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faith & courage



Understanding faith is no easy task, yet there are some happenings in history, both inside and outside of the Bible, that describe the reality and the price and the rewards of faith. 

One of those is the founding of this country where we are blessed to live.  People through hundreds of years have fought for our freedom, and this week is the birthday of our constitution.  If you look at the document we know as the “declaration of independence”, you will meet people who took their faith seriously.  Those who signed it knew that their lives were in danger.  It took courage to sign it.

Listening to the stories of the people who fought for our freedom or even travel back further to those who sought a new home, and you will hear stories of faith, courage and desire to worship as they wanted to.  America was founded because of faith.  It is amazing to come to understand real freedom and faith are synonyms.

It is impossible to have real freedom without faith.  Freedom from oppression where you can’t worship, freedom from fear, freedom from addiction, freedom from … you name it.  The real word for freedom is FAITH, and it must be rightly placed faith.

Hebrews 11:1  NLT
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Faith is reality for those who have experienced God.  Yet often we have a onetime experience that makes no difference in our lives and leaves us unchanged, not challenged and frustrated.  That is not God.  Real faith leaves us changed. 

The people who founded the United States of America understand that faith was seen in action.  Who are the people you know or have seen live by faith?

Faith acts.  Faith puts into practice what we say we believe.  The people of Hebrews 11 understood that faith is tied to what we do and what we say.  They go hand in hand.  In fact the people around the people of faith believed they understood faith because they saw it in living color.

Pleasing God is the part of faith that the world misses.  People say they have faith, yet there is something missing.  There is a piece that just won’t line up.  It is because of placing faith in the wrong things.

We put faith in people.  Has someone ever disappointed you that you believe in?  We put faith and trust in money.  Have you ever run out of money?  On the list goes, and that is why God has to be where our faith is placed and why we have faith and the origin of faith.

Hebrews 11:6  NLT
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Believe God and have an on going relationship with Him.  Pleasing God is a big deal.  I believe that God called me to be on mission with Him.  Often that seems to be mission impossible.

Faith moves mountains.  Faith accepts responsibility.  Faith takes God at face value and experiences life on steroids.  Faith believes and hopes the best and offers grace to people, even to the people that hurt you.  Faith takes the next step even when it seems failure is possible and fear is rampant.

I want to suggest that being on mission with God means that we have to live with courage and believe what God says.  Faith literally lives with courage.

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