Echoes From the Campfire

Faith and fear cannot be in the same place at the same time…  You either live in one, or you live in the other.”
              –Dan Arnold  (Bear Creek)

    “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  
              –Romans 15:13 (NKJV)
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Many, many moons ago I held a series of meetings in Pennsylvania.  I thought perhaps I might be a preacher, an evangelist.  Ha, now isn’t that something!  I told the people that on the last night I would be preaching/teaching on faith.  The people came that night all hyped up ready, expecting and I said that faith is getting up in the morning, having breakfast, brushing your teeth, getting dressed and ready for work with the realization that whatever happens to you today that God is in control.  He either caused it to happen or allowed it to happen, so trust in Him.  Needless to say, that was a let-down to the congregation for this was the day of the “blab it and grab it” sermon; claim this and claim that don’t bother with the Scripture.
    I’ve noticed since that time, we have come a long way, for few dare bother with what God’s Word has to say.  Man goes along with his own opinion rather than take what the Bible says.  Phillips puts it this way, “Behind a facade of “wisdom” they became just fools…”
(Romans 1:22).  Faith is definitely part of worship.  Faith is when you worship God with all your will, for faith must go hand-in-hand with obedience.  The writer of Hebrews says this about faith, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV)  Go through the “faith chapter” of Hebrews and see how many times obedience is tied to faith.
    One of the greatest requests of the apostles of Jesus was found in Luke 17:5, “Increase our faith.”  All of us need to be seeking for our faith to be increased.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
(Ephesians 2:8, NKJV), we appropriated grace by our faith and then we need to grow in grace, therefore, that must include growing in faith.  Here are some thoughts about faith (taken from Heart At Rest, by Carlos Murphy) that I have mixed in with my thoughts.

         “Faith makes the believer farsighted (Hebrews 11:13).  God makes the eternal things real.”  We are to look onward and upward toward our heavenly home.
         “Faith makes the believer courageous” (2 Samuel 22:30).  There is a certainty about life when we have faith.  Faith gives us courage during a catastrophe or event, but more important it gives us moral courage to face the onslaught of an evil culture.
         “Faith makes the believer wise (Daniel 1:17).  God upholds and established those who trust in Him.”
         “Faith makes the believer hopeful” (Galatians 5:5).  Faith gives us an expectancy–a trust in God who will be faithful and will fulfill His promises.
         “Faith makes the believer greathearted (Exodus 11:3).  Faith enlarges vision and stirs boldness.”  Faith helps us develop and use our talents for the Kingdom of God.
         “Faith makes the believer contented (Philippians 4:11).  The man of faith never wants, even when he lacks.”
         “Faith makes the believer peaceful” (Romans 15:13).  In a world of turmoil our hearts will be at rest.  

Let me add one more:

         Faith makes the believer thankful (2 Peter 3:9).  We can be thankful for the Lord’s faithfulness and loyalty to His Word.  He is not a slacker.  Someone has written, “If a man isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.”

Truly, in these evil times we need to ask the Lord to increase our faith.