Perhaps the best explanation of hope is from Webster’s 1828 dictionary, before the modern usage of the word emerged, and this is: A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. Hope differs from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it. Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety. Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God”s gracious promises; a scriptural sense. That which gives hope; he or that which furnishes ground of expectation, or promises desired good. An opinion or belief not amounting to certainty, but grounded on substantial evidence.<\/em>*. This definition of hope shows that hope itself involves some aspect of faith as a part of it. Hope is not hope without some degree of expectation, of belief not amounting to certainty but of which we are sure based on some evidence.<\/p>\n So then what is faith? Faith is the inward knowledge of the certainty that what is hoped for will come to pass. Knowing a thing Can<\/em> come to pass is hope; <\/strong>that it Will<\/em> come to pass is faith. <\/strong>So faith is knowledge that something WILL be or WILL happen;\u00a0Faith is\u00a0Unshakable and Without Doubt; this is how the subject of faith has been approached by the Master. Let us look at some of what He had to say:<\/p>\n In two of these three sayings of Jesus we find the idea of doubt not <\/em>and doubts opposite, believe. <\/em>This is Jesus’ teaching on faith; that we believe and we doubt not. Now we can believe and doubt at the same time and, I suppose, that\u00a0this is a rather normal human failing which is addressed in the Epistle of James as such when he says “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering . For he that wavereth\u00a0 is like\u00a0 a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed . For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord<\/em>” (James 1:6-7). In the third instance of this mountain moving faith noted above Jesus gives us the idea of the amount of faith we need.\u00a0Comparing it to a mustard seed, of\u00a0which in another place he says “is less\u00a0 than all\u00a0 the seeds\u00a0 that be\u00a0in the earth<\/em>”\u00a0(Mark 4:31), He tells us that if we had just that little amount of real faith, whatever it is that we want will be done.<\/p>\n Now this is all a testimony to the spiritual power that is within each of us and says that when that spiritual Light, with its Love and its Wisdom, is able to reveal itself in its full potency, as it did in the life of Jesus, we can do those greater things that He told us about. We may say that this is an impossible task, to have that kind of faith, but it is not impossible else He would not have told us that we could do it. It requires however for us to be in His Presence; dwelling in the Kingdom; full of the Light of the Soul, the Christ Within; and so focused on the Kingdom and on His Righteousness that there is no doubt of what and who we are. Anything less than this would unleash a Godly power on the Earth in the control of mere mortal human beings and this would spell catastrophe.<\/p>\n The Master adds in Matthew “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing , ye shall receive<\/em>” (Matthew 21:22)\u00a0 and in Mark “Therefore I say\u00a0 unto you, What things soever ye desire , when ye pray , believe that ye receive\u00a0 them, and ye shall have\u00a0 them<\/em>“(Mark 11:24). Many equate this believing and praying to the power of prayer and to ‘believing for’ this or that to happen or be done. But is this a true reading of this scripture? Are not the consecutive phrases intended to be read as one? Are not the “and all things<\/em>” and the “what things soever ye desire<\/em>” to be understood in the same context as the moving of the mountain? And requiring that same power of faith and belief. And let us not also forget the supreme qualifier that Jesus places into the dialogue\u00a0in saying\u00a0“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if\u00a0 ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses<\/em>” (Mark 11:25-26); and this forgiveness is a great human example of GoodWill which is Love in Action.<\/p>\n There is much more to faith than this mountain moving kind\u00a0which is the pinnacle of faith as we can know it. There are degrees and gradations which we all live with.\u00a0All who are striving to enter at that strait gate do possess some degree of faith in the end result and this is faith that\u00a0builds as we get closer to His Presence. There are many biblical examples of the power of faith at or near the mountain moving level. The apostles had it as seen in their instant miraculous healing power; many of the prophets had it in their ability to make things happen that would not ordinarily happen and for both this is evidence of their ability to use the mighty spiritual power of the Spirit of God and to be able to direct it to their desired use. Today’s quote of the day is one example of the power of faith, of confidence and of the\u00a0knowledge of one’s spiritual nature and power.<\/p>\n This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.<\/p>\n Daniel’s Answer to the King<\/em> by Briton Rivi\u00e8re; 1872<\/p>\n Today’s quote of the day is a picture and it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, I could write much more than that and still not do it justice. This is the Prophet Daniel in the Lions Den. If you are not familiar with this story you should read it in the Old Testament at Daniel Chapter 6. The message from it today is in Faith and Believing and having No Doubt as the main text of today’s essay speaks. Without a care for the Lions and with his knowledge of their ferocity and of what happens to men put into the den, Daniel steadfastly looks out toward his God in full confidence of His protection.<\/p>\n IN FAITH We begin this new theme with that great and famous quotation from the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). A … Continue reading \n
Note on the Quote of the Day<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/daniel-1.jpg\" "\\"Daniel")
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