Faith

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Scripture teaches us that no man has ever seen God. The only person to ever come close to seeing God that I read about in the Bible is Moses. And he only saw the back of God, not His face. God told Moses specifically how to approach Him. God said, “Stand in the cleft of the rock” and “you will see my back, but my face must not be seen” (Exodus 33:17-23). God told Moses in that encounter that no one had ever seen Him and lived. Why? Because that is the holiness of God. Incredible and powerful! We can live our Christian lives three ways: by faith, sight, or good works. Here are reasons why I choose faith: (1) We are instructed by the Word of God to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). I am glad my Christian walk is by faith in God and not in people or things of this world. Guaranteed, people will disappoint you. But if your faith journey is in God, you will never be disappointed. (2) What about good works? Well, doing good works is biblical, but even that can bring disappointment, frustration, and emptiness. The Christian life is all about balance. Absolutely, do good works, but don’t make it the basis of your Christian walk. We do good works in ministry related to world disasters, overseas and local outreach to the poor in spirit. But remember, you and I must still rely on our faith in the Son of God. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Hebrews 11 is often called the “Hall of Faith.” I encourage you to take the time to read it and be encouraged to see how the family of faith walked their journey here on earth and accomplished great things for the kingdom of God. – Marshall Murdock   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org