Word for Today: A True Message about Faith, Hope, and Love

#1 · May 13, 2006, 10:18 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on May 13, 2006, 10:18 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today: A True Message about Faith, Hope, and Love
Dear friends,

When I write devotional messages, I always read and check my sources
before I share anything with you. While I am human and I occasionally
make mistakes, and I also accidentally write something different than
what was on my heart, for the most part, to the best of my ability,
the things I write match what I have read and understood from the Word
of God.

The gentleman I would like to quote today often has good stuff. Once
or twice, I have disagreed with his material, (and naturally, I did
not point to it for those particular messages). Today, as it almost
always is, his stuff is absolutely right on the mark.

Faith is one of the most important aspects of the Bible. In fact, in
the closing remarks at the end of 1 Corinthians 13, the very famous
chapter on love, so often quoted at weddings and funerals, states
plainly that many things come and go, but three things remain: faith,
hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.

I agree with the apostle Paul, the writer of the letters to the
Corinthian church at Corinth. Paul's statements perfectly match what
Jesus Christ says in Matthew 22:37-40, for example, when the Pharisees
are trying to trip Him up. He very clearly states that the most
important thing of all is to love the Lord our God with all of our
energies, but then He says to love our neighbor as ourselves. Then He
goes on to explain what He means by this kind of love. Not
surprisingly at all, it simply means to show the utmost care and
regard for the welfare of others - for God first, and then for
people. It does NOT necessarily mean being non confronting, for
Jesus Himself was one of the most confronting people you would ever
meet. What it means is to do what is right, according to the
standards God set - the consideration and well being of others, and
first and foremost, the honor of God.

Faith is right up there behind this kind of love, and is a natural
consequence of loving God. When we love someone, we believe what they
say and trust them with our whole heart. Hope, the other item in the faith,
hope, love trilogy, follows faith. When we have faith, we have something to
hope for, and that is the full realization of God's love when true followers
spend eternity in the mansions of glory, which Jesus Himself has prepared.

With that context, read this message from Larry Ollison. I believe
that it is a very good message. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by
the Word of God. Don't trust me or Larry on this. Read it for
yourself in the Bible and then believe it!

Yours in Christ,
Brian

What Pleases God?

by Dr. Larry Ollison, Ph.D.

I am constantly amazed by some of the mail I receive. Just this last
week I received a letter from a man who said he had been in the
ministry for over 30 years. He was a pastor of a church in a major
denomination for most of those years and in his "retirement" had been
placed over several small rural churches as the denomination's "man in
the field."

In his letter he told me of all his vast biblical knowledge. He said
he knew Greek and Hebrew and that he had been a Bible teacher for
several years. After he finished his lengthy resume he went on to
make this statement. And I quote:

"Last week I was given a copy of your book by one of the pastors I
oversee. He was excited and very much caught up by your faith
teaching. I had to calm him down and bring him back to reality. I
think people like you make faith seem more important than it really
is. Maybe if we didn't hear about faith for a while, the church could
heal its wounds. God be with you, Signed Reverend ----" and I won't
mention his name, but this letter comes from Springfield, Illinois.

Let me say this. I understand that false teachers do exist, but let's
look at the Word of God, the Holy Bible, and see what God has to say
about faith.

First of all Romans 14:23 says, "But he who doubts is condemned if he
eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from
faith is sin."

Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God."

When the woman touched Jesus' garment in Mark 5:34, Jesus turned to
her and the first thing He said to her was, "Daughter, your faith has
made you well."

In James chapter 5, verse 15, where the church is instructed how to
pray for those who are sick, the Bible says, "and the prayer of faith
will save the sick."

In James chapter 1 we are told that if we want wisdom, all we have to
do is to ask. However, verse 6 tells us how to ask: "But let him ask
in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the
sea, driven and tossed by the wind."

In Ephesians 2:8 we are told that we are saved by grace and through
faith. In other words, faith is required for salvation.

In Galatians chapter 3 we are told that, "since faith has come we are
no longer under the law."

As Christians we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:7 to walk in faith and
not by what we see. And in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 2, we are told
that the gospel was preached to the Hebrews in the wilderness but was
not profitable to them because it was not mixed with faith in their
hearts.

In 1 Corinthians 15:17 we are told that without faith we are still in
our sins.

I think we should be seeing a pattern appearing here. According to
the Bible, not to me, but according to God's Word we can see these
truths. Without faith, we are still in our sins. We are saved
through faith. Christians are required to walk in faith. Because of
faith we are no longer under the law. Faith is required when we ask
for wisdom. The prayer of faith will save the sick and without faith
it is impossible to please God.

Do you want to please God? Of course, we all do. Then what we need is
faith. Remember Hebrews 11:6 says we cannot please Him without faith.
How do we get faith? Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing
God's Word. Get into God's Word and grow in faith.

All rights reserved. Used by permission. This article may be
reproduced for teaching purposes but not for commercial resale The
Cutting Edge Devotional by Dr. Ollison is a daily feature of
www.CFAITH.com The Cutting Edge Devotional - PO Box 880, Osage Beach,
MO 65065 USA When writing about this devotional, refer to devotional
#0015

www.larryollison.com

--
Brian Masinick, masinick at yahoo dot com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
mail.yahoo.com

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today: A True Message about Faith, Hope, and Love
Dear friends,

When I write devotional messages, I always read and check my sources
before I share anything with you. While I am human and I occasionally
make mistakes, and I also accidentally write something different than
what was on my heart, for the most part, to the best of my ability,
the things I write match what I have read and understood from the Word
of God.

The gentleman I would like to quote today often has good stuff. Once
or twice, I have disagreed with his material, (and naturally, I did
not point to it for those particular messages). Today, as it almost
always is, his stuff is absolutely right on the mark.

Faith is one of the most important aspects of the Bible. In fact, in
the closing remarks at the end of 1 Corinthians 13, the very famous
chapter on love, so often quoted at weddings and funerals, states
plainly that many things come and go, but three things remain: faith,
hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.

I agree with the apostle Paul, the writer of the letters to the
Corinthian church at Corinth. Paul's statements perfectly match what
Jesus Christ says in Matthew 22:37-40, for example, when the Pharisees
are trying to trip Him up. He very clearly states that the most
important thing of all is to love the Lord our God with all of our
energies, but then He says to love our neighbor as ourselves. Then He
goes on to explain what He means by this kind of love. Not
surprisingly at all, it simply means to show the utmost care and
regard for the welfare of others - for God first, and then for
people. It does NOT necessarily mean being non confronting, for
Jesus Himself was one of the most confronting people you would ever
meet. What it means is to do what is right, according to the
standards God set - the consideration and well being of others, and
first and foremost, the honor of God.

Faith is right up there behind this kind of love, and is a natural
consequence of loving God. When we love someone, we believe what they
say and trust them with our whole heart. Hope, the other item in the faith,
hope, love trilogy, follows faith. When we have faith, we have something to
hope for, and that is the full realization of God's love when true followers
spend eternity in the mansions of glory, which Jesus Himself has prepared.

With that context, read this message from Larry Ollison. I believe
that it is a very good message. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by
the Word of God. Don't trust me or Larry on this. Read it for
yourself in the Bible and then believe it!

Yours in Christ,
Brian

What Pleases God?

by Dr. Larry Ollison, Ph.D.

I am constantly amazed by some of the mail I receive. Just this last
week I received a letter from a man who said he had been in the
ministry for over 30 years. He was a pastor of a church in a major
denomination for most of those years and in his "retirement" had been
placed over several small rural churches as the denomination's "man in
the field."

In his letter he told me of all his vast biblical knowledge. He said
he knew Greek and Hebrew and that he had been a Bible teacher for
several years. After he finished his lengthy resume he went on to
make this statement. And I quote:

"Last week I was given a copy of your book by one of the pastors I
oversee. He was excited and very much caught up by your faith
teaching. I had to calm him down and bring him back to reality. I
think people like you make faith seem more important than it really
is. Maybe if we didn't hear about faith for a while, the church could
heal its wounds. God be with you, Signed Reverend ----" and I won't
mention his name, but this letter comes from Springfield, Illinois.

Let me say this. I understand that false teachers do exist, but let's
look at the Word of God, the Holy Bible, and see what God has to say
about faith.

First of all Romans 14:23 says, "But he who doubts is condemned if he
eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from
faith is sin."

Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God."

When the woman touched Jesus' garment in Mark 5:34, Jesus turned to
her and the first thing He said to her was, "Daughter, your faith has
made you well."

In James chapter 5, verse 15, where the church is instructed how to
pray for those who are sick, the Bible says, "and the prayer of faith
will save the sick."

In James chapter 1 we are told that if we want wisdom, all we have to
do is to ask. However, verse 6 tells us how to ask: "But let him ask
in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the
sea, driven and tossed by the wind."

In Ephesians 2:8 we are told that we are saved by grace and through
faith. In other words, faith is required for salvation.

In Galatians chapter 3 we are told that, "since faith has come we are
no longer under the law."

As Christians we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:7 to walk in faith and
not by what we see. And in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 2, we are told
that the gospel was preached to the Hebrews in the wilderness but was
not profitable to them because it was not mixed with faith in their
hearts.

In 1 Corinthians 15:17 we are told that without faith we are still in
our sins.

I think we should be seeing a pattern appearing here. According to
the Bible, not to me, but according to God's Word we can see these
truths. Without faith, we are still in our sins. We are saved
through faith. Christians are required to walk in faith. Because of
faith we are no longer under the law. Faith is required when we ask
for wisdom. The prayer of faith will save the sick and without faith
it is impossible to please God.

Do you want to please God? Of course, we all do. Then what we need is
faith. Remember Hebrews 11:6 says we cannot please Him without faith.
How do we get faith? Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing
God's Word. Get into God's Word and grow in faith.

All rights reserved. Used by permission. This article may be
reproduced for teaching purposes but not for commercial resale The
Cutting Edge Devotional by Dr. Ollison is a daily feature of
http://www.CFAITH.com The Cutting Edge Devotional - PO Box 880, Osage Beach,
MO 65065 USA When writing about this devotional, refer to devotional
#0015

http://www.larryollison.com

--
Brian Masinick, masinick at yahoo dot com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
mail.yahoo.com