Walk by Faith not by Sight
My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It seems that for most of our lives we have been taught to walk by sight and not by faith. We are taught either directly by our parents/peers or by experience to trust only in what our five senses tell us. The laws of nature control our lives. There are social mores that we live by too. Unspoken rules like: what goes around comes around, grab the brass ring, he who dies with the most toys wins, the strong rule (law of the jungle), success is measured in money and possessions, keep up with the Joneses, and now political correctness which I think is out of control. Our media perpetuates these ideals through the coverage these things get and through our entertainment industry. Our movies, music, Hollywood, even toy industry stress that success is measured in beauty, wealth, and power. It is all around us and all of us buy into it in some fashion. We buy nice houses, cars, clothes, toys, etc. while people all around us are struggling to get by or even to survive. There is another set of laws by which we can live and should live and those are the laws of God, spiritual principles that define how we should treat God, one another, and even the natural world.
The 10 Commandments are still pertinent for today. The first 4 commandments are about a relationship with God while the next 6 commandments are about relationships with others. The Beatitudes that can be found in Matthew 5 give a list of spiritual principles to live by. Romans 12 is another place to find rules for living and spiritual principles. Genesis 1 and 2 tell us how God gave us the responsibility of taking care of Creation. God wants us to live by Faith and not by sight. We, as children of the most high God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are to believe more in our Creator (which includes the Word of God) than we do in the world around us. Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." And yet we judge according to what we have in hand and not according to what the Word of God says is ours. Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Do I believe that we can walk on water? If need be, yes. If it is about God I believe all things are possible. Miracles? Yes again. Only, when we are walking with God and trusting in Him more than we are in the world around us we won't see them as miracles because it will seem natural and normal to us. We can do all things through Christ who stengthens us. Jesus even said in John 14:12 "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." Of course we don't buy it because we have been indoctrinated into the World and the laws of nature and the social mores of our cultures. As Christians we are called by God to be ambassadors of Christ and rise above our cultures and transform our cultures through the love of Christ for the glory of God. This world is not our home. John 17:16 "They are not of the world, even as I am not of it." And Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.'
Walking by Faith and not by sight is not something we can do on our own. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us and empower us and fill us with the love of God. Walking by Faith will transform your life and the world around you. See the possibilities of what might be and not what is. Trust in the Lord Jesus. Surrender your life totally to Him. Give Him all you have for His glory and then you will walk on water when it is needed for His honor, glory, and praise. "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." Go and transform the world beginning right where you are at.
God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Bruce