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Faith: Firm, Fixed, and Final!?


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#1 Thinker

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 04:47 AM

Faith is not something that we "feel." Faith, or to trust, is essentially a decision. I trust that a chair will hold me and I sit in it. That usually works but not always. I trust a person and they never betray my trust. I trust someone else and they do betray me. I trust that I'm right and later find that I was wrong. This kind of faith is dependent on the reliability of who or what I trust. Biblical faith is firm, fixed and final because it trusts One Who never fails. Sometimes a person will "feel" that God has failed him or her, since He didn't respond the way that it was "felt" that He should. True faith decides to believe that God knows best even when He doesn't do what we urgently want Him to do. Is this blind faith? It would be, except for the fact that our faith (trust) is based on the inspired, infallible Scriptures. Remember that the Bible is the voice of God speaking to the heart of man. Romans 10:17 states, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." It would, therefore, behoove us to thoroughly consider all the information available to lead us to the conclusion that the Word of God is obviously God inspired and without error. After all, when we receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we do it based on the absolute Truth of His Word and we stake our eternal destiny on its reliability. We decide that we will trust His Word unconditionally. Biblical faith is a decision to trust that is firm, fixed and final. I will trust God, no matter what! Studying, learning, and applying Scripture will confirm that our decision was the eternally right decision. The Bible validates itself to the one who totally trusts it.  "Living by Faith," a hymn by James Wells describes this kind of faith, "I care not today what the morrow may bring, if shadow or sunshine or rain. The Lord, I know ruleth o'er everything, and all of my worry is vain. Tho' tempests may blow and storm-clouds arise, obscuring the brightness of life, I'm never alarmed at the overcast skies; The Master looks on at the strife. I know that He safely will carry me thro', no matter what evils betide. Why should I then care, tho' the tempest may blow, if Jesus walks close to my side. Living by faith in Jesus above; trusting, confiding in His great love; Safe from all harm in His sheltering arm, I'm living by faith and feel no alarm." Selah! The Written Word reveals the Living Word, Jesus. Jesus, the Living Word, is the source of the Written Word. If we trust the Bible, we trust Him with our lives and futures.   Thinker  (Ron)


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#2 Charles Miles

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Posted 22 September 2015 - 11:36 AM

A few nights ago I wasn`t sleepy at a rather late hour, so I watched and listened to a documentary.."Exodus: Fact or Myth".  I expected to learn a bit of archeology and history, but I was confronted by a mass of total confusion instead.

 

Several well known and respected Rabbinical teachers, who are rabbis and historians, spoke on the subject of the historical migration of the Hebrews into Egypt, the 400 or so years they were there, and the Exodus. Wow!  How can a Jewish Rabbi say that the Exodus never happened, the Jews were never in Egypt, never were freed from slavery, and never took Caanan?  "The Exodus never happened as depicted in the Bible, but it is not important because our religion is just our faith and history has no part in it".  If the Exodus is not taught at the Univ of Tel Aviv, the Passover meal is "just something a our ancestors did so we do it also simply as a tradition", parting of the Red Sea, manna, Miriba, battle of Jericho, punishment of Egypt, Moses, and all the history is false.....how can these "teachers" consider anything to be a Jewish nation?  What exactly do they have faith in? In the view expressed in the documentary, all that history is fake, God is a liar, Jesus(who spoke of Moses) was also a liar, there is no Israel, and Christianity is fake!! Again and again they spoke of their faith as being separate from history, or lack of it, yet professed to be practicing Jews.

 

Well, I didn`t get much sleep, but I did spend a good deal of time in prayer.  I bring this up after reading what Thinker wrote about faith and what we have faith in. These men dismissed all the happenings in and around the time of the Exodus as just too fantastic to be explainable, so it never happened, yet they claim "faith". Do we have faith that the word of our God is true? Do we have faith that God can do things that are supernatural? How can one have faith in a God that is not so much bigger than we can possibly imagine? Faith to me is believing God will do and HAS DONE all that He says. Can it be less?


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#3 daburkett

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Posted 24 September 2015 - 10:19 AM

The dogma for our modern secular world (especially those influenced by western civilization) is to pick and choose what we believe. I watched a lecture by an Indian apologist, Vishal Mangalwadi, where he compared common spirituality today with pizza. We pick our beliefs (toppings) out of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Secularism, and more. Whatever we like, what ever makes us feel good today (right now!) makes the "best" pizza or spirituality.

 

One of the greatest challenges to me is realizing that some of the "greatest potential" youth group/church attenders that we labor with have very strange beliefs. They like concepts they get from Yoga or Hinduism. They love the idea of "love" and don't know what the benefit of tough love is. They think science is critically important to everything. They think they can measure success or define what it is (i.e. human terms or even spiritually with suffering when they don't understand God's plan may involve fruitful suffering). In BIble study, they think that things are allegorical (asking is it reasonable that the Tent of Meeting was ever moved?).

 

I posted this because I have been fighting with (trying to have Christ's attitude toward) this modern belief. Because whether Jew or Christian or other, this is increasingly the mindset we work among.


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#4 Thinker

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Posted 24 September 2015 - 05:11 PM

This is where we must stand fast on Bible grounded faith. If we have absolute trust in God's Word and give solid reasons why, it's contagious. As to being compassionate with those who are like you describe, yes, be compassionate in the sense of correction and instruction in righteousness. (See II Timothy 3:16). His best! Thinker (Ron)

#5 Candice

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Posted 25 September 2015 - 06:03 PM

Hi All!

 

I believe that David Wilkerson's devotional for today touches on this topic?

 

Thursday, September 24, 2015

 

  
THE CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF

 

The hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them . . . until all the generation of the men . . . were wasted out from among the host (Deuteronomy 2:15, 14). Here is some of the strongest language in all the Bible regarding unbelief.

You may say, But that isnt the language of grace. God doesnt deal that severely with unbelief today. Not true. The Bible says that today, under grace, without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

This sin of unbelief cannot be isolated to a single issue in our lives. It spills over into everything, tainting and defiling every detail of our walk.

Israels doubt wasnt just limited to Gods ability to slay their enemies. Their doubt spilled over into their trust for daily provisions. They doubted Gods ability to protect their children. They doubted whether He would lead them into the Promised Land. They doubted that He was even with them. Thats why God told them, Turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness . . . for I am not among you (Deuteronomy 1:40, 42).

If we have unbelief in one area, it spreads into every area, defiling our whole heart. We may trust God in certain matters, such as believing He saves us by faith, that Hes all powerful, that His Spirit abides in us. But do we trust Him for our future? Do we believe Him to provide for our health and finances, to give us victory over sin?

Unbelief leads to the sin of presumption. To presume is to dare to think we know whats right. Its an arrogance that says, I know the way, and then acts on its own.

Here is yet another sin that Israel committed in its unbelief. When God told them to turn back to the wilderness, they didnt want to obey. Instead, they came to Moses and said, Okay, we sinned. But weve got it figured out now. Were ready to obey Gods command to go up against the enemy. And they took matters into their own hands.

Many doubting believers make a tragic mistake in a significant way: When they fail in a matter of faith, they turn to the flesh. They do what they think must be done, but they proceed in their own wisdom and skill. Faith always resists acting in fear and waits for God to work. Faith is never willing to make something happen by going ahead of God.

Posted by  World Challenge


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#6 Thinker

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Posted 26 September 2015 - 04:58 AM

Candice, Very true! Thinker (Ron)