Naked Faith #2And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account, (Hebrews 4:13).
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth, (Luke 18:8)? I like the saying, “A believer receives what a believer believes.” We need to check up on ourselves: what do we really believe? Only that will come into our lives. The next mention of faith in the New Testament is the story of the centurion who so thoroughly believed Jesus that he only had to hear his words, and he knew what he wanted would be done for him. 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour, (Matthew 8:10, 13). Faith is complete and total trust that God will do what He says He will do—every time! How’s your trust level?
0 Comments
Naked Faith #1And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account, (Hebrews 4:13).
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)? What is Faith? People often answer with something like this: Believing that God is our Father, Jesus paid for our sins with His blood, and the Holy Spirit guides us. However, the devil also believes that, so is he then a Christian? Of course not. Believing in the Trinity and their varied attributes is simply that: our belief system. 28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew 6:27–33) Matthew starts the study of faith in the New Testament by establishing that God does and will take care of His own. Trusting God to see to our upkeep is the beginning of faith. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13).
Remember that Christmas ditty, “he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake?” I hope, sincerely, that you already know you cannot earn your way into heaven. You can’t be good enough. You must realize this. Those of you who shake out your laundry in front of the rest of us to let us know just how good and obedient you are, we know better. You’re just like the rest of us. Some parts of our lives are simply out of control. I know, you perfectionists claim differently; but just claiming your perfection is how bad you are. We’ve all got something to answer for. I know, by reading His Word and by my own experiences, that obedience is important to God. He is a Parent, however, and He knows His children won’t always obey. Does He love them any less? Of course not. Relationship is what He is all about. But being obedient really makes Him happy. A couple of months ago I decided I would strictly obey God. I wouldn’t make my bed till He told me so. I wouldn’t eat breakfast until He invited me to the table. For the whole day I only did what He asked me to do. In the middle of the night I got up for relief reasons, and when I got back in bed, something happened in the spiritual realm that has never happened to me before. My bedroom is pitch black, no light in it at all. But when I closed the light to go back to sleep, my room filled up with what could be described as balloons, small sized ones, but these were globes of light. They were swaying. The feeling in my room was one of happiness. I asked the Lord what they were, and He said they were reflections of angels dancing over my obedience. One would think, after such an experience, that I would do nothing but what He asks me to do. Sadly, that is not the case, however, I’m much more sensitive now to my obedience, not because it will get me to heaven, but because it pleases Him! And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13).
This word naked makes us think of our flesh, going around with no clothes on. A Catholic friend of mine wanted his baby girl baptized in the biblical way, so instead of having the priest sprinkle a few drops of water on her head, he striped her naked and had the priest plunge her into a tub where she was completely submerged. Then he held her up before the crowd in triumph. The crowd enjoyed that. Everyone oohed and aahed, enjoying that baby’s freedom. When my own children were little toddlers, I let them run around naked in the summers on the beach of the Russian River. Passing canoeists would wave and tell the children how beautiful they were in God’s nature. If we adults would do such a thing, come into the church for our baptism stark naked, or loll by the river without a stitch of clothing, we’d be arrested. But consider, Adam and Eve were naked, and God didn’t seem to mind. He walked with them every day, unadorned. So what is naked in His sight? Anything that is hidden. I have a tiny picture frame that I have carried with me for years and years. It frames a little robin sitting on a branch and words are coming from his mouth. “He already knows.” Like Psalm 139 says, he knows our thoughts before we have them, so we might as well be honest. I have determined to speak the truth, no matter how much trouble it gets me into. Yet I am surprised at how the truth simply opens doors. Others can confess, “Oh, I do the same thing.” I might be forgiven when I tell white lies, but I’m really forgiven when I tell the truth. Just remember, He’s listening as well as watching! |
Marty DelmonWriter Archives
December 2018
Categories |