Through God's inspiration, Paul clearly defines and characterizes the somewhat confusing word “FAITH" in Hebrews 11:1, 6:
"Now faith is complete confidence in what God says, and assurance about what He does that we do cannot see. And, without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that He is Almighty God, and that He rewards, now and in eternity, all those who exhibit "faith" by passionately seeking His Face." LSV
FAITH IS COMPLETE TRUST in Some-One we’ve never seen, can’t audibly hear, don't totally understand, and some say, is One without any hard scientific evidence anyway.
Last, and perhaps most critical, without faith, we will not clearly see God's Hand in our daily lives, can’t please God, and will never receive any "by faith" rewards in Heaven.
Those who have lived (and are living) "by faith" lives, are very few and rare indeed. In Hebrews 11: 4-40, the apostle, in his "hall of faith", makes special note of the few that lived lives that could be characterized "by faith". Spend a few minutes going through the list, and take special note of what characterized each of their lives.
What we will find is lives characterized by faith, are never real neat and pretty,and rare indeed. They were simply, "Semper Fi".
In fact, Paul noted in v.38, "the world was not worthy of them."
Wow! Authentic “faith” is rare, but is well worth our close scrutiny and understanding, Wouldn’t you say?
How do we recognize authentic "faith" anyway? How is authentic faith developed? And, how do we know when we are living a life that pleases God? A life that is clearly characterized "by faith"?
Would love to hear your comments about these poignant questions. More about authentic "faith" in the next several days.
God bless you as you seek His Beautiful Face,
Lee
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