But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
I have a pastor friend who often asks me a simple question,"what is the word?" By this he means that he wants a fresh word of inspiration from the scripture. The word for today is Faith. Faith can mean different things to different people. Some would define it as a creed or list of things that a group of people collectively believes in. Others would say it is a personal belief in God. These these things are not wrong but the Bible gives us a clearer definition of faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is the "substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." In other words it is believing in something I can't see just as if I held it in my hand.
I like to read books about Biblical authority. Because some have criticized the scripture and said it is full of contradictions, entire volumes have been written to clear up those supposed contradictions. I have read many of these books and usually enjoy them. But I don't need them to help me have faith.
I recently watched a presentation about science and the Biblical flood. The presenter used science in an effort to prove that the Bible is true. I enjoyed the presentation but I didn't need it to believe..
By it's very definition, faith is believing in something I can not see. It may not make sense on a human level but because God said it, I believe it. We live in a world of scepticism where everthing must be proved, cross-referenced, and then double and triple checked. I have no problem with "contending for the faith" as it were. But I believe it means much more to God when we simply choose to believe him without needing any outside affirmation. After all the very fist step in approaching God is believing that He is. When Moses asked God about who he was God's answer was "I am."
Why not choose to believe today? I can promise that you won't be disappointed. HE IS!
