-Devotion by Tom Siderius(MI)
Hebrews 11:1-3(NLT) Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
Hebrews 11:1(AMP) Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].
Faith is our complete believing trust in the Word of God and it’s truth. It comes from mixing the personal believing of our hearts with the trustworthy and perfect words which God has given for us to know and understand. When we completely trust the Word in our hearts then we will act in accordance with that trust. This is why the Amplified Bible shows the phrase “title deed” to things prayed for and hoped for.
If I have the title deed for my farm in my hands do I have the farm in my hands? No it is impossible to have the farm that way. But the reality is that when we have the deed with Tom and Sandy written on it, with no lien or obligations connected with it, we have the farm.
This is the way that we trust God in our hearts and then receive the promise for the things that God has made. Ephesians 1 gives us another assurance of God’s plan.
Ephesians 1:4-5(NLT) Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
God chose you before the foundation of the earth! Wow!! And it says that it gave Him great pleasure to save you in Christ. Double Wow!! Then we get a guarantee even better.
Ephesians 1:13-14(NLT) And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
Have you believed God in your heart about what God has testified about Christ?
Did you receive the gift of holy spirit when you believed and became God’s child?
What does that mean for your life?
We have received the title deed and seal of promise to the future hope of Christ’s rulership and kingdom to come. You have the proof in your hands that what God has said will come to pass in the future. The faithful of the past all believed this and received the same sure promises. Please read Hebrews 11 for the rest of the story.
Hebrews 11:13-16(NLT) All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
The title deed we have received is the deed to a future with God and a place to live in righteousness and peace with our Savior Jesus Christ and his and our Father God. As you go from here be the child of God that you are with all the rights and privileges that come from the trust that God is faithful to that which He has promised and performed.
Reflection Questions
See Questions above – and also – Where do you keep your title deed of faith?
Are you excited by the future hope you have received?
Prayer
Father please be with us this day, and we thank you for the bread of our need as we walk with You. Thank you for the kingdom to come, that what You have promised will come to pass. Please give us living hearts of faith and trust in You in all we do. God bless the prayer and works of our lives to honor You. Love in Christ, your children
Seek Grow Love 