Faith
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). When the one true God makes a promise or describes some unseen reality, we can be sure this is true. By faith, we look beyond what we see, focus our attention on God and his promises, and anticipate the good he ordains. Such faith may be given to us as a gift, a supernatural surge of holy confidence (1 Corinthians 12:9). Or faith can be built up by spiritual conditioning, such
Quite Contrary
The 18th century nursery rhyme, “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” rightly identifies contrariness as an undesirable trait. Still, there are times when it is good to be contrary. When another person or group is being disparaged or demonized, we do not mindlessly absorb the opinions of others. We challenge demeaning assertions by speaking constructively. Though we risk being put down ourselves, at these times it good to be contrary. It is good to be contrary in resisting fads. Wheth
