Day 3: Real Faith {31 Devotions in 31 Days}

As the third day of Breaking the Chains is upon us, I can't help but feel a difference within myself. How about you? Day 1, we spoke about the power of the Word. Day 2 complimented that with praying through and how it is vital to our deliverance to keep an open communication with God. After all, He seeks after a relationship not our traditions. 

Today, we are going to talk about real faith. What do I mean by "real faith"? New age Christianity has become comfortable in mixing the words "faith" and "hope". Many of us have found ourselves praying with a hopeful heart more than a faithful heart. Hope is a beautiful thing. When we have hope, we are given a positive mindset to go on through our trials. However, in order to have a real deliverance from emotional impurity, we have to have faith and lots of it.

My pastor blesses us with each sermon because of his faith; his knowledge of who the Lord Jesus Christ is. He is a biblical scholar and teacher, using every opportunity he is given to help us go deeper into the Word. I encourage you to listen to our church's podcast right here. One of my favorite quotes from my pastor is "Faith is not a hope-so. It's a know-so." Real faith is real knowledge about the God we claim to love and serve. It is not hoping we understand but it is having the right information about Him so that we may be able to please Him.
This is the definition of faith courtesy of my pastor:

Faith is the personal intimate knowledge of the Person, Identity and Plan of God that enables you to discern what He intends to do, so that you can work in harmony with Him.

When we tell one another to "have faith" what do we mean? Most of the time, we are implying to be hopeful. This is not the same as faithful. When we have real faith, we have true knowledge of who God is and therefore can make the right choices in our life. Through making the right choices, we become faithful to God.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."
Hebrews 11:1-3

Faith is the substance! That substance is knowledge that is obtained through studying the Word of God and communicating with Him through prayer. With that faith, that knowledge, we then are able to understand and see things is a spiritual light. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says "For we walk by faith, not by sight", which means we should be walking by our knowledge and not by our carnality.

"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Ephesians 4:4-6

Faith is powered by love. It is because of the Lord's love that we are able to have knowledge of Him. Our relationship with Him rests upon our faith. Without the right knowledge, we cannot have the right relationship. Therefore, our hearts will remain unclean.

Reflection:
Faith is not a hope. Faith is not acknowledgement. Faith IS knowledge! The truth exercised in our mind. Think about your faith. How well do you know God? How deep is your faith? To break the chains around depression, fear and anxiety it is going to take more than a hope. It's going to take real faith!

Action:
Take some time today to ask the Lord to reveal who He is to you. Pray for a real revelation. Ask that your mind and thoughts be changed and directed to new territory. Ask the Lord to reveal any false knowledge that you may have of Him and to guide you towards having real faith. Allow yourself to be vulnerable and resist feeling prideful or shameful. We want to build on what He has already done in your life, not take it away.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
We are truly blessed to have a God who cares about our hearts and minds. Thank You for loving us so much, that You have provided the knowledge we need to not only understand who You are but Your plan for our lives. We ask, Lord, for a renewed revelation. Please break down any false mindsets we may have built up. Help us to gain real faith by Your Word and prayer. Help us with our desires, that our relationship with You may reach a deeper level. Thank You for Your love. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to rest upon your knowledge of God (your faith) in order to get through?

Tomorrow's Devotion Topic: Defining Love
For a full list of daily devotional topics & more information about 31 Devotion in 31 Days: Breaking The Chains, go here to read the original post.

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