31 Days of Devotionals Day 6: Faith

 

Day 6 Faith

“Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” -Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)

“Without Faith, it is impossible to please God.” -Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)

 

Today’s devotion focuses on Faith. If we look at Hebrews chapter 11, we get a good working definition of Faith and the reason we need it. In this chapter, we also have the hall of the “Heroes of the Faith”. These heroes trusted God for the promises that he had given them, starting way back when Abel offered a “more excellent sacrifice” to God than Cain did. Faith is something we believe in and feel in our hearts; more accurately, it is in our minds and our souls. When we learn of the promises of God, the Holy Spirit of God convicts us of our sinful state. We make an active choice to repent (to turn from our sin, do a 180° or about-face to put it into military terminology), or we resist the conviction and prompting of the Holy Spirit, it is essential to note that when we are sinning, if someone points out our sin, this can feel like they are judging us, this is far from the truth. When we see someone sinning, we are absolutely called to present them with the facts that they are doing so, but we are to do so in LOVE. I have often heard people quote Matthew 7:1 to the tune of, 'You are judging me; you aren’t supposed to judge.' Nothing could be further from the truth. We are not to judge, not the person, but their works, their actions, but we must be careful when we do this because we will be judged by whatever standard that we judge their actions, as found in the continuing verses, 2-3. Then we receive a stern warning from Jesus about the consequences of judging without first addressing the sins in our own lives.

We all have a measure of faith. Romans 12:3 says the following: For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. Think about this, we go to bed at night and lay our heads on the pillow, we have faith that we will wake up in the morning. We get on an airplane; we have faith that the pilot knows how to fly it, is sober, not on drugs, and can fly us safely from point A to point B. I could go on and on with examples. Hebrews 11 specifically addresses the question of where or whom we put our faith in. Every one of these “Heroes” of the faith put their faith in God and His word, or in Jesus and His Words. If you haven’t already done this, will you do it now? If you have, but you are feeling down and struggling to maintain your faith in Christ, will you renew your commitment to Him, turn away from your sins, and commit to follow Him wherever He leads you?

 

Questions to reflect on:

1.      What or whom have I put my faith in?
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2.      Am I willing to put or recommit to my faith in Jesus and follow Him wherever He may lead me?

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3.      If you answered that second question with a yes, jump down to the prayer section immediately, please. If you answered no, what is honestly holding you back? Honestly evaluate your life and list here what it would take you to put your faith in Jesus?

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Prayer:

Dear Father God, please help me to commit to following Jesus. I (insert your name here) desire to repent from my sin and put my faith in Jesus's saving name, blood, death, and resurrection. Please give me the strength to take up my cross daily and follow Him. To love you above all and to love my neighbor as myself. If I struggle with self-esteem issues, God, help me to love myself and see myself as you love and see me, for only then, when I love you with all of my heart, strength, soul, and mind, can I love my neighbor as myself. In Jesus' name, Amen.