The incredible power of faith

Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Bern Leckie:

What did I like about today’s passage?

Defined here as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”, faith is amazing. It’s epic, life-transforming, world-changing stuff when we put it into practice.

I love these descriptions of what faith does. They raise my expectations about what faith is and what to expect from a life of practical faith. It’s clearly more than simply believing that God exists. It’s a power that changes things. Jesus said it can move mountains. I’m even more impressed that it can move hearts and minds away from limiting beliefs and destructive habits and into freedom from doubt, fear, sin and death.

This puts our struggle with sin into perspective - it's not a small annoyance, it's a significant battle where blood may be shed, and God strengthens us for it through discipline.

I love how the closing pictures show a life of faith as the opposite of ordinary, dark, gloomy or unapproachable. Our faith journey takes us into full on, joyful life in the company of the best of all creation. This is an awesome thing to accept, but when we do it moves us into truly being able to live a different life from the one we had before we knew Jesus.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

God is living and active, working to transform the world and establish an unshakable kingdom, which he offers us life in. Part of how he does this is in guiding and disciplining us. Ultimately, God has made us and the world so that he can be found through faith in Jesus.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

I really need to cut down some activity which takes time but doesn't inspire, raise faith levels, produce joy or glorify God. But the things that do, I want to invest more in them. I need to pay attention to God's guidance to help tell the difference, because the passage is clear that hardship may need to be endured, but the purpose of discipline is to end up in right relationship and stronger, more able to obey God and join in his work.

Who am I going to share this with?

Some people who are close enough to know and pray with me, and perhaps some others who I hope will be inspired to look into faith for themselves after hearing some shared stories.