Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”
Our Bible verse for today: “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Our life must be lived within the boundary of faith”
According to the dictionary “Faith” is: “Confident belief or trust in a person or thing.” It also says that in Christianity, “faith is the secure belief in God or the acceptance of God’s will.” According to the writer of Hebrews, faith is our certainty in the reality of the One in whom we have placed our hope.
Faith is a decision we come to, whether there is physical proof to support it or not. It is a certainty we have chosen to embrace. In terms of boundaries, if our faith is strong then by an act of our will, and as the result of an intentional choice, we will confine our thoughts and actions within the boundary of our faith. In the life of Job we find a good example of this.
Job was a man who endured a terrible and extended trial which made no sense from a human perspective. In worldly terms, Job could not explain or understand what was happening to him or why. But his thoughts and his entire life were kept within the boundary of his strong faith in God. And so despite his circumstances, he maintained his faith. “Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him.” Job 13:15 (NKJV). “Yet I know that my Redeemer lives …” Job 15:25 (NKJV).
The great devotional writer Oswald Chambers observed that Job refused to make excuses for God. He admitted that he could not fathom why God was either causing or allowing these things in his life, but he (Job) repeatedly asserted that despite his circumstances, he knew that God is good and right and just and that when all was said and done, and when all the facts were known, God would be proven to be good and right and just.
That’s an example of life and thought experienced wholly within the boundaries of faith. When our faith in God is the starting point from which we view all the rest of life, then no matter what the circumstances are it will be our faith in God which determines how we think, speak and act. It will also be our faith in God which determines how much anxiety we feel about current events, and how much hope we have for the future. Job viewed it all from within the boundaries of his strong faith in God – and so can we.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 