DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- SETTLED IN HEAVEN

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – SETTLED IN HEAVEN

" 'Surely even now my witness is in heaven, and my evidence is on high.' " (Job 16:19)

Job did not base his faith on his circumstances. If his faith in God was based on his what he was going through, he would have no reason to believe in God's goodness. He had lost his family and everything that he owned, and his body was filled with painful sores. No, the basis for his faith was settled in heaven.

Experience is not the witness of my salvation. I may not feel saved. I may not even look saved. But my salvation does not depend on how I look or feel, or my circumstances. I am saved because of the work of the Lord Jesus, and regardless of how things appear, my faith is in Him.

If our faith is based on what is happening in our lives, we have no assurance. We cannot base our salvation on whether things are good or bad. The only assurance of our salvation is that Jesus died on the cross, rose again, and ascended into heaven as proof that the Father was pleased with His sacrifice. Our assurance is in heaven where the evidence is.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 12:1). Faith does not depend on what I see, but on the unshakable, unchanging witness of God in His holy word. He says I am saved by faith, not by how I feel, or my surroundings. My faith is in Him, not in what I experience.

Do you remember the part of the 4 Spiritual Laws that dealt with assurance of salvation? It was a train with an engine and two cars. They were name, "Fact, Faith, and Feeling." The Fact of Salvation is that Christ died for our sins. It is the engine that pulls the train. The second car – Faith – is the personal belief that Jesus died for my sin. The third car – Feeling – is the joy that comes from the knowledge of Salvation. Feelings are the caboose. They do not pull the train. Feelings may change, but the facts never change. My faith is a personal choice – for or against, but it does not change the facts. I choose to believe the facts, whether I feel it or not. God is faithful to His word, and if we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we are saved. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:10). It is settled in Heaven.

Love, Dad