Faith Defined

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Monday, August 15, 2016
Chapters: Jeremiah 25-27
Message: Faith Defined

Hello My Friend,

Faith, To trust, to persuade, to draw towards any thing, to believe, to obey. Faith is a funny thing, it does not matter what you believe, if you hold to that belief it becomes a way of life and everything around you tends to evolve around that. Faith does not necessarily mean because we believe something that it is true, I was looking at picture of a pacu fish, they have teeth that resemble a humans, no doubt the evolutionist try to use this as an argument that we have evolved into some other species. It is much easier to have faith in something that seems so obvious rather than the obvious, that we do have a Creator, that He made everything accordingly, and that He is in control of all things.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 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 11:1,3,6.

Faith, the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another. Much of our faith in God depends upon what we have seen from those lives He has touched, but our main source of faith must come from what we learn from His Word. We must know the Bible to know God and be able to understand all that is going on in the world, otherwise our faith turns to corrupt things. God will use anyone to get His people to return to Him, He will plead with them and encourage them until there is no more hope left. Through Jeremiah, God warned them again that judgment and gave the details on exactly how it was going to happen.

“Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.” - Jeremiah 25:9-12.

“and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant,” If God’s people do not wise up and listen to His warnings no amount of pleading or silencing His faithful will stop the judgment, only true repentance does that. And He will not use His faithful to enforce judgment, He will use the ungodly and wicked. Wondering why our nations are led by corrupt leaders? Wondering why so many people are living in poverty? Wondering why strange diseases are popping up in the most populated, ungodly societies? God allows all this. Right now He is using His faithful to warn them and preach the Gospel, but there will come a time when there will be no more warnings and judgment will begin.

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” - I Corinthians 15:51-53.

Faith, the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth of what God has revealed. Faith is believing that God does exactly what He says He will do, all the time. God is no different today than He was back then, He can still do miracles today, and there are many more things that He has to accomplish yet. When God placed judgment upon the people of Judah they did not want to hear Jeremiah tell them the reason behind it, they thought if they stopped him from speaking they would stop the judgment.

“Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears. Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.” - Jeremiah 26:11-16.

“ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves,” The people did come to their senses and realized that Jeremiah was telling the truth. Sometimes being linked with Jesus can seem like we get more burdens, people constantly accusing us of things and persecuting us for doing what God wants us to do. Can I tell you that it will never stop, if they accused Jesus they are going to accuse us of the same things. We are going to face some burdens in life just for remaining faithful to God, but after the burdens always come blessings. “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” - I Peter 5:10.

Faith, The promises of God, or His truth and faithfulness. Faith means embarking on an unfamiliar journey that only God can take you, knowing that in the end it will be a blessing. God orders all the nations, Israel included, to be under the authority of Babylon, while Judah was encouraged to go with the rest of the Jews getting carried into Babylon, the rest of the nations were encouraged to stay put. It may have sounded odd, and quite a waste of time for God to do this, but for seventy years Babylon would be a great and powerful nation above all the others, and the only way anyone would be safe was to do as God says.

“And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.” - Jeremiah 27:8-11.

“that nation will I punish,” God commanded Judah and all nations to live under the authority of Babylon, if they tried to rebel they would suffer the same fate as Judah. While it seemed as though they were losing their freedom becoming servants, God was actually saving their lives. The same reigns true for those who yoke themselves with Christ, while it may seem that we are losing our freedom under the authority of Christ, He is actually saving our lives.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” - John 15:13-16.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.” - Jeremiah 25:29.

Today's Prayer: God, I know I am not perfect, I know I am going to make lots of mistakes, even when following You. My faith often gets tried when I try to do things on my own without Your guidance. Lord, give me Your power to follow You faithfully, let me not be tempted to turn to the right or left, but keep my eyes on You. Help me heed and listen for the warnings as I serve You, knowing that no matter where You take me, it will lead me to where You want me to be. Fill me with Your wisdom, guidance, and increase my faith so I can move mountains. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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