(Continuing thoughts from Romans 4)
SCRIPTURE: Romans (NIV) 4:16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace…
OBSERVATION: What is given to us by grace is received through faith. That truth shows that faith is of great importance to our spiritual life, and even to life in general. Faith is believing that something is true even if it cannot be proved to everyone’s satisfaction. What matters is that I believe it is true, so I base my actions on that belief. I act like it is true because I believe it is true.
When someone makes me a promise, I have faith based on who they are, and the experience I have had with that person in the past. My faith is based on their words and their character.
Faith is a connection with our mind and our heart. With our heart we become convicted that something is true and with our minds we choose to believe and with our body we begin to ack out that faith.
Faith is how we deal with things we cannot fully prove. In faith we buy food at the market, now knowing how it was raised, harvested, cleaned and marketed. By faith we drink water coming from a source we cannot see. By faith we trust the doctor. AND by faith we believe that a God we cannot see will accept as payment for our sins a sacrifice that we did not make! By faith we come to know that HE really loves us and wants to share our lives by making us to be His dwelling place!!! (Hebrews 11:1)
APPLICATION: Many times, from the outside, God uses another person to speak truth about Jesus to our minds, and at the same time the Holy Spirit starts working on the inside, in our heart. And often, when the other person is gone, the Holy Spirit continues to push thoughts across our mind with feelings moving in our heart. When, with our faith, we finally agree with what God is speaking and surrender to Him as Lord and Savior, our heart and mind become unified in Christ, peace floods our soul and our joy overflows.
We all need to pay attention to thoughts that continually cross our minds. It can be that the Holy Spirit is trying to get our attention.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, use this SOAP to help us better understand the place of faith in our daily relationship with you. May you enjoy living in us. (Hebrews 11:6) Amen
Pastor Leon
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