Thought for the Week

Living by Faith

Hebrews 11v13 “ All these people were still living by faith when they died.”

As believers, we are called to “live by faith”. That is to live with a faith or trust in God. In Hebrews 11, there is a long record of people who lived by faith in God in the era before Jesus. As the writer says “All these people were still living by faith when they died.”

Someone said to me this week, “It seems to be a lot easier for us to have faith in God than it did for those who lived before Jesus.” I think it many ways they are right: we have so much history of God at work, we have the testimonies concerning Jesus, and we have the Holy Spirit in us right now.  And yet still, we can so easily see that faith compromised, as things and solutions of the world attract us. Ultimately the solutions of the world will all fail. God says in Zechariah 4v6, “Not by power or by might, but by my Spirit.” That is how God accomplishes His work.

This autumn, we are going to be running a series entitled “Living by Faith”. There are going to be two perspectives to the series: the first is “Living by Faith in the World” as we look at the life of Elijah in 1 Kings; and the second is “Living by Faith in Church and Mission” as we look at the life of the early Christians in Acts.

So what priority should we place on living by faith? Well, Paul writes in Galatians 5v6 “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love.”

I want to increase my faith and I find it helpful to read biographies of people of faith as their example and testimony helps increase my faith – what about you?

Let’s pray as the disciples prayed, “Lord increase our faith.” Luke 17v5

With love and blessing,

Roland