Time Out! Devotions

What Is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1-2 (NCV)

¹ Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. ² Faith is the reason we remember great people who lived in the past.

Romans 10:17 (NCV)

¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing the Good News, and people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.

Galatians 5:6 (NCV)

⁶ The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love.

1 John 5:4 (NCV)

⁴ Everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world—our faith.

John 6:28-29 (NCV)

²⁸ The people asked Jesus, “What are the things God wants us to do?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The work God wants you to do is this: Believe the One he sent.”

Psalm 118:8 (NCV)

⁸ It is better to trust the Lord than to trust people.

Hebrews 11:6 (NCV)

⁶ Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.

Luke 17:5 (NCV)

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith!”

Hebrews 6:12 (NCV)

¹² We do not want you to become lazy. Be like those who through faith and patience will receive what God has promised.

James 1:5-6 (NCV)

⁵ But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous to everyone and will give you wisdom without criticizing you. ⁶ But when you ask God, you must believe and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown up and down by the wind.

Psalm 37:3, 5, 7 (NCV)

³ Trust the Lord and do good. Live in the land and feed on truth. ⁵ Depend on the Lord; trust him, and he will take care of you. ⁷ Wait and trust the Lord. Don’t be upset when others get rich or when someone else’s plans succeed.

Psalm 55:22 (NCV)

²² Give your worries to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will never let good people down.

Psalm 62:8 (NCV)

⁸ People, trust God all the time. Tell him all your problems, because God is our protection.

Isaiah 43:1-2 (NCV)

¹ Now this is what the Lord says. He created you, people of Jacob; he formed you, people of Israel. He says, “Don’t be afraid, because I have saved you. I have called you by name, and you are mine. ² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you cross rivers, you will not drown. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, nor will the flames hurt you.

Isaiah 41:13 (NCV)

¹³ I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, and I tell you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I will help you.’

Proverbs 3:5 (NCV)

⁵ Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding.

Isaiah 50:10 (NCV)

¹⁰ Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant? That person may walk in the dark and have no light. Then let him trust in the Lord and yet depend on his God.

(by Charles Swindoll from Insight for Living)

The word grace means many things to many people. We refer to a ballet dancer as having grace. We say grace at meals. We talk about the queen of England bringing grace to events she attends. Grace can mean coordination of movement, it can mean a prayer, it can refer to dignity and elegance. Most important, grace can mean unmerited favor—extending special favor to someone who doesn’t deserve it, who hasn’t earned it, and who can never repay it. Every once in a while we come across a scene in Scripture where we see a beautiful illustration of that kind of grace, and we stand amazed at such amazing grace.

We find one of those moments in the life of King David. It is, in my personal opinion, the greatest illustration of grace in all the Old Testament. It involves an obscure man with an almost unpronounceable name. Mephibosheth. It’s a beautiful, unforgettable story.

Before his reign as king over Israel began, David made a promise to his predecessor. David vowed that he would not destroy Saul’s descendants once he came to power (1 Samuel 24:20–22). When David consolidated his power and a time of peace came to the land, one of his first acts was to inquire about Saul’s descendants. Normally, ancient kings sought out descendants from the previous regime to kill them and prevent that family’s return to power. However, David made it clear that he sought a descendant of Saul so that he might show him kindness (2 Samuel 9:1).

One of Saul’s former servants answered the call and informed King David about a single son of Jonathan, who was “crippled in both feet.” David’s response was beautiful. He moved right on and said, “Where is he?” He didn’t ask, “How badly is he crippled?” He didn’t even ask how he happened to be in that condition. He just said, “Where’s the man located?”

That’s the way grace is. Grace isn’t picky. Grace doesn’t look for things that have been done that deserve love. Grace operates apart from the response or the ability of the individual. Grace is one-sided. Grace is God giving Himself in full acceptance to someone who does not deserve it and can never earn it and will never be able to repay. And this is what makes the story of David and Mephibosheth so memorable. A strong and famous king stoops down and reaches out to one who represents everything David was not!

Not surprisingly, Mephibosheth had been in hiding. He feared that David would be like all other kings, seeking and killing the descendants of the former regime. The last thing Mephibosheth wanted to see was an emissary from the king rapping on his door. But that was exactly what happened.

Can you imagine the man’s shock? After answering the knock at the door, Mephibosheth looked into the faces of David’s soldiers, who said to him, “The king wants to see you.” He most likely thought, Well, this is the end.

But it wasn’t; it was a whole new beginning! Taken before the king in Jerusalem, this frightened man threw aside his crutches and fell down before the king who had sovereign rights over his life. Mephibosheth had no idea what to expect. Surely, he expected the worst.

David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness [grace] to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.” (2 Samuel 9:7)

Can you imagine what Mephibosheth must have felt at that moment? Expecting a sword to strike his neck, he heard these unbelievable words from King David. Words of grace.

Dr. Karl Menninger tells the story of Thomas Jefferson, riding horseback cross-country when he and his group came to a swollen river. A wayfarer waited until several of the party had crossed and then hailed President Jefferson and asked if he would carry him across on his horse. Jefferson pulled him up onto the back of his horse and carried him to the opposite bank. “Tell me,” asked one of the men, “why did you select the president to ask this favor of?” “The president?” the man answered. “I didn’t know he was the president. All I know is that on some of the faces is written the answer ‘no’ and on some faces is written the answer ‘yes.’ His was a ‘yes’ face.”¹

People who truly understand grace have a “yes” face. I want to suggest that when Mephibosheth looked up, he saw a “yes” written across King David’s face. (Don’t you wish you could have been there at that magnificent moment?) From that time on, the crippled young man was treated as one of the king’s sons. King David restored to him all the land that had belonged to his grandfather Saul, along with Saul’s servant Ziba and all his household––15 sons and 20 servants. He was viewed by all with respect, and he enjoyed eating regularly with the family at King David’s table, all because of grace. They talked together and laughed together and ate delicious meals together because he was a member of the family . . . and the tablecloth covered his crippled feet.

Moments like that remind us that God will look at His children and say with that “yes” face, “You’re in My family. You’re as important to Me as all my other sons and daughters.” It will take eternity for us to adequately express what this truth means to us—that He chose us in our sinful and rebellious condition and in grace took us from a barren place and gave us a place at His table. And, in love, allowed His tablecloth of grace to cover our sin.

Grace. It really is amazing!

1. Karl Menninger, Martin Mayman, and Paul Pruyser, The Vital Balance (New York: Viking Press, 1963), 22.

Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, “Amazing Grace on Display,” Insights (March 2009): 1–2. Copyright © 2009 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

(from Luther Seminary – God Pause Daily Devotional)

John 2:1-11 (NCV)

¹ Two days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,² and Jesus and his followers were also invited to the wedding.³ When all the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Dear woman, why come to me? My time has not yet come.”

⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you to do.”

⁶ In that place there were six stone water jars that the Jews used in their washing ceremony. Each jar held about twenty or thirty gallons.

⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled the jars to the top.

⁸ Then he said to them, “Now take some out and give it to the master of the feast.”

So they took the water to the master. ⁹ When he tasted it, the water had become wine. He did not know where the wine came from, but the servants who had brought the water knew. The master of the wedding called the bridegroom¹⁰ and said to him, “People always serve the best wine first. Later, after the guests have been drinking awhile, they serve the cheaper wine. But you have saved the best wine till now.”

¹¹ So in Cana of Galilee Jesus did his first miracle. There he showed his glory, and his followers believed in him.

A mother’s words can have a lot of power. When I was growing up, there was one phrase from my mom that I hated to hear more than anything else: “I know you’ll do the right thing, honey.” She always seemed to know when I was tempted to slack off in school or ditch my responsibilities at home. That little phrase got right at who I wanted to be inside. It pushed me to make her proud – and to make choices I could be proud of too.

Jesus’ mother seems to have that kind of power over her son, too. With one phrase – “they have no wine” – she gets under Jesus’ skin. And despite his outward insouciance – “that’s not my problem” – she appears sure her son will do the right thing. Maybe she’s just being a mom … but maybe she also knows just who Jesus is inside.

Are there any words that have that kind of power over you, that drive you to do the right thing, to be the bigger person, to make your mother – or your Father – proud?

“Lord, I want to make you proud of me. Help me be the person you created me to be. Amen.”

Shelley Cunningham
Christ the King Lutheran Church, New Brighton, Minn.
Master of Divinity, 1998

And it was right and proper that God, who made everything for His own glory, should allow Jesus to suffer, for in doing this He was bringing vast multitudes of God’s people to heaven; for His suffering made Jesus a perfect Leader, one fit to bring them into their salvation. We who have been made holy by Jesus, now have the same Father He has. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers.

Hebrews 2:10-11

Jesus’ suffering made Him a perfect Leader (Hebrews 5:8-9), and our suffering can make us better servants of God. People who have known pain are able to reach out with sensitivity to their hurting brothers and sisters. When you suffer, ask how your experience can help you serve Christ better.

And it was necessary for Jesus to be like us, His brothers, so that He could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God, a Priest who would be both merciful to us and faithful to God in dealing with the sins of the people. For since He has now been through suffering and temptation, He knows what it is like when we suffer and are tempted, and He is wonderfully able to help us.

Hebrews 2:17-18

Knowing that Christ suffered and was tempted helps us go through our own suffering. We know He understands our struggles and we trust Him to help us survive suffering and overcome temptation. When you face trials, go to Jesus. He understands your needs and is able to help (Hebrews 4:14-16).

(from the Life Application Bible – Living Bible edition)