April 30, 2013 … Real-deal Faith

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 120

Passage of the Day: 2nd Corinthians 5: 7 [in the context of verses 6-8 [NLT] ……  
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 That is why we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 
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Contextual Study of today’s passage: 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 5 [NLT] … Go to this link …
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 Reference Passage #1: Proverbs 3: 5-6: [How many time does God have to bring me back to this one before I just live by this truth?!!] …[NLT] … 
 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.

  Reference Passage #2: John 3: 16 : [Do you really BELIEVE?] …[NLT] …  
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

 My Journal for Today: Take in what Os Hillman has referred to as the highlight passage for his devotional entry today - 2nd Cor. 5: 7 - and ask yourself, as I have this morning, “Am I living with the REAL-DEAL kind of faith; or am I relying more on my own sight for this walk through life?”

Hillman reports that he’s heard many men, in his experience with workplace ministry, say something like, "Whenever I get things in order in my business, I want to get more involved in ministry." However, my devotional editor reports that he’d like to hear one in the workplace declare, ” I have spent my life in this business. The Lord has blessed me with great resources. But now God has told me to give away my wealth and to trust Him to provide for me through new ways."

And what Hillman is saying is that most men aren’t willing to walk in faith and see their workplace calling as their personal ministry. They are not walking in “real-deal” faith; but rather they are relying only on what they can see and produce themselves to move ahead in life. It’s what I would call a “Missouri Mentality” for faith and life … OR … a What you see is what you get!” type of faith.

Today, as reference passages, I’ve copied above two of the most quoted and memorized passages in the Bible; and both of them get at the core of whether we’re living in the biblical concept of faith or belief, … what I’m getting at today – i.e., REAL DEAL faith. You’ve probably got John 3: 16 memorized; and above I’ve emboldened and underlined one word, “BELIEVES,” which is translated from the Greek term ”pisteuo.” Now, I’ve written about this in my devotionals past; and our English version of that Greek term, “pisteuo,” is a weakened form of “belief.”

Our English term “believe” refers to intellectual understanding or agreement with something. But when the 1st century Greeks used their term “believe” or “pisteuo,” they meant to bank their whole life on having faith in something. In other words, in John 3: 16, Jesus was saying, in the Greek, that one will only find eternal life when one follows Him in being willing to bank one’s entire life on that following faith.

Unfortunately, most of us only follow Jesus as far as we can see our own selves walking the walk … in other words, … “if I can see it, I will walk it!” But are we willing to step out in REAL DEAL faith and walk-the-walk of belief when we can’t see it … when we have to believe it to walk it? I dare say that many of us falter in our walk of faith, going only where we can safely see the road ahead of us – financially or in terms of personal security.

Some years ago I felt “called” to retire from my work, taking about a 50% pay cut for my retirement pension, to step out in faith and lead BATTLE PLAN MINISTRY. But I knew that I couldn’t keep doing my healthcare job and direct the ministry into which God was leading me. So, my wife and I stepped out in faith about 10 years go; and we did the “pisteuo” thing … we BELIEVED that God was going to provide for our needs; … and He has.

 So, let me close by linking you to a testimony and a song written/sung by Jeremy Camp – Walk By Faith. Please listen to this testimony of faith in word and song; and let’s ask ourselves – as I’m challenged to do so this morning – if we’re truly walking the REAL DEAL walk of faith, not relying on our own sight but just following the Lord to lead us in a true “pisteuo” walk of faith.

My Prayer for Today … Today I walk by faith and not by sight. … Amen