“”Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the Right Hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2.

I have attended teachings where we were told to repeat scripture over and over until our faith builds.  Please don’t misunderstand, we all memorize scripture, especially our favorite but the repetition of it is not what builds our faith.  I mean, if we believe what Jesus accomplished on the Cross is true, then that Scripture we are repeating over and over to build our faith, is a given fact or else we are calling God a liar.  I’m not talking about when the Lord puts a certain scripture on your heart and you stand on that scripture, by all means no.  I’m talking about taking a particular scripture, many times out of context, and repeating it over and over convincing one’s self this is how we build our faith.  More often than not, this is presumption.  We presume God does not want us in a particular situation because it is not pleasing to us.  Instead of seeking Him, the Author and Finisher of our faith, for the lesson, we are actually resorting to a type of witchcraft…yes, witchcraft to build our faith.  Our deliverance of our situation becomes dependent on us authoring our faith according to our will and not God’s will.

Many times it is easier to pray for our will than it is God’s will.  We want God to bless our will, while never seeking His.  The Lord will sometimes bless our will but please don’t misunderstand His blessing for His approval.  Remember, He blessed the Israelites in their error as well, all in hopes they would one day see His mercy, which most never did and perished in the wilderness.

“Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” 1 Corinthians 1:5-7.

It is not the amount of faith but the object of our faith, Jesus Christ.  When we understand what Jesus accomplished for us on Calvary’s Cross for our Salvation and our victory over sin and our faith is exclusively on Him, Who He is and what He has done, then we also understand the entirety of the Word of God, including every promise, is a given.  This is why we fight the fight of faith, faith in Jesus and Who He is…because when we know Who He is and what He has done, we also know the Word of God is true.  We don’t have to do all of these vain repetitions to build our faith.  The Lord Jesus Christ authors our faith.  When our faith is in Him, God gives the increase.  The faith of a mustard seed soon becomes the faith of a mustard tree!

These vain repetitions become a form of works and our faith becomes placed on OUR self efforts.  Our religion becomes about us, who we are and what we must do. Prayerfully discern “who” your religion is about.  As scriptural as it may “seem”, deceit does not come with a red flag warning.  We must know the Word of God for our selves and pray for discernment.  “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.” John 16:13.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is about Jesus – Who He is and what He has done…not about us and what we must do.  Trust Him to build our faith and guide us into all truth.  -Donna Clark Warren