Verse of the day: Joshua 2:8-9 Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9 and said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.
When I read about Rahab’s faith, it reminds me of what Jesus said about the faith of the Centurion who sought Jesus to heal his servant in Matthew 8:10-12, “When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Here was a woman who was not an Israelite, yet, we see in her statement to the spies that she was fully confident that the LORD would give Israel the land He promised. Amazingly, her faith was not the result of hearing the promise come directly from Moses or Joshua, but merely because she heard the testimony of what God was doing in leading the Israelites in the wilderness. What does it take for us, who are born again, to have this kind of faith in serving the LORD? Rahab’s first step of faith was that of confessing that God is the God of heaven and earth (v. 11). This was her saving faith. Hebrews 11:31 tells us this about her faith, “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.” However, she did not just declare that God was God of heaven and earth, but proved her faith by what she did to help the two spies. Rahab’s faith was not one of words alone, but one of action. If we say we have faith, does our life reflect that? What are we doing in serving God that proves what we say about our faith? We can tell others about our faith until we are blue in the face, but our faith will not be real to others until we put feet to our faith. James 2:14-17 puts it this way, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James goes on to say of Rahab’s faith in James 2:25, “Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?” James was not saying that our works alone save us. What he was saying is that once we are saved, by faith, our faith is dead if we do not put it into action. If we say that we have put our faith in Christ, but we have not stepped out by faith to serve God and serve others, then our faith is dead. I have heard far too many Christians talk a good game about serving God, but in the same breath make all kinds of excuses as to why they could not serve God “right now”. “I’m too busy with work, or I am too busy looking for work.” “I’m too busy with family. The kids’ games keep us running all the time.” “You don’t understand. I just don’t have enough to give or enough hours in a day.” “I don’t think I know enough to tell others about Jesus yet.” “I have only been a Christian for ten years. I don’t think I know enough to teach that class on Sundays.” Do I need to go on with the number of excuses I have heard from born again believers? What will it take for us to put our faith into action? We often complain that God is doing nothing in our lives, but we fail to mention that we have done nothing, by faith, to give God something to work with. We read of Rahab’s faith, to the shame of Israel, who wandered in the wilderness for forty years because they lacked faith. We read, in the New Testament, about the Centurion’s faith, again to the shame of Israel, because they lacked faith in accepting Jesus as their Messiah. Is this too to our shame as born again believers? It amazes me when I see the risks that the unsaved will take to accomplish things in their life, extraordinary things, simply because they have faith in their own abilities. Yet, we, the children of God, live ordinary lives because we lack enough faith to trust that God can do supernatural things in our lives, if we would just put feet to our faith. What is God asking us to do today that we are resisting? What excuse are we making to avoid putting our faith into action? What blessings are we robbing ourselves of, and others, because we are refusing to trust that God can do great thing in our lives, if only we will step out by faith?
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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