When It Come to Faith, It's All or Nothing

ALL things are possible to him that believes. - Mark 9:23 But without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please Him... - Hebrews 11:6 Faith. Only believe. According to your faith. Do not doubt. O you of little faith. The theme of faith is woven over and over again throughout the New Testament. I wonder if we don't lose its import because we hear it so much and so often. Is it possible that we hear it and think that we've heard it enough and that we "know" this? We're justified by faith, saved by grace through faith, move mountains by faith, etc. But just recently I was pondering again this marvelous thing called faith. It is the currency of heaven. On earth I purchase things with money. Money represents my time and talent. I gave my labor or knowledge to someone who in turn gave me a representation of their time and talent in the form of money. I took the money they gave me and gave it to someone in exchange for their time and talent. It's interesting that God operates on this exchange system but He doesn't use the dollar, or the British pound, or the Euro, or the yen. The thing that is valuable to Him that causes Him to 'release' His treasures from Heaven, is faith. Think about it. You can't get His grace for salvation without faith. He gives us that faith, true, but He then expects us to use it to 'receive' His gifts. No faith, no receive. "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting... let not that man think he will receive ANYTHING from the Lord." - James 1:6,7 It seems that when it comes to faith, God is all or nothing. ALL things are possible to him who believes, but without faith we can receive NOTHING from the Lord. God wants us rich. But His currency is not earthly. "Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?" - Jam 2:5 What? How can a poor man be rich? Simple, he can lack currency in this realm and have lots of currency to receive God's riches. So it is possible to live in a small house with a barely-running vehicle and sleep with great peace. God values peace more than He values a Lexus. "When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet." - Proverbs 3:24 And it is possible to not be able to travel to some exotic location for a vacation and still feast on joy. "The joy of the Lord is your strength..." - Nehemiah 8:10 God increases our faith by lavishing His promises upon us. Each promise He gives in His word is meant to increase our faith. He expects us to believe what He says and anticipate Him fulfilling His promises. So He gives us exceeding great and precious promises. I will forgive you. I will heal you. I will be with you. I will protect you. I will guide you. I will comfort you. I will correct you. I will... What promises are on Heaven's shelf still waiting to be apprehended by you? What promises go unfulfilled because you have not reached up by faith to receive them? What damage has little faith done to your walk? Don't forget, when it comes to faith, it's all or nothing!