Thought for Today

Faith and Power

“Now to him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works in us…”
Ephesians 3:20 (WEB)

Faith is not belief. Faith is not a commodity or the product of a self-generated religious philosophy. Faith is the “substance” of things hoped for. It is the actual “evidence” of spiritual realities. It is not empty, make believe or unsubstantial. Faith is rooted in God Himself. It is the divine enablement to reach into the very heavens where God dwells and appropriate divine realities. The ability to expect the greater things of God is proportional to the “power that is at work in us”. Within the life of every believer there is to be a power at work; a power received and held within the heart of His own. Obedience is the revelation of that power at work within our lives. It is God moving within us to fulfill His purposes for us.

“By faith Noah, being warned of God
of things not seen as yet, moved with fear”
Hebrews 11:7

Noah was moved by faith; the impetus to do was the offspring of that faith. Faith is the mover. There is a relentless press of faith to do God’s work in those in whom that power is at work. The degree of its expression in our lives is revealed by obedience and the works which faith alone can produce. Where there is no living faith, the works of faith will be missing. Faith is the power of God at work within the life of the believer. The life which one lives is their true statement of faith. It is not merely something we believe; it is revealed in the life we live and the things we do.

In our day the faith of many rests in the words and wisdom of men and not in the power of God.

“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men,
but in the power of God”
1 Corinthians 2:5

Faith in the wisdom of men is powerless and lifeless; it leaves its adherents looking to someone or something outside of themselves. It is a faith which lacks the reality of present day living. The faith that stands in the power of God knows that the secret of its fulfillment lies in our obedience to His Will.

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out
into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance,
obeyed…”
Hebrews 11:8

Brian Troxel

The Evidence of Grace

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord”
Genesis 6:8

Within the pervading darkness of Noah’s day, God’s grace found a resting place. The fading light of the conscience of a whole generation was falling into the morass of a violence which covered the earth (Genesis 6:11). Man left to himself will always succumb to the fallen beastly nature of perdition. The very DNA of man, corrupted by its own desire for self-realization; grasping, taking and robing from each other in order to achieve the glorification and gratification of its own evil self; necessitates God’s intervention and judgment. It is in this unruly, ungodly and lawless ethos that “Noah found grace”!

This Grace which Noah “found” caused him to be a light to His generation. His light was a prophetic word of things to come. His works were the expression of his faith.

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith”
Hebrews 11:7

Noah’s faith was moved by godly fear unto the building of the Ark… by the which he condemned the world! It is in our living, our doing and our obeying God that we are the light of our generation. Our works are the revelation of our salvation, they are the offspring of Grace through the wonder of faith. We are not saved by works; our works are simply the revelation of our salvation (Ephesians 2:8-10).

True grace received must always produce obedience within the life of the recipient. The proportion of grace received will be revealed in the evidentiary expression of it in the life lived and the corresponding works of grace into the world around it (1 Corinthians 15:10).

“Thus did Noah;
according to all that God commanded him,
so did he”
Genesis 6:22

Brian Troxel

Tag: Hebrews 11:7