Skip to main content

James 1:6

But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
(NIV)
From the previous verse we learned that when you are lacking in wisdom, you should ask. God is a generous God who gives to all who ask, and He does not show favoritism. You do not have to meet some quota of goodness or righteousness before you can ask God for wisdom, or anything else for that matter. If there was a quota, you would never meet it anyway.

The word believe here is normally translated as faith, and the two words are closely related. When you ask God, you must believe that He can deliver. We see this so many times in the gospels when the people come to Jesus and ask for healing. So often Jesus will say to someone, after they are healed, "...your faith has made you whole."

The faith must be centered in Christ himself. It is not to be centered on what you want God to do. Many people make that mistake, they start praying and asking God to give them what they want instead of praying., "Your kingdom come!" Our faith must not be in what God does, it must be a faith that is IN HIM.

Faith in Christ is a steadfast and sure faith. It does not waiver or change because it is focused on the Unchangeable One. The person who focuses on what God will do is the one who doubts. He waivers from a lack of knowledge of God's ways, which are much higher than ours. The one who doubts is the one you see at church with their hands lifted high because God just met some need, but then the next week they won't even come to church because in their minds God has failed them. They are now even toying with atheism because they are not even sure their is a God. They come and they go, they are high then they are low because their faith is misdirected.

Where is your faith today?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Please add some additional commentary to this verse. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 119:10

With my whole heart I have searched for You; Let me not wander from Your commandments. -Psalm 119:10 (Translation by Jay E. Adams, in his book Counsel from Psalm 119) Can you say with this psalmist, that you have searched for God with your whole heart? Is your prayer, the prayer that he prayed? "O Lord, don't let me wander from Your Word!" In this blog, I hope to post daily (or nearly daily) posting from scripture. I don't plan on adding much of my own commentary, maybe just a statement or two; sometimes more, sometimes less. But if you would like to add some commentary of your own, or if you would like to share what a passage has meant to you, please feel free.
2 comments
Continue Reading »

Hebrews 11:24-25

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. (NIV) Moses had the chance to align himself with the rich and the famous. He had the opportunity to really make it in this world. To be the son of Pharaoh's daughter, the possibilities could have seemed endless. The world wants to paint that picture for us. A place that is endless in possibility. But Moses knew that the pleasures of sin only last a season. He knew that to truly have endless possibility, it would require the alignment with the people of God, so that is exactly what he did. How did he know to do this? How did he know that he couldn't continue on with pharoah? The answer to that is Faith . It was faith that brought sight to this man. It is faith that will allow you to see clearly in your decision making process. Some other thoughts about this pas...
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »

John 1:12

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  (John 1:12, ESV) There are a few words in this verse that need some explanation. Let's think about the word, "receive" first.  It is a word that is quite often translated "take".  It means to grab ahold of or hold on to.   In other words, all sorts of people who grab ahold of Jesus... What about "believe"?  It is the verb form of "faith".  Sort of like, "they faithed in his name."  Trust is a part of this word, but it also includes perspective.  This is how you see things.  How you view things.  Your core understanding of the universe.  To believe in the name of Jesus is not to simply believe that He existed and that He did the things that He did.  No.  It is to see Jesus for who He is... Lord and Savior of all.  God of very God.  Creator, Sustainer, our only Hope. How about the word, "right"?  Nea...
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »