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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

How are we to walk by faith (part 2)

To walk by faith necessitates that we overcome and resist the following:

d.   Discouragements

One who walks by faith should not be discouraged because God is overall, and should remember the words Moses spoke to Joshua saying, “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you… “And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you: He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31: 6, 8).

And according to the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel it is ' Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 1:6).

e.   Doubts

To doubt is to be void of faith, and the word says quite clearly, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man supposed that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:5-8).

Since God according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, those who have obtained like precious faith with the apostles by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1: 1-4).

f.    Fear

To the children of Israel Moses said; “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:6-8).

It is stated that, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us (1John 4: 18-19).

It is further stated in scripture that; “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1Corinthians 10:13).

In conclusion, to walk by faith is simple believing that, it is God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure, and that the substance of things hoped for, is Jesus Christ whom we must believe is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. And the evidence of things not seen is as Jesus said to doubting Thomas; “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).

The challenge is to avoid the negatives, and accentuate the positives by doing what the Lord asked us to do, because faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. For someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe --- and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:17-20)

Faith therefore is being perfected by works as clearly stated by Jesus Christ who said “for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).

Nevertheless, one’s faith should be between him/herself and God, for we have been duly instructed saying “Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves” (Romans 14:22).

It is therefore imperative for us as believers to learn to have faith in God and know for a fact that He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph
 

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