The Blueprint of Faith

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Our Heavenly Father is big on preparation and progress. Think about it. A mind already filled with His Word and the heart of Jesus Christ could have been baked in our make-up. God could have created these spiritual treasures to come standard with the package, but we’re not created that way. For the most part, we’re born with a clean slate. This slate gets crammed with programming from the time we enter the earth. Not all of this stuff is good. A lot of it is bad programming that teaches us things like jealousy, envy, pride, arrogance, belligerence, and profanity.

These negatives will take us further away from where God desires us to be. They are a part of our old nature, and they do not speak the truth about who we are in Christ. Colossians 3:10 (NLT) tells us, “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” Putting on our new nature prepares us to be like our Creator. The process of preparation is one in which we take off the stuff that holds us back, and we put on the goodies that propel us forward.

1Thessalonians 5:8 (NIV) tells us “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” God tells us to PUT ON faith and love, and wear it so close to our hearts that it protects us like a piece of armor, like a breastplate. The problem that we run into is that when we put on faith, it has some things that come along for the ride. Challenges and complicated choices are just a few. Most of us dislike discomfort, and when we feel the pinch of it, abdicating responsibility and accountability are the go to’s. When we have a faith that wavers like this, God is going to step in. When He does, He’s not going to coddle our failure to stand strong on His Word and trust Him. He’s going to teach us how to properly use the blueprint of faith to get over the hurtles we face.

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) tells us the definition of faith. It says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” True faith has its roots in God’s Word. This means that if God’s says it, it must be so. It’s our responsibility to trust and accept God’s Word. We take it by faith and believing even if our circumstances and conditions are not optimal. The blueprint given to us by God tells us to put all our trust in Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. This means that we persevere and develop consistency, no matter what things look like.

In Hebrews 11:24-27 (NLT), we can see a great example of what it looks like to carry out the blueprint practically. This passage tells us, “24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. 27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.”

Notice the choice that Moses made; one of oppression rather than the fleeting pleasures of sin. We will often look for a place where we can be neutral. Some people refuse to choose Christ because the truth is too strong for them. They’d rather be comfortable with neutrality, not realizing that this comfort is a lie. It’s a trick from satan to intercept their destinies and cause them to turn their backs on God.

There is no in-between. In Matthew 6:24(NLT), Jesus Christ took us to school on this one. He said, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.” Moses didn’t focus the bulk of his attention on the current situation. If we make the mistake of doing this, most of us freak out, because life can be tough and situations can end up becoming very tense. It’s challenging, but we have to develop a habit pattern of keeping our eyes on Jesus Christ. He’s the author and finisher of our faith. He perfects our faith, and nothing we encounter is too big or complicated for him. He has the power to fix anything that we encounter, but we must learn perseverance and consistency, for these are part of the blueprints of faith.

It is because of Jesus Christ that we can be like Moses, and make the tough choices. Moses understood that the reward of choosing well will always exceed that of making a choice to go with fleeting pleasure. He was looking ahead, and this is what you do with a blueprint. The blueprint is not the fullness of what will be manifested in the future, it’s a reminder that the plan has been put in place and the foundation is being worked on. This is how we should view our lives. We’re a work in progress in the Lord Jesus Christ, and every choice we make to be more like him will ensure that everything in the blueprint will become a reality.■

4TheChristianMan

Christian encouragement and inspiration for men

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