Finding Faith

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. Not the John who wrote the Gospel of John but another John, The John who baptized people in the local river. This John was sent by God to prepare people for the coming of Jesus. His mission was to tell people that God has given us light, light can never be extinguished by darkness, and light shines on everyone who comes into the light. Jesus is that light, he said he had come from God to tell us the way to be made acceptable to God. (The Bible calls it being made 'righteous') Jesus came to the people of God, the Jewish nation, and they heard and saw his message but did not receive it. Some did receive him and his message, to them he gave power to become the sons of God.

The power to become a direct descendant of God is given in the form of faith, faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus is believing that Jesus is who he said he is, and by believing what he taught about God.

The people that Jesus came to were afraid to believe him, the pereligious leaders had made it illegal and expelled believers from the community. Even in countries where people are not punished for believing in Jesus, they are still afraid. They fear the consequences of faith; the consequences include facing ridicule from unbelievers, facing the anger of family members who previously were more important than God, fear of loosing the delusion that what you don't believe in doesn't exist.

Fear is the name of the darkness Jesus came to dispel. Does fear have a master? Is fear the work of the evil powers? Whatever it is darkness cannot dispel light and light dispels darkness. Faith is the power to become children of God.

Fear of faith can sometimes result in a famine of faith. Where do you go to get faith, how can you receive it? Especially if you've avoided faith for a long time, is it now too late to find faith? Where is faith being offered? Where is the food line people stand in when there is a famine of faith? Where does the hungry soul go to receive spiritual food? There is only one answer; the words of Jesus. Jesus came first to the people who already believed in God, then he sent his disciples out to all the people in the world, including those people who didn't know about God.

Faith is found in the words of Jesus, recorded in the New Testament. It is found in the places where people pray to God in the name of Jesus. It is found among people studying and explaining the words of Jesus. Those are the places where people go to receive the gift of faith. That is the food line.

There are three short letters which the early church called Letters from John. In the first of these letters John talks about having seen the Word of Life and his job of being a witness to the fact that Jesus (who he calls Eternal Life) was with the father and was manifested to John and his companions. He write mostly about the duty of believers to love all people, He also talks about fear, saying that fear is torment, and that perfect love casts out fear. Because of his teaching Christians promise to perfect their love of God and humans. Our love is still far from perfect, but God's love is perfect. John says, "Perfect love casts out fear." God's love is perfect, God casts out fear. This does not excuse us believers from growing in love and in working to eliminate fear from the world. God who is Perfect Love, will dispel the fear that prevents you from believing in Jesus; if you allow Him access to your mind and will.

If there is a famine of faith in your life, find the food line for faith. The food line is: the scriptures, the preacher who repeats the words of Jesus, the little group of not-yet-perfect people teaching about the perfect God. Stay in the food line, no matter how long you have to wait. No living person who truly wishes to believe Jesus is ever refused. Don't be afraid. Perfect Love will protect you and strengthen you. God will give you the gift of faith in Jesus if you truly seek Jesus. When God gives you faith in Jesus, God will give you new Spiritual Life, making you his direct relative, and you will be newly created. Just you wait and see.

The Gospel of John: chapter one, verses 6 -14
The First Letter of John: chapter four, verse 13 -21

So that you can believe

"Our friend is dead, and I am glad for your sakes, so that you can believe."
This was an enigmatic statement made by Jesus. An enigma which became brilliantly clear after a few days.

It was a problem situation: Lazarus their good friend, had lived with his sisters in a house two miles from Jerusalem. Jesus had left Jerusalem because the people there attempted to stone him to death. When the disciples received news that Lazarus was ill Jesus did not immediately go to him; the disciples would have guessed because it was too dangerous, but they were mistaken; Jesus was not afraid to return to Jerusalem, he was waiting for Lazarus to die. Why? So that the disciples (and you) could believe.

After Lazarus died Jesus announced his intention to go back to the neighborhood. Speaking resignedly, one of the disciples said, "Let us go also, that we may die with him." These men already believed Jesus, believed in him so strongly they were loyal to him and courageous, what more did Jesus want?

Martha one of the sisters of the dead man, the one who was a good hostess, met Jesus (It is possible that Jesus and his disciples travelled discreetly not wanting to arouse the population before Jesus had carried out his plans) after a short conversation Jesus tells her that Lazarus will rise from the dead and Martha replies that she know he will rise at the resurrection in the last day.

Jesus said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believed in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?
Martha replied, "Yes Lord, I believe that you are the promised savior the Son of God that has come into the world." Then she left hurriedly and sent a secret message to her sister Mary, that Jesus had come. Mary rushed to where he was and throwing herself on the ground said, "If you had been here, my brother would not have died."

Jesus wept, wept at the sorrow his friends had suffered, and groaned when he faced the burial cave. Wept because of the power of death and the shadow it casts over the lives of the living.

Next, he asked for the stone that sealed the burial cave to be rolled away. When they warned him that entering the burial cave would be unpleasant because Lazarus had already been dead four days, Jesus said to Martha. "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory (great majesty) of God?" He did not enter the cave but stood at the entrance. Raising his voice he addressed his Father in Heaven: "I thank you that you hear me, I am thanking you aloud so that he people standing by may believe that you have sent me." He then called to Lazarus, telling him to come out, Lazarus, bound hand and foot with burial clothes, his face covered by a shroud, came out of the cave.

Then many of the friends of Martha and Mary who had been with them comforting them believed. And the leaders of the temple began to plot how to kill Jesus, and also Lazarus.

What did Jesus want? Was this miracle an attempt to convince more people, or was it an attempt to compel the unbelievers to believe? That would not have been like Jesus, he never tried to compel faith, because it would no longer have been faith. His marvelous acts were not done simply to convince people but as evidence of what God will do for all who believe in Jesus. God will hear their prayers, protect them, guide them, heal them and at the end of their earthly life will raise them up to eternal life. This is the purpose of the miracles. This is the purpose of the teaching, and the recording, that we may be enabled to believe and because we believe we may see the glory (majestic power) of God.

Through these records Jesus makes this same promise to whoever reads the record. To you in fact. "Whoever believes in me, even though he dies, yet he shall live. Because I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever lives and believes in the me shall never die: then he asks, Do you believe this?" Also he says, "If you believe you will see the great majesty of God." Do you believe?

The gospel of John chapter 11 beginning to end.