Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Sunday, June 14, 2015
Based Upon Hebrews 11:1
“NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].” (Hebrews 11:1, AMP).
This is one of the most discussed verses of Scripture, and with good reason. It is central to the reality of every believer’s life. Faith is what gives us access to the power of God.
I would like to highlight one little aspect of faith that will be very useful for your day. Have you ever sinned? Now, that question may be too obvious to even answer. The Bible says that all of us have sinned. I am pretty sure that most of us do not need anyone to convince us of that fact.
Let me ask you this: Have you ever sinned, then asked for forgiveness, only to commit the sin again? Is this another obvious question?
OK, have you had the latter experience and then felt too ashamed or doubtful to either ask God for forgiveness again, or believe that He would forgive you, since you keep doing the same thing over and over again? I think most of us have. How can our theme text help us in this case?
The verse says that faith is assurance or confirmation of things we hope for. In this case we hope for forgiveness. The Bible continues that this assurance or confirmation is proof (I like that word) of things we cannot see, and the conviction of their reality even though our senses may not detect them. Let us tie a bow on this. In our context, faith is the assurance that we are actually, literally, forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness when we confess our sins to God, even before our senses can detect the fact.
There are so many who are daunted by the feeling that forgiveness is oftentimes intangible. It takes an act of courageous faith in God (real faith is the work of righteousness) to believe what He promised, on the strength of the fact that He said it, and not whether or not we feel it. Bible faith sees God’s promise of forgiveness as a check for $10,000,000 that we can go to the Bank of Heaven to cash, even though we have been lying, ungrateful thieves in the past. When we rest our faith in God, His promises become or immediate reality. This may sound too good to be true, but the fact is that it is too good for it not to be true. And it is true, not because we believe it, but because God said it.
So make it a point today to reach out your tiny little hand of faith and lay hold of God’s immeasurable promise of forgiveness, cleansing, and power to live a holy life. He said “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.” (Leviticus 20:7–8).
