Sometimes I think that faith in the LORD is very misunderstood. Too often it is used interchangeably with belief in Him, and scripture is clear in differentiating between the two.
James 2:18–20 “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”
James helps us to understand that our actions—as identified in this blog series—prove our faith. The writer of Hebrews adds a bit more.
Hebrews 11:1&3 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen….Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
Faith produces action predicated on the evidence of God’s power and authority as revealed through His creation. It accepts the testimony of God’s word to be true as evidenced by the fulfillment of prophecy and the record of history. I really like the plain speaking of the New Living Translation of these words of Isaiah.
Isaiah 45:19–21 “I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner so no one can understand what I mean. And I did not tell the people of Israel to ask me for something I did not plan to give. I, the LORD, speak only what is true and right. “Gather together and come, you fugitives from surrounding nations. What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols and pray to gods that cannot save! Consult together, argue your case, and state your proofs that idol worship pays. Who made these things known long ago? What idol ever told you they would happen? Was it not I, the LORD? For there is no other God but me—a just God and a Savior—no, not one!”
Though we cannot currently visibly “see” God, the evidences to His existence, power and authority surround us. True Christian faith is rooted in evidence; it is not blind faith or faith based on the reasoning of man—as is the case with most other belief systems.
One who has a healthy fear of God will give testimony through times of worship and praise.
Psalm 5:7 “But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.”
Psalm 22:23 “Ye that fear the LORD, praise him….”
Psalm 96:9 “O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.”
Revelation 19:5 “…Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.”
Webster tells us that worship means to show adoration and reference and that praise is to magnify and glorify through words or song. I love music, and it can provide one of the most effective ways of attuning our spirit with His Spirit and through which we can share our love and appreciation of Him and for His many blessings. The Apostle Paul recognized how music reflects our heart before the Lord.
Ephesians 5:18–20 “…be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ….”
Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
In fact, a wonderful way to learn scripture is through songs that are basically scripture set to music. My grandchildren have memorized much scripture through the music CD’s that are part of their homeschool curriculum. I have spent many wonderful hours worshipping and praising God by singing along with or just meditating on beautiful and joyful Christian music—from the old hymns to the contemporary Christian music of today. I encourage you to check out the scripture card slideshows on my website for a worship experience as you enjoy the truth of God’s word framed in the beauty of His creation. (www.momsbiblejournal.com/Pages/ScriptureCards.html)
Another powerful evidence that you have a healthy fear of the LORD is your willingness to make personal sacrifices in obedience to Him. There is no greater example of this than Abraham’s intent to sacrifice Isaac, the son through whom God had promised to fulfill His covenant with him.
Genesis 22:12 “And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”
Paul tells us that it is only reasonable that we present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God.
Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
In other words, we are to die to self to live in submission and obedience to Him. He, in fact, tells us that this is the only reasonable response in light of the sacrifice of His Son to redeem us from our sin and give us an eternal future with Him. I remember being surprised to learn that God considers our words of praise and thanks to Him to be a sacrificial offering.
Hebrews 13:15 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
Anything we do to show our gratitude to, worship of and submission to God is a sacrifice; it is something we freely offer. The word sacrifice implies that something is being given up for something else. When we take the time to truly praise God with “the fruit of our lips” and express our gratitude for His love, mercy, grace and forgiveness—not to mention our many material blessings—we are “sacrificing” or freely giving of our time, energy and thought to focus on Him over anything and everything else.
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