FAITH

Fretwell@aol.com (Fretwell@aol.com)
Mon, 15 Jul 1996 22:22:12 -0400
Messages sorted by:[ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
                     FAITH                     
	Almost every time there is an attempt made to describe Faith,we turn to Heb.
11:1  "Now faith is--".   It is a wonderful description, but I doubt if very
many people REALLY understand it.  Ask a few people to explain it, and you
will know what I mean. 
	Personally,it blows my mind.  I cannot get the meaning of it.  It goes
without saying, that when there is a problem with us understanding God's
Word, the problem is  with us rather than the Word.  Nevertheless, it still
blows my mind, and I am not ashamed to admit it.
	HOWEVER, I have no difficulty with  verse 6, "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."  I CAN
UNDERSTAND THIS VERSE. 
	Verse 8 says of Abraham, that "When he was CALLED, he OBEYED, and he WENT
OUT, NOT KNOWING WHITHER HEWENT."  Also, in verse 17, "When he was TRIED,
OFFERED UP ISAAC,---HIS ONLY BEGOTTENSON". I UNDERSTAND.       
	The "Faith" we are hearing so much about these days has a tendency to be a
little nebulous, or hazy --a little difficult to identify with any great
degree of certainty.  It seems to fluctuate with our moods and feelings, and
this causes us to gravitate to those circumstances which promote good moods
and feeling.   
		       I HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THIS.           
	To my thinking, enduring faith springs out of a definite contact with the
VOICE OF ETERNITY, speaking from God's dwelling place, to me.  In other
words, "GOD SPEAKS, and I HEAR" becomes a solid foundation for my faith.  God
is capable of speaking in many various ways to our hearts.
	I do say HEARTS, not MINDS.  Not EMOTIONS.  My mind is capable of garbling
and perverting any message that it has access to. With my mind I can REASON
myself away from the reality of what God is saying.  "WITH THE HEART (SPIRIT)
MAN BELIEVETH" 	
     So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word (Rhema) of
God."  
     My emotions, at their best, serve only as a blind guide, leading me
astray.