Tuesday, February 5, 2008

FAITH


What is faith? The writer of the Book of Hebrews tells us that 'It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.' (Hebrews 11.1).

My faith is very simple. Briefly stated, I believe that the whole of creation has been made by Almighty God, and that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. I believe that Jesus Christ was all that is claimed, and that when He suffered on the cross at Calvary it was for the salvation of sinners in order that they might be reconciled to God, the price for their sin having been paid in full. The sacrifice was made for all sinners, and so that includes me and you, dear reader.

The wonderful gift of Salvation is absolutely free. It cannot be bought for a one-time price was paid by Jesus Christ. In order to receive the gift, all that's asked of us is that we firstly believe both in whom and by whom the sacrifice was made, and that we then repent of our sins. In order to do this we need to have faith. though we might see and be aware of God, of Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit, our belief is not a natural process. We were not born believing! No, we believe through faith, and the Bible teaches us that even that faith that enables us to claim this wonderful gift is, in itself, a gift from God.

So, if you believe that God is who He says He is, and that He will keep His promises, you have all the faith that you need. We read in Luke 17.6 that only a small measure of faith is required, and that faith comes from hearing the Word of God (Romans 10.17).

Sometimes, especially at those times when we are losing or have lost someone we love, particularly if the loss has been through illness or accident, our faith can be sorely tested. Yet coming through such periods of trial also serves to strengthen our faith, for we can learn from the experiences that we go through in a very positive way. One of the hardest things to accept is that God always knows what the best answer is to any given situation, and that, despite it sometimes appearing that our prayers might go unanswered, when we look back eventually in retrospect we'll find that our solution would have been the wrong one for the person concerned.

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