Make Every Effort: Peter's Fervent PleasSample

Day 4: The Foundation of Faith

Faith is the basis, and requires nothing on our part, except surrendering all we are to all that Jesus Christ is. According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is the substance and confidence we have in Jesus Christ. It comes by God’s grace and not by our effort, and so our adventure in Christ begins with faith. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit, but it is also a fruit of God’s Spirit, so the more deeply we know Jesus, the more faith is produced in our life.

How do we know God is real and that He is uncreated and He created the heavens and earth? It is by faith. Hebrews 11:3: “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.” The scientific evidence for creation by a loving God is overwhelming, but it can’t be absolutely proven. God wants us to choose wisely based on all the evidence around us, and we are surrounded by evidence.

Psalm 19:1 beautifully proclaims: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” The complexities and beauty of our universe could not possibly happen by chance. Chance can’t produce thought or morals or conscience or life or design, and our bodies are examples of intricate and loving design. Everything God made has astounding design, and the closer you look at it, the more intricate the design becomes.

Magnify anything made by humans, and the flaws become glaringly obvious, but the more you magnify God’s creation, the more incredible it becomes. Still, we must choose to believe and not reject the evidence all around us. The wise choice is to fall on our faces before our loving God in awe and surrender ourselves to Him.

The Bible tells us, and it is obvious by looking around us, that most choose against the evidence and reject God. Romans 1:17-20 can be such a disheartening passage, but it ends with the clear statement that we can’t avoid the Truth forever: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Choosing to be in God’s family is the best and wisest choice we can ever make, and it is based on faith. Without faith, there is no Christian life.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Faith is the basis of our righteousness and our entire life, as it says in Romans 1:17: “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.”

Reflection: We are surrounded by evidence of God’s power and reality; let us be found righteous in choosing to surrender our lives to Him and receive His abundant, everlasting Life. That is only the wonderful beginning! Faith is the foundation: are you ready to discover this Life for yourself and see how this just gets more and more exiting?