Do you have enough faith to understand?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
(Hebrews 11:3 (NIV))

What is your opinion of how the universe was formed?

Do you believe the current views from the worldly scientific community or do you believe that God created everything?

Which of these scenarios is more difficult to believe?

The worldly scenario states that all of the matter in all of the universe was in one location and suddenly exploded sending it off to eventually form what we see? Where did all of this matter come from to begin with? How old is this matter? How did it get collected into one place? What made it explode? What made the matter come together after the explosion to form the stars and the planets? There are many more questions that could be asked and the world doesn’t have an answer. It seems to me that they have established their own religion, their own set of faith beliefs that leave more questions asked than answered.

The Biblical scenario states the following.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
(Genesis 1:1 (NIV))

This only presents one question, and that question, if answered incorrectly, leads people to believe the worldly scenario of creation.

Who is God?

This single question either leads people to have more faith in their own understanding or it leads them to the one who is Creator of all things. It leads them to either believe that God exists or that everything is here purely by accident!

Personally, I find it so much easier to answer the one question than to answer the countless questions that the worldly scenario presents. I find it easier to understand that God is an eternal being who is spirit and truth. I find it easier to understand that God is all powerful and that He is good. I find it easier to understand that God is able to speak things into existence and that He is able to create things that are visible out of nothing! Once I understand that, everything else makes sense.

Can you say that about the worldly scenario and the few questions I previously brought up? Where did all of the matter come from? How did it all get in one location? How old is it? What made it explode? I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that it requires more faith, although misguided, to believe the worldly scenario. Think about that in relationship to one more question. How many explosions have you seen that resulted in something being created?

I fully place my faith and my understanding in the fact that the universe was formed at God’s command.

Do you have enough faith to understand?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you have the faith to see what God has done?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
(Hebrews 11:3 (NIV))

Have you ever made anything?

Even something as simple as making a sandwich starts with bread. From there you have to ask what was used to make the bread. Taking this one step further, you have to ask where those ingredients came from. If we pick just the wheat as one ingredient, where did it come from? In essence, it came from a plant that grew out of the ground. That plant had actually come from other kernels of wheat. We quickly come to the conclusion and realization that everything comes from something else. Things just don’t materialize out of nothing and become something.

I take that last statement back!

It did happen once and only once!

God spoke everything into existence. If you need to refresh on this, read Genesis 1. I see numerous passages that start with “And God said. . .”

I don’t claim to know that much about atomic structures, but I find it interesting that the smallest particles appear to be made out of an electrical charge. To me, that sounds like there is not a true physical component to this particle. To the human eye, it is nothing. To put it plainly, God created what we see out of nothing!

For those who don’t believe, they ridicule anyone who professes a faith in God. I find it interesting that they will come up with any number of explanations for how things came into existence. Theories such as the big bang and evolution, but there is one thing that all of these theories fail to take into account.

Where did all of the matter come from to begin with?

I have the faith to say that I know!

“And God said. . .”

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What is your definition of faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
(Hebrews 11:3 (NIV))

What is your definition of faith?

Do you require physical proof before you will “accept something on faith.” That is a contradiction of terms, for faith requires a sound belief in things that you cannot see.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

I find it interesting that as science makes progress in the understanding of our physical world, they have discovered that the atom is not the smallest particle. It is not the protons, neutrons and electrons. There is a scientific theory that states that all of these particles are actually made up of smaller particles called gluons. Do you know what the scientists have speculated that these particles are made of? They theorize that these gluons are actually made up of energy. In other words, they are made out of nothing physical. They are made out of nothing that is visible.

What did Paul know two thousand years ago that our scientists are only beginning to realize is true? Paul knew that the universe was created out of nothing, and the scientists of today are actually starting to say the same thing. The only difference is that today we have super computers to test this theory. We have electron microscopes that can give us hints of what is actually present in the very building blocks of the atoms. We have equipment that allows us to test and verify everything before we draw any conclusions. We can claim with a 99.99% certainty that what is seen is what is the truth.

Two thousand years ago, Paul made the same conclusions.

What did Paul have? He did not have any of the super computers or other test equipment to study his surroundings. He did not spend years formulating mathematical equations to predict the physical world. He had only one thing!

Paul had faith, and by his faith, he was able to know two thousand years ago what our scientists are just beginning to realize. If Paul was so accurate about this, I am going to step out in faith and say that he was right about the message of grace and mercy afforded to us through our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Is your faith based on what is seen or do you stand firm in the hope of what we cannot see?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you moving in your faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.
(Exodus 14:15 (NIV))

God spoke these words to Moses when the Egyptians were pursuing them and had them cornered at the sea. To the Israelites, it looked like they had two choices – die at the hands of Pharaoh’s army or die in the sea.

God had other plans!

The Israelites were looking at their situation through worldly eyes. Many of them even vocalized their lack of faith.

They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
(Exodus 14:11 (NIV))

It is human nature to see the worst in a situation. It is hope that allows us to see the best in the very same situations. It is faith that allows us to take action on our hope and have results that astound the world. In this story, the Israelites overcame their worldly viewpoint and literally stepped out in faith and gave us a glimpse into the majesty and power that God has over His creation. Without their faith and this story, we may not realize that God controls His creation.

It took faith! It also took a direct command from God to Moses to get the people moving.

Do you have that type of faith?

Have you heard God’s command to you to get moving?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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