Speaker: Ben Sigman

Theme:  Only God

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Hosanna - Paul Baloche, More Than Anything - Hillsong, Happy Day - Tim Hughes, How He Loves - David Crowder

Read:  Hebrews 11:29-34 

Think:  The word ‘faith’ is used in popular culture a lot more than it used to be.  There was a time when a person might have been called religious; now that individual is ‘a person of faith’.  What was once a non-profit or non-governmental organization is now often called ‘a faith-based’ group.  In many ways, it is encouraging that faith as a spiritual exercise is becoming more widely accepted.  But as Christians, we need to be sure that we’re not letting our ideas about faith become fuzzy.

Too often, faith is considered strictly an internal phenomenon.  In part, this may be attributable to the Christian tradition of which our church is a part.  Protestants generally, and Evangelicals specifically, have put a premium on knowledge, emphasizing the importance of the study of scripture and its accurate interpretation – one must think correctly.  While this is essential, it is an incomplete description of biblical faith. 

The faith that we see in Scripture includes action.  Faith becomes belief in motion.  Think of it this way: you may believe that an elevator will not plummet, but the act of faith is actually stepping into the elevator.  As we read in Hebrews 11, God’s chosen ones walked on the dry floor of the Red Sea, marched around Jericho, conquered kingdoms, and routed foreign armies.  They didn’t just have faith, they moved in faith.

In his weekend sermon, Pastor Ben emphasized a particular trait of the active side of faith, risk-taking.  As catalogued in Hebrews 11, a faith willing to take risks for God’s Kingdom pleases God.  When we step out in faith, God is there.  We need a faith willing to step out despite the risks, confident that God is with us.  Because He is. 

Do:   Look around you today at the ways you act in faith.  You hit the brakes in your car, eat food that you didn’t cook, and send your kids to school, acting on a belief that the outcomes will be acceptable.  Do you have a much faith in God as you do in your fellow man? 

Pray:   Father, I do believe, but putting that belief into action is hard.  Help me first to see chances to act on my faith in You.  I know such opportunities are all around me, but I don’t always see them.  Even more, having shown me what I could do, help me to do it.  I want to be known as a person of faith because of my actions, not just my beliefs.  Amen.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

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