Faith
You might have guessed we're talking about faith today. I was just chatting with a customer, and this idea popped into my head, so I thought I'd better write it down. I also made a little TikTok video about it while I was thinking. But enough with the introduction; let's dive in!
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
This verse is probably memorized by anyone who's ever been to Sunday school or any kind of “church” gathering. You might not have cared much about your Sunday school class or the “church” service, but somehow, somewhere, this verse got stuck in your head. But have you ever really thought about what this verse actually means?
Well, if not, let's dig in. If we spend time researching, do some word studies, and really dive into the scripture, we'll realize that this verse actually says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Man, I’m telling you, wow, what a revelation! Lol
In reality most stuff in the Bible, if you just read the Bible, the Bible will tell you what it means. But some of us humans are just too smart to realize that it's that simple.
If you still didn't get it yet, Let me put it in plain words, remember I am just a poor country boy that did not even finish high school, and I have a hard time spelling my own name, so if I say something, it's going to be pretty simple. Here's the simple truth: Jesus said to increase your faith, you need to do what I tell you! (Luke 17:5-10, John 14:15)
You only need faith to believe what Jesus says. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus, and you believe in Him because of what he did for you, and the Holy Spirit now leads you into all truth, faith is no longer an issue. (Matthew 23:8, John 16:13, 1 John 2:27)
Let me put it another way, if Jesus were here right now standing right beside you, and your best friend had his arm chopped off and is standing there with you, and Jesus touches him and his arm grows back just like it was brand new, would you need faith to believe Jesus could do that? The answer is no; you've seen it with your own eyes; you know it’s true; you do not need to have faith. Just like in (John 20:29), faith becomes unnecessary when we see the full out truth. But, unfortunately here in our earthly lives, we often must walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
But now since you know it to be true, you have seen it and experienced it, you now know it’s a fact, so do not fall in the trap that so many people do, I mean even our beloved president said "do not confuse the truth with facts” lol.
But seriously folks, It's the same way in our life, once we are born-again, Bible-believing, God-fearing, Jesus-confessing, sin-forgiven Christ followers, and we see the kingdom of God, and we are walking with Jesus every day, and we do what Jesus says, we will automatically see His works working through us and in our life, and faith is no longer an issue, just like Jesus said if you have faith as big as a grain of mustard seed, then you can move mountains, just do what Jesus said and your mustard seed will grow. This mustard seed of faith, though it's a very small seed, can grow into a mighty tree when nurtured by our actions and obedience to what Jesus says. (Matthew 17:20 John 3:3, John 16:13, 1 John 2:27)
Jesus said we need to become like little children. We need to stop overthinking it. We need to stop relying on religion and what other people are telling us. We need to forget about teachers and rulemakers. We need to go back to the basics. We need to take what Jesus says for what he says and stop acting like fools.
Faith is more than just talking about it; it's living it out every day with our actions. (James 2:14-26) To grow our faith, we should walk alongside Jesus, listen to what He tells us, and trust Him even when we're not sure how things will turn out. Don't worry, just put your faith completely in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the greatest of all, knowing He'll always keep His promises no matter what.
Okay folks, just like always, don’t just read this and the verses I highlighted, but start reading in (Genesis 1:1) and don’t stop, keep reading through (Revelation 22:21) and then start over.
Until next time, and from now on, May the good Lord bless you!