Promises – Love Never Fails

Exactly one year ago, on October 27th 2020, we spoke together about how faith is a risk. One year later in the year of 2021 a lot has occurred in just that short amount of time. I cannot
fathom enough how important faith truly is. Faith is SO important to God, and I feel the Spirit of
the Lord leading me today to express that.

As always, the Word of God is the best place to go to explain:
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by
it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the
universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of
things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than
Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by
accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch
was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had
taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.”
(Hebrews 11:1-5, ESV)

Hebrews chapter 11 is an extraordinary example of how many have led their walk with
God in faith. It also shows how walking out in this faith is rewarding, especially with your
relationship with God the Father. I couldn’t recommend enough to thoroughly read
Hebrews 11 in it’s full context for yourself. Whether you haven’t read it yet, or need a
refresher. It will encourage you to keep contending!

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to
God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
(Hebrews 11:6, ESV)

Are we not a people that want to be pleasing to God? Do you want to be a sweet aroma
(Song of Solomon 4:11) to God? When you approach God, how is it that you want to
present yourself? How will He see you? Did you know faith is a spiritual gift? (1
Corinthians 12:9)

Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.” (John
14:1, ESV). When Jesus left the earth and ascended to heaven He promised us
something. He exclaimed that the reason He left was to prepare a place for us. A home
with no more crying, no more pain, no more thirst. At this new home we will have
everything we need. We will no longer need to worry about tomorrow.

Sounds like a beautiful promise right? Yet to attain this promise Jesus made it very
clear. We must have faith. Jesus explained to Thomas, “I am the Way, and the Truth,
and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6, ESV). You may not understand faith right away and faith may seem a bit risky, but it is your faith
that will save you (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is your faith that will heal you (Mark 5:34; Acts
3:16). Your faith will secure you (Proverbs 20:28), make you righteous (Romans 3:22), it
will strengthen you (Romans 4:20), and most importantly, give peace between you and
God (Romans 5:1)!

The most important thing you could ever have faith in is Jesus.
“Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Phillip? Whoever has seen
me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9, ESV). Do you recognize who Jesus is? If so, He is asking you today to have faith in Him. Without Him, there is no salvation. You will not inherit the promises of the coming kingdom. I promise.

“A significant amount of risk is involved in trusting God in all things, relationships, choices, and decisions. Risk, after all, is part of the very nature of faith.”

It can be hard to fathom faith and what it entails.

To have faith can be defined as, complete trust or confidence in someone or something. & in our case, this some-One is God.

For some this is easy and for other this is daunting. Jesus did mention, “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:14, NKJV) Meaning, there are many paths and options we are allowed to take. There are many roads that are available that seem pleasing to the eye, but they may lead to destruction.

“Not every opportunity is a good one. And with even greater certainty I can tell you, not all of them are sent by God. “
Passion & Purpose – Charles F. Stanley

Which is why following Jesus despite what it may look like in the moment is so important. We must think to ourselves, ‘will this glorify the Lord?’, ‘will this lead others to Jesus?’, ‘will this veer me away?’, ‘is this a distraction?’, and foremost ‘did I pray about this situation and wait on a response?‘.

Many hear the saying, “Faith not sight”, and miscue this for it being “blind faith”. Except, this isn’t the case at all. True Christians are not blindly following their Shepherd. In fact, they are provided with all that they need.

‘Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ‘ (Matthew 6:26, NKJV)

God’s plan for your life (yes you) is to provide you with peace, a future, and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Do you think a Father who wishes this for you would just throw you into a pack of wolves with no solution or way out? Absolutely not, that is not who God is.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
Psalms 119:105, NKJV

If you have read my previous posts, you should know that we have two things that God has gifted us: His Word and Prayer. Briefly, His Word is one of the ways He speaks His truth to us. His lessons lie within the text. Everything we need to know is in the very pages of the Bible. Prayer, is a direct landline to the Father. You can call on Him when ever and where ever you need His assistance. Both are tools within this realm to help us and others for the benefit of His kingdom.

There is also something else or I should say some-One else we are gifted by believing. The Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit!

“the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:17, NKJV)

1 John 5:6-12 (KJV)

This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
For there are three who testify{Only a few recent manuscripts add “in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that testify on earth”}:
the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three agree as one.
If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is God’s testimony which he has testified concerning his Son.

He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who doesn’t believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son.

The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn’t have God’s Son doesn’t have the life.

Once we believed we changed. God intervened on our behalf and did the impossible. Well, what would have been impossible for us, but for God nothing is impossible (Jeremiah 32:27). With His Holy Spirit as our helper, guide, encourager, interceder, and more (forever), we have more than we need.

Yet, it isn’t all about the gifts we have in this life, no. God even went above and beyond that.

As you just read from 1 John, we are citizens of God’s kingdom, with Him, for eternity.

Therefore, we are not blind even though we cannot see. Faith without seeing does not make us foolish for believing. It is actually the opposite. Did you know that non-belief is actually evil in the eyes of God? “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12, NKJV).

Faith in Jesus Christ may be a risk, but it is not a risk that will put us in danger or harm us. He is the way The Way, The Truth, The Life.

‘“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”’ (John 14:1-4, NKJV)

NO ONE can enter the kingdom of God without going through/believing in Jesus Christ.

Are we willing to take on the risk?

I pray that you already have, and if not, today is your day, because unfortunately, all the other paths are going to lead you where you never thought they would.

Choose life.

Love Never Fails

Tag: Promises

By Faith

Faith Is A Risk

1 John 5:6-12 (KJV)