[Today is New Year’s day – the beginning of 2024! Wow — a whole year has passed and here we are beginning anew! My prayer for you, dear readers and fellow believers, is that this year will be the BEST year ever for you as you believe and receive all that God has for you – and that’s a lot according to II Peter 1:3-4. Of course, in order to partake of all that God has for you, you have to do your part and that is to continue in His Word and do what He has old you to do. Yes, there are probably changes to be made but it will be totally worth it when you see His results in your lives. So, continue on in the goodness and the blessings of the Lord Jesus and be a partaker of His divine life!]
2 Peter 1:3-4 (KJV) 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
There’s a lot of talk these days about “fake news” and things being purported as true but are actually false and totally made up.
A few years ago, three journalist actually got caught in a fake news story and resigned from a national news network – CNN. We shouldn’t be surprise because God’s Word says that their sin will be exposed and things that are hidden will come out!
Numbers 32:23b (KJV)23 … and be sure your sin will find you out.
Luke 12:2 (KJV)2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.
Just as we don’t want to be fed fake news, we also don’t want to be guilty of having fake faith! What? Fake faith? What on earth is that? Read on.
Fake faith is faith that doesn’t work – faith that appears to be genuine: it sounds like real faith and even looks like real faith, but produces no results. It’s like the saying, “Is it live or is it Memorex?”
Here’s the problem: When results don’t come, it destroys any true faith that was even there at the start. It discourages those involved and causes them to think that God’s Word doesn’t work and even that God has let them down. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
First of all, God’s Word always works and God never lets anyone down who’s moving in genuine faith. God is faithful, faithful, faithful!
So, just what is fake faith? It’s faith that comes out of your head – called mental assent. You believe the Word with your head but it hasn’t gotten into your heart where it can take root and produce results with power.
What “imitation” faith does is imitate those who are genuinely walking in faith. They try to pray and speak forth the same way as the real “faithers” but they don’t get the same results.
Another example of fake faith is when someone tries to believe out beyond their level of developed faith. Instead of just admitting they don’t have enough developed faith for a certain areas of belief, they just go ahead and start confessing way beyond their actual faith: instead of believing for $500 extra income, why not believe for $5000! They don’t have the faith for $5000 but they go ahead and “try to believe” for it. Then when it doesn’t happen, they get discouraged.
True faith takes time to develop. It takes study and meditation in God’s Word to get it from your head to your heart where it can take root and develop into strong faith. Then when you pray, it comes forth with power – the dunamis power of God!
We don’t need more faith. We all start out with the same lump. It just needs to be developed. We need to consistently study and meditate God’s Word to develop our faith so we get our desired results every time.
Romans 12:3b (KJV) 3 … according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Continued next time — Pamela