Tag Archives: faith

Faith and Hope in Jesus

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Years ago when I first heard Andrew Peterson’s song, “No More Faith”, it puzzled me.

Aren’t we supposed to walk by faith, not by sight? Isn’t faith the assurance we have that something we want is going to happen? The certainty what we hope for is waiting for us? Didn’t Jesus comment numerous times about people’s great faith, or lack of?

So what’s the deal with a song called no more faith? Faith is what sustains us and gets us through the difficulties of this world, is it not?

And what about hope? When our hearts are plunged into the depths of despair, don’t we cling to hope like a life preserver?

Job declared that even if God slay him, still he would have hope. David declared we are to put our hope in God, and said our hope comes from God.

Well. It’s taken me awhile, but I think I understand what Andrew meant. Maybe. A little.

There is going to come a time, Revelation tells us, when we will see Jesus face to face. At that time, we won’t need anymore faith. Anymore hope. Why? Because in heaven what we were confident would happen; what we hoped, for has come to pass. Those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior will stand in his presence, bathed in his glorious love.

And the greatest of these is love. A never ending, everlasting, all encompassing love that can only come from the Father and his Son.

All despair will be removed. There will be no need to have faith or hope that things will get better, because in heaven everything will be perfect.

When we reach heaven, Christ’s love will prove he has wiped away every tear, every heartache, and every disease.

Glory hallelujah!

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the subject. If you think others would appreciate reading this, please share it through the social media buttons.

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead. Hebrews 11:1 (TLB)

 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:24-25 (NIV)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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Take That Leap of Faith

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by Sandy Kirby Quandt

Faith is a theme that runs through many of my blog posts. Maybe you’ve noticed. Abraham. Moses. Esther. To name a few.

During the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference last month, I spent time with other writers as we encouraged each other in our writer’s journey. For those who do not write, you may not understand how much faith it takes to believe God has called us to weave words together for him to use.

It’s a privilege that requires large quantities of faith.

The same amount of faith it takes any of us to accept the privilege God gives to use the abilities and skills he’s placed within us. It takes faith to make that incredible leap to step out and trust.

But you know what?

No matter how fantastic the opportunity, facing the unknown can be frightening. Especially when doing so seems … crazy.

We might listen to Satan’s lies telling us we aren’t good enough.

Who are we kidding?

What have we got to offer?

Why do we think we’re capable?

It’ll be too difficult.

And on and on and on.

So this post is for all of us who need a little encouragement to step out in faith no matter how crazy it may seem.

Encouragement to grab hold of all the marvelous things God has waiting for us and trust he knows what he’s doing when he calls us to be a part of his plan.

Am I the only one who struggles with a lack of confidence that can morph into a lack of faith that can become a lack of obedience when I face the unknown?

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the subject. If you think others would appreciate reading this, please share it through the social media buttons.

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead. Hebrews 11:1 (TLB)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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Faith – Book Review

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by Sandy Kirby Quandt

If you enjoy reading Christian historical fiction with a hint of romance set during America’s Civil War, then Faith by Lyn Cote is the book for you. Faith, the third book in Lyn’s Quaker Bride series, follows Blessing and Honor.

Set in 1863, Faith follows Quakeress, Faith Cathwell, as she and her freeborn friend, Honroree, join a troop of General Grant’s Union soldiers in their campaign in the Western Theater as volunteer nurses. They hope traveling with the army will place them in a position to locate Honoree’s sister, Shiloh, also freeborn, who was kidnapped by slave catchers five years earlier.

Although they share differing views, as the months go by and the battles and war injuries continue, Faith reaches out to Colonel Devlin Knight for help in her search through Confederate territory for Shiloh .

Through the lives of her compelling cast of characters, Lyn Cote weaves a fascinating tale of love, honor, faith, and loss which I highly recommend.

Have you read this book? If so, what was your impression of it?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Leave a comment below. If you think others would appreciate reading this please share it through the social media buttons.

I wish you well.

Sandy

Please enter your email address on the form located on the right sidebar to sign up to receive posts every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Thanks!

Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for a fair and honest review, which is exactly what I gave.

One of my articles is scheduled to appear on Inspire a Fire April 5, 2016. Please stop by.

Step Out In Faith

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By Sandy Kirby Quandt

Fourteen years ago, Pilot received word he was transferring from working on Space Shuttles at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, to sitting in the Mission Control Room of Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where he would work with astronauts on board the International Space Station.

Life was in flux.

As we approached the anniversary of our move, I thought of someone who made a much greater move. Abraham. Husband of Sarah. Father of Ishmael and Issac.

Father of the Arabs, Jews, and Christians. From whose line Jesus Christ was born.

God called Abe to leave everything he knew. Everything he had built up. Leave his extended family and possessions.

Leave civilization and live a nomadic life in a tent, and go to a land God would show him.

Canaan.

Abe obeyed, and God blessed him. Just as he promised.

Are you in a place where you feel God’s asking you to step out in faith? Venture into the unknown? Go to a land he will show you?

Maybe it’s a career decision. Maybe a relationship decision. Maybe God’s asking you to take on a ministry that’s out of your comfort zone.

Maybe God’s asking you to trust him with your finances. Trust him with your children. Your spouse. Your health.

Perhaps doing so means listening to God’s voice and shutting our ears to the lies of Satan.

Maybe we need to step out in faith, and trust God to lead us to the land of Canaan where he is calling us. Whatever our Canaan might look like.

Or as Star Trek beckoned, boldly go where no one has gone before.

No one except God, that is. The One who has already gone before us and prepared the way.

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the subject.

Abraham trusted God, and when God told him to leave home and go far away to another land that he promised to give him, Abraham obeyed. Away he went, not even knowing where he was going.                            Hebrews 11:8 (NLT)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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Walk By Faith, Not By Sight

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I don’t know where to go from here

It all used to seem so clear

I’m finding I can’t do this on my own

These opening lines to the Sidewalk Prophets song, “Help Me Find It“, sure express how I’ve felt at times.

Sometimes we’re headed one direction, breezing along. No problems. Everything is fine. Then all of a sudden BOOM! There’s a roadblock and we’re forced to go in the complete opposite direction. I don’t even know how many times I have set off one direction in life to find I ended up taking some side roads.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about something Sir Isaac Newton discovered in the 1600s. Action comes before reaction.

If I expect the automatic door at the store to open, I have to step up and activate the mechanism which opens the door. Staring at the door won’t open it. Wishing it would open won’t grant me admission. Hoping it will open? Nope.

Waiting for someone else to activate the open-sesame apparatus could take forever. If I want that door to open, I have to take the necessary action to cause my desired reaction.

If you’ve seen the movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, I’m sure you remember when Indie rushes to find the Holy Grail so he can bring life-saving water back to his dying father.

Following directions written in an ancient book, Indie gets to an opening and sees no way to cross the gorge that gapes before him.

Only a leap from the lion’s head will prove his worth. It’s a leap of faith. You must believe.

When Indie steps out into the nothingness before him in faith, when he makes the first move, when he acts, a bridge across the gorge appears. Indiana Jones makes it safely to the other side.

Action before reaction.

So I’m thinking…if I want the door to open it’s up to me to step forward. I have to walk by faith, not by sight. I have to take that first step in faith – action – before God will work–reaction.

In the Bible story recorded in Genesis 22, where Abraham is ready to offer up his son, Isaac, Abe had to lift his knife into the air ready to plunge it deep into the body of his son before God provided a ram for the sacrifice.

When Joshua and the Israelites got to the flooded Jordan River, Joshua 3:14-17 tells us as soon as the priests’ feet touched the water’s edge the water upstream stopped flowing. They had to step into liquid before they could cross on dry ground. Remember, these men had lived their whole life in the desert. They didn’t know how to swim.

The ten lepers in Luke 17 had to head toward the priest as Jesus instructed before Jesus healed their leprosy.

The man with a shriveled hand in Matthew 12 had to stretch out his hand as he was told, before Jesus made it whole.

Action came before reaction. They walked by faith. Not by sight.

Are you having to walk by faith and not by sight? Hang on. Keep trusting. Remember what God’s brought you through before. He didn’t bring you this far to drop you now.

For we walk by faith, not by sight.  2 Corinthians 5:7

I wish you well.

Sandy

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