. Living life independent of God is essentially saying that we all alright on our own, doing our own thing [Isaiah 53.6]; when actually the act of wrestling with Him in our darker moments produces a blessing that we could never receive otherwise [Genesis 32.22-28].