Verse of the Day 9/27

Verse of the Day 9/27

Habakkuk 2:4   "Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,

    but the righteous shall live by his faith.    English Standard Version (ESV)

We've considered what it means to "hear the voice of God" from behind you in Isaiah and yesterday how we are to practice the things that we have learned and received from God, those things learned from time with Him and in His word that are brought to our recollection when we need them.  The process as a whole is called walking by faith.  Today's verse, tucked away in this short book of Habakkuk, is the first time in the Bible that "the righteous shall live by faith" occurs.  It is repeated in the New Testament in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38.

I think it was John Piper who translated the verse as saying "the just by faith shall live".  The meaning remains the same but it puts the faith part in front of the living.

I read the following in a recent devotional by Greg Laurie which digs deeper into this walking, living by faith:

I have discovered the secret of a successful Christian life. Are you ready for it? It is living and walking by faith every day. It is consistency. It is staying with it. As philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, "The essential thing 'in heaven and in earth' is . . . that there should be long obedience in the same direction."    Faith sees what could be. Faith does things. Faith takes action. Faith takes risks. Faith leaves its comfort zones to do things for the Lord. And faith that doesn't produce works is a faith that doesn't work.  When we step out in faith, God will work. But if we don't step out in faith, then really not much is going to happen. God works through people who are applying faith.     Read the short passage below from The Message.  Do you have questions for God?  Bring them to Him, look into, study His Word and wait on Him.  He will answer you as you live by faith.  

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Habakkuk 2:1-4 The Message (MSG)

2 What's God going to say to my questions? I'm braced for the worst.
    I'll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon.
I'll wait to see what God says,
    how he'll answer my complaint.

Full of Self, but Soul-Empty

^2-3 And then God answered: "Write this.
    Write what you see.
Write it out in big block letters
    so that it can be read on the run.
This vision-message is a witness
    pointing to what's coming.
It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait!
    And it doesn't lie.
If it seems slow in coming, wait.
    It's on its way. It will come right on time.

⁴ "Look at that man, bloated by self-importance—
    full of himself but soul-empty.
But the person in right standing before God
    through loyal and steady believing
    is fully alive, really alive.