Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Thursday, March 17, 2016
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1–2).
Faith is the wonderful resource, a small measure of which God gives to every person ever born. It is what we do with that small measure that makes all the difference in the world. If we squander it by directing it toward worldly things only, it will become a catalyst for disappointment, dissipation, and mere earthly rewards. However, if we utilize this small measure to lay hold of the dynamite portion that comes to all who invest their little in absolute trust in God, something miraculous happens. This tiny measure, having been invested in the spiritual bank of heaven, becomes the valuable vehicle through which the unfettered power of God is released into our lives. This new and improved faith becomes a key to unlocking the treasures of God to convert helpless sinners into victorious saints.
It is this faith that Jesus is Pioneer and Perfecter of. Besides His authority as Creator of the heavens and the earth, Jesus earned the title to perfect faith within us, because He demonstrated absolute faith in His Father while living in human flesh. In the garb of humanity, Jesus proved that a human being could remain faithful to God as long as we continue to submit our wills to Him.
It is Jesus who gave us our faith. It is Jesus who demonstrated absolute faithfulness in the flesh. It is Jesus who suffered being tempted, mocked, and crucified so He could impart His victory to us. It is Jesus who, through the ever-presence of the Holy Spirit, steadily increases our faith if we continue to trust in Him.
