February 4 Faith

John 7:31-32 Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?” 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.  
 
MUCH turmoil has infected Jesus’ teachings in the temple court. The Jews have accused him of blasphemy. Hard hearts moved them to order Jesus’ arrest to fulfill their desire to kill him. The crowd has said, “You are demon possessed.” Wrong beliefs, wrong judgments, of God have blinded God’s people to God incarnate in their midst.
    But still faith prevails in some hearts. The hearts, eyes and minds of “many in the crowd” opened to confess that Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures’ prophecies of the Messiah.  
    This is humanity’s history. Genesis records a division in mankind between Seth’s line of believers and Cain’s line of unbelievers. Noah believed. Others around him did not. Abraham believed and left his unbelieving family. And so it goes throughout Scripture and history. Each generation has its testimony of faithful believers who confidently stood for God’s truth
    Sometimes, God’s faithful became discouraged. Note Elijah’s complaint in 1 Kings 18:22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.” But the prophet would learn he was not alone. The Lord God had preserved other prophets. God is in control. He is above the confusion, always forming and using faithful people to declare God’s truth.
    As Elijah was, we in the church can become discouraged as we witness the world’s unbelief. It seems the church is too small and evil is too large. Too much division is also in God’s church. But Elijah also has these words for us. To remain faithful to God’s promises, I encourage you to pray these words and be assured the Lord God reigns.
    1 Kings 8:56-60 “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. 58 May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. 59 And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, 60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
    Be of faith. Pray in faith. Trust God to transform hearts and mind to believe in him and believe him.