New Living Translation (NLT)

Italics 'I said' en 'We' by author

What is faith?

This is what Hebrews 11:1 says: "Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see."

Ok, let that sink in for a bit; I realize it can hurt your brain a bit... 😉

So, how can we have evidence of invisible things? Try to catch my train of thought..

What if we replace "faith" with "trust"?

"Trust (in God) is the evidence of things we can't see."

Makes sense, right?

Your trust in God (faith) will produce evidence that proves the existence of "things we can't see" (God).

Meaning that because of your belief and trust in God, your way of thinking should change (renewed mind), as well as your actions, your speech, etc. The Bible calls that "fruit".

Look at Jesus, for example. Because of His faith, He could heal the sick and raise the dead. Evidence of "things not seen!"

That's why James 2:17 says that faith without works (actions/fruit) is dead. Useless. I love how the Message translation renders this verse: "Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?"

And it's true. The church in the world has gotten a bad reputation because so many believers talk a good game, but their actions speak to the contrary.

Anything we truly believe causes action.

We can't see the signals and frequencies that make our phone work, but we expect the thing to work nevertheless.

Same goes for radio-frequencies, Wi-Fi, electricity, the wind, and many more.

By faith...

WE walk by faith, not by sight. But that's not how the world works. God knows that, so He thought of something cool.

Because WE walk by faith, this faith becomes visible in our lives—by our actions.

And because of our actions, we make God visible in this world. So now the people of the world get to SEE that faith (in action), enabling them to believe. Pretty cool, right?!

By faith, I started Project of Love. By faith, Janis joined me. Through that faith, thousands of people around the world now experience God's love, transforming their lives, which subsequently become testimonies or evidence of things unseen; in other words, God. You see how that works?!

We get to model that faith. It's Jesus in you.

It's THAT kind of faith that pleases God. 👌😊