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January 3: The Testimony of Faith
SCRIPTURE
Hebrews 11:2 For by it the men of old gained approval.
OBSERVATION
Faith is not simply one way to please God; it is the only way.
- “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (11:6).
No matter what else we may think, say, or do for or in the name of God, it is meaningless and worthless apart from faith. It cannot possibly be approved by God.
Since the time of Adam, some men have believed in God and believed what He has said. For them life has been meaningful; it has had assurance, substance, and confidence. They did not make a blind leap of faith, but put their faith in a future reality that, because of their faith, God made certain and sure for them. And with this certainty came assurance, confidence, and hope. Believing in God gives reason for living—and for dying. Just before Stephen was stoned, “he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55). This glimpse of his Lord vindicated all he had endured for the gospel’s sake and all he was then about to suffer. He had something to live for and to die for.
UNDERSTANDING
God’s question isn’t, “Will you work harder?” It’s, “Will you believe more?”
The opening statement struck me: “Men of old gained approval from God because of their faith, and because of nothing else.” It is amazing how important faith is to God. I am reminded how Jesus identified faith. In different situations, of the million things Jesus could point out or be surprised by, it was often faith that he brought up. “Oh, you of little faith.” “Your faith has healed you.” “I have not found anyone in all Israel with such great faith.” If it’s faith Jesus is looking for and faith that gains us approval before God, it’s faith that I want!
I was reading a few days ago in the Psalms and was amazed by something David said:
Psalm 26:1
Vindicate me, Lord,
for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the Lord
and have not faltered.
David said he had led a blameless life. What?! I’ve read about David (and what the Bible says about all men). How could he claim to be blameless? The answer is found in the second half of the verse. He trusted in the Lord without faltering. Faith. Believing. This is what characterizes a life pleasing to God.
Ask God for more faith and put my trust in him!
God, I recognize I cannot manufacture faith. It is a gift from you. Would you please bless me and your church with an increased measure of faith. May we trust in you without faltering and gain approval from you because of our great faith. Amen.
January 2: The Nature of Faith
SCRIPTURE
OBSERVATION
The Assurance of Things Hoped For
In Old Testament times, men and women had to rest on the promises of God. God had told them of a coming Messiah, a Deliverer who would take away sin. He told them that one day all Israel would be made clean and be ruled by this righteous Messiah. God’s faithful believed God’s promises, as incomplete and vague as many of those promises were. They put their full trust and hope in those promises.
That is what faith is. Faith is living in a hope that is so real it gives absolute assurance. The promises given to the Old Testament saints were so real to them, because they believed God, that they based their lives on them. All the Old Testament promises related to the future—for many believers, far into the future, but the faithful among God’s people acted as if they were in the present tense. They simply took God at His word and lived on that basis. They were people of faith, and faith gave present assurance and substance to what was yet future.
Faith is not a wistful longing that something may come to pass in an uncertain tomorrow. True faith is an absolute certainty, often of things that the world considers unreal and impossible. Christian hope is belief in God against the world—not belief in the improbable against chance. If we follow a God whose audible voice we have never heard and believe in a Christ whose face we have never seen, we do so because our faith has a reality, a substance, an assurance that is unshakable.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were confronted with the choice of obeying Nebuchadnezzar, whom they could see very well, or God, whom they had never seen. Without hesitation, they chose to obey God. Man’s natural response is to trust his physical senses, to put his faith in the things he can see, hear, taste, and feel. But the child of God puts his trust in something more durable and dependable than anything he will ever experience with his senses. Senses may lie; God cannot lie.
The Conviction of Things Not Seen
Conviction of things not seen carries the same truth a bit further, because it implies a response, an outward manifestation of the inward assurance. The person of faith lives his belief. His life is committed to what his mind and his spirit are convinced is true.
Noah, for example, truly believed God. He could not possibly have embarked on the stupendous, demanding, and humanly ridiculous task God gave him without having had absolute faith. When God predicted rain, Noah had no concept of what rain was, because rain did not exist before the Flood. It is possible that Noah did not even know how to construct a boat, much less a gigantic ark. But Noah believed God and acted on His instructions. He had both assurance and conviction—true faith. His outward building of the ark bore out his inward belief that the rain was coming and that God’s plan was correct for constructing a boat that would float. His faith was based on God’s word, not on what he could see or on what he had experienced. For 120 years he preached in faith, hoped in faith, and built in faith.
UNDERSTANDING
John 20
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Scripture
John 20:17
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Observation – What does it say?
After Jesus rose from the dead, he first appeared to Mary who had come to the tomb and discovered it was empty. Jesus asks her to go tell his disciples that he is ascending to his Father. It struck me that he referred to his disciples as “my brothers” and was clear to point out that it wasn’t just his Father and his God, but also their Father and their God.
Understanding – What does it mean?
Those who believe in Jesus become adopted into his family!
Life Application
Worship God today as MY God & trust him today as MY Father.
My God, I worship and praise you! Thank you for the blood of Jesus that has washed me clean and made me acceptable to you. This was your good and perfect plan from the beginning; I worship you for it! May we see ourselves belonging to you and not on the outside, Fathered by you and not orphaned in this world. Bless us all with an awareness of your great love for us closeness to us. Amen.
– Levi Thompson
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John 19
John 18
Scripture
John 18:25
“Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”
Observation-What does it say?
Jesus was betrayed, taken prisoner, and was now being held for questioning inside the high priest’s courtyard. Peter and another disciple followed suit. Peter was asked by the lady watching the gate if he was one of Jesus’ disciples, to which Peter denied (his first denial). Then as Peter tried to blend in with the crowd, while warming himself around the fire, the people asked him if he was one of Jesus’ disciples. Peter denied it a second time. Finally, one of the household slaves who was a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off remembered Peter being there in the garden with Jesus. Peter denied it (his third denial of Jesus), and immediately a rooster crowed, just like Jesus said it would.
Understanding-What does it mean?
Jesus’ love for us is UNDENIABLE.
As I read this passage, I couldn’t help but remember how Peter swore up and down his love for Jesus. Yet here Peter is denying that he even knows Jesus… not once, but THREE TIMES!
Then I thought to myself, “What if someone who claimed to have loved me denied even knowing me?” Would I still have the same love for them as I had before? I know I would be hurt and devastated. I would have probably turned my back on that person in my life. But what does Jesus do? Not only does Jesus still have love for Peter, but he uses Peter as “the rock” on which His church will be built upon.
“Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”-Matthew 16:18 NLT
Now Peter was not the only one to deny Jesus. I mean, what happened to the rest of the disciples when Jesus was arrested? Yes, that’s right…they fled and hid for their lives! But once again Jesus demonstrates His love by not only welcoming them back, but by partnering with all of them to help build and further His Kingdom here on earth. It is a reminder to me that whenever I may feel I have failed Jesus, or feel too ashamed of my wrongdoings, He is always there to welcome me back with a love that is undeniable.
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”-Romans 8:38 NLT
Life Application
It’s not about where I am at. It is about where I am going.
Too many times we let the enemy convince us of our wrongdoings and shortcomings in life. It causes us to feel too guilty to turn to Jesus. Instead we try to run and hide from Him. What we end up doing is pushing away the One person who is always willing to help us. This undoubtedly will lead to a downward spiral in our lives that can ultimately lead to our destruction.
So why not accept His help and guidance? Jesus is willing to meet us right where we are at in our lives. There may be some disciplinary actions due to our sinful acts, but a father loves those He disciplines. Just remember that Jesus has already paid for our sins. It’s up to us to ask for His forgiveness and repent from our sinful ways. From there the sky is the limit to what He can do in our lives as we partner with Him!
Thank You Jesus for Your patience, unfailing love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Help me to not dwell on my past transgressions, which will cause me to run and hide from You. Instead help me to look forward, keep my head up, and focus on You. I pray this in Your name Jesus, Amen.
John 17
Scripture
John 17:20-21
“My prayer is not for [the Disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you”.
Because of his faithfulness to tarry with Jesus during His hour of decision at Gethsemane, John is privy to one of the most private and intimate moments of Jesus’ life as he witnesses Jesus praying for Himself, His disciples and for the believers that will come
Understanding
These verses, as well as others such as Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25, remind me that Jesus not only prayed for me when He was on earth but He also continues to intercede for me in Heaven. Though His atonement on the Cross is a finished work, Jesus is continually making intercession for me in Heaven; not for my salvation – for that work was accomplished at Calvary and imbued to when I was made alive to the gospel by Holy Spirit – but for my sanctification and in my defense against the Accuser who would slander me before the Throne of God. Because Jesus prays to the Father on my behalf, I have the hope of receiving strength when I am weak, comfort when I am hurting, peace when I am troubled, wisdom when I need counsel, faith when I am doubting and healing when I am sick. Because Jesus lives to intercede for me, I can accept Paul’s invitation to, “…approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that [I] may receive mercy and find grace to help [me] in [my] time of need”. (Hebrews 4:16)
Life Application
John 16
Scripture
John 16:1, 33
1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away.
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Observation
John 16 continues Jesus’ farewell sermon to the disciples. He warns them of the troubles to come, what they can expect in His absence; but He also provides hope – letting them know “the Advocate” will come in His place, He would visit them again at His resurrection, that He will provide peace, that He is returning to his Father and, finally, that despite worldly troubles, they will have peace for He has overcome the world.
Understanding
Beginnings and endings are powerful things.
In this farewell discourse, Jesus begins and ends with hope and intention and encouragement. He shares openly about what will come so His disciples will not be surprised, caught off guard and, ultimately, so “that [they] will not fall away.” I think this shows God’s heart and consistency with us as His children. Though we may go through ups and downs, He desires that we stay the course.
And then, as He ends His farewell, He reminds us again “you will have trouble;” but, along with those expected troubles, we are reminded of His strength, His peace and His victory.
Life Application
Dear Lord, thank you for sending your Son. Thank you setting fair and honest expectations of our walk as Christ-followers…that, yes, there will be trouble. But, in that trouble, we are never alone, never forsaken. Thank you for encouraging us, for sending your Holy Spirit to us, for allowing us to feel your presence…that we may know your peace, we may experience your victory. And, most of all, thank you for the cross that makes all of these things possible.
May we live victoriously, live peacefully, live honestly…in a way that refreshes the spirits of those around us. Use us! Give us opportunities to share your love and your Word with those around us today…so that many more may come to know your peace and victory!
In your name, I pray. Amen.
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– Rei
John 15
Scripture
John 15:27
And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
Observation – What does it say?
Jesus is having his last conversation with his disciples before he will be arrested and taken from them. In this conversation he goes back and forth between comforting and teaching them. He says in these couple verses that he will send the Holy Spirit from the Father to them and the Holy Spirit will testify about Jesus. And, Jesus says to his disciples that they must testify as well.
Understanding – What does it mean?
Jesus expects those who have been with him to share about him with others.
2 Corinthians 5:17
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” The primary role for every Christian is a fisherman. Jesus’ desire is to make us all into fishermen. The primary purpose for which we are on this earth is to catch lost souls and bring them into the kingdom. Are we living on purpose?
Life Application
Testify! Not only is it an amazing privilege to be used by God to save others, but it is a great responsibility.
John 14
John 13
Scripture
John 13: 34-35
“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
Observation-What does it say?
Jesus knows that his time in the world was soon coming to an end, and that he would be retuning to his Father in Heaven. So Jesus spends his last night with his disciples, eating with them, and washing their feet. Jesus was demonstrating to the very end the love he has for them. And now before he leaves them, Jesus instructs them with one final command, to love each other the way he has loved them.
Understanding-What does it mean?
If we as Christ Followers are called to love the way Jesus did, we must love blindly and unconditionally.
As I read this chapter, I am in awe of how loving Jesus is. Jesus knew who He was, where He came from, and where He was going. Still, Jesus had no sense of entitlement about Him. He served humbly all those in need, and willingly laid down His life for all. Jesus especially demonstrated this love the night He washed His disciples feet. I mean here was God in the flesh, and here He was in a lowly servant’s position washing His disciples feet. Not only that, but Jesus was still willing to wash the feet of Judas…the one who was going to betray Him! He shared an intimate dinner with Judas, and He washed his feet. He showed the same love to Judas, as He showed to the rest of His disciples. Now that is what I call a blind and unconditional love! How many of us can do that?
“But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”-1 John 4:8 NLT
Life Application
“If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:46-48 NLT
I try to remind myself of this verse every time I find myself heading down the path of anger and revenge towards the “unloveable”. I’m not going to lie, but it is something I struggle with. I tend to lean towards cursing my enemy instead of blessing them. It’s something I know God is trying to work in and through me as we speak. Doing today’s Soul Journal is a great reminder for me that I am far from perfect, and that I need to abide with the Holy Spirit in order to overcome this fault of mine.