Hall of Faith
If you want to live a life that pleases God then your faith must be evident in how you live for it is by faith that we please God.
"The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. The Spirit of the Lord came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died. Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.”
Judges 3:5-7, 9-12, 15-23, 25-26, 28, 31
What does it mean to you to have faith? Does it mean belief? Confidence? Expectation? Trust? How does your life reflect what you have faith in? When we read a passage like Judges 3, it can be tempting to judge the Israelites for their lack of faithfulness to God. The text says they did evil in the eyes of the Lord and forgot their God. There seems to be a contrast between being faithful and forgetting. It begs the question why people forget God.
In our world, there are numerous reasons. We can get busy, we can be comfortable, we can be in a hurry, and on and on. Jesus confronted this when He told the parable of the sower. The same issues that caused the people to forget are the reasons why the seed of the Word of God did not grow in the soil of the parable Jesus told. Jesus said life's worries and anxieties, the pleasures and possessions, and the enemy of our life all took the seed. Where are you most susceptible to forgetting God or having your seed not sprout?
When trouble came, the truth about where they had the most faith and it was not in their own strength. The people knew that they could not overpower the enemy on their own. Their faith was in God and it was by faith that they cried out to God because they believed He would help. Why is it that we tend to wait until the moments in life are most pressure packed to turn to God for help? Could the troubled times not have been avoided by being faithful prior to needing to cry out in faith? How could you apply this truth to proactively show your faith by how you seek God first?
“Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plots of evildoers. They plot injustice and say, “We have devised a perfect plan!” Surely the human mind and heart are cunning. All people will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done. The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; all the upright in heart will glory in him!”
Psalms 64:2-6, 9-10
David says something that we can easily miss but has great significance in how we live out our faith. He says all people will fear God, proclaim His works, and ponder what He has done. You do not need to be a Christian to be in awe as you stand on the shores of an ocean nor feel small when you stare at the height of a great Redwood. You do not have to believe in Jesus when you are in a hospitable bed but you will ponder your mortality. The question then is not whether you will see evidence of God, but what you will do with what you see.
David says that the people who are in right alignment with God's thinking and God's ways will rejoice and take refuge. Those are two very different and interesting words to consider. Why are those the responses? Where does joy come from? The bible says that it comes from humility and gratitude.
The people of faith in Christ experience continual joy or rejoicing because of what God has done. When we think of what was done on the cross and the price He paid how else could we be but thankful. When they consider the works of His hand the response is gratitude and that gratitude produces joy. If you are not experiencing joy today, ask yourself how long you have spent thanking God for what He has done. See how long it takes before your heart fills with joy. Have you calendared time every day to thank God? Do you want more joy?
David says the other natural response is to take refuge. Jesus said in this world you will have trouble. God knows where we live and what we face. He wants to be who you turn to and where you run when you need help. He wants you to believe that He will deliver you from all harm and draw close to you when you feel most vulnerable. The heart of faith believes that God is good and faithful. It believes God will provide and protect. Refuge is a natural response and shows trust. Jesus said come to me all who are weary and I will give you strength. Could you use time where you feel safe and held today?
“Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death. The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin. Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death. Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray. The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense. The way of the Lord is a refuge for the blameless"
Proverbs 10:2-4, 8-9, 11-14, 16-17, 21, 29
Mark Batterson has written that we should work like it depends on us and trust like it depends on God. There is a balance between doing and trusting that is evident for those who follow Jesus. Jesus does not say believe in Me and stay where you are. Jesus says it will be better for you that I leave because you will receive power from the Holy Spirit. Faith does not mean playing it safe. Faith is a call to action and practicing the gifts you have been given.
Solomon says the same thing in this text. He says that there is work to do. He describes walking, working, and the wages of the righteous. These are not terms that are simply waiting for God to show up, but reflect a life of pursuing God. How will you use your gifts today? The life of faith uses the gifts that are given so that God would be glorified as we work trusting that God will make everything work out the way it should. Failure in the life of faith is not have the outcomes be the way we want every time. Failure is not trying and not believing that you have a part to play in bringing the kingdom. Solomon says the righteous will nourish many and the mouth of the rightous is a fountain of life. Our words, actions, and attitude all point to what we believe to be true. How is your life demonstrating your faith in Christ?
“But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?””
Jonah 4:1-4
There is such tremendous irony in the story of Jonah. Jonah demonstrated his faith in God when he proclaimed that God was compassionate and would deliver him. What happened? God delivered him from the belly of a whale even after Jonah had been rebellious. Jonah faithfully responds to God's call the second time and shares the news of repentance. Then Jonah gets mad at God for being compassionate to others. Jesus said take out the log of your own eye before you tell other people to take out the splinter in theirs. Jonah's judgment kept him from loving the people around him. How does judgment or labeling of other people impact your ability to love?
Do you see how God is compassionate even when Jonah is self-righteous? God does not condemn Jonah. Rather, like a loving Father, He invites him to consider whether judgment is better than mercy. He wants Jonah to consider if punishment is better than each person finding a personal relationship with God. The answer is clearly that it is not. We can have faith in God because the scriptures point to the consistency of His character and desire to see all people find redemption.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
Hebrews 11:1, 3-8, 17, 20-25, 29-31, 39-40
Jesus wants you to have confidence and assurance. I have spoken with many people who do not have confidence in God or assurance of their salvation. Though they have seen the evidence of God and pondered life, they did not make the connection to God's plan of redemption for them personally. This is where Jesus steps into the picture. He says that if you know Me then you know the Father. Jesus said I am the Resurrection and the Life. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. People might not see the way nor understand all of the mysteries of life, but they can know God if they know Jesus.
Are you feeling confident and assured? Notice how Paul turns the tables on us. He says that faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance in what we do not see. Is this not the opposite of everything we have ever experienced in life? Do we not want to see it to believe it. Do we not judge others by what we see? Do we not make decisions on what we know at the present moment rather than what we believe will come to pass later?
Jesus says there is a better way to live and His teaching is right in alignment with Paul. He said blessed are those who believe but do not yet see. The word blessed really means you will be happier or experience more joy as you trust that God will do what He has said He will do. What in your life reflects faith in God? What are you trying to do that could only succeed if God shows up and makes a way?
Don't we tend to play it safe in our prayer life and in how we live? Our world teaches us to avoid pain and we have learned to be afraid of what might happen. God wants us to learn to believe again. Bold prayers honor God. How bold are your prayers? How often do we give up hope that someone else will turn to God or that our greatest dreams could come true? God wants us to believe in Him and be people who live with confidence and expectation. Each of the people listed in the great Hall of Faith had a moment where they made the decision to trust God with everything and they confidence was catalogued in this chapter. What will your legacy be? How will people remember you? Will you be known as someone who inspired and helped others find the hope and peace of Jesus Christ? You have everything you need already within you to live a life pleasing to God. Today is the best day to take a step of faith and walk with the expectation. Take a step of faith and you will see God is always faithful.