“By Faith I Believe The Promises Of God!”

“By Faith I Believe The Promises Of God!”
At the funeral of the great Billy Graham, Ravi Zacharias said amongst others, “A great voice has been lost, but the message goes on.” I remember Ravi today because he too is a great voice that has just been lost, but the message goes on.
Yes, we do not live and aim to become the end of the story. Whatever we do now, whoever we are now, whatever we hope to be in the physical is just a part of our pilgrim’s progress.
Among the great hymns of faith of old the one that by faith occupies my mind now is this one by Sanford F. Bennet (1864):
“There’s a land that is fairer than day, and by faith we can see it afar; for the Father waits over the way
to prepare us a dwelling place there.
Refrain:
In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore…”
Oh yes, we do not have a permanent home here on earth. We fix our eyes on the home that is eternal. By faith we see it afar.
Like Abraham of old we look forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God.
Like the people of old we stand on the promises of God. We have not received the things promised to us. We are only going to see and welcome them from a distance.
We, like those great fathers of faith should admit that we are aliens and strangers on earth. We must look for a country of our own; which is a heavenly home.
God is not ashamed to be our God for he has prepared a city for us. God has opened the door of salvation to us in the person of Jesus Christ who says, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved…”(Jn.10:9).
To fix our eyes on things above is not to say faith does not bring us earthly accomplishments. It does, when like Abraham we excercise patience. Abraham was past age and Sarah was barren, but by faith he became a father “because he considered him faithful who had made the promise” (Heb.11: 8-16).
Faith is about persistence, perseverance and patience. My friend, do all you can to keep safe for now; enjoy the best you can now, but stay alert! The mundane achievements of faith are temporary; except those that are for the purposes of continuity so that even when a voice has been lost the message of salvation will go on. Keep the faith and keep on keeping on until your turn to arrive in the land fairer than day.
Prayer: My faith looks up to you Lamb of Calvary, Saviour Divine. Hear me when I pray. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!