Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Rest assured in faith.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen..."(heb. 11:1)

"Faith honors God. God honors faith and goes wherever faith puts Him. Faith, Biblical faith, can do all that God can do. (Because its sole desire is God's glory, it would not ask anything amiss- 1 John 5:14.) Faith's supreme longing is for the return of the glory that has departed from the sanctuary. Its ambition is not colored by the clay vessel. Faith is wedded to the love which "seeketh not her own." Faith longs for an overthrow of the powers of darkness. Faith yearns that the world might know the message of redeeming love, and aches for the enslaved millions to be unfettered from the chains of sin. Faith has compassion for those 'Bound, who should conquer; slaves, who should be kings." -Leonard Ravenhill, Revival Praying.
"And 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 seek Him."-Hebrews 11:6
"For we walk by faith and not by sight."- 2 Corinthians 5:7

Faith...what is there even to say? I can't even begin to scratch the surface. In praying and seeking God, faith keeps on being impressed upon my heart. We absolutely and entirely need faith to be able to present ourselves as an effective tool in the hand of our Father. It is impossible to please Him without it. We need faith to dream big, to see the unseen, to believe the unbelievable, to not only agree that God is indeed able, but that He WILL provide. Jesus Himself tells us to, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." (Matt. 7:7-8) But James then warns us, " but he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord..." (James 1:6-7). Oh, if I only had faith the size of a mustard seed! Thailand needs people who have faith. God, who is faithful, has drawn many men and women of faith to this land to establish His kingdom in the heart of its people. Yet still, only 1% of Thailand has come to the saving knowledge of Christ Jesus. It is hard to think that God can penetrate a hardness of that degree, but we can believe in faith that ALL things are possible with our King. God give us faith to believe that You will create worshippers in Thailand!
Pray that we would walk by faith, lead our lives in Christ, whom we received by grace through faith, and that we would ask God in faith, fully assured that He is a good, compassionate, giving God who desires that all might become more like His Son.
<3beth

3 comments:

  1. praying for continued protection and grace!

    ReplyDelete
  2. beautifully said.
    im praying for you girls.
    love you,
    kel.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Walking on the bluffs with Penny this afternoon my heart focused on the work of prayer...the phrase "Love's Labor for the Lost" came to my mind, a spin off on the Shakespear play "Love's Labor Lost." Prayer is truly Love's labor for the Lost. After the labor comes the new birth...God is faithful. Laboring with you in Love, Mom

    ReplyDelete