January 27, 2015

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1

“This teaching about faith is plainly and clearly treated by Paul: “For by grace you have been saved through faith…it is the gift of G*d. (Ephesians 2:8ff) Hebrews 11:1 teaches about faith in such a way as to make it clear that faith is not merely knowledge of historical events but is a confidence in G*d and in the fulfillment of his promises…assurance that G*d is gracious to us.” Augsburg Confession (1530)

The Greek word for faith is Pistis. According to Strong’s Concordance, “pístis is derived from peithô which means “persuade, be persuaded” – to be persuaded, come to trust. Faith is always a gift from God, and never something that can be produced by people. In short, faith for the believer is “God’s divine persuasion” – and therefore distinct from human belief (confidence), yet involving it. The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers, i.e. the persuasion of His will (1 Jn 5:4).”

Have you ever thought of faith as G*d’s divine persuasion? My experience in life is that faith, as a gift through the Holy Spirit, comes in little nudges and big shoves, through small hunches and profound experiences, and in little epiphanies and huge “Ah Ha” moments. Through these experiences we learn how G*d is active in our lives – not absent, but nudging and walking and sometimes pushing us toward a deeper relationship and a better understanding of how G*d works in our lives and in the world. And as we “See” G*d working (and I put “see” in quotes because often G*d’s actions begin in ways we never perceive until they are fully active) faith grows as we begin to trust and to believe that G*d is gracious and merciful.

Pastor Dave