A word about faith: Faith is primarily a matter of the heart and secondarily of the mind; for with the heart man believes, and with the mouth he confesses his belief. The natural man has trouble with faith for he needs to understand something before his heart can accept it; the spiritual man accepts something in his heart and leaves the understanding to God. The natural man exercises his mental facilities (claiming promises, standing on the Word, etc.); the spiritual man rests in the faithfulness of God. Both ask of God, one believes he’ll receive because of his efforts, and the other believes he’ll receive because of God’s faithfulness. One leans on his understanding, and the other leans on Jesus.
Faith is a highly active force. By it men have quenched fires, conquered kingdoms, and turned weakness into strength. The power of faith is astounding. However, the power of faith is not inherent in faith itself, but in the One in whom the faith is placed. Faith is powerful because God is powerful. (Our confidence is not in our faith, nor in our ability to exercise faith; our confidence is in God who gives us faith.)
Faith, like gold, is tried by fire. One endures the fire, not by claiming or rebuking, but by weeding out everything that tends to choke the word of faith, such as unbelief, the cares of life, the desires for riches, and the tendency to worry. Man cannot make faith grow or become strong (faith is a gift of God and He alone causes the increase). Man can only cultivate the soil in which the seed of faith grows.
As we weed out the things that are contrary to faith and water the soil of our hearts with the Word of God, we walk in the sunlight of His love and the seed sprouts and bears fruit to eternal life. Its fruit are works of love. Our faith can be seen by our works of love. While it is possible to give without loving, it is impossible to love without giving; for love is of God and God is love, and every seed bears fruit after its kind. So our faith can be seen by our giving for the sake of others. Peace to all who have faith in Jesus.
Jon David Banks, God’s most unworthy servant
jondavidbanks.com 