My Jesus is "Faithful and True"

"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason." - Benjamin Franklin

I have no context to the above quote, but it sure caught my attention. Today at Pleasant Union, we talked about being true and faithful. We are the bride of Christ, and in finishing our series on Relationships, we modeled our marriage relationships after the covenant between Christ and the church.

In Ephesians chapter five, God gives the order and structure for the marital relationship, reminding us how we treat our spouse should mirror how Christ loves the church and gave himself for it. There is no doubt we are called to be faithful and true to one another, and to him.

This brought us Sunday night to the final four chapters of Revelation. We took a quick run through the scriptures, reading all of chapters 19, 21 and 22. Three times, John was reminded to write for "these words are true and faithful." But that phrase was also mentioned a fourth time in scripture: it was the proper name "Faithful and True" attributed to Jesus as he appears riding the white horse and ready to conquer evil for all time.

Reason causes us to think, and that is a good thing. But be careful that our faith is not so constrained by philosophical reason that we lose the essence and the power of what faith really is: faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Can I prove everything the Bible says about God? No, but that is the power of my faith. It is my choice, my belief and my testimony. I have the right, responsibility and privilege of telling my story and being faithful and true to what God has done for me. But how I perceive God is based solely on matching my life experiences with His Word and trusting Him to fulfill His promises. That is faith, and when I see His promises come to pass, I can know that they are true.

I shut the eye of reason with faith when I see God keep His Word. When He tells us to "test Me in this, and see if I will not open the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing, so that there will not be room enough to receive it," He is issuing a challenge to our faith, stewardship and obedience. And God always comes through. Tonight, he came through 30-fold for me. Thirty-fold! A simple offering of faith, he multiplied in return to me by 30 times, from an unexpected and unassuming source, no doubt! Praise the Lord!

I shut the eye of reason with faith when I see God act in His Word. When He tells us to "bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ," He challenges us to help others through life's toughest battles. I see people rise to the opportunity and do things beyond their reach and outside their means, but God by His grace provides and blesses both the burdened and the one who bears it.

I shut the eye of reason with faith when I see God heal with His Word. When He tells us "I am the God that heals you" and "by His stripes are we healed," He challenges us to call on Him in our time of deepest need. I see God release addiction, break bondage of sin (and what a spiritual sickness it is) and set people free who are captive to chains of poor health that doctors have no key. This is the power of a Mighty God who alters reports, confounds the wisest of physicians and heals the harshest of disease all in a blink of His eye that cost Him no effort. And I see my faith strengthened when families and friends pray and it appears God doesn't hear because the disease never parts on earth, but in Revelation 21 He promises a healing so great that death, pain and sorrow will never come again.

I shut the eye of reason with faith when I see children believe in Him greater than adults ever could. When I hear my daughter singing in the car on the way home, I hear the power of the Holy Spirit coming through in her simple words - words she is making up to the tune of FFH's "Fly Away." And then I read Revelation 19 and realize every word she said, God promised to do.

I am not interested in arguing about reason. I have heard all the philosophical and scientific arguments to cast doubt on the validity of scripture and its infallibility in today's modern world. But He told John, "write, for these words are true and faithful." And I believe that, every word, even the mysteries of scripture I cannot explain, the tough translational phrasing I can't comprehend and the powerful promises I have yet to see.

"For the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who perish, but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God."

I kind of like that, and I believe it.

Be true to Him, and He will be true to you. He does, because He is faithful.

It's OK if you don't believe in my Jesus - as long as you understand that while you are searching for answers, He still believes in you.

Be blessed!

Pastor K