On Sunday, Tom spoke about faith. He defined it in negative terms--by the things that faith is not. Faith is not about being certain about the outcome. Faith is not about twisting God's arm to do our will. Faith is not about removing all doubt or fear. Faith is not about wishing for the best.

So what is it? Tom suggested this: Faith is a commitment to trust God. Interesting. It's a commitment--not to trust that all will be ok, nor to trust in our own good decisions or council. It's not about trusting in anything other than the God we have come to know as utterly worthy of our trust.

I re-read the 11th chapter Hebrews where the faith of generations of Biblical characters is reviewed. I noticed, this time, how many times an action verb was used to describe their faith.

By faith, Abraham went...Noah built...Rahab hid the spies...Moses refused his identity and chose the people of God...Joseph instructed that his bones be taken out of Egypt...the people of Israel passed through the read sea...

Faith is clearly about action, even in the face of very uncertain circumstances. So isn't that just foolishness? If our faith were in our own wisdom, strength or character, it would be foolish indeed. But our faith is in a God who has proven his character to be unshakable. He has shown us his perfect justice and his unsearchable love through the cross. He has earned our trust, though He didn't need to, and he has also demonstrated his love, though we didn't seek it and often don't return it. Our faith can be a bold action verb because He is there to catch us, to walk before us, to live within us. There is nowhere we can go where He is absent. Faith is never foolish when the object of our faith is Christ.

Psalm 91:4 "His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."

Take aways

It has been a while since I've been able to post because of the job situation, but yesterday I spent some time reading and I thought I'd share some take aways. I read both in Colossians and from a book by Warner Wiersbe called Be Complete, which is a commentary on Colossians. Just a few random thoughts from both:

I was struck by this statement, which defines faith according to Scripture: "Faith is not mental assent to a body of doctrines, no matter how true those doctrines may be. Faith is not emotional concern. Faith is commitment to Jesus Christ." Did you catch that? Commitment. Not belief in or respect for Jesus Christ. Commitment to Jesus Christ. There's action in this.

The next statement that stood out to me expounds on this idea. Wiersbe told about a missionary who was translating the Bible and struggled to find the right translation for the word "believe." He finally got it. It means "to lean your whole weight upon." So faith is about not just about believing or hoping for good things from the Universe. It's about staking your life on Jesus Christ, leaning your whole weight on him, committing fully to him.

The other thing that struck me as I read was Wiersbe's discussion of "false teachers." He noted that false teachers always work where there is already an established group of believers. Their purpose is to entice people to follow them and their new and better revelation. Weirsbe says, "We are not to make disciples for ourselves, but for Jesus Christ."

My devotion reading this morning said something similar. It comes from Corinthians:

"He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." —1 Corinthians 1:8–9

1st thing that jumps out at me: GOD WILL DO THIS for He is FAITHFUL. (Ah, what a relief!)

2nd thing: "Partnership with Jesus Christ" Wow. What a thought!? Partnership? In what kind of business? In the business of reconciling the world to himself, of course. That's a pretty amazing thought, isn't it? How am I participating in his work? AM I participating? What am I doing as his partner to redeem the world, to bring hope, to set people free, to care for the poor, the widow and orphan, and to show his love to others?

Epaphras got this. Otherwise, there would have been no Colossian church. If he were like these false teachers, he would have stayed in Ephesus, where he had worked with Paul, and worked on building his own kingdom in Paul's absence. He was a partner with Jesus. And his heart was all about keeping the focus on Jesus. He wanted to be sure the Colossians continued to lean their whole weight upon Jesus--and nothing else. It's a good caution, isn't it? Is our leadership all about getting people to follow us--or to follow Christ?