27 March 2021 – From Bible Study – Dorothy Callies
Theme: Saving Faith Is in Christ – Hebrews 12:1-2 in NCV.
“We have around us many people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back.”
V2. “Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect. He suffered death on the cross. But He accepted the shame as if it was nothing because of the joy that God put before Him. And now He is sitting at the right side of God’s throne.”
NKJV: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith …” NCV: “Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect.”
Translation: We keep looking to Jesus who first started with our faith in Him. Through the years we worship and pray to Him, fellowship with Him through singing and talking to Him, study His Word, be filled with Holy Spirit and obey Him to do the work He called us to do. We grow in grace through our faith in Him. At the end of our lives before we go home to heaven, our faith in Jesus becomes perfect (flawless, satisfy), mature (fully grown) and enrich (improve the value of).
That is what it means “… the finisher of our faith.” Jesus makes our faith in Him complete, successful, achieve fully, and accomplished. Boy, what a powerful blessing this is. It just made me want to be fully immerse (plunge, dive into) with Jesus like dive into the river of living water from the stream of God’s throne.
Story: A memory of what I read about Richard whose story told of how Jesus led him into the river of living water. He threw Richard into the river and join with Him playfully. Jesus ducked his head into the water and when Richard came up, Richard was shocked and said, “He ducked me!” Then Richard in turned ducked Jesus’ head into the water. When Jesus came up from the water, He laughed. Both had a good time. This is what fellowship with Jesus was like. [End]
But also in today meaning what? To fellowship with Jesus is to fellowship with others who needs sharing with God’s Word, tutoring (teach & train) others with God’s Words, encourage or exhort one another daily.
Hebrews 3:13 “Exhort one another daily …” That’s why we have Bible Study … “to exhort means to try to influence by words or advice and urge strongly. His Word is like a spiritual water, flooding us with Spirit’s living water inside of us. We feel blessing, and overflowing with God’s Spirit of love like rivers of living water in us and we swim into it with Jesus’ Presence.
Now “Saving faith” is in a person. That person is God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This saving faith is not your faith until you accept Him as your personal Savior, for He alone is your saving faith (Acts. 4:12).
