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EVERYDAY
FAITH
We use our faith every day of our lives.
Even people who say they have no faith use it, for it is something we
could not get along without. When you drink your milk, you have faith that
the milk is good and will not make you sick. When you cross a bridge, you
have faith that it will hold you up. When you ask a policeman the way, you
have faith that he knows. When you get into your bed, you have faith that
it will hold you up.
Faith is simply believing. Everyone has faith, though not everyone uses it
rightly. Abraham was a man of great faith. God gave him certain promises,
and Abraham believed them. He had faith. There was nothing to make him
believe these promises except that God had done the promising, which is
really the greatest reason; but nevertheless Abraham believed. God
promised Abraham that he should have a son. Abraham thought that this was
impossible, but he did believe God, and God was pleased.
Paul was another man of great faith. One time he was on a ship, going from
Jerusalem to Rome. He was a prisoner. On their way a great storm came upon
them and they were all afraid – all except Paul. They looked at the great
towering waves, and listened to the whistling wind and felt the rocking of
the ship and thought they would all be killed.
But God spoke to Paul and told him that not one of them would be hurt.
Paul believed what God said. The storm was just as bad as it had been
before. The waves were still angry and black and high. The wind blew just
as hard as it had before, but Paul knew they were safe. He believed God.
This was faith (Acts 27:21-25).
Faith is not something that we can make ourselves. It
comes from God. God has given faith to everyone, and everyone uses it day
by day. To those who will be saved, God has given the faith of the Lord
Jesus. That is the kind of faith that saves. The ordinary kind of faith
helps people to get along in life; saving faith is the kind that takes us
to Heaven.
People cannot believe just by themselves. The Holy Spirit must give them
this saving faith. We read in a very wonderful verse, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8). All our gifts are from God. Everything is from Him.
No one can ever be saved by any other way except by faith. We must believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. Thinking about Him will not do.
Praying to Him will not do. Listening to sermons about Him will not do.
Reading His Word will not do. Going to church will not do. All these
things are good and important, after we have received eternal life. But
they will not do a bit of good before that.
Only by believing in Jesus can save us. Without faith, no one can please
God. In Heb. 11:6 we read, "without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who earnestly seek him." No amount of good deeds can please
God if they come from a heart that does not believe Him.
God will give saving faith to anyone who will receive it. He wants more
than anything else that people shall be saved. Jesus died for your sins on
the cross. Do you believe that? Then you have faith, the gift of God,
which saves you, and starts you on your way to Heaven.
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Discussion
Board -- Respond to today’s lesson reading by answering the
questions below. Interact with the text, and write at least one full
paragraph for each answer, explaining your thoughts and giving
examples. Be sure to proofread your work before turning it in!
1. Explain the
meaning of faith in your own words. What is "Everyday Faith"?
2. How can we get faith? How can we get more faith?
3. Is there anything that can stop me from having more faith?
4. What happens when I have faith?
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