Deuteronomy 4:29
Seek God with Your Heart and Soul
29 But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Romans 10:13-17 (KJV)
Faith Comes from Hearing the Word of God
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
John 1:1-2
Jesus is the Word
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
Matthew 24:35
Jesus' Word Will Never Pass Away
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
John 17:17
Truth and Faith
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
John 18:37
Testifying to The Truth
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
John 14:6
Jesus Says, I AM Truth
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 8:31-32
The Truth Shall Set You Free
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Romans 10:9-10
Believing Jesus is LORD
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Acts 4:12
Salvation is Found in No One Else
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Matthew 6:21
Our Heart Holds Our Treasures
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
These verses teach us that faith is found in hearing, reading, and receiving the Word of God...We read that the Word of God is Truth...We are also taught in these verses that faith, truth, and being saved are connected by the Word of God...Jesus is the Word, and the Word of God is from the very beginning...So Truth has been around before faith came to the world...Jesus came to earth to testify to God's Word and to His Truths...Jesus tells us that He is the Truth...He is the Absolute Truth...When we follow Him, we are His disciples and then we actually know this Truth, and we are set free by Him and His Truths and teachings...Through our faith, we study His Word and His Truth...By studying and believing Him in with our hearts, our faith (in Him) will get us saved...There is no other way or to be saved, because salvation is found in no One else...
Jesus spoke the most unforgettable words, ever to be spoken...To me some of the greatest words are centered around the Truth...When Jesus said I AM Truth, these are unforgettable words...He told Pilate the very reason He was born and came into our world -was to testify to this Truth and about the Truth...Everyone who believes in Truth listens to Him...And if we believe in Him and this Truth, we are then His disciples...And if we are His followers, we know the Truth and this Truth will set us free...Truth not only leads us to our faith, but faith leads us to the Truth of Jesus...The reason Jesus was born was to be the Absolute Truth, and to testify about this Truth...So our faith guides us to the Truth...
The night before Jesus' arrest He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane to His Father...He says in that prayer that God's word is Truth...Because Jesus teaches us that He is the Truth and we know He is the Word of God, then He must be the Absolute Truth, if you believe in Him and are one of His disciples...
St. Paul, after Jesus' death and resurrection, writes to the Romans, that whoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be saved...The he gives us a teaching on faith (and being saved)...He says that faith comes from hearing the word of God, and the word of God is heard through the word of Christ....He is telling us that faith comes after Truth and knowing the Truth...So not only is St. Paul giving us a lesson on faith, he is giving us a lesson on Truth, because we know that the Word of God is Truth...So we know that faith can come to us when we believe and seek the Truth...Believing in God requires faith, and our faith in Him promotes the right personal relationship with Him...And I use the word's "personal relationship with Him", because like any good Father, He wants us to be personal and intimate with Him...He wants us close to Him...
So, as we seek the LORD through His word, and when we hear His word and believe His word, we can find faith and also be saved...And His word is Truth, so we find faith in Truth -when we believe...In our hearts is where we hold on to these eternities...The heart is home to our very soul...In our heart dwells our greatest treasures...The heart stores the things like faith, hope, love, the Spirit, and truth...Man believes with His heart...We must believe then in our hearts that Jesus was sent by His Father...St. Paul tells us that when we declare with our mouth and say “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, then we will be saved...We are saved by no other name...
When we live by faith, we show others we are witnesses of our LORD...Living by faith is very hard to explain and put into words...Living by faith (at least for me) makes one feel more at peace, one has more hope, one can show his love, and somehow life can and will be better -not only now but forever (because I believe in eternity)...We show others something about ourselves with our faith...We have hope in the great future of the resurrection...Living by faith, we are then better prepared to plant seeds for future believers...It is possible that God gives us faith, for the very reason of planting these seeds for future witnesses of His...But we stumble, and sometimes we stumble a lot and others see this in people of faith and believe that this is a reason not to believe or have faith...But man is flawed...Flawed with a sinful nature...So we need Someone who can take away this type of nature and guide us to the Truth...
Jesus Word is Truth...And His Word will never pass away...He is out there wanting us to seek Him...When we seek Him with all our hearts and soul we will find Him...When we believe these things, then Truth lead us to our faith, and our faith leads us to salvation...He is our Savior...The heart is where we store the great things...In the heart is our faith and our Truths...When we understand these things (about the heart) we can see the real treasures of life -and they are in this home of our soul...And we see why He said -where our treasures are, is also where our heart will be...