Sure & Certain FAITH

Now FAITH is being SURE of what we hope for, and CERTAIN of what we do not see. Hebrews 1:11

The above definition of FAITH does not seem like a definition for faith, does it? What are the words "sure of" and "certain of" doing in there? How can we have "certainty" in the unseen?

The world tends to think of faith as a feeling, a fantasy, something you can never be SURE OF. The world says, as long as we believe in SOMETHING; and, as long as it doesn't hurt ANYBODY, then great! Right?

What do you think? Are you sure of what you believe? Do you have certain faith in God? Do you look to God's Unchanging Word for answers to today's problems? Don't you want everyone to know the True & Living God? (me too)

I have a friend who often says to me, "I can NOT believe, that you believe, what you believe!" Recently, in the middle of an unrelated conversation, she blurted, "now you don't believe that Bible Story about the guy who spent 3 days in the belly of a whale and lived to tell about it, do you?" To which I replied, "Who Jonah, yep, I sure do, there is a whole book of the Bible written about him! And, 3 years ago on a trip to Israel we visited the town of Joppa (now called Jappa),where he was spit out onto the beach. There is a huge statue of a whale in this sea cost town and they say that Jonah's skin turned milky-white till the day he died, as a result of the digestive juices in the whale's stomach. God is always purposeful. When middle-eastern people saw Jonah, he looked like an albino after the cleansing and conforming to God's Will that took place inside the whale. His unique appearance stopped folks in their tracks! They listened to his message of repentance and they believed God because of him!"

I do believe because I trust that ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD-BREATHED (2 Tim 3:16, NIV.) It is not up to me to decide which part I like and which part I don't like. It is an awe-inspiring, ALL-inspired, completely accurate account .... or else it's nothing but a fairy tale.

The places mentioned in The Bible are real. You can visit many of them today and you can study the surrounding historical events and find that they sync with the Bible events. They are not make-believe people, places and things; but, that is not WHY I believe. As God whittles away our pride and reveals more of Who He Is, we begin to see that He is Sovereign and His Words are faithful and true... all of them.

God rewards a little faith in Him with more faith, till we know, sure & certain, that it is HIM we hope for... even though He is not seen.

This same questioning friend told me "she believes Jesus, every red-letter word He said; but, none of the Old Testament." She says the Garden, the Flood, and the Whale are all allegories. She thinks that Jonah's Whale is less credible than the Easter Bunny. (Thankfully, she has yet to read about the talking donkey and Balaam, (see Numbers 22:21-33!) The Holy Spirit is the One who opens eyes, and hearts, and donkey's mouths to speak, if He chooses to. God controls all things and all creation is subject to Him.

I am praying for my friend and thrilled that she is seeking Truth and on the road to discovering Real Life. The Bible assures us that if we seek wholeheartedly we will find Truth. If she digs in, she will learn that you can't separate the Old Testament from the New. Much of what Jesus said is directly from the Old Testament. When the devil tempted HIm, He replied with Words from Deuteronomy. The Word does not change, it was a weapon against evil then, and it remains so today.

And, if you believe that every red-letter word that Jesus said is True, then you should believe in Jonah too, because Jesus compares Himself to Jonah. See Luke 11:29-32 & Mat 12:40-41 "For as Jonah was 3 days & 3 nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be 3 days & 3 nights in the heart of the earth."

ALL-inspired by God, EVERY WORD... sure & certain.