Livng By Faith . . . What does that REALLY mean?

Living by faith. . . the act of KNOWING what God has spoken (through His Scriptures, His Spirit to our spirit, or through prophetic words or acts), BELIEVING those words with such wholeheartedness that it propels one to LIVE OUT a demonstration of utter confidence and belief in the character and words of God! ~emie locke's definition of "living by faith"

Without faith it is impossible to please God.
The righteous shall live by faith.
Therefore since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Take up the shield of faith, which can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Pursue a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith.
If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Classic illustrations:
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! Jones has his father's journal with the map and instructions to the holy grail. He makes it through all these tests and comes to a deep chasm with no apparent crossing. In the journal, the father has made it clear that there is an invisible bridge over the chasm. It was a test of faith! Would he believe his father's words and take the step into the invisible?

Someone writes me a check for $500. I have faith that this check is good so I take action to prove it. The next day I deposit it in my account and go shopping. I received it, believed it was good for what it was written for, and acted upon it. That is what we need to do with God's words to us. We need to know what He is offering us and speaking to us (concerning every area of our life). We need to deposit it into our own account and then take some action steps to prove that it's really there. Some won't even take the check because they don't believe it's legit. Many take the check, but in practice rip it up or put it in their wallet and never deposit it. Too many never spend what is theirs to spend.

BOTTOM LINE: LIVING BY FAITH is NOT about being a missionary or someone supported by other people. In fact, I know from personal experience that I could be "living by faith" according to the modern definition of a "missionary on support" and have virtually no true faith at all in the provision of God Almighty. And I know COUNTLESS people who have had a steady paycheck their whole lives who KNOW WHAT GOD IS SAYING, ARE EMBRACING IT WHOLEHEARTEDLY, and LIVING IT OUT EVERY DAY as homemakers, businessmen, policemen, packing house managers, project managers, salesmen, accountants, students, teachers, the whole gamut. And though I'm back to talking about faith in the area of our finances, I really mean that we need faith for ALL OF LIFE. LIVING BY FAITH is all encompassing and everyone who loves Jesus is to be one who lives by faith in the words and character of God, the God who is still speaking to us today! Without faith, it is impossible to please God.