A MATTER OF FAITH!

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

 

It seems I have always been intensely interested in the field of criminal justice. A review of my resume’ says I have been employed as a city police officer, a dispatcher, a juvenile probation officer, a criminal justice planner, and a college professor of criminal justice classes.

One of the things I have learned well through this extensive involvement is that evidence is something that is tangible and able to be presented in court as proof. Without it, the case rests only on circumstantial (or inferred) evidence.

            So here is the paradox in Hebrews 11:1-- substances have solid qualities, but faith is ethereal. Evidence is something touchable that is marked for exhibit and a number is placed on it for identification, and yet here in Hebrews it is described as being not seen.

What this verse reveals to me is that we are to have faith that is solid. It is not the namby-pamby type of stuff that cowers in the corner and hopes for the best. It is the bold and positive assurance that God’s Word is true and worthy of our trust. 

 
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!

Pastor Cecil A. Thompson

Today's Bible Verse...

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.----Romans 5:1-2

Thoughts on Today's Verse... Peace is more than the mercurial, vaporous, whimsical wish of folks who just want everyone to get along and things to be calm. The peace the apostle Paul is describing her, peace with God, goes much deeper than simply a desire for calm and for a lack of conflict. Jesus, through his sacrificial obedience to God, has made peace with God real for us. Yes, God provided it by grace. Yes, God is the one who insures it because of that grace. But, because this peace is tied to him and his character, we can rejoice and anticipate being caught up in the glory of our glorious God.

My Prayer... O great Majesty on high, I praise you for the gift of your grace in Jesus. Give me confidence and trust so that I may stand, secure and emboldened to live for you, with a life full of hope and joy. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

The Thoughts and Prayer on Today's Verse are written by Phil Ware.

Today's Verse Illustrated...

Ulterior Motives for Visitation by Dik LaPine