Devotion: What Is Faith?

Explaining faith to those who doubt the existence of faith can be summed up similar to this, which surprisingly supports the existence of faith that can be found in everyone.

A man (woman) agrees to take a job with a company.  The company tells the man that he will be paid every two weeks.  The man agrees to the terms and accepts the job.  The man reports to work the first day, works eight hours, and afterwards, he goes home.  The next day the man repeats what he did the first day.  The man does the exact same thing for one week straight.  This is a classic example of faith in action.  The man has placed his faith in the company, believing that he will be paid when he gets to the end of the pay period, which is supported by him going to work every day and not getting any form of compensation during the period.  Payday comes and the company gives the man his first paycheck.  Now that the man has his paycheck, he does not need faith anymore because the thing that he had hope for, the thing that he believed he was getting from the company is now a reality.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1 KJV).”

“Now faith is a well-grounded assurance of that for which we hope, and a conviction of the reality of things which we do not see (Hebrews 11:1 Weymouth New Testament Translation).”

“Now faith means that we are confident of what we hope for, convinced of what we do not see (James Moffitt).”

Faith is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen.  Faith is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us even though we cannot see it up ahead.  Faith has been around since the beginning of time.  Faith is trust in somebody or something, especially without logical proof.  It is having trust in somebody that you consider worthwhile and truthful.  It is also accepting that something exists when there is no physical proof of its existence or of its reality.  While broad in its usage, there are two truths concerning the activity of faith.

First, faith provides substance or assurance.  Then, faith provides evidence, in the sense of proof that results in confidence.  There is not a lot of difference between assurance and evidence except for their qualifiers.  One involves hope and the other involves realities that are unseen.  Everything that you have learned has come through your five senses or through sense knowledge.  Faith is not perceived by the senses because it is the evidence of the thing hoped for and not the thing itself.  You do not need evidence to believe in something that you can physically see, taste, smell, hear, or touch.  The evidence speaks to the fact that the thing exists somewhere, otherwise you cannot have evidence for something that does not exist.  Then there is where you believe something is right or beneficial and you act in accordance with that belief.  To believe is to accept something as true or real.

Whenever there is faith, there is also some type of action, a corresponding action involved.  Everywhere you see faith expressed in the Bible, there is some type of action associated with that faith.  Faith is acting, which is the action, upon what you believe.  You have to start with something and that something is belief.  You first must believe, which is accepting that something can be true or that something is real.  Then you will need faith, which is believing or trusting that something is, especially when there is no logical proof that it exists.  Next, there is action, which is doing something in order to reach a goal.  Once you reach your goal, which is basically the end of the race, then there is no more need to have faith.  You do not need faith for something that you can physically see, that you can physically taste, that you can physically smell, that you can physically hear, or that you can physically touch.  Once you physically see it, taste it, smell it, hear it, or touch it, then you do not need faith, because now you actually have the thing that you had hoped for, so there is no need to continue hoping for it, you have it.

In our story, the man’s faith is tied to the belief, the well-ground assurance that he will be paid when he is supposed to be paid.  The evidence of his conviction is tied to him going to work every day, even though he cannot see the reality of the thing he hopes to get, which is the pay.  Once the man gets his paycheck, he does not need faith anymore because the thing that he had hope for, the thing that he believed he was getting from the company is now a reality.

There are many who fail to understand the power of faith and how it works.  We hope this example will help in your understanding of faith.  As you read today’s inspirational message, we pray that it will be an inspiration to you as well as a blessing.  If blessed by today’s message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

More About KWM

Kingdom Worker Ministries offers a series of products and resources to those desiring to dig deeper into the Word of God and break traditionalism to gain full truth of God’s words and principles.  Our products are designed to increase your awareness, improve your understanding, deepen your knowledge and inspire you to walk in truth.

Our desire is to impart knowledge that will enable you to discern the truths hidden in God’s word (Ezekiel 44:23) and to provide validation to those who have an ear to hear his word (Ephesians 4:29).

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Devotion: How Many Sons Does God Have?

Many of us are familiar with the verse John 3:16, which focuses on God and his son.  Depending on the Bible version you have, the passage will read something like, For God so loved the world that he gave his “only begotten Son” (King James Version), that he gave his “only Son (the unique Son of God) (The Living Bible), that he gave his “one and only Son” (Basic English Bible), or that he gave his “only Son” (Weymouth New Testament Translation).  As we have discussed in previous devotionals, there are varied beliefs about the son of God, so much so, that we wonder if the varied translations of this particular verse are all saying the same thing about the son of God.  From these varied translations, we see that Jesus is labeled as God’s “only begotten Son,” his “only Son (the unique Son of God),” his “one and only Son,” or his “only Son.”  In short, each of the Bible translations listed above and many others not listed, cite Jesus as being “the only son of God.”  So, is Jesus the only son of God?  To many believers and some non-believers, the traditional answer would be “yes.”  The interesting thing is that according to the Bible, Jesus was not God’s only son.  According to scripture, God had another son.

Devotion: Is All The Bible True?

When asked where “the word of God” can be found, the most popular answer is “the Bible.”  Many believe the Bible to be the inerrant and infallible word of God, but is this belief the truth?  Is the Bible actually the inerrant and infallible word of God?  First, let us define a few important words.  The first word “inerrant,” simply means “free from errors or untruths.”  The next word “infallible,” means “incapable of making mistakes or being wrong” or simply “incapable of error.”  Another definition says that “infallible” also means “absolutely trustworthy or sure.”  When combined, we see why the Bible is said to be “absolutely trustworthy or sure” because of its association with the word of God.  This has led many to consider the Bible of being “incapable of error, of making mistakes, or being wrong.”  But does all of this mean that the entire Bible is true?  That is a question that has been pondered throughout the ages.

Devotion: Is Money Your God?

Most of us have heard the phrase, “Money is the root of all evil.”  Stated this way, this phrase leads us to believe that “money” itself is “the root or cause of all evil.”

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (I Timothy 6:10).

According to scripture, it “the love of money” that is “the root or cause of all evil.”  The actual wording brings to light a slightly different interpretation where “the love of money” is the root cause of all kinds of evil and not money itself.  It is this “love of money,” this desire in people to be rich that is the first step of a downward spiral that causes all kinds of wrongdoings just to acquire this money.  Those who covet after money, fall into temptation, and do all kinds of unwise, destructive, and malicious things that eventually hurts them, all to satisfy this desire to gain access to money.  Because of their “love of money,” these same people have turned away from God, have been led astray from the faith, and have inflicted themselves with countless sorrows that eventually lead to their ruin and destruction.

Devotion: Magnify God

The Bible says, “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17), but most believers do not live there, that is to say that they do not “live by faith.”  What we do instead is, we visit there from time to time.  Yes, we live by faith on occasion, but we never dwell there, nor do we take up residency there.  And though we see things that causes us to believe that anything is possible with God many times over, we fail to constantly maintain that belief, that level of faith that the scriptures say, “we should live by.”  Because we fail to live there, to take residency, we tend to be “carnally minded,” which the scripture says is “death” (Romans 8:6).  Carnally mindedness is being focused on the things of this world from a human emotional standpoint.  Carnally minded people fail to focus on God, fail to focus on his word, and fail to focus on the things of God.

“Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks.  But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened” (Romans 1:21 AMPC).

Devotion: God Gave Us Dominion

One of the most misunderstood gifts that God has ever given to mankind was “the original dominion” he gave to the first man.  When man was created, God gave man authority or “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26-28).  God told man to subdue the earth and have dominion over everything.  He was to reign over God’s creation.

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:  all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas” (Psalm 8:3-8).

Devotion: Train Your Children

Scripture tells us “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).  We kind of like the way “The Living Bible”translates this verse.

“Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he will remain upon it” (Proverbs 22:6 TLB).

We see here that not only are we to train up a child in the way he or she should go, but we are to teach a child to choose the right path and when the child is older, the child will not depart from that right path but will remain or stay on that path.  “The Amplified Bible” translates the passage this way:

“Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents], even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6 AMP).