FAITH

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FAITH
Part 2

BIBLE STUDIES (Newest ones are last)
	Part 1: Faith
	Expect With Desire
	I Can Never Have Enough Faith
	Want Power?
	Not Enough Faith

12/2/09 Expect With Desire

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1

I did a study on this verse a long time ago, eleven years ago to be exact. This time I want to go a little deeper. I looked up some of the words in this verse in my concordance.

Substance: existence
Hoped for: expected with desire
Evidence: conviction

It is exciting to me when I substitute those words for the original words:
Faith is the existence of things expected with desire,
the conviction of things not seen.

When I was going through my.....let's see, I need to name it something so I don't have to go into detail for you over and over. It was my Death Valley, a desert experience where I felt like it was the death of all I knew about God. From July 2006-October 2009 I was on sabbatical from the Clarion Call because I was in my own personal Death Valley.

Looking back, I can see where I still had faith even though I allowed myself fleeting thoughts of wondering if there really was a God. I had gone through such a traumatic experience when I thought my strong faith had blown up in my face that I felt like I lost all faith.

The whole time I knew that there was a God. I couldn't look at trees or flowers and not know there was a God. There wasn't one second I even pondered whether the universe was created by the "Big Bang". It was obvious that it was created by the greatest Architect of all.

I don't know if I ever mentioned this before, but it is worth mentioning again. It is a reflection on the "Big Bang" theory and those people who are wasting their time studying it.

What makes more sense:
Nothing took nothing and made everything
or
God took nothing and made everything
?

I had written the article Mental Memorial Altars just before my "Death Valley". That concept was buried deep within me. When my mind would try to say that there was no God and I just imagined everything I could easily push the thought away. When I was a young believer I had already had those thoughts and God had proven Himself to me. I knew that I had been hard to convince the first time, but He had convinced me. Why should I have to go through that again? There was no reason.

In spite of the fact it felt like I had lost my faith, I didn't lose it. I didn't fail the faith test. I had the "conviction of things not seen" deep in my heart. Yes, my faith wavered, but it didn't fall and it didn't crack.

If the things that you "expect with desire" align with those things that God wants then you can have complete "conviction" that those things which you don't see right now will actually happen. I want to warn you, though, the results may not be what you "expect" because they will be what God wants.

I learned a valuable lesson. I see things through my own experiences and my own understanding. Sometimes God's idea about something and my idea about something seem like polar opposites. So, even though we are expecting something with desire knowing that God also desires it that doesn't mean the end result will be just as we imagine it.

Why does God make things so difficult? Why can't He just come right out and explain things to us so we know exactly what to expect? I don't know. I do know one thing. If I continue to offer myself to Him for Him to use me for his purposes then He will do that. When a thing I expected with desire comes out messed up then I know that I was the one who didn't have it exactly right in my head.

God uses it in spite of me. The mistakes I feel I have made when I thought I was following His will probably weren't mistakes. I have to believe that He will use everything I did in faith for His purposes. As it usually happens, as time goes on I get a glimpse into why things happened as they did.

The conclusion is that faith is a hard thing. It is believing in things we cannot see. It is standing on a rock that we cannot feel beneath our feet. It takes work to get our faith strong enough that it doesn't waver. We must be full to overflowing with the Word. We must have a relationship with the Lord. We must know who Jesus was and what He did for all of us.

Link to 12/2/09 welcome message

7/1/11 I Can Never Have Enough Faith

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
Hebrews 11:6

Oh, woe is me! I can never have enough faith. Look at the examples I have to live up to:

Abraham
"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went."
Heb 11:8

Sarah
"Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised."
Heb 11:11

Then there are others in that chapter of Hebrews. How can I ever live up to the example they set? All is lost!

OK, here's where it gets strange. I start to talk to myself.

Don't despair, Kay! Read about Abraham in the Old Testament. Check out what he did:
In Genesis 12:13, after God had promised to make out of Abraham a great nation, Abraham feared for his life. He told Sarah to pretend to be his sister. He did it again in chapter 20. This was after what was written in 15:6, "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."

But, what about Sarah? Surely she must have had strong faith.

No, Kay, not always. Look at chapter 16 of Hebrews. She decided that God didn't mean she would have a child and she gave her maid, Hagar, to Abraham so God could fulfill His promise through Hagar. Then, in verse 18:12 of Genesis Sarah actually laughed at the thought of having a child. Have you ever laughed at God?

No, never. That would be disrespectful.

Exactly. Sarah did and still Hebrews 11:11 says:
"Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised."

Go read the Old Testament stories. It will teach you more about what God expects and wants. Through it you will see how God honors that "mustard seed" of faith (Matt 17:20) you have. You, too, could be considered by God a person of great faith.

The Old Testament heroes were not perfect, but they were still heroes.

If you don't read your Bible you won't know as much about God and His heart as you should. Read read read! The words in the Bible are alive! They are not old words, they are words for today and tomorrow!!

Thanks, Kay. You are welcome, Kay.

Link to 7/1/11 welcome message

12/17/15 Want Power?

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."
Eph 3:20-21

Over the years I have done quite a few Bible studies out of the book of Ephesians. In my Bible I have underlined, highlighted, and made notations all over Ephesians. It is full of gooood stuff!

As I read verse 20 I am reading about a God who is able to do much more than we ask or think. That's not the part that excites me the most. When I read he is able to do it "according to the power that worketh in us" I want to shout!

We have the power in us to do great things! Over and over I read in my Bible that we have power in us. It takes faith to use that power.

To be inspired read Hebrews chapter 11. Faith is the key. Yet, faith is a difficult thing. How can we have faith in a God we can't see, hear, touch, or smell? I can't hand you faith even though I have it. Faith in God is something that each person has to obtain on their own.

First you need to want to have it. Then you need to ask God to help you have it. In Mark 9:23-24 when the father of a child with an evil spirit was told by Jesus he needed to believe the father asked Jesus to help his unbelief. In other words, he asked for help to have faith.

God wants us to have faith. He wants us to know that He is real. He WILL help you to believe. Ask Him. Beg Him. Wait for it. It will come!

Once you have that faith, if you don't believe that you have special power through Him, pray for more faith. You are supposed to be a part of the Body of Christ. You are supposed to be doing a job that will help the Kingdom of God come to this earth.

It is important that we be connecting with the other members of the Body. I've been praying for a long time to find a church that will embrace the gifts I've been given and will let me work with the other people in the church to unite the Body.

I have seen where God wanted to do powerful miracles through believers but they didn't happen due to the unbelief in the witnesses. I believe that, had the father of the child with the evil spirit had said he didn't believe then Jesus wouldn't have made the evil spirit leave the child.

If there is nobody around that will benefit from a miracle then the miracle won't happen. God will move on and leave those people simmering in their doubt. It's a very sad thing. Have you ever wondered why there aren't more miracles taking place? It all boils down to faith. Where is the faith?

Link to 12/17/15 welcome message

1/14/16 Not Enough Faith

"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."
Mark 9:23-24

In the last study I mentioned this scripture in reference to having faith. God knows our limitations and weaknesses. He knows that it is difficult, if not downright impossible, for us to believe something we cannot see, touch, smell, hear, or taste.

Mat 17:19-20: "Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

So, unbelief is what prevents miracles from taking place. Have you ever noticed that there are very few documented miracles? One day, a few years ago, I searched and searched on the Internet for proof that miracles were taking place. After all, there are a lot of people who probably have greater faith than I do. I didn't find one.

Having an analytical mind I have difficulty believing things without proof. I don't forward emails that have warnings unless I go check to see if they are true. When I hear a "conspiracy theory" I don't believe it as it is only a THEORY.

So, how did I come to believe so strongly that there is a God? Way back in the early 1970's I began to pray for proof. I very much wanted to believe, but needed some proof to make sure I wasn't falling for a theory.

It was then that I read an article in the newspaper about the Shroud of Turin. It's the piece of fabric that looks like it has the reverse image of a man on it. That was the proof I needed. Since then there has been some doubt raised that it actually was Jesus' image due to carbon-dating. However, once I had that "proof" for myself I jumped wholeheartedly into reading my Bible.

Since that time God has proved His existence to me over and over. I just needed that first kick in the pants to jump-start my belief. He knew what I needed. He knows what you need, too. If you aren't sure then pray pray pray. It is important for each of us to strengthen our belief. I have a license plate holder that says, "If you believe there is no God you'd better be right!" After all, if eternity in either heaven or hell is the choice God is offering compared to the other option of ceasing to exist altogether shouldn't we find out which is true?

Going back to miracles such as moving a mountain. As I prayed to have the faith that God wanted me to have since I obviously had less than a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20: "...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. ") He showed me something.

Everything is made up of molecules. Molecules are made up of atoms. Why can you pass your hand through water and not through a wall? It is the arrangement of those miniscule particles. What is to prevent God from disassembling a mountain into gaseous particles and reassembling it somewhere else? What is to prevent God from aligning my particles so that the spaces in between them lines up with the solid particles in a wall so I can walk through the wall?

What is to prevent God from disassembling cancer cells and reassembling them as normal cells? Was Jesus a liar? He said nothing shall be impossible if we have enough faith. So, if it takes a kick in the pants to jump start our faith then lets get that kick!

God knows what it will take to help your unbelief. I've got a story about a miracle. OK, so it was a small miracle, but it was still a miracle! Check it out: Nothing Wavering

Link to 1/14/16 welcome message

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