Faith

Day 263: Sight is not Faith

2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV

For we live by faith, not by sight.

         I distinctly remember going camping when I was a kid. We would tear out on a Friday evening to go to our favorite camping spot in the “mountains” of the plateau region of east Tennessee. There is one thing more than anything else I remember, it was a small discussion about faith that my father and I had while driving one night to our camping spot.

         On the drive to our camping spot, there was this one turn that we had learned through the multiple drives there that had what we affectionally called the “tree in the road.” We would often look for this landmark as an indicator we were getting close to being there, because this was the time before GPS guidance. When driving into our camping spot it would almost always be dark when we drove this stretch of road and at the top of this hill in the middle of the road, there looked like a tree standing. When it is dark, all you would see is the giant trunk of the tree. It was perceived as the road ended in the tree, but right as you topped the hill there was a sharp right-turn away from the tree. One evening this sparked a conversation about faith that I pray I’ll never forget.

         My father made the claim that everyone in life operates on some kind of faith, believing in what we cannot see. He used these deep Tennessee backroads as an illustration. The Holy Spirit was using this to teach my heart about the verse above. As humans, we live by faith, not by sight. If the opposite were true, the tree in the road spot would serve as evidence that sight is necessary before proceeding. You see, no one stops to see if the road continues forward at that tree. This is also true of almost every blind hill you drive over, we all inherently trust that the road is there. We cannot necessarily see the road, but we trust that it is there. We trust that our fellow man has not led us to our demise on the other side of the hill. Essentially, we have faith that the road continues onward even though we cannot see it. This is what it means to walk by faith, not by sight.

         We must know that God has the path set before us and knows every detail. He simply desires us to walk through it with Him guiding us, instead of us thinking we have it on our own. The illustration does not stop with just the tree in the road. Every day you get in a car, on a bus, in a plane, or go somewhere down the road, you are practicing living by faith, not by sight. You see, we must believe that all the other people driving the opposite direction have the same faith we have in them as they have in us… to remain on the right side of the road. Chances are, you have passed millions of cars and never considered that it was a simple act of faith, believing in the system that was put in place for all of us to follow. We are to walk with the awareness that we may not know what is next, but that we will walk with the belief that God is sovereign and trust in His will for our lives. We must walk by faith, not by our sight… and please, keep your eyes open on the road!

Dear Creator of Life,

         Thank You that You have destined us to walk the path forward much like the roads we take every day. Thank You for the opportunities to trust in Your will for our life, much like we trust the road builders on our everyday drives. May we honor Jesus in our pursuit to honor Your calling on our lives as we navigate by faith and not by our merely limited human sight. Lord, we know You have plans for us, that go so far beyond our comprehension. May we walk slowly enough to discern Your small whisper guiding us to the left or right as Your word commands us. May we rejoice in affliction, pray for those who would become hindrances, and bless those that may curse us, causing strife and angst in our lives. We know we love You Jesus. We thank You for this life and the promises that we can lay ahold and know through Your grace. In Jesus Christ’s authority and power, we seek to humbly serve You today, amen.

Day 264: Earnestly seek through Faith

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

         In earnest- most frequently defined means to do something with a seriously deep sincerity, or with a greater intensity than before. Another definition would be used in a financial capacity as earnest money, which is typically defined as a deposit made to a seller as a good faith gesture with the future promise of a greater transaction. Even in an earnest attempt or effort, to an earnest plea or request, it is all focused on a deep sincerity that is honest and pure. While there are many definitions to the word earnest, the thought is clearly established, in order to please God we must be humble and honest at a level that is uncommon in this world.

         Embodying brutal honesty within our walk is one of the actions of being earnest in our pursuit of learning what is pleasing to God. God’s word suggest that we have something to do “as you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them…” Ephesians 5:10-11. If we are earnestly seeking what is pleasing to God, we must expose ourselves to the light in the deepest and darkest parts of ourselves. We must face the difficult truths of refinement and renewal of our minds and hearts.

         Here’s the thing, it is impossible to please God without faith- walking by believing in future promises, but it is so much more than that. Yes, we must believe that God exists, which so does Satan… but we also must believe in the future promises coming from the Lord. This is likely not anything we can think of that this world could possibly imagine creating for us to experience. It is the idea that drives us that tomorrow is that heaven is promised, which may come today…

         Therefore, with so few places in scripture that we are promised a reward and where we place our faith as being one of them, why not trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not onto our own understanding. Maybe what you are going through has nothing to do with you, but in all things that are pointing others to these rewards of Jesus. His word also says that if we seek him with our whole heart, He will let Himself be found by us… which is ultimately how we discover our ability to see the 359° of beauty.

Dear Active Father,

         Thank You that we have so much more than a passive belief in You. Thank You that You remain active in rewarding those that would seek to honor You through a heartfelt pursuit of Your truths and not our own selfish desires. Jesus, You are constantly walking with us through this world and as we learn to turn to You increasingly in faith, let us trust the process of growing in Your knowledge as we put our earnest seeking in You. Thank You for the Holy Spirit as a earnest deposit of a future promise of more, to guide us and the grace that saves us. In Jesus Christ’s grace and peace, amen.

Day 265: The bridge of Faith

1 Peter 1:8-9 NASB

…and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

        Faith is the bridge between the unseen God and the tangible personal experiences that we have in this life. When we believe and submit to the highest authority in our lives, we begin to live differently. The more we grow in the wisdom and knowledge of God, the more we begin to realize that it is not so much that God has a plan for our life as much as how much God plans on using our life. We have a multitude of choices we can make every day that will affect the outcomes of our lives, it is up to us to make the choices that will benefit and honor the Lord.

         Therefore, the uplifting from Peter here is profound. We should seek to embody these truths. We are credited more for not seeing and still believing! As we grow in our love for Jesus Christ, our joy grows. If God’s word is properly applied in our daily lives, we can face the continuous onslaught of daily living with an inexpressible joy that causes others to pause. Trust me when I say this, hard days will continue in our lives, I know from experience, but that does not mean that God is not whispering to you throughout every moment. So then, while we may not always express joy, our overall life displays a joy that does not have to be outwardly expressed in bold ways. It is the day-to-day grind of living that demonstrates within us the inexpressible joy that Peter is referring to being present in our lives.

         What is particularly interesting in this scripture is the last few phrases, “obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” Many people struggle with fully wrapping their minds around God’s incredibly radical grace. It is through the bridge of faith that we are able to feel and learn about the Creator of the universe and his ultimate authority and then relate it to the tangible experiences we face every day. Faith serves as the gateway to obtain salvation.

         This is where there is a slight nuance in the literal meaning here, obtaining as the outcome is a present act of the outcome being here and now, which means through faith, we have the salvation of our souls. This is why Paul claims to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. It is an immediate transition explained to the masses in a way in which they would most likely understand- like those that have passed from this life have fallen asleep- with no concept of time between their last breath and the second coming of Jesus Christ. This serves to validate what Peter is claiming here, through faith’s bridge, we have obtained salvation for our souls.

Dear Bridge Builder,

         Thank You for the bridge built and established through Jesus Christ’s work on this earth. Knowing that Jesus is fully God, The Father, and The Holy Spirit together and that we are with Him grants us strength to stand in the most difficult of moments this life has to offer. We know that we are more than conquers in that victory is already secured through the salvation of our souls. This is impossible without Jesus Christ! So, thank You God for the cleansing power of Your grace. Thank You for building the bridge for us, connecting You to the tangible aspects of our lives through faith. Thank You for using every moment of my life for Your good. May your inexpressible joy be found in us in the daily grind of this life as a testament to the faith we have in Jesus Christ. We submit ourselves to You. In Jesus Christ’s grace and authority, we pray, amen.

Day 266: Unwavering Faith

         Have you ever been so convinced of something you almost lose all sensibility about yourself? Have you ever desired something so much that you built up anticipation and hope, only to find the experience falling short of expectations? Have you ever tried to talk yourself into something and it just did not happen? There are numerous situations that span our lifetimes where we find ourselves in different places of hope, anticipation, or just waiting for some expectation to be met. Understanding that in faith we can be fully persuaded of something that God has promised is a guarantee. Paul teaches us about the fullness of not wavering regarding the promises of God.

Romans 4:18-25 NASB

In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was raised because of our justification.

         The deal is simple. If we have unwavering belief in Jesus Christ and the promises He has made to secure us with Him for all eternity. We can become so steady that though everything around us may experience every kind of chaos, the central core of our belief will become such a steadfast and stable resolve that speaks volumes to the greatness of our God.

         When faced with the trials and tribulations of this life, as I heard it through another believer’s testimony about their own personal struggle, at times we must doubt our doubts. This excerpt supports this mentality as Paul explains it here. In hope against hope, he believed. Abraham knew his and his wife’s own physical realities. He was pragmatic in understanding his situation, yet he still chose to believe in the faithfulness of God.

         Now, to doubt your doubt it can mean many things, including that you may have first doubted God could do something, and then second-guess your doubt. Our responsibility to God is in not wavering in unbelief but growing stronger in our faith as we go. We experienced this firsthand as my wife walked closer each day to seeing Jesus’ face. Her faith became a symbolic Deep-Rooted Oak that could not be broken under the yoke of cancer. My wife had an unwavering faith in the Lord. The same unwavering faith we can have through the Holy Spirit.

Dear Unwavering Father,

         Thank You that you do not change. Thank You that you are not tossed about by the ebbs and flows of this life. Lord, You are steadfast and strong. You can become the source of an unwavering faith in the promises you have to prosper us. We are becoming fully persuaded of God’s capabilities every day and sometimes if we have doubts about what You can do Jesus, help us doubt that doubt and double down on our faith in your promises. Thank You, Jesus, for loving us through Your grace. May we abound in You forever, in Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.

Day 267: Hearing truth and growing in Faith

Romans 10:17 NASB

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

         Here again we are seeing in scripture that faith is something that grows out of not seeing the path forward but being exposed to the truth. This section of Romans uses a significant portion of the Old Testament to explain the origins of faith. Faith came when people were exposed to the truth of God’s word and it slowly began its work in the transformational process that truth should drive.  Faith continues to work the same today, we must be exposed to the truth of God’s word and then allow it time to transform us into the fullness that God would desire for us.

         Think about how a child learns to walk. As parents we slowly introduce them to the capabilities they have within themselves. We start by exposing them to standing up. While we hold hands above their heads or support them, we allow their legs to start taking on more of the responsibility of balance and motion. Most babies start testing those legs early and love to jump. Eventually, as the brain starts learning, growth begins to happen all the way to where our children start pulling up and standing on their own. This lasts for a period and then it happens, the first step, unassisted. This is one of the most powerful times in a baby’s life. If everyone is there for that moment we cheer them onward and celebrate their success. Generally a week later, we are baby proofing the whole house, because once they get fully mobile, they are into everything exploring the world around them.

         Our faith is very much the same. The more exposure to the truth, we slowly learn how to use it to stand firm in our faith. We go through a similar process with how our faith grows as to that of a baby learning to walk. We are exposed to the truth over time, until we begin to take full ownership of it. After standing firm in it, we then begin to use it as we go through this life. Eventually, we end up sharing our faith in everything we get into, just like a baby gets into everything coming and going. Hopefully, by the end of your faith journey, you can run the race set before you of carrying the Gospel with the Holy Spirit helping you grow into a depth of relationship with Jesus that everyone can see. Ultimately, faith grows through organic exposure to the truth. 

 
Dear Faith Cultivating Father,

         Thank You for guiding us with Your righteous hands. You have led us and exposed us to the truth of Your words. We do not use our vision to see the paths laid before us, but we use the faith that You supply through the process of exposing us to Your Word. We are humbled to call You our Father. Just like babies, let us trust You with the growing of our faith so that we would be strong for the race You have set before us. Encourage us with the truth of Jesus’s life and help us seek His grace every day. May others be exposed to the faith that will save their souls. In Jesus Christ’s grace and authority, amen.

Day 268: The Source and Foundation of Faith is Grace

Ephesians 2:8-10 NASB

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

        Our faith is a response to grace, not an action that we can take credit for in our lives. It is by grace through faith that we are saved from the consequences of our sin nature. Our faith is credited to us through Jesus Christ’s grace and covering for us. Without His grace and forgiveness, we simply would not be granted access to Him, The Father, or the Holy Spirit. Subsequently, we would never be granted access to the promises God has made to us for eternity spent with God in heaven. Therefore, the Source and Foundation of our faith is grace and grace alone.

         So, what does this look like in all practicality in our lives. How do we live considering this grace? The road map to daily living is in the scriptures above. First, is the recognition that nothing of this grace has anything to do with what you can or could do for yourself. It comes from Jesus Christ alone. Understanding this basic idea is essential to how you live your life. It brings about a humble gratitude you have for each day as you recognize that God is sovereign above all things. This is lived out daily by coming to Him in the quiet of your own inner room time. Starting with Jesus and anchoring yourself in His dwelling.

         Second, is through humility. We simply would not be who we are or what we are if we did not first receive something from God. Every skill, talent, or tangible thing you own, ultimately came from the Creator of all things. You were given a certain skill set and purpose designed to be leveraged by God throughout your life. Without being gifted with these things, you simply would not exist in this world. You have a choice to either take what you have been freely given and build yourself, or you can humbly submit yourself to grace and choose to live in the pattern established through God’s word. You either boast about who you are, or you boast about who God is… to live successfully overcoming this world, I would boast about the one who has already overcome this world, Jesus Christ.

         Finally, we have work to do. Understanding that we are not to remain passive in this endeavor is one of our greatest assets to leverage. You do not have to change anything about where you are or what career path you are in, but you can absolutely change the “why and how” you do what you do exactly where you are at. We must view life as a purposeful exchange of grace through faith and work as evidence of that grace at work. This is the difference between being pre-determined that you will do a certain thing versus allowing God to use what you do in this life to bring Him glory. While God is powerful enough to enforce His will upon us, scripture leads us to understand that He would rather leverage us exactly where we are for His glory through His grace.

         We have all been uniquely positioned to choose a path that leverages grace through our faith in each area of our life we walk in, it is our quest to figure out how to submit ourselves to God’s will in each of those areas, so that grace as seen through our faith and evidenced in our works all comes from God and God alone. We admit His sovereign nature and humble ourselves to His workmanship as He is prepared to leverage our lives as we learn to walk in His favor and grace. Daily living results in acknowledgement of the sovereign nature of God, boasting in Him alone, and walking with faith that others can see, no matter what it is that you do. When you can find this combination of grace, faith, and work, you begin to realize that these are the actions that drive the only things that remain at the end of all things: faith, hope and love, the greatest being love. God’s love for us being the ultimate catalyst to His sovereign grace…

Sovereign God,

         We are humbled to be in your presence, thank You for all that You have done because of Your great love for us. Thank You that You have leveraged aspects of Your own heart and essence to seek us in our existence. Thank You for Jesus’s grace and resurrection leading the way through our lives. We are humbled to be used by You in our lives. We acknowledge that it is not in what we do, but how we choose to do our lives that brings You glory. Help us through Your Holy Spirit to walk in the works You have prepared to leverage for Your Kingdom. May we be granted the grace and peace we need to boast in Your works through our lives. In Jesus Christ’s authority and grace, we pray, amen.  

Day 269: Loyalty and Kindness are acts of Faith

Proverbs 3:3-8 NLT

Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

         Scripture is full of practical wisdom that will change you to your core if you would allow it to do its work. Faith is a choice, a deliberate action to choose God. Faith is an active choice to lean on an understanding greater than your own logic. In Proverbs 3 we see a ton of practical wisdom and general living advice with proclaimed results of making specific choices to honor God.

         In verse 3, we are to embody kindness and loyalty. These concepts are extremely important to think about and constantly utilize with everyone we meet. I often ask my students, what is kindness- if not love on display for your fellow man. It does not necessarily mean that you love that person, but what it does mean is that you see them as a child of God and we all need to embrace treating everyone we meet with kindness. Meanwhile, loyalty is of upmost importance when maintaining relationships with your people.

         The importance of treating your people with kindness and staying loyal to them is beyond a mere statement. Without the people of God surrounding you, it can become impossible to stand against the evil forces in this world. Notice here that a good reputation is not granted, it is earned. You must actively keep choosing to trust Jesus and lean on what He is doing, not your own interpretation of things. Again, this is where your people become so important.

         Having treated others with kindness and loyalty, you have resources to help you navigate the world around you. Those like-minded believers become sounding boards in your life to discern understanding about what God is doing through your life. Many times, I have encountered decisions that would determine future paths that the Lord would direct me on and it was the people that I surrounded myself with in faith, kindness, and loyalty that truly cared enough to pray with me and help determine God’s path forward for me and my family.

         Beauty reveals itself through a humble view of one’s own logic. Turning to Jesus is the most logical heart felt opportunity we are presented in our lives to honor and serve the highest of callings put in in front of us through faith- to share in kindness and love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Strength comes from the Holy Spirit within to keep us moving forward through faith in Jesus.

Dear Kind Father,

         Thank You that we can consider Your grace a kindness and love that goes far beyond all that we could possibly understand. Jesus, we know that it is through faith we find beauty in our lives, more so, we find all things that sit quietly beyond the stillness to where You dwell. Thank You for hearing us and teaching us how to proceed in this life. Thank You for directing our steps and leading us into the everlasting way. Father, we are humbled that You grant us access to Your Holy Spirit to guide us in Your light. Thank You, Jesus, for the grace that has no limits. In Jesus Christ’s sovereign grace, we pray, amen.

Day 270: Faith is trusting in the power of God

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NLT

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

        Since the very beginning of this journey, I have tried to encompass one thing in every devotional, Jesus is everything that is beautiful, even when it does not seem like it. Learning to ask God to reveal His beauty can drive one’s faith deeper than ever before.

         I have made attempts to always write about the scripture in context. I am not a theologian or a well-studied scholar on biblical history. I am simply a single father and a 5th grade teacher looking to study and figure out where scripture can be applied in our daily living as a tool that God can leverage for the benefit of all those around us. I am not wise by any human standard, if anything, I have a wide variety of experiences that help me out in most situations. I always seek to improve myself with feedback and desire all that I know be leveraged for God’s Kingdom.

         Paul is teaching us something very important in these verses. The Gospel of Jesus is not about us. He even claims that while he was with the church in Corinth that he forgot everything, but Jesus, and he intentionally came to them in his weaknesses. This was so that nothing of himself was present for his own ego, but that he would edify Jesus with all that he had.

         Now, there was a direct purpose for this approach. Paul intentionally did this as a way of teaching God’s power over his own prowess as a communicator. This is important for us to remember as we walk out our faith in this world. It is about Jesus’s power and sovereign nature and has nothing to do with us. The Holy Spirit led Paul then, and the Holy Spirit will lead us now, if we let it…

         Our truest faith comes when we anchor ourselves in God’s capabilities and choose not to look to our own humanity or capacity to even come close to understanding God. God has used me to write more than I ever thought myself capable of, and that’s what He does. He takes our limited sight and capacities and fills them beyond our comprehension. I am simply humbled that anyone would read this far. Beauty surrounds everything, because our God is beautiful. The question is remarkably simple, that answers are so profound, but to ask is it is the first step to a world view that honors the concept of 359° of beauty. God, where is your beauty?

Dear Creator of Beauty,

         Thank You for making all things beautiful. Thank You for revealing that beauty every day. Each day brings about Your glory and grace in new ways. Let us trust in Jesus for all things are made beautiful in their time. Let Your Holy Spirit guide us like it did Paul into a deeper trusts in the Sovereignty of Jesus. We trust in You and walk in faith. In Jesus Christ’s authority and power, amen.

Day 271: Faith fixed on Jesus

Hebrews 12:2 NASB

…looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2 NLT

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Hebrews 12:2 NIV

…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

        I love looking through the different translations of scripture seeking out the subtle changes between each interpretation. The main point of the scripture generally becomes so clear that it is undeniable. According to these various translations, it is very clear that Jesus is the beginning and the perfector of faith. His actions display faith in God’s sovereign plan to redeem His creation through an act so profound that has changed millions of souls’ eternity.

         We must learn how to sustain our faith. According to all these scriptures, it can be as simple as keeping Jesus the main thing, our everything, but it can be even simpler than that. We must keep our eyes on Jesus. Our vision and hope must become the central driving force for our lives. Not only is Jesus our starting point, but He also remains as our ultimate goal. He is as scripture claims, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.

         Furthermore, what is amazing about Hebrews 12 is that it is the summation to the faith of all those that have gone before us and ran the race set before them. It also covers the discipline that we will inevitably face in our walk with Jesus. We are to turn to Him because (barring something really crazy) we have not shed blood for our sins. Even if we were to shed blood for our sins, our very sin nature makes us disqualified to be ample sacrifice to the Lord. Therefore, we have only one source we are to fix our lives upon, Jesus Christ, the One and only Shephard to our souls.

         So today, fix your eyes upon Jesus. Look full into His wonderful face. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May Jesus’s face shine on you. May The Holy Spirit of God be gracious towards you. May God the Father turn towards you and grant you peace as your faith grows in Him.

Dear Gracious God,

         Thank You for another day in which we are learning about Your graciousness. We ask that Your Radiant face shine upon us, illuminating our hearts with Your unending grace. May the light of Your presence scatter any shadows of doubt, fear, or weariness in our lives. As we lift our eyes up to You, allow our spirits to be filled with Your abiding peace. May the race that You have set before us be fixed upon Your truth and the brilliance of Your love guide our steps and make level the paths for our feet. Jesus, would You grant us the strength to endure whatever lies ahead by wrapping us in Your warmth and shining through us so that we may reflect Your glorious light into this world and others come to know You as their Lord and Savior. In Christ Jesus authority and grace, we pray, Amen.

Day 272: Faith in Action

James 2:14-17 NLT

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

        What we do is always a reflection of what we believe. Proverbs 27:19 is a perfect illustration of this concept, “As water reflects a face, so the heart of a man reflects the man.” What is seen on the outside of ourselves in our actions is the ultimate testimony in our lives. Our lives should speak for our faith, and our faith should drive our actions.

         What does this look like in our everyday lives? For each of us this is going to be different. There is simply no way for this to guide you into what you are supposed to do with your actions, but there are some questions that this verse can help you diagnose where you stand. There are three areas of refinement for us to consider, these being: a mirror of our life, confronting empty intentions, and testing the motives of our hearts.

The Mirror of our life:

·       If a stranger were to observe my daily habits, financials, and calendar for a month, without every hearing me state my beliefs, what would the conclude is the driving force of my life?

·       Is there a difference between my public behavior and my private life? Which one represents the real me?

·       When everything hits and you are in the middle of a storm, do I revert to my beliefs or do I fall into a pessimistic spiral?

Confronting Empty Intentions:

·       Who am I offering well-wishes, advice, or prayers for, when I actually possess the physical or financial resources to solve their problems?

·       Where am I living in my spiritual awareness when I need to be physically doing something tangible? Such as serving versus being a consumer…

·       What can I point to this week that would demonstrate a cost to me of personal comfort, time, or money solely because my faith compelled me to do it?

Testing the Heart’s Motives:

·       Am I serving for my own reputation or does the actions of my life flow naturally from my beliefs that I would do it even if no one ever found out about it?

·       Are the people around me needs and emotions viewed as distractions? Or are they the very reason my faith exists, to love others?

·       If authentic faith inevitably produces visible results, what specific, measurable impact is my belief system having on my neighborhood, my workplace, and my family right now?

         If authentic faith naturally produces visible action, what is produced by what you believe? Are you simply a complacent human that has no fruit? Is your fruit bitter and tasteless? Or are you in a season where your faith is growing and had fragrant flowers forecasting the fruit to come? Our faith should inevitably produce actions that are tangible, meaningful, and measurable in our lives. It is not the quantity of life we have, but the quality of life we seek to impact that makes the greatest difference in this world. Jesus demonstrated this in his life as the quality of His life has significantly had a profound impact on this world.

Dear Refining Father,

         Thank You for Your word that teaches us to test ourselves. You, God, are the ultimate source of all encouragement and kindness. Thank You for sending Jesus to model for us through faith and actions and making us aware of what our impact can have on the world of people surrounding us. Help us learn how to see our faith in action as a byproduct of our time spent with You Jesus. We need Your Holy Spirit to guide us into a deeper understanding of how our actions demonstrate our faith, while our faith drives our actions. Thank You for Jesus. In His Holy and Heavenly name we pray, amen.

Day 273: Unwavering Faith

James 1:5-7 NLT

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

        Imagine a steady steadfast resolve that carries you through every major life event, providing you with a psychological and emotional stability that goes beyond all comprehension. This describes exactly what we have access to in our faith. We can be the most stable people of promise a person can ever encounter in their lives. This is a truly incredible gift and responsibility for us to embrace with the fullness of our hearts and minds.

         Honestly, I struggle with the doom and gloom style of Christianity that exists in our world today. Simply put, that is not what Jesus taught. Yes, He acknowledges the troubles we would have in this life, even went as far as describing the trials and tribulations we will face, but that also always came with a promise of so much more. Which would you prefer to operate your life under, doom and gloom or the promise of eternity spent with Jesus.

         My daughter once asked me a question about the promise of heaven that leveled my built-up notions of what it may be like one day. She said, “Daddy, since the bible says there is no tears in heaven, does that mean that there will be no happy tears in heaven too?” How does one even begin to answer this question? I simply replied, “I have no idea sweetheart.” In the days, months, and years since, that question has been foundational for my understanding of the promises Jesus has made to us. I do not know.

         If the scripture today is to be believed, which we do believe it, God wants us to ask him anything. He is generous. However, since He can see into the heart of a man, and we know the heart of a man reflects the man, we must ask in the fullness of our faith. We must know the motives of our questions to God must be rooted in truth and have a raw honesty behind them. This is true about asking God to reveal His beauty. The question should have absolutely nothing to do with your own desires beyond seeking God with your whole heart.

         Do not be toss among the waves but be steadfast in your emotional and psychological capacity to keep your feet firmly planted on the Rock of Salvation Jesus Christ. Lean not on your own understanding, but trust in Him and His purposes for Your life. Check your desires for alignment to the biblical narrative and seek to love your neighbors with all your hearts. Do not waiver in this resolve and the beauty of God will be evident beyond comprehension to where you stand in awe of God’s grace.

Dear Rock of Salvation,

         Thank You for granting us another day to learn about our faith. Thank You for supplying our every need and most of our desires. Thank You for allowing us to follow You with all our hearts. Lord, while so much of this life lays beyond our comprehension, we still choose to honor Jesus. Thank You for granting us this opportunity to love You and our neighbors in this life. Help us be a stable source of belief in You and influence all those around us to see You at work through the Holy Spirit in our lives. You are beyond a blessing to us. Reveal Your beauty and encourage those to seek you with an unwavering spirit. We love You Jesus. Amen.

Day 274: Faith is just BEing

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.

         We have a thinking problem in our culture today. We tend to over think and analyze everything, especially scripture! What if it is as simple as the scripture states? We want to ask a thousand questions about what things mean, how do we do that, who does this effect, what is the outcome of this, what can we learn from this, what is this telling me, who needs to hear this, etc....

         All those are fine and have their appropriate place in our lives, but sometimes, we need to just let it stay simple. In the scripture above, we are to simply BE.

         BE on guard.

         STAND firm in faith.

         BE courageous.

         BE strong.

         and DO EVERYTHING with LOVE.

These are simple commands that do not need over analysis.  In its simplest form, we are to BE  with Jesus and love people.

Dear I am,

         Thank You that You were, You are, and You will BE everything in our lives. You are The Great I AM from scripture, and we are thankful for everything. Jesus, please help teach us to embody the words in this scripture and keep it simple by just BEing in Your presence. Let our Faith be an anchor and a defensive stance at times when we need to stand against the prevailing culture of this world. Thank You, Jesus, for Your sacrifice. It is in Jesus Christ sovereign power we pray, amen. 

Day 275: Faith in face of authorities

1 Timothy 6:12-14 NLT

Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

        Faith requires significant endurance! So, how do we endure the gauntlet laid before us? It is remarkably simple, focusing on the goal of this life. This scripture is Paul’s vision casting for Timothy. A letter meant to encourage his protégé to keep going. Beauty in life is found when refusing to quits meets the awareness of God and all that surrounds you in a moment. You can be in the middle of the most grueling awful things and still see glimpses of God’s beauty in all things, if you ask God to grant you eyes to see His glory in everything.

         True faith takes an honest fight. We have to be honest about our vision of the future. We have an eternal promise that God has granted us access to through Jesus Christ’s work. Our work is to accept that truth and then proclaim it in all aspects of our lives. Paul is reminding Timothy here that even Jesus Christ Himself had to testify before authorities. His reminder was a call to be unwavering in the faith that can only come through fully believing in the promises of  our eternal God.

         This is an area that we all lose sight of from time to time. It is hard to maintain forward progress when running the gauntlet of our lifestyles. So many things compete for our attention that we make it feel impossible for ourselves to be successful. We must learn how to moderate our “yes” to this life and work to understand that the honest “no” is also okay. If we can learn how to focus our lives on the will of God, walk in a manner that is upright and true, give honest and accurate testimony to authorities, then no man will be able to find fault with you between now and the day the Lord comes back.

This does not mean you will not stand accused of false things, that is simply not what Jesus faced before Pontius Pilate… therefore, we can expected to be falsely accused, but in those accusations, we stand true to the faith we have, trust in the way we have walked, and hold fast to the eternal promises of God, only then will we others find no fault in us.

Dear Honest Father,

         Thank You for Your testimony before the authorities of this world. You stood falsely accused and You stood in faithful integrity to the truth, holding on to Your own eternal promises to bring us back to You. We are humbled by the grace You afforded to us when You took upon Yourself the wages of our sins, Your own wrath. Jesus, there is not enough praise for You in the way Your live was lived while here on this Earth. Furthermore, the mere fact that we exist today and can pursue Your truth and share Your gospel is beyond comprehension. May we honor You in all that we do today as we face the gauntlet of this life. Grant us the ability to see Your beauty in and through it all. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.

Day 276: Faith, not legalism

Galatians 5:4-6 NLT

For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

         Galatians is considered one of Paul’s earliest letters. It was not long after founding the church in the region that Judaizers were coming into the new churches and started to preach that people needed to seek God’s favor through circumcision and the law over the Gospel that had been preached to them by Paul. The gospel that was initially preached was freedom in Christ through justification by faith. Being a primarily gentile group, they did not have the historical background of the Jews and were being misled by false teachings. Therefore, Paul wrote to them in a very direct manner as seen here in this text.

         Paul states it plainly. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves right with God. Absolutely nothing! This is where legalism has crept into our practices as Christ followers even today. We make check list and then “feel bad” when we are not successful in meeting our own standards. We go and do based upon our feelings more often than our callings. We seek to find God’s favor over His freedom and grace. We allow tradition to dictate our actions, and our perception drives our actions sometimes more than our faith does.

         If we are truly honest, this is hard to deal with. There is a significant difference between legalism and discipline. When we discipline ourselves, we become disciples of Jesus Christ and not just someone claiming to know Him. Notice the overall tonality shift in the scripture above. As disciples, the Spirit within us is eagerly awaiting through our beliefs (faith in what is not seen) the eternal promises of Jesus Christ.

         Subsequently, the ultimate expression of our faith is love. We demonstrate our faith in how we choose to love others. Legalistic tendencies have no place in love. At times, we have to set aside our desires for tradition and allow ourselves the opportunities to love and be loved by God’s people.

Dear Loving Father,

         Thank You that tradition in the Old Testament was used to set up the ultimate act of love. Everything You established before was evident throughout Jesus’s life. May we praise Him for there is not salvation in any other name, except the name of Jesus Christ. May we cast off our own legalistic tendencies and seek to be disciples through faith in Jesus. May we satisfy the Holy Spirit in our lives and seek to love others well. In Jesus Christ’s authority and power, amen.

Day 277: Faith- the ultimate identity shift

Galatians 2:20-21 NLT

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

        This is probably one of the hardest concepts we have to learn to navigate as followers of Jesus Christ. The concept of being a new creation having died to our old self. Why? Well, if you are anything like me, I do and will continue to struggle with my sin nature in this world. I know I am not perfect and I know that I mess things up all the time. I like what my pastor once told us, we are a saint that struggles with sin, not a sinner trying to be a saint. It really helped with the perspective shift that Paul is talking about in this verse.

         Faith is the ultimate identity shift. Where we place our faith determines how we choose to navigate daily living. The days we get up knowing and pursuing God early, we tend to see God in everything we do, whereas the days we neglect God’s calling on our lives, we wallow in our own filthiness. Yet, this overall concept is not this clearly illustrated in our lives. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are given a new heart of faith. It takes time for this heart of faith to rewire who we are and transform our minds. Our identity slowly shifts over time to adopt a new mindset towards God.

         Even now, over a quarter of a century into my faith journey, I am still learning new aspects of my faith that keeps changing and renewing my mind. It is not even close to being perfected within me, because I am constantly under construction. That’s the point, we have an inexhaustible God. It is Christ who lives in us through the Holy Spirit. This is not a free pass for us to continue living as immoral believers, but for us to work through the process required by our faith. The struggle is real change.

         This is where the question we have encouraged you to ask becomes so powerful. Our journey has nothing to do with building ourselves up. It has everything to do with what God can do in and through our lives through our obedience to the faith provided through His grace. Which is why we choose to ask a completely different question every day. God, where is Your beauty? The more we focus on Him and what He is doing, the closer we walk with God. So, will you start asking God where His beauty is in everything? Will you ask that daily? Through every trial, every storm? If You do, never make it about yourself, but always about Him. Trust us, everything changes through your faithfulness to continue asking God to reveal His beauty in the world around you.

Dear Majestic Father,

         Thank You that You have provided us grace through faith. Thank You that every day is filled with Your beauty. Thank You for revealing Your beauty in everyday things. Thank You that our faith acts as an identity shifter for us, changing how we choose to navigate daily living. You Father are beyond our comprehension, yet so accessible to us in everything we do. We are thankful Jesus for all that You have done and are doing on our behalf. Thank You for making beautiful things to guide our hearts and minds and to shift our identity to be Yours first. Thank You for the beauty of Your grace. In Jesus Christ’s authority and power, amen.

Day 278: The Power and Promises of Faith

Matthew 17:20 NLT

“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

         Faith the size of a mustard seed. We have all heard sermons about this one. The grandiose nature that some pastors can bring to this section of scripture is interesting. However, the simplicity of this illustration is amazing. The mustard seed is remarkably small and yes, it does grow into a large plant like tree or shrub in which birds nest in. Think about it, all the characteristics the mustard seed/plant has, the Creator Jesus designed it to do!

         This is where this illustration is simply amazing. Jesus is speaking into what we are designed to do as believers. This illustration comes after the disciples were unsuccessful in casting a demon out of a child. They were frustrated with themselves and seeking an explanation for their lack of. They felt like they were not enough. The thing is, Jesus was not saying they were not enough, He was pointing to their design.

         We are all created in God’s image with special abilities and gifts. Each of us is designed for a purpose higher than our own. Like the mustard seed, we are meant for a purpose, and we must learn to trust in the process of that purpose. The mustard seed does not grow into its purpose overnight, but it develops it through its life. We are the same. The power and promise of our faith is that one day, we could say to a mountain- “move from here to there” – and the mountain will move. Throughout our lives, with God, nothing becomes impossible.

         I have had the privilege of walking down many roads and weathering many storms in my life. Each one teaching me more about who God is every time. Without fail, God has been with me in every moment. The reality of it is, God is the same, but my faith in Him is different than when I first started my walk with Him over 25 years ago. The faith that started within me 25 years ago has been doing its work growing and developing through many trials. Some of the refinement and waterings have almost flooded me out or burnt me up, they have broken me, but each time, the strength that has come from that core root of Jesus has brought me through.

         I can only imagine what the next 25 years hold for my faith in Jesus. We are not meant to see the fullness of ourselves, because God has designed each one of us with a purpose, just like the mustard seed. It is up to us to learn how to grow into that purpose and promise of faith.

Dear Faithful Promise Keeper,

         Thank You, Father, for being faithful to Your promises. Thank You for Jesus. Thank You for His illustration of the mustard seed faith. Thank You for designing all of us with a purpose and allowing us the grace to grow into what You desire for our lives. We are humbled that You would see us and love us in these ways. Lord, we fail, bend, and break in everyday, but You are faithful to restore, repair, and regrow parts of who we are in You. Thank You for the power and promises of faith. May we learn that nothing is impossible for You Jesus. In Jesus’s sovereign grace we pray, amen. 

Day 279: The Power and Promises of a Faithful Prayer

Mark 9:23-29 NLT

“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”

Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.

Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?” Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.” '

         Upon writing this a good friend of mine’s mother is about to undergo a modern-day heart transplant. She has faithfully lived her life, and I have had the privilege of getting to know her over the past year or more. Her life is a living example of everything being possible for those who believe and keep a prayerful watch over their lives. Who knows what miracles are within God’s beauty surrounding you today?

         There is a phrase above that should be of encouragement to us all. The father of the boy said, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” This is a powerful statement. Another testimony that was recently shared with me echoed this same idea where the person said I doubted my doubt. Sometimes, we get stuck in our beliefs and we know them, but we don’t always trust them. We get caught in our minds looking at the situation or circumstance with a very limited perspective. This again is called the 1˚ of our field of view. God can be seen here, but it is extremely difficult because we rely on our sight to guide our beliefs. This is where Jesus grants us insight and instruction into a practice, we desperately need to be able to see the 359˚ surrounding us.

         Jesus said it when His disciples came to Him, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.” We desperately need prayer. This is dedicated time with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father. This is everything. Through a faithful pray-er (someone who spends dedicated time praying), faith can remove the internal limitations we tend to place on God.

         How does this work? The more time someone spends praying for God’s will to be done in other’s lives, recording, documenting, and watchfully waiting on God, the more they see God’s power and majesty at work around them. They begin to realize that God is beyond capable of doing all things, He created everything and has the power to do whatever He pleases.

         Through prayer, we begin to see how God can use the situations and circumstances of our lives for His glory over our suffering. Even through impossible odds, God’s beauty is revealed in significant ways to those that pray regularly. The power we could tap into goes beyond our comprehension. So, will you start to become a faithful pray-er?

Dear Answerer of Prayers,

         Thank You, Jesus, for answering our calls for forgiveness and granting us Your grace and peace. Thank You for taking our wages and placing them upon Yourself. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us in unity. Thank You for answering our prayers, but even more so, doing the impossible right before our eyes. Lord, thank You for faithfully beginning to remove our internal limitations we place on You by showing us the impossible is possible.

         Today, I also pray for my friend’s mother’s new heart- may it be a blessing to her physical existence and her family as she continues forward with the heart You gave her when she first believed in You. Bless her journey as she is a living testimony to Your grace and provision. She has testified to Your goodness and beauty in her walk and showed so many the power of a prayerful woman and family. We praise Jesus for their story- even the ones left unwritten on the hearts of others. In Jesus Christ’s authority, grace, and peace, amen.

Day 280: Prayers answered in eternity through faith

Mark 11:24-25 NLT

I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”

         Have you ever stopped to think that God has already answered your prayers? No really, think about it for a moment.  If God is sovereign, the beginning and the end, then does He not already hold your future in His hands? Answering these questions with a yes leaves us wondering about our own freedom and ability to make choices, however, God’s got that covered too. His ways are so far beyond our comprehension, He can make allowances for that too. Essentially, our prayers can be answered before we ever pray asking for anything. It is up to us to believe that we have received it.

         Now, I know there will be kickback to this idea. These are Jesus’s words, not mine! I have personally witnessed the beauty of this in my life. At the time, this idea was slowly working itself out in my heart and mine and I have had many years to consider it since. We prayed earnestly for my wife’s physical healing and prolonged life while she was with us. We believed that God would do it with every fiber of our beings. Here’s the thing, we believed that those prayers were already answered in the promise of eternity spent with Jesus Christ.

         You see scripture also says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16 NLT. Prayer in faith reveals so much about the convictions of our own hearts. We desire wonderful results from our prayers, but sometimes we have to realize that answers may have already been provided in a future home. It does not make the answers any less trivial here in this existence, but we are to store up treasures in heaven, not here on earth. What if many of our prayers are meant for our eternal destination and not our temporal satisfaction?

         This is why forgiveness is so important. Regardless of what someone has done, we are to forgive them. Forgiveness is not about them, but about the conditions of our own hearts. We want our hearts to acknowledge God. How can we use our heart to praise the Father if we do not choose to protect it from unforgiveness- the ultimate act of grace bestowed upon us from Jesus. Prayer is our opportunity to activate our faith in answered prayers.

Dear Heavenly Father,

         Thank You for allowing us to pray and ask You for anything. Lord, we know that some of the answers to our prayers are eternal answers. We thank You for the provisions of those seemingly unanswered prayers while here on earth. Jesus, You healed my wife physically, for You have promised all of us a new body. So, we knew the answer to the prayer of healing would eventually come. Lord, when I went into the depths of the wilderness and begged You to keep my wife, Your answer resounded in my soul, my answer came in my earnest requests… she was never mine to keep, but Yours to cherish. In the same fashion we can know that we can ask anything and it will be considered done, but what we want to ask is that you would deliver confidence in our minds and hearts of Your holy promises that we can sense through Your Holy Spirit. Align our hearts and requests to Your will and not ours. Thank You, Jesus, for You are good. In Christ Jesus’s grace and peace, we ask for confident assurance of our faith, amen.

Day 281: The Power and Promises of Faith for ALL People

Romans 15:13 NLT

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

         Internal peace is a natural byproduct of operational faith. The coolest thing is, this internal peace is available for every human, from every nation, from every background, from the darkest of places, every culture, every race, every age, every social class, and even the lowest of low people you could ever meet, this internal peace is available for ALL people through Jesus Christ. This section of scripture Paul is beginning to close out his letter to the Romans, a Gentile nation, (which means they were not God’s chosen people), by quoting the most famous prophet of the books of Faith in the Jewish tradition, Isaiah. As if to drive the point home- Paul quotes multiple passages that tell everyone that Jesus is for ALL people.

Romans 15:7-12 NASB

Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us, for the glory of God. For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision in behalf of the truth of God, to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written: “Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, And I will sing praises to Your name.”

Again he says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people.”

And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him.”

Again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him will the Gentiles hope.”

The faith all of us have access to through Jesus is one of the most rewarding life change events that we can possibly experience. The power and promise of Faith for ALL people is truly beyond our comprehension.

         If you have ever doubted your place in Jesus’s Kingdom, please know we all have a place reserved for us if we RSVP to the invitation. How do we do that? We confess with all our being that Jesus is LORD and that He has forgiven us of our sins. We know that in all our best efforts, we have nothing to offer God, but we can graciously accept the work of Jesus to bring us back to God through His death on the cross and resurrection three days later. We must seek a relationship with Jesus and endure through all suffering knowing it will produce within us something far greater than we could ever imagine. The internal peace can reign within our hearts, if we allow Jesus to fulfill the work He began when He first began a new work in our hearts.

Dear All embracing Father,

         Thank You for loving ALL of us no matter where we may come from or how far of a chasm that we had to overcome to find You. Thank You for embracing us by spreading Your arms out to die upon a cross. Thank You for providing hope in dark times knowing that we would eventually praise You as both Gentile and Jew. Thank You for the internal peace that is a byproduct of our operational faith in You. Jesus, You love us so incredibly well. We want to praise You for all things and ask that You would walk with us to help us see You in all Your glory today. In Christ Jesus authority and grace, we pray, Amen. 

Day 282: Loving God is faith

1 John 5:3-4 NASB

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

        Faith is displayed in our love of God and how we seek to keep His commandments. Yet, it is not about our perfection, but overcoming our imperfections in our pursuit of love. If all the biblical personas were essentially as sinful as we are, yet they still loved God and it has been attributed to them as being faithful, it is through our circumstances and life that we display our love of God. This is considered our faith on display for all to see.

         This is where 359˚ of beauty is our aim. We understand that seeing God’s faithfulness and beauty is essential to our everyday living. It becomes a necessary lens through which we view the world around us. There is so much more to living than wishing for more. It is seeing God in every moment, even when the darkness feels so overwhelming, there is always light.

         How do we get there? We constantly ask God to reveal His beauty. It is not about us, but about Him every single day. It almost becomes an obsession of seeing God at work in all things, even the things that truly suck in this life.

         We recently went on a trip to the mountains where God was clearly visible in everything. Majestic mountain views give you a sense of awe and grandeur that allows you to see God’s power to speak and see all that He has created. It is easy to love Him and see His beauty at work in those moments, but when you return to the traffic and mundane rat race of life it becomes harder to practice that same love without the right focus. However, God’s grandeur and beauty is still present. It just looks different. It is in the infinite creativity of the human spirit. We are builders and designers just like him. Even in the most mundane of buildings, God’s beauty can be seen in the systems that put it together, as they mirror His systems.

         You see, God is surrounding you in everything, being able to see Him makes His commandments less burdensome. Seeking to see His beauty allows you to overcome the world because the world can no longer steal your gaze causing you to lose focus on the source of all things, Jesus. Faith is the ultimate victory, for it grants us a worldview that supersedes temporary struggles as an opportunity for God to reveal His beauty in all things.

Dear Beautiful Father,

         Thank You for allowing Your beauty to be seen in our lives. Thank You that when we focus on You that we feel Your love for us and our love for You grows. Thank You for the transformative nature of Your work in our lives. Thank You for Jesus making everything beautiful. Thank You for using sinners like us to make Your Kingdom complete through the work of grace through Jesus. You loved us enough to provide everything for us. May we overcome this world through seeing Your beauty and eternally praising You for all You have done. In Jesus Christ’s authority and beauty, we pray, amen.

Day 283: The scope of faith

         As we close out faith, let us survey some keystone verses that should become a part of our routine and go to scriptures and see how they all fit together.

Hebrews 11:1 NASB

Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.

Romans 15:13 NASB

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 NASB

Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

         NOW, this means right now, in the present, here, with you in your actions in the next few minutes and throughout your day. This is the way we are to be, walking by faith, full of joy, believing in the Lord. It is as simple as Jesus put it:

John 3:16 NSAB

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life…”

We do not have to add to this but simply have faith and take action as stated here:

Romans 10:8-11 NASB

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.”

Scripture leads us to understanding through faith. Everything is already clearly outlined for us. We tend to overcomplicate the simple. Faith is our belief in Jesus- Faith is also displayed in our actions. For it is out of the new heart that Christ is reflected in us.

Dear Heavenly Father,

         Thank You. Your word says in Proverbs 27:19, “As in water a face reflects the face, So the heart of a person reflects the person.” So, let us become a people that reflect Your heart through faith in Jesus. There is so much about our nature that we want things to be hard, so we feel we have earned something, but You teach us Father that we did nothing to deserve this faith. All we have to do is believe and confess with our mouths that Jesus is LORD, believe in our hearts that You have raised Him from the dead, and we will be saved. Thank You for making this about You with simple actions. May we embrace the faith necessary to share this simple Gospel with all that we meet today. In Jesus Christ’s authority and grace, we pray, amen.