What is Faith?

What is faith? The Bible definition. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Heb 11:1). “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Heb 11:6)

Bible faith and hope are tied together inseparably. We are convinced that God is and will keep His promise of giving us eternal life. Eternal life is that hope based upon faith in God. When we get to heaven, there will no longer be faith and hope. Why would faith and hope cease to be? “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Rom 8:24-25)

But there is more than definitions to faith. How faith acts – what it does – how it feels? The last phrase of Hebrews 11:6, “He rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Earnestly seek – there is action in Bible faith. Indeed, Bible faith always acts. (James 2:26) Bible faith, then, is not merely, "I believe there is a God” Faith is seen in the fruit it bears and in the feelings and emotions that come from that faith. Read on and see.

Faith is a happiness and security that does not rest in circumstances and outside forces. It lies within.

Circumstances can change – lose your job, health issues, savings gone, oops, there goes happiness. Many think happiness is tied to the external, the person scrambles about trying to hold it all together. With faith, it just doesn't matter what goes on in this world, the Christian is happy and secure in Jesus Christ.

Paul and Silas are excellent examples. “The magistrates ordered Paul and Silas to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.” (Acts 16:22-25) Paul and Silas were beaten and put in prison, yet singing. The punishment hurt, but the outer circumstances did not control their lives. Their happiness and security lay within.

Faith is putting God first in your life.

When we really believe, God is placed first and there is no one and nothing else! (Matt. 6:33) Joseph is an example. (Gen. 39:9)

Faith is joyful expectation.

Looking for the best in all things. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7) Not, I'll resign myself to bear what life brings so that I can get to heaven. You've seen it, people walking about with slack faces, no expression; expecting the worse, and guess what? Faith is a positive view of the future. (Rom 8:24-25) Faith is wrapped in hope and confident God is working in your life and that good things will happen.

Faith is growth. (2 Cor. 4:16)

People are super-conscious of the aging process. Millions spent trying to cover and retard that process. Faith not that concerned with the outer, for in spiritual growth the inner person becomes more beautiful every day. (1 Pet 3:3-4)

Faith believes God is working in your life.

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:19) Romans 8:28, 31; Eph. 3:20)

The road of life has many bumps. You can get knocked down and wonder where God is. Whatever life hands out, if we hold on – we believe God is in control, and works all for our good and His glory. I always trusted Helen. I knew she would never do me harm, but only good. I knew she would always be there for me. How did I know that? I just believed – that’s faith.

This is the way it is with God, but it takes time for strong faith to grow. But faith can never develop unless you live with God. Live from within to without. Forget self and look to God.

Faith is to have a goal.

There are many goals in life. That is good and desirable provided they are honest and honorable. Bible faith has a goal that stretches into eternity. (Phil 3:7-14, 20)

Faith understands that our citizenship is in heaven, not on earth.

“Our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil 3:20)

It’s easy to be attached to this world as though we will live on earth forever. Faith understands that the earthly journey is temporary. This is not to say that we should sit and wait to die. No, indeed, we should live and enjoy life to the fullest and be productive. Only remember, you rent and don’t own.

Faith is staking your very existence on what you believe.

Moses thought long term. “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” (Heb 11:24-26)

Though it meant trouble and hardship, Moses chose to be with God and His people and ultimately eternal life, rather than immediate and temporary gratification. Faith is to recognize and joyfully accept life-giving reproofs in view of the eternal reward. “For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life.” (Prov 6:23) See also Romans 5:1-5

Faith honors God.

How? Being and becoming our very best – people of honesty, truth, and integrity.

Conclusion: Bible faith gives strong mental and emotional security and a sense of well-being. This faith can be seen in your life.

Toxic Relationships and Forgiveness

While being chased by a rabid dog, at what point do you stop running and face the dog?

I'm not sure who said that. I do know that is was at one of the Pepperdine lectureships (it's also a paraphrase of what was said) and it was in reference to running away from sin. It's always stuck with me and has created a great visual. Here you are running away from something that causes you to sin and you decided that you can face that sin. What you are really doing is allowing temptation to creep in. I think we all know what happens when we give in to temptation. So rather than facing the sin, keep running away from it.

There are also other topics and situations this little saying can relate to.

While having a discussion about forgiveness the other day, the conversation I was involved in turned to toxic relationships and getting out of them.

Forgiveness is a great thing. You can research for years on the subject. You have the forgiver, the forgiven, the need for forgiveness, the weight lifted from forgiving, the clear conscious of admitting you need to be forgiven; the list goes on and on.

While some people won't ask for forgiveness we know that it is important that we still forgive those who have sinned against us. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21,22

One issue that is hard to deal with and grasp is forgiving and moving on. I'm not talking about moving on as in forgetting what they did, that is impossible and we all deal with the memories. Only God is able and has authority to wipe the slate clean. What I am referring to is eliminating the toxic people from your life after you have forgiven them.

In the relationship of marriage, you will find abusive spouses, be it physical or emotional. The typical stories you hear in these situations is that of forgiving and jumping back into the ring. While we hope that after forgiveness there is smooth sailing, more often than not the abusive cycle begins again.

That is probably the most common example of a toxic relationship and I could show others examples if needed dealing with friends, employers, children and parents. But the point is that people fail to realize that forgiveness does not mean you need to stick around for more abuse. If the situation is taking away your power, the person is manipulating you or controlling you, it's time to get out of that situation. Nobody deserves that kind of power as it is reserved only for God. No person is worth your soul if they cause you to lose your peace, your walk with God, lead you to sin, take away your joy or your mind ultimately causing you to stumble and fall.

Before you cut ties with anyone make your feelings known to them. Explain that you are not going to allow them to become a stumbling block in your life and that you have forgiven them for any wrongs they have done to you. You may have a pleasant time moving forward with them. 

If however, they do not welcome your attempt to make peace, or if the situation is not going to be healthy for you, do as Jesus says in Luke 9 when he was instructing the apostles to go out and proclaim the kingdom of God. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them. Jesus explains that we need to cut all ties with people who won't listen and go so far as to not even have any dust on your feet from your encounter. Limited contact does not work with toxic people

Looking at another verse from the old testament, Abram and Lot Separate. Genesis 13:8,9 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

Don't worry if that seems harsh. Many people will counter with out of context scripture or even try to say (like a previous weekly message) "That's not very Christian of you". Remember that Jesus said Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth? I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Matthew 10:34-39

Remember: If you are being chased by a rabid dog, if you are being hunted down by sin, if there is a toxic person in your life, don't stop and face it. Keep running.

Fake Fronts

On June 17-18, the world's eight most powerful leaders met for the G8 summit in the village of Enniskillen, Ireland. As might be expected, the town went to great lengths to "spruce up" appearances. But in this case, they took extraordinary measures, which included fake storefronts, giving the appearance of a thriving business climate.

In reality, the entire area has suffered a terrible economic recession, causing many businesses to close their doors for over a year.  Rather than showcasing this reality, the image-conscious village leaders opted for pretension, even going as far as placing large pictures in the windows, giving the appearance of booming business.

Before we shake our heads, let's face it-- we're all guilty of this. How often do we put on appearances for others, pretending to be something we're not? How often do we paste on a smile, stating that "everything's fine", when we're dying inside? How often do we act more "spiritual" around certain people, or more positive, or more...? God's word says a lot about being the same on the inside as the outside.

1 Samuel 16:7 informs us, "People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." That's the "real" us that God sees. Jesus warns,"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them." He went as far as calling the Pharisees "whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean." (Matt 23:27)

What God really wants from us is to be real; to live in reality; not the reality of who we think we are, but the reality of who HE says we are. Not everyone will like it, but God's opinion is the only one that counts. He looks right past the fake "storefronts" we put up and sees straight into our hearts.

Taming the Tongue

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. - James 3:1-2 (NIV)

A video has been circulating that shows a Baptist preacher loosing his cool during a lesson and decides to unload on the congregation, singling out anyone who he finds fault with. The preacher obviously has passion for his flock but in doing so he also made some harsh statements that you would normally not hear from the pulpit; he decided to clean house right then and there.

The video, as of this writing, has around 1/2 million views on YouTube. There are several (hundreds of?)  blogs that are full of discussion, praise, hate and vile language about the preacher. Anti-christian groups are using it as propaganda. 

There are people who would love to have a video with that many views and the secret is not in doing something huge; "Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."

Looking at Hollywood, there are several examples of celebrities, which would not be appropriate here, who lost control of their tongue and got in trouble. Some may have said a lot and some may have only said a word or two and as a result, their career was forever ruined. 

The same is true with our spiritual lives. Jesus said "No one can serve two masters" speaking of God and money. In the same respect, James 3:9-12, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."

While I can understand his passion, this is exactly what we are warned about in James chapter 3. Without control you run the risk of getting into trouble. The largest ships, as verse 4 states, are guided by a very small rudder, but you can control the ship and steer it wherever you want it to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.

While I won't judge on motive, based on conduct, the preacher may want to teach some Bible studies on:

• Self Control
• Matthew 18:1-5 - First shall be last, last shall be first
• Matthew 18:6-9 - Causing others to stumble
• Matthew 18:15-19 - Dealing with sin in the church
• Ezekiel 34:2-4 - Feed your flock

“I know I’m right, and I know I haven’t done anything wrong,” Standridge told the Barnsdall Times. “I don’t want to offend. That’s not my intention.”

Whether you agree with Mr. Standridge or not, remember to control your tongue. It's a lot easier than doing damage control.