I was fishing with a few friends on a lake in Scotland. I was reading a book about the invisible Kingdom. I read a passage from the book to my fishing buddies, how faith reaches into the unseen and brings what we need into the seen. As soon as I finished reading the passage, a trout jumped out of the water, landed into the boat and flopped down to my feet. We all were suddenly aware a Kingdom principle was being supernaturally highlighted. We were stunned. I was the only one who caught a fish that day. Faith is the action that pulls what we need into the now.
Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees,
And looks to God alone;
Laughs at impossibilities,
And cries it shall be done.
Charles Wesley
Faith believes that God is, and that He is good. He rewards those who seek Him. Our ultimate reward is knowing Him.
Measures of faith:
For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. Romans 12:3 NAS
Everyone has a measure of faith. All of us are given talents and treasures that are to be used / stewarded to encourage others.
The Exercise of faith: Faith grows as we exercise our faith; as we put our faith into action. To exercise our faith we speak promises, wait, stand fast, pray, worship, serve, go, love and hang on.
Sometimes active faith is exercised when we find ourselves in difficult situations when we actively hang on, or wait, or stand firm.
It is not the strength of our hand holding on to God that keeps us safe.
It is the strength of God's hand holding on to us that keeps us safe and maintains our salvation. Adam Vaughn
In a moment I realized faith is spelled trust. I understood that I wasn't hanging on to God, He was hanging on to me. My daily reading that day was about faith being spelled trust, when I decided to trust, faith entered my heart. Later that day I received a phone call from a friend and I had a job. I was able to phone my family and give them the good news of God's faithfulness.
Faith is trust…We trust only those whom we know and love.
Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present, and the invisible as seen. There is no such thing as faith without trust. Trust may be defined as resting on the integrity or friendship of another. To trust someone is to have confidence in; to rely on them. Trust is effortless confidence based on the character of the one in whom trust is given. True faith always issues in full trust. In relation to God, it is the trust in his Love and his trustworthiness and power, it is a calm confidence in his moral character.
Hebrews 10:23 Phillips
In this confidence (trust) let us hold on to the hope that we profess without the slightest hesitation—for he is utterly dependable.
Jesus spoke to his disciples and told them to stop being perpetually anxious and worried about their lives.
Why? Your heavenly Father knows you need all these things.
Unbelief: Jesus marveled at unbelief.
Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household." And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief. Mark 6:4-5 NIV
Unbelief is one of the elements that robs us of our faith. The question, "In whom do I not believe?"
With God all things are possible. That's the key phrase, with God.
Without God impossible, with God all things are possible.
Great faith: Jesus marveled at great faith.
The centurion said, "Just say the word and my servant will be made whole." He understood authority; the power of a command, and understood who Jesus really was. He believed that when Jesus spoke, His word of authority would bring healing to his servant.
Jesus often asked questions, "What do you want?" He would often then say, "Be it according to your faith."
He responded to corporate faith. Four friends brought their friend into the house through the roof. Seeing their determined active faith he stated, "Rise and take up your pallet.Your (all you all's) faith has made you whole."
When Jesus faced difficult situations He removed the negative people, cleared the environment, and created an atmosphere of faith.
Faith feeds on the promises of God. Faith feeds on the pledged word of God and flourishes in the atmosphere of His presence. The presence of God is the atmosphere of faith. J.O. Sanders Effective Faith
Where Jesus is present, there is faith.
Faith speaks:
And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Mark 11:22NIV
The woman with the issue of blood had suffered much. She heard that Jesus was passing by. Her need and her faith moved her to seek Jesus; to press through the crowd and to touch the hem of His garment. As she was pushing through the crowd she was continually saying to herself, "If I can just touch the hem of his garment, if I can just touch the hem of his garment, if I can just touch the hem of his garment I will be made whole. She touched His hem and power flowed from the source of all healing. She was made whole.
Faith grows by being occupied with who God is and with what He has spoken. J.O.Sanders Effective Faith
Faith is like eyesight.
Open my ears that I might hear,
Open my heart that I may believe,
Who you really are, who you really are.
Spontaneous Song Steve Bowen
Faith works best when God's love is flowing.
God's love for us, awakens love in us. Mike Bickle Passion for Jesus
It is the love for God which inspires our faith.
Love is faith, for love believes all things.
And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1Cor 13:13 NIV
The only thing that counts, is faith expressing itself through love. Gal 5:6 NIV
When we receive God's love for us, His love releases faith in us, so that we can express His love to others. That's why it is so important to open our hearts to His love.
We love because He first loved us. I John 4:19 NIV
I am a recovering non-hugger. I am now learning how to hug people into wholeness. I hug until I feel love flow. When love flows sometimes people are restored. Almost every time people feel loved.
The other week I was able to help a homeless man. We had a great conversation. I discovered he had HIV and bone cancer. I prayed for him. I also began to speak into who he was. That he wasn't defined by HIV or cancer, but he was defined by who Jesus saw him and said him to be, a son of the Father. We both wept as I hugged Him. The hug was one of those healing hugs, where you can sense love and healing flow. It came from a source somewhere deep inside of me. The love of the Father released faith to flow into this mans heart in order to bring the emotional healing he needed.
Faith always works best in an atmosphere filled with God's love.
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