“Building up yourselves on your most holy faith.” Jude 1:20 NKJV
“Faith is the simple conviction of your heart that God will be true to Who He is.”
My thoughts today are about “faith-builders.”
Life without faith is impossible, really. You express faith in such everyday, ordinary ways that you don’t even realize. You have faith in your bank when you deposit your check, or faith in a company when you order something online. You have faith in a person when you arrive for an appointment. Faith is the simple expectation that what should happen is what will happen. Simple, really.
Faith is uncomplicated, assumed even, until the conversation turns to your relationship with God. As soon as you hear, “without faith, it is impossible to please God,” (Hebrews 11:6), your mind immediately complicates a simple concept of relationship. Faith is the simple conviction of your heart that God will be true to Who He is, will do what is right, will be consistent with His character and purpose, and will act compassionately and wisely toward those who are His.
Christian faith is forever dynamic, not static, never dormant. Your spiritual life begins with faith, and continues on that same basis. “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that (faith) not of yourselves; it is the gift of God . . God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Ephesians 2:8/Romans 12:3 NKJV. Faith is the natural way you relate to God; it is the normal nature of spiritual relationship with your Father, and the means by which your relationship grows and deepens.
Here’s how you keep your faith dynamic. “Build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” Jude 1:20-21 NIV. Faith is an active, vibrant, and dynamic provision from God to you, rather than some power dormant within yourself, held in reserve for emergencies. You are given the spiritual responsibility for the nurture and growth of that faith by attending to your very practical and daily relationship with God.
This requires more from you personally than can be accomplished in church on Sunday or given to you second hand from another. You must not defer your spiritual development as someone else’s task. You are to apply yourself diligently and daily to “build yourself up in your faith . . keep yourself in the love of God . . as you wait . . for Jesus to bring you to eternal life.” As spiritual life deepens, your assurance and growing faith strengthens.
Along with “praying in the Spirit” (Romans 8:26-28 NKJV), the Bible gives you faith-builders such as, regular reading and thoughtful reflection on God’s Word (Psalm 1:1-3/Romans 10:17/1 Timothy 4:6 NKJV), meaningful fellowship with people of faith (2 Peter 1:1 NLT/Jude 1:3 NKJV), and rehearsing the testimony of God’s past faithfulness in your life and to others (1 Thessalonians 1:6-8 NKJV). Faith is like a muscle, requiring resistance and regular exercise for greater strength.
My prayer for you today is that your spiritual life is deepening and increasing daily.