Faith Загвар

Day 1 – The word ‘faith’ comes from the Greek ‘Pistis’

The word ‘faith’ comes from the Greek word ‘pistis’ which means faithfulness, trust, knowledge, certainty, an act of adhesion.

REFLECTIONS:

Read Mark 11:22-26 and Hebrews 11:6 and take a moment to answer the following questions:

➤ In the text from the Gospel of Mark, what are the two commands that Jesus gives?

➤ What does Hebrews 11:6 tell us about the importance of faith and why?

CONTENT:

In this passage from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus gives orders when He says, “Have faith in God” and “Believe that you have received it”, (speaking about what you have asked for). This reveals to us that faith is not something that is optional in the life of a disciple. We have become children of God by faith, through the perfect sacrifice of Christ and, through faith, following our repentance, we have understood that our sins are forgiven. It is by faith that we have been saved and it is by faith that we live out our lives as disciples. In fact, the Bible clearly says that without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Faith is something that is extremely simple because it is solely linked to our knowledge of God and our relationship with Him. At our conversion we started to know Him and, day after day, on our journey of discipleship, we continue to discover Him and know Him better. Unbelief is a sin because it leads us to doubt what God can and wants to do for us. It is a lack of trust in Him, which prevents Him from taking action and saddens Him… If for example, you give somebody the task of cooking a meal, but then afterward you come into the kitchen to send that person away because you believe that they will not be able to do it, it shows that you have doubts and in acting so, you prevent them from taking action. It is what we sometimes do with God. We trust in Him and ask Him to act and intervene, whilst at the same time, we act exactly as if God was unable to answer our prayers. Or our words profess the opposite of what we have just confessed in our prayer… Knowing God and having faith in Him is knowing that He is the Almighty, that He is full of compassion and love for us, that He is just, good and faithful, that He is always present and that we have EVERYTHING fully in Him (cf. Colossians 2:10).

What is more, this knowledge isn’t something intellectual and isn’t gained through reasoning, it’s knowledge of the heart. Too often, we know plenty of things about God, but in reality, we know Him very little! And faith doesn’t come from our intellect or reasoning. It is stored in our spirit because this is the part of our being through which we are in relationship with God. If you believe with your intelligence, your reasoning, and your logic, you will be disappointed because you won’t discover what you believe… On the other hand, what you know in your spirit, because God revealed it to you, nobody will be able to take that away from you. It is a conviction that is going to transform your life and allow you to walk with a clear conviction. And this stands, even if you haven’t yet received or seen what you believe… Because it is already a reality for you.

Faith always works in both directions, that is, we are on one side and God is on the other. First of all, we know God and that comes from experience. On His side God knows us and He sees our faithfulness and our character. He knows that He can take us at our word when we ask in faith, and in the same way, God loves it when we take Him at His word. Have you ever said to God, “You have said it, I believe it and I’m going to experience it!”? That is what the Roman centurion did when he said to Jesus, “Just say the word from where you are and my servant will be healed” (cf. Matthew 8:8). This stirred up in Jesus admiration to the point that He said that He had not seen anyone in Israel with such a great faith… In the same way, you can stir up admiration in God’s heart by taking Him at His word…

Perhaps you are shocked that I am telling you to take God at His word… One of my friends has the habit of saying, “You say it, I want it and I demand it”. He isn’t being pretentious or manipulative, but he is simply putting his faith in action because he knows his God and has already experienced His power and intervention on numerous occasions. One thing that faith does is that it always comes to confront religiosity in people because faith upsets and confronts unbelief. Religion is based upon rules to observe while faith is founded on a relationship with God. A disciple isn’t someone who follows religious rules. On the contrary, it is someone who lives with their God. Before you go about your daily life, why don’t you take some time today to seek out who God is for you in your challenges and difficulties, in order to allow your faith to grow…

MY DECISION:

➤ What I have understood for my personal life:

➤ What I am deciding to do in my life based on what I have just learned:

➤ What you decide today determines who and what you will be tomorrow!

Adapted from "un disciple en marche" copyright 2018 by Luc Favre, published by Vie Victorieuse. All rights reserved.