Engineered Faith

My oldest son, Ty, replaced his decking on the back of his home a couple of years ago, and when I noticed it was a "strange" looking wood, he told me it wasn't wood at all, but engineered flooring. I asked him. Is it better than wood? To which he replied, "It doesn't rot like wood, and it is guaranteed to last a lot longer than even treated wood! "Makes sense to me", I replied. This flooring, which has additives to make it look like wood, yet is not wood at all, appears to be long-lasting and a very good choice for decking. Since our conversation, I have seen more and more wood-like wood that is not wood at all used because of its longevity.

From time to time, I have been introduced to a new faith called Engineered Faith. This is not a technical term, but a term I have made up to explain a very weak and suspect faith that many follow in the midst of a dark world that needs to see "real" faith and not just a faith we engineer ourselves. Engineer (def) - skillfully or artfully arrange for (an event or situation) to occur.

The apostle Paul had to deal with Engineered Faith quite often and there was a big vein of it in the church in the region called Galatia, and the following words is how Paul addressed this Engineered Faith. Galatians 1: ⁶ I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News ⁷ but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. ⁸ Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. ⁹ I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. ¹⁰ Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.

I mean, Paul hit it "upside the mouth" real quick in Chapter 1, and then he concludes the thought by saying, ¹⁰ Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. Let's not mince words here: to compromise anything of the gospel with manmade impressions is a "twisting of the truth" or engineering this faith to fit our own thinking. The gospel will not be compromised and engineered to please a lost and dying world, because the gospel is the pure word of truth from our perfect Lord. Don't try to put human reasoning into this faith, because humanism only distorts the truth and waters down the intent of this truth.

Back to the engineered flooring and the ability for it to last longer. We cannot apply the thought of us engineering anything different to the gospel, because the impurity of our thoughts would stain and weaken the message. This thought process applies to our faith walk as well. We must seek God in all things and pray without ceasing to know His direction. As we highlight the thought of a new year and possibly a new beginning in our faith walk to trust God more and me less, keep in mind the words of the Psalmist in Psalms 25: ⁴ Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. ⁵ Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. This is my hope for 2026, or really just for today, and our God is faithful to show us His ways when we ask, and I am asking. The part some may have with the words in the above verses, where the Psalmist says ⁵ Lead me by your truth and teach me. I need to have a willingness at "will level" to be changed and conformed to the path God has for me. The human will can either be willing to be changed by God or reject that change because of my Engineered Faith that is comfortable for my ways. The only problem is, "we can do nothing apart from God!" Engineered Faith is not a longer-lasting faith because it is flawed with human elements that we add, which

should not be added. It is all smoke and mirrors.

Perhaps the words of the Psalmist in Psalms 25, verses 1and 2, will show what it takes to get to verses 4 and 5. Psalms 25:¹ O Lord, I give my life to you. ²  I trust in you, my God! This must be the attitude of my heart and my will. ONLY GOD!! Give Me Jesus!! It all comes down to one word, and that word is SURRENDER!! Today is the day, January 1.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren