By Faith

Hebrews 11:7 7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith. When God speaks to us and asks us to obey what He says, it can be scary. Just think about Noah and what God was asking him to believe. Build a boat to handle the water that comes from rain when it has never rained before? Noah's faith was real and present when he listened and believed God and followed His instructions to the completion of the ark. The verse above said it "was by faith" that Noah did this. Not speculation, not sight, not wisdom, just FAITH! His faith also condemned the rest of the world because he separated himself for a different direction and that direction was following God.

Many times God will lead us to a point of faith that will stretch us in our thinking and we have to make a decision. Is this God speaking to me? If so, can I trust (or have faith in) him? What will be the effect of taking this step of faith? If we truly live by faith then God is going to have to come through. And He will. A lack of faith kills the whole thing. But living "by faith" will make it come to pass. Noah received the righteousness that comes by faith. When we receive Jesus we receive the righteousness of God because of Jesus and that righteousness is what we live and exist in our Christian life. This righteousness that comes by faith will lead us to live a life that echoes the same message of Noah. With Jesus, we have eternal life in heaven. Without Jesus, we are condemned to hell. As believers, we need to be telling all we meet to "get on the boat" and receive eternal life in heaven.

By Faith we walk and exist and live our lives and the call of Jesus is for each of us to share our faith with others so they can live their lives by faith as well. It is by faith that I surrendered to the call of Jesus in my life and have been following that call for over 45 years. Every day is another opportunity to share the gospel with someone and tell them to get on the boat or they will drown in their sin. By Faith I will continue to share that message as long as I have breath, and By Faith I will continue to believe that message is real and truthful. Paul wrote it this way in Philippians 1:21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.

The Pilgrimage Continues

David Warren