Faith

Faith is The assent of the mind to the truth of a proposition or statement for which there is not complete evidence; belief in general. Specifically, firm belief based upon confidence in the authority and veracity of another, rather than upon one's own knowledge, reason, or judgment; earnest and trustful confidence: as, to have faith in the testimony of a witness. In theology, spiritual perception of the invisible objects of religious veneration; a belief founded on such spiritual perception. Belief or confidence in a person, founded upon a perception of his moral excellence: as, faith in Christ. Intuitive belief. The doctrines or articles which are the subjects of belief, especially of religious belief; a creed; a system of religion; specifically, the Christian religion. Recognition of and allegiance to the obligations of morals and honor; adherence to the laws of right and wrong, especially in fulfilling one's promise; faithfulness; fidelity; loyalty.The Century Dictionary
  Synonyms for faith include confidence, trust, certainty, conviction, assurance, credence, certitude, acceptance, hope, reliance, sureness, dependance.—Merriam-Webster Dictionary


“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”—Hebrews 11:1


Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. …Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.…By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. …But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.—Hebrews 11:1, 3, 5-6

To every pilgrim adventurer walking the Via Christa, faith is knowing as God knows. Faith is an absolute and abstract principle, a law of being, a law of doing, a virtue and a faculty. Complete faith fulfills the law of materialization and the law of progress, because faith is the divine substance of all things hoped for. Faith is the law of materialization: Believe and know, nothing doubting. Faith is the law of progress: One step at a time in unalterable faith.











Edna Lister on Faith

Fear is faith inverted.—Edna Lister, Your Magnetic Powers, January 13, 1933.


The mustard seed has complete faith in its ability to expand and grow. In full surrender to that inner urge to expand, it grows and produces potentially thousands of other mustard trees. Faith is the complete ability to grow and unfold, to expand and enfold. You receive rewards of faith not from people, but in an increased ability to express your manifold gifts.—Edna Lister, The Parable of the Mustard Seed, January 16, 1933.


Divine active faith knows that According to His riches in glory does He supply your needs.—Philippians 4:19.—Edna Lister, December 1933.


Faith is your diamond drill bit that sharpens itself as it penetrates the crust of your intellectual selfishness.—Edna Lister, Recognizing Your Good, April 22, 1934.


You must be obedient to all duties on the outside until your faithfulness promotes you beyond them.—Edna Lister, Christian Growth, November 4, 1934.


Having all faith in God confers immunity to earth’s ills because faith raises the vibration above disease.—Edna Lister, Life More Abundant, January 4, 1935.


Faith is a principle to which understanding is the key.—Edna Lister, February 15, 1935.


You judge yourself, hard or soft, tough or easy, according to your faith. If your judgment is hard, your faith increases. If soft, with excuses, you fail to progress.—Edna Lister, Eternal Life, April 21, 1935.


Faith’s aspects include receptivity, the listening attitude, and discernment, the ability to see spiritually.—Edna Lister, The Substance Hoped For, January 5, 1936.

By faith and love man scales the spiritual heights. Reason must hold you on course, but faith and love are the wings of your soul and supply your motive power.—Edna Lister, May 25, 1936


Faith is the line of Light over which spiritual substance travels.—Edna Lister, Joy, March 19, 1937.


Be continual in your faithfulness.—Edna Lister, June 15, 1938.


Only those who have looked up in faith can know the joy of compensation.—Edna Lister, August 14, 1938.


Do not disturb another’s faith.—Edna Lister, August 19, 1938.


Faithfulness makes all things possible.—Edna Lister, October 27, 1938.


We stand within the great fold of Jesus the Christ, and he calls us to make a last stand against all darkness. We have stood through the heat the long day of heat, toil and labor, and just a few more hours remain. Hold your standard of strength and courage high and climb to an ever higher place of spiritual seeing and hearing. Let your faith grow to its greatest and fullest stature of the Christed one that you have become. Unless you express childlike faith in the Master and the powers the Father granted him, unless you are able to believe fully, you cannot reap the full reward for full faithfulness. Be faithful to God and law shall be faithful to you in all ways.—Edna Lister, November 6, 1938.


Be faithful, even unto the loss of all self. Have full faith, for God is faithful to the end of all darkness and into the perfect shining of all Light.—Edna Lister, November 14, 1938.


Be faithful in all things and God will most surely be faithful in all your true needs.—Edna Lister, December 26, 1938.


Be faithful to the greatest extent of your present ability. Use all the faith at your command. Let according to thy faith mean much more than ever before.—Edna Lister, January 1, 1939.


Stand more firmly embedded in the rock of full faith. No harm can come near your dwelling, body, home or business, if you place your faith in the One God.—Edna Lister, January 2, 1939.


Love is faith, which goes forth and lifts all whom it touches.—Edna Lister, February 3, 1939.


Faith includes all other action; it permeates darkness with a piercing Light, and opens all doors. Delay cannot enter when you have put faith into action. Your degree of faith may cause delay, for there are many degrees, from cold to white heat. The most delaying degree is the one we call lukewarmness.—Edna Lister, September 1, 1939.


To the faithful shall go the rewards of the mighty; to the faithless shall go all rewards of weakness.—Edna Lister, September 13, 1939.


Faith leads you one step at a time to live each day knowing that not only tomorrow is taken care of, but next month and next year, physically, materially and spiritually.—Edna Lister, February 22, 1940.


You must stand in absolute confidence in the faithfulness of God’s Power and Love to fulfill all His promises.—Edna Lister, August 2, 1940.


Faith and the Holy Spirit are one. Faith opens all doors, and is an anchor above. It shall reward you greatly. Faithfulness brings rewards greater than all laws, has joys too great to be borne, peace beyond comprehension.—Edna Lister, August 4, 1940.


Love is all-embracing in its Power to release you from every bondage of earth. Faith is your rod of Power, your measuring rod, your staff to lean on, your life itself. Look up, lift up, give up, praise up! Earth can create no bondage that unquenchable love, backed by unconquerable faith, cannot melt, dissolve and absorb now.
  Each soul will be left where his faith takes him. He willbe unable to go higher in ascension when God moves on, for he has fallen from his ladder.—Edna Lister, October 25, 1940.


Allow no one and nothing to push you from your well-directed path of faith. Faithlessness does not set aside paths, destinies, or accomplishments.—Edna Lister, November 6, 1940.


The faith principle is exact law in action.—Edna Lister, A Design For Ascension, 1941.


The law of faith is, Ask, believing, then praise and act as if you have it.—Edna Lister, January 9, 1941.


Being fervently faithful, in love with God, constantly, steadfastly faithful at a white point of heat under all conditions is honorable.—Edna Lister, February 13, 1941.


When you ask for anything in faith, it unlocks the door of life to what you should have, which is waiting for you from birth.—Edna Lister, February 23, 1941.


A few whose faith abounds are greater than many with little faith. A faithful few are better for vibration-building than many who doubt. Be faithful unto the death of self, and unto the glory of your own soul.—Edna Lister, March 10, 1941.


Your faith is a beacon light to illumine your path homeward.—Edna Lister, April 1, 1941.


Edna Miriam said, Once more, I’m stepping out on faith, which is the substance of things I hope for. After all, this is my ruling law. Faith is the substance of all I hope for and the evidence that I have what I need.—Edna Lister, April 29, 1941.


Faith comes first, then joy, love for all, and complete understanding of everything.—Edna Lister, May 6, 1941.


Let faith possess you, let it use you unto all perfection.—Edna Lister, The Destiny of the United States, May 25, 1941.


You cannot really use unconquerable faith, but you may surrender to it and let it use you. —Edna Lister, May 29, 1941.


Faith is the substance of your desires.—Edna Lister, June 3, 1941.


The trials of your faith are more precious than pure gold. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.—1 Peter 1:7-9.
  The Power of God keeps you through your faith.—Edna Lister, Shangri-la, the Paradise of the Soul, June 8, 1941.


Is your faith so great that you strive forward for the whole loaf, not just one slice?—Edna Lister, July 20, 1941.


Your only necessities are to stand and know that unquenchable love will prevail in giving you every desire of your heart, and unconquerable faith will bring to pass whatever you decree and declare.—Edna Lister, September 23, 1941.


Faith is your bulwark and your fortress.—Edna Lister, February 8, 1942.


Faith unconquerable transforms faith in God into the faith of God.—Edna Lister, The Key: Understanding, April 12, 1942.


Your unconquerable faith builds your pipeline to God.—Edna Lister, The Joyful Conqueror, June 7, 1942.


Without faith, everything suffers a death of vibration, so abiding dynamic faith is your only incentive.
  Faith is the Holy Breath that you breathe.—Edna Lister, Victory! What Price? July 5, 1942.


No barriers restrain or delay you except your doubt and lack of faith.—Edna Lister, October 7, 1942.


Only the fullness of unconquerable faith finds the courage to follow the Master’s Path.—Edna Lister, November 5, 1942.


Faith recognizes no limitation, but says yes, though the whole world is saying no. Faith sees no lack, reflects no darkness, though all seems dark, bows to no man-made barrier at any time, but ever keeps the eye single on a goal of glory and perfection.—Edna Lister, August 31, 1943.


Faith without works is dead.—James 12:20, and love is the works.—Edna Lister, September 16, 1943.


Love equals faith.—Edna Lister, The Chalice of Love, May 21, 1944.


Faith is unconquerable. Love is unquenchable. Love is a fire that has never been put out. No one has ever conquered faith, and it will use you.—Edna Lister, June 5, 1944.


The faith of God admits no doubt or fear ever.—Edna Lister, December 11, 1944.


According to your faith (Matthew 9:29) is according to your present idea of God’s Power and ability to work miracles.—Edna Lister, December 21, 1944.


You cannot live tomorrow today. You can only live in the now. Therefore, have faith. Use faith. Live just this one hour filled to overflowing with faith. God will do all else. Each thing rightfully yours will be waiting in the right hour. You cannot hurry it toward you. You can only misuse this hour’s substance fretting.
  To wonder about the answer to prayer is to doubt. Will you waste your life by doubting God’s ability to bring thine own to pass, or use each hour to the full to build your path to your own? Believe me, what God has for you is greater than what you can do for yourself.—Edna Lister, February 7, 1945.


All you need to do is to stand on a firm foundation of unconquerable faith until God can open your new door fully.—Edna Lister, February 28, 1945.


You can increase the fervency of your praise and the Power behind your unconquerable faith each hour—if you care enough about it.—Edna Lister, September 17, 1945.


Use the power of right faith and you will become unconquerable.—Edna Lister, September 24, 1945.


Faith is all-conquering when backed by love of God.—Edna Lister, August 14, 1946.


Faith expressed through active works becomes unconquerable.—Edna Lister, Fully Awakening to Understanding, October 27, 1946.


At the high point of faith and love, any barrier is burned away, the walls are shaken down, and bonds broken (see Acts 16:16-40).—Edna Lister, Aggressive Christianity, November 17, 1946.


Abraham made the greatest advance in faith for all time when he followed the orders of the One God, who commanded him to Walk before me and be perfect, and called upon him to offer his son as a sacrifice. Jesus made the advance in achievement for all time when he found his own lordship and divinity of soul through having found Oneness with God, The One.—Edna Lister, Vicarious Atonement, January 5, 1947.


A blind, unreasoning belief is an emotional faith that waits to see. The intellectual-mental type of faith must know why, when and how, and requires proof and signs. You reach the highest unshakable super-conscious I AM faith when you become faith.—Edna Lister, Jesus, the Giver of Life, February 2, 1947.


Blind faith is martyrish and doesn’t believe that there’s enough left over for me.
  Your thinking must hold but a single idea to fill it full of complete faith: You must know that God’s Glory is immediately present.—Edna Lister, The Three Phases of Life Through Faith, April 20, 1947.


The difference in people’s degrees of faith is the difference between unconsciousness and consciousness. Faith is everywhere evenly present as the substance of God’s Light. Faith is your number one expression, the outstanding flavor of your life, that which makes the dish. An agnostic’s disbelief is a vacancy, an empty space in the head and heart; he is just advertising that he has a vacuum, an empty room. Open the rooms, and let faith fill you. Look up, breathe in, and know.—Edna Lister, Jesus’ Prayer of the Ages, April 27, 1947.


Moses was 120 and His vision was undimmed and his power was unabated because he lived by the faith of God.—Edna Lister, Jesus’ Prayer of the Ages, April 27, 1947.


Faith, love and joy weaken if you give in to argument.—Edna Lister, An Encompassing Faith, May 4, 1947.


Faith is the source of inner, joyous beauty. Faith is beautiful, pure beauty.—Edna Lister, An Encompassing Faith, May 4, 1947.


Faithfulness in love is the backbone of truth.—Edna Lister, June 9, 1949.


You cannot fail when you stand immovable in faith. As God commanded Job, Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.—Job 22:28.—Edna Lister, December 13, 1949.


The final step to healing is forever according to your faith.
  You must allow your faith to grow and wax stronger in the stillness of the golden silence.—Edna Lister, Three Steps to Healing, April 12, 1950.


Faith rides forth on love, not indifference, scorn, or hatred.—Edna Lister, The Dead Shall Arise, April 19, 1950.


Unconquerable faith and unquenchable love will heal the seat of vision.—Edna Lister, Healing the Seat of Vision, May 10, 1950.


Hebrews 11, one of the mightiest chapters in the New Testament, is all about the miracles showered upon those who had faith. Read it often to release the Power of faith.
  Faith is the first step back toward God. Faith is action, the action of kneeling and praising God, the use of divine creative fire. Faith is your rod of Power, the activity of your life.
  You must mix deathless, ageless and abiding desire with faith to put faith into action.—Edna Lister, Promises Made, September 17, 1950.


Faith is the first step back toward God.—Edna Lister, Promises Fulfilled, September 24, 1950.


Faith is the substance, the point on which you stand, equal to the Power you will release between night and morning. Faith is like a lightning rod or a line of Light with which you can always contact your Father.—Edna Lister, October 3, 1950.


Light absorbs darkness according to your faith. You come to earth in complete faith with all potentialities.—Edna Lister, October 12, 1950.


When you face the three temptations of forty days in the wilderness of self, you either choose to quit, or add to your faith’s completeness every hour. You must have a strong purpose behind your faith in order to create, or you misuse divine substance to the self. Climb from blind faith and belief into a deep conviction that God is. Only by an abiding, unalterable conquering faith can you stand. Then climb from mere conviction into the full faith in God, which is the faith of God.—Edna Lister, Unconquerable Faith, November 5, 1950.


A miracle is the difference between the absolute faith of God and the relative faith in God.—Edna Lister, November 14, 1950.


Faith cannot be conquered by anything — it is the substance of your life.—Edna Lister, Be-Attitudes, June 5, 1951.


Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.—Hebrews 11:1. Faith is the substance of Light. When you become faith, you become a transforming power for good
  Without faith, you cannot create anything or get anywhere; you make no progress. Faith too often degenerates into mere self-centeredness because the zeal to achieve is egocentric. Faith entails sacrifice of self. Not to be thought egotistical in your enthusiasm, you may cover your faith with false humility, which breeds egotism. When you become faith, you will not need to hide your enthusiasm for achievement.
  The faith of God is unconquerable when you put God first. When you ascend, live, move and have your being in the Light, then all your lines of Light remain welded to the Source. When God is not in first place, you drop your lines of responsibility and sink into despair.—Edna Lister, To Seek the Light, June 10, 1951.


When you try long enough, it becomes an act of faith. You must go through the action of trying between the stages of blind faith and belief. Pretense is not good enough. Knowing and faith are one.—Edna Lister, The First Days, June 17, 1951.


When you need a miracle, read Hebrews 11; it forms the bulwark of Power behind anyone seeking help. It has the same effect in your life as tuning a certain radio station does. It tunes your dial to a higher frequency and builds faith.
  A miracle’s completeness is in accord with the quality and steadfastness of your faith.—Edna Lister, The Flaming Sword, July 29, 1951.


The fifth degree of breath, the pure Breath of God, breathes through the atoms of your whole body. God has so constructed your atoms that they convert the Holy Breath to energy. Let the new atomic substance fill your atoms and declare that it consumes poisons. This is the secret of healing. This is what happens when a minister gives a healing treatment under divine law and says, Let Light consume darkness! It will consume all manners of things because it is the consuming fire of love that consumes darkness and negative things.
  Place your faith in the Light, which is the power of God’s original substance to consume poisons, which are then lifted. Take care of your body, and refill it with the atomic substance of which God made it. Use everything on the outside to the glory of God, but cure yourself of the idea that anything has any power over the pure Power of God. Faith is atomic. You cannot see faith or radiation, but you can and do see their effects. Pain and sickness is a lack of atomic energy in the body. You pay no attention to pain. It goes out when you go up in consciousness.—Edna Lister, October 21, 1951.


If your faith cannot reconcile that the truth lies on the right hand on earth but on the left in heaven, you will be drawn and quartered by intellect. Until you have unconquerable faith in this absolute fact, you are not applying what you know to what you do. When you accept that faith is the substance of your healing, your wings of faith will lift you to the Source of Light.—Edna Lister, Prove Me Now, October 28, 1951.


You will be in the graduating class when your plan, faith, and action become a Holy Trinity. Otherwise, your affairs will reflect a certain coldness unless you continue to love God more.—Edna Lister, November 10, 1951.


Blind faith is not acceptable; you must keep searching for the truth of the faith that is in you. Blind faith is out, but you must faithfully hold to complete devotion to God.—Edna Lister, November 19, 1951.


Watch faithfully for details to attend. Step out on faith, by faith unconquerable, in the full faith of God. Move up in love consciousness, doing each task each hour in an increasing abundance of love. Love shall fulfill all law unto you. Live valiantly by the love of God, which is invincible. Live by love and strength, which form unconquerable faith.—Edna Lister, January 4, 1952.


Your faith is only as great as the amount of self you have surrendered. The more self you give up, the more faith you have and the more miracles can be performed through you.—Edna Lister, February 4, 1952.


Find a reason for the faith that is in you, a faith that nothing can conquer.—Edna Lister, March 31, 1952.


The rule is more prayer, thinking only of God, and no thoughts of self. More prayers of rejoicing with no thoughts of self. More faith unconquerable with no allowance of time, effort, substance or power for the little self.—Edna Lister, May 19, 1952.


Your daily life is your temple and your religion. Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his beliefs from his occupation?—Edna Lister, May 22, 1952.


Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.—Hebrews 11:1. Everything earthly is made of the one substance of God. The difference between material substance and spiritual humanity is the degree of unconscious to conscious faith.
  Power is active faith; faith is unconquerable active Power, with nothing negative or passive about it. The faith, acting as Power, which Joshua and the Israelites used to cause Jericho’s walls to fall, was the same faith Jesus used to raise Lazarus, the widow’s son and Jairus’ daughter from the dead.—Edna Lister, The Flaming Sword, July 6, 1952.


If you do not have a miracle, it means you do not believe you will at some level. A miracle builds up faith and as it builds, the miracles come.—Edna Lister, August 31, 1952.


A miracle builds faith and as it builds, more miracles come. Those using the faith and the love of God only, without selfish interpretations, have released enough invisible Light and Power of God to create into outer visibility that which must appear. Those who have chosen to use rote formulaic demonstration to overcome physical needs have difficulties. They have not released enough Power to make their demonstration 100 percent effective. Their lukewarm prayers demonstrate only 20 percent. Then they need recourse to doctors and physicians.
  The one who asks his brothers to add their prayers to his can have a miraculous healing. A thousand or a hundred thousand together is better to pray for one than for any to pray alone, their way. Being unwilling to share with another is selfish. It is putting yourself on a material level with the publicans, who have no reward for their demonstrations. They want all the outer credits, but have no healing.—Edna Lister, September 14, 1952.


Those who must see to believe shall see, but they shall award no credits in heaven for them. With sharp knives God trims the trees of laggards, doubters and disbelievers. Your Tree of Life shall bear much after the blossoming and fruiting of your faith and love during the whole year. Each month shall be a glorious success and an ascension.—Edna Lister, September 18, 1952.


Faith is unconquerable but it must be complete. There are degrees of faith from weak to strong to complete. Complete faith knows that nothing can separate you from the love of God.—Edna Lister, The Magic in the Sky, October 5, 1952.


Faith is the expression of the Mother God principle. The Father God principle of Wisdom holds molds in form. Faith fills your molds as substance. You express a facet of God when you express faith.
  Set faith into action by becoming the point of white heat that will ignite your affairs. The higher you ascend, the greater the faith as substance descends; thus, your affairs here grow and prosper.—Edna Lister, The Mantle of Messiahship, October 12, 1952.


When you stand in unquenchable love and unconquerable faith of God, you always have control. Yet if you use Power, which is using force, you could wither the fig tree. Say, Here I am Father. Let Power go forth! then stand. First you visualize what must be perfect. Let perfection do the work. Your mind would only cloud the perfect outcome.—Edna Lister, December 15, 1952.


God has given you keys to kingdoms of glory beyond the vision of ordinary men. He has given you abilities in the release of Power greater than your present acceptance and surrender can function. You, yourself limit the daily miracles of your life because you do not yet grasp the mightiness of the Power to be sent through you to conquer all remaining evil when your choice becomes limitless enough to vision such power of love. You each receive according to your faith.
  How is the state of your faith? Are you sharing your faith with evil? If you are living by earth’s standards, the outer truth of appearance part-time and part-time by the full faith of God, your results will be indifferent. Only when you reach up and hold fast to the faith of God and stand in the full Light, filled with Light only, ignoring completely and forever all thoughts of earth and earth’s ways, can you have miracle on miracle every day of the year.—Edna Lister, January 12, 1953.


Belief is finite, but faith is infinitely unconquerable.—Edna Lister, May 29, 1953.


Do everything in the Master’s name, and you shall become strong in unconquerable faith unto the glory of the Father’s reign on earth.—Edna Lister, November 25, 1953.


Faith is the substance of creation, yet it comes in many grades of quality, from mud bricks made with straw to those made of sand and cement. Since you cannot alter the principle of faith, you must put it into action. You measure your faith’s action component in quantity, twenty-four hours a day of pure zeal, or diluted indifference, lukewarmness, fears and doubts.—Edna Lister, Unquenchable Love and Unconquerable Faith, April 4, 1954.


Faith is the name of potential energy without active vibration, an invisible whirling of life sparks. Then came three Emanations: Wisdom, Love and Power, which opened the vibration of this primordial substance of the void. So, the faith of God should come first because faith is substance void of expression, merely being. It had to become, to manifest. Substance has only the power of becoming once God has given the soul conscious direction and control over it.—Edna Lister, Your Life’s Plan, May 16, 1954.


Daniel ascended until faith conquered him. He couldn’t see lions in the den; he looked up and loved God so much that he didn’t know hungry lions were there. The den was so filled with the Light that the lions cowered in a corner while Daniel worshiped and loved God.—Edna Lister, Your Life’s Practice, May 23, 1954.


Be faithful to a perfect end and that end will be the beginning of another success.—Edna Lister, June 18, 1954.


You must stand upon faith to fulfill a miracle. Faith is the switch that turns you into an instrument to make a decree and release Power.—Edna Lister, I Arise! June 20, 1954.


You cannot break an atom personally, though your body does so constantly, but you believe that it can be done. You take the scientists’ word on faith though you aren’t in the lab, because you see the results. So you can take Jesus’ words on faith because enough people have proven his words through the last nineteen centuries.—Edna Lister, I Ascend! July 11, 1954.


Where you speak the Word, faith moves in to do the lifting.—Edna Lister, December 13, 1954.


Be faithful to the principle of beauty, and you can never be off balance.—Edna Lister, May 19, 1955.


Faith, like Light, does not tolerate anything other than itself.
  Faith is the substance for which you struggle and the evidence that you will eventually win, if you keep your soul free, wings spread, and throw out the ballast of self.
  Faith moves mountains of disharmony, gossip or anything, when you rise and stand in faith while it comes to pass. Faith does not tolerate anything other than itself. It uses you. You do not use it.—Edna Lister, The Walls of Jericho, June 5, 1955.


Your state of consciousness is your thinking, feelings and the imaginary pictures you build at the time. Your life is simply an externalization of that in which you place your faith.—Edna Lister, Aspiration and Prayer, June 19, 1955.


Faith is an outer expression of an inner joyousness of soul because you love God enough.—Edna Lister, Heavenly Manna, August 14, 1955.


Faith is the substance of things hoped for.—Hebrews 11:1, and it becomes the heavenly manna that feeds you.
  What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.—Mark 11:24. To be fed by the manna of faith, you may indulge in no willfulness or force in asking, no half demands, no setting time limits.—Edna Lister, Heavenly Manna, August 14, 1955.


You must surrender self-will to abide in faith.—Edna Lister, Joy As Courage, October 23, 1955.


You must have unconquerable faith in God’s Light.—Edna Lister, Our Divine Gift, December 25, 1955.


Every enemy of Light is divinely restrained. Light absorbs darkness according to your faith. You need unconquerable faith to fulfill and complete our mission.—Edna Lister, January 12, 1956.


Do not try to conquer faith; let faith conquer you.—Edna Lister, The Beatitudes Are Be-Attitudes, February 12, 1956.


You must have firm, unshakable faith in the Power of God to do the work after you have spoken the Word.—Edna Lister, Miracles of Increase, March 11, 1956.


Faithfulness is not a part-time job, but works a twenty-four-hour shift. The faithful soul transcends all outer conditions, limitations and events in life, and nothing can touch or harm him.—Edna Lister, Before Abraham Was, I Am, March 18, 1956.


You cannot see the principles of mathematics, but you know they work. The principle of faith operates the same way. Faith is its own proof, yet each must prove it for himself.—Edna Lister, The Pathway of Faith, May 6, 1956.


Every great accomplishment on earth has been based in faith. Every miracle, every desire is underwritten by faith. You have no enthusiasm or incentive without faith. Faith is the motive power of all action. Faith is the Power of God in action.
  The results of your faith, miracles or delays, do depend on both the quality and quantity of your faith. If your thinking, imagination, and emotional life dilute and adulterate your approach to God, your faith will be weak and ineffective in its results. If your approach is undiluted by self, and your efforts steadfast, your faith will show in your works.—Edna Lister, The Pathway of Faith, May 6, 1956.


The faith principle is steadfast courageous honor, the exercise of balance between Love, Wisdom and honor above all things.—Edna Lister, June 25, 1956.


Faith is the substance of things hoped for.—Hebrews 11:1, yet since Jesus said, believe that you have it and you shall, to us, faith has become the absolute possession of all things hoped for.—Edna Lister, Courage Through Faith, August 12, 1956.


Nothing is impossible under the spoken Word. Yet, it is not always instant in its action. Why? The spoken Word must have an undercurrent of faith upholding it until it goes forth as the Power supreme to build the object or desire into outer form.—Edna Lister, November 4, 1956.


Every teacher who has ever destroyed some old interpretation of truth has paid a debt of force, though he receives credit for his faith and motive of unveiling new glory.—Edna Lister, The Glory, Your Ascension, November 11, 1956.


Faith is the substance of your body; you use unconscious faith in everything you do.—Edna Lister, December 15, 1956.


To do anything, you must have a desire to serve God and humanity, and have unconquerable faith. That is your first step. God, please put me where You wish me to be. Do not put a price on your service. Just love Him.—Edna Lister, March 7, 1957.


Like a dot extended into a line in math, your faith in God becomes the faith of God.—Edna Lister, June 29, 1957.


The law of progress is One step at a time in unalterable faith. When you take one step at a time in unalterable faith, Light reveals every step of the way.—Edna Lister, September 21, 1957.


You are not passing judgment, meting out punishment or giving orders, but being trained to dispense mercy through poise, wisdom, love, and compassion as balanced justice. Your act of faith is to put a platform of Light under the other fellow. The world is living by blind faith. You cannot see the glory of many going home on blind faith from where you are. The masses are so blind and yet they look up. God cannot set aside law for them, but He does give them demonstrations to build up their faith. If the darkness of self-satisfaction will ruin them, He takes away their metaphysical candy.—Edna Lister, October 21, 1957.


Faith is substance, a rod of power that establishes one with the Source, a power within itself filled with the energy of the principle of all Power. The Source principles of Wisdom, Love and Power or Mind, Substance and Power are necessary to faith.
  Faith is a bridge across the abyss, the way to all success that gives a serenity and soul-confidence that nothing can touch.—Edna Lister, What Money Cannot Buy, December 1, 1957.


When you present your desire, the object of which is your goal, you are required to stand in unconquerable faith. Your prayer pattern must be lavish love as defense: You must stand and defend your faith in love, which is a defense and the fulfilling of the law.—Edna Lister, December 16, 1957.


Some people turn their faith on like a faucet when they pray, then shut it off.—Edna Lister, December 25, 1957.


A miracle is a sum of steadfastness and faithfulness in love of God without ceasing, moment by moment, day by day, not letting go until you have what yo have prayed for.—Edna Lister, January 7, 1958.


Your degree of ascension is equivalent to your degree of faith.—Edna Lister, February 6, 1958.


You will reap the reward of long years of holding. It is the reward of all those who have held, whether under mistaken ideas or under the laws of the Almighty direct. God rewards faithfulness whether full panoplied with His Love or mistakenly to the self of opinions and prejudices. Faithfulness works and to each their own reward ascending to their love of God.—Edna Lister, February 20, 1958.


You must have a faith-base of operations. A simplified definition of faith is loving God enough to trust Him completely, with abandon. Faith is a principle, but also a name of God to call on.—Edna Lister, Come Ye Apart, April 20, 1958.


Oh ye of little faith, take stock now. You will not be happy with what you see. How many holes do you dig the fill with concern? This is a lack of faith. If you fill a hole with concern, you are wasting your faith-substance to fill the holes you are constantly creating. You must increase your expression of faith, love and joy. You must accelerate everything. Stand and do nothing but love God. You are not being constantly faithful when you allow an outside vibration to move you.—Edna Lister, April 27, 1958.


Faith is a high, working vibration in Mind, Substance and Power. Mind is the idea forming the mold, faith becomes visible Substance that fills the mold, and Power is the divine activity that energizes the mold to make it visible. Substance, Mind and Power (called Love, Wisdom and Joy at the Source) form a Supreme Trinity that operates as desire, will, and action in lower realms.
  Faith is loving God enough to trust Him completely. You cannot base your life on faith unless you love God.
  Faith in God’s promises is your base of operations, your trust in the fact that the material object or condition will come forth from invisible substance.—Edna Lister, Promises Fulfilled, May 11, 1958.


Faith is a matter of logic and reason; the only time it falters is when imagination works overtime.—Edna Lister, Ten Commandments and Beatitudes, November 4, 1958.


Faith is the substance of your every hoped-for miracle. Your main creative tool is the Breath of Life, which operates as faith and through your spoken word. As you speak the word in prayer with faith unconquerable, faith absorbs everything from your past. God gives you free choice. If you hold a high point of consciousness in faith, Power holds. Yet if you retreat again to doubt and fear, you recreate the mess.
  Faith operates as all principle. As Love, faith is a quality of substance, as Mind, it is a vibration of knowing. As Power, faith is energy. In a composite vibration, they bring form to pass.
  Faith is the evidence of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1), your evidence that God moves through you into manifestation.—Edna Lister, Faith Unconquerable, November 30, 1958.


When someone curses, God fills the lack of love and credits them for their faith in their curse. Some people are more faithful to their curses than to their love.—Edna Lister, Love Unquenchable, December 7, 1958.


By your faith in the spoken Word, you will have a miracle.—Edna Lister, Realization, May 3, 1959.


Everyone whom faith has instantaneously healed has later been told it couldn’t have happenws! usually by family. Some then fail because their belief in the miracle collapses.—Edna Lister, Visualization, May 17, 1959.


Faith is the substance of things hoped for.—Hebrews 11:1. When the first mystical rays of the faith of God touch you, universal Mind flows forth. Soul grasps the concept and impresses it on the mental faculties of logic, reason, discretion, discernment and discrimination. Faith carries the mysteries ready to unfold. Faith is the substance of every fulfilled desire; it opens the windows of heaven.
  Faith is like a mechanical switchboard for Power. Your faculties are the switches. When you throw the main faith switch, you turn on the Power, but faith never goes on without praise. Praise God always that the substance of faith pours forth.—Edna Lister, Manifestation, May 24, 1959.


All God has ever asked us to do is to use faith, to believe to see.
  Faith is unconquerable, which means you cannot stop it. If blocked, unconquerable faith will just bypass the obstacle until faith is completely justified. Faith is its own justification.—Edna Lister, I Am the Truth, October 11, 1959.


Faith knows that the Book of Life reveals the answers to tomorrow’s questions when it is time to give them.—Edna Lister, Follow Me, November 29, 1959.


Faith is the substance of things hoped for.—Hebrews 11:1, therefore, faith is the substance of your body.
  Faith makes you get up in the morning and do everything.
  Faith is from above, so use it.—Edna Lister, January 9, 1960.


As a son or daughter of God, you inherit a kingdom. If you liken the kingdom to a vault, having a master key overall is essential. Your master key is unconquerable faith. It opens heaven wide and every other door needs only an extra turn of the key, with more love. So, faith is the actual possession of all things hoped for. Once you open a vibration by the use of unconquerable faith, your Word becomes law. Here you may stumble on disobedience, the reason for your delays and seeming failures.
  Burning expectancy keeps unconquerable faith moving through you and as you in filling the molds for your creations.—Edna Lister, Lo! I Am With You Always, April 25, 1960.


When you celebrate under true Ascension laws, you celebrate with all faiths. There is no separation in faith.—Edna Lister, God Is Safe and Dependable, June 5, 1960.


Faith is a principle, but hope is its most common expression on earth.—Edna Lister, June 13, 1960.


Faith, the principle of omnipresence, carries you from God as Light into outer expression as form, and back to God.
  Faith is spiritual substance that becomes.—Edna Lister, Is Faith Enough? June 21, 1960.


All increase comes under the great principle of faith. Soul faith in the good is strong and aggressive, a powerful challenge to all self’s weaknesses and world ideas. Self, using faith inverted as negative and passive, causes good to shrink until it disappears. You have no increase of the good under self. You need unconquerable faith, invincible joy and show soul conviction in the outer world.—Edna Lister, Increase Through High Prayer, July 3, 1960.


Faith is your outer application of the love principle. Faith is your expression of your inner love of God.
  Prayer builds your ladder of faith, and when you stand firm, you build another rung. Love is the principle, but faith builds your love into visibility, keeps it operating in good working order. Faith is the expression of love, which makes things visible.—Edna Lister, The Ladder of Faith, December 18, 1960.


The quantity of your love determines the quality of your faith.—Edna Lister, A Formula for Daily Living, April 1961.


No faith at all is desperation. Faith can work the worst decision in the world together for good. Persevere!—Edna Lister, June 1961.


What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.—Mark 11:24. You begin with half surrender, half love and have half faith. Finally, you learn that faith is the actual possession of your desires now.—Edna Lister, Without Shadow of Turning, June 18, 1961.


A lukewarm approach to faith and lack of love in the world encourages evil to exist.—Edna Lister, November 1, 1961.


Faith is a compound principle composed of so many things. Faith is love plus joy. Faith is a great stillness. Faith is a complete waiting confidence in God, and trust in your own ability to hold.—Edna Lister, This One Thing I Do, November 26, 1961.


When desire is burning to be faithful, it excels all personal selfishness.—Edna Lister, February 7, 1962.


Let nothing corrupt from the world lessen your faith.—Edna Lister, March 28, 1962.


Faith is the only way to have identity with the Source. Geometry is faith, all science is faith. The Word that has become flesh is also faith. You are the sum total of your own identity, what you put your faith in and what you practice. You need the faith of God, not faith in God. Then you must do something about it. You can fully hold consciousness of your identity to the Source when you practice this.—Edna Lister, Identity: Your Hope of Glory, April 29, 1962.


Reach for the stars to let faith possess you. When you are faith in action, you are unconquerable.—Edna Lister, What Is Compassion? May 6, 1962.


If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.—John 15:7. The Master gives us full directions for living, and always teaches us something. Jesus emphasized faith as an outstanding principle. To abide in loving faith is to keep the commandments of love. The quality of love behind faith determines the speed of a miracle. The substance is waiting for you to stamp it with your name and number on your spoken Word decree. Your love-as-faith prepares it as molds of form, and Spirit does the work.
  You take three steps in a miracle, or stamping substance—explosion, expansion and expression. The idea causes a Power explosion in your higher creative center, your head. Your use of Mind for your plan causes an expansion of faith. Your resulting expansion of faith releases more substance for expression. One step follows the other.
  A miracle can die without sufficient nourishment, or it can go to seed. You must feed your miracle mold with loving faith a thousand times an hour. Your decree can sink to human nature, the creature stage of a worm, weak, full of doubt and sorrow. Yet a miracle of weakness is still a miracle. A creator stands strong in courage to garner wealth, fame and health. Any inner conflict weakens your faith and love. Inner agreement makes your love and faith strong and invincible.—Edna Lister, God as Personality and Principle, May 20, 1962.


The apostles always said that faith came first, and taught from their foundation of faith, but the Master taught them that faith really is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Christianity has lasted 2,000 years. Anything that lasts that long must have some virtue. Television pictures that flash through space are modern proofs of Jesus’ law of unseen faith. Certain things you do must conform to man’s laws. For example, when you turn on the television, you still must tune the right channel to get the desired picture.
  To comprehend Mind, Substance and Power, you must look up, reach up and discover that under Power, you contact the concept in Mind. As it fills your brain cells, an explosion of illumination comes. Your desire (your expression of love as principle) reaches out, and as it touches the concept in Mind, you experience illumination, a new idea. This great explosion of the Power principle causes your use of the Christ mind, and when you use ir to think through your faculties, you expand the principle of faith within your consciousness. As you have an idea, faith expands and pushes you into expression of its substance as love. Through the absolute principles of God, you precipitate Mind, Substance and Power, and so you create.—Edna Lister, God as Personality and Principle, May 20, 1962.


You can know no security without knowledge of your Source. Your faith of God is security. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.—Hebrews 11:1. Faith is substance and your evidence. How can you doubt this? Spring always comes. You cannot force its arrival sooner, or delay its arrival for even a second. You can transform yourself when the conditions are favorable. Faith isn’t something you try to have but something you become.—Edna Lister, The Great Reign of the Christ, July 29, 1962.


The faith of God is. You have no lasting identity without faith as your anchor in the Light. You have no security without the faith of God, not faith in God. The full faith of God must possess you now. You must belong to faith, not faith to you. Some belong to churches, houses, lands, money or to things. Faith is not something you own, but become. —Edna Lister, A Triumphant Soul, September 29, 1962.


When you lend yourself to be invariable and unchanging, faith possesses you and you know that all is well. When you abide in the faith of God, you set aside time and space, the faith of God possesses you, and fills your molds. Through faith, you see each next step toward perfection in your life, and know that your dreams and every desire will come true.—Edna Lister, November 15, 1962.


It takes millions of years or millions of efforts to blaze a habit track for faith in the brain.—Edna Lister, Your Field of Wheat and Tares, December 9, 1962.


You can have a miracle only by a rebirth to a higher level of consciousness and faith in God. Sometimes you may wonder why your prayers or declarations do not work. Yet if someone irritates you or you have even one subconscious doubt or dread, your faith is incomplete, and you can have no miracle. Everything that startles or scares you owns you.—Edna Lister, Born of Spirit, June 9, 1963.


Conscious mind must activate an unconscious faith, for faith must be conscious.—Edna Lister, The Water and the Fire, June 16, 1963.


God will fulfill all promises. According to your faith, so shall it be.—Edna Lister, July 22, 1963.


When faith is great enough, all works together for good.—Edna Lister, July 24, 1963.


James said you cannot afford to waver: A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Ask for anything in the name of the Master and endure temptation until you have it. The great Teacher came to earth and said, Use my name and I will stand behind it when you ask in full faith believing.—Edna Lister, August 15, 1963.


As you wait for a miracle, it is a great faith initiation to know the truth and to carry on each day without a doubt or concern.—Edna Lister, September 24, 1963.


Your loved ones reflect your every fear; when you lift those fears, your loved ones will reflect your faith.—Edna Lister, November 8, 1963.


If you dilute your faith by doubts and fears, you will delay your miracles.—Edna Lister, A Formula for Daily Living, June 16, 1964.


You do not need to have great faith to have a miracle, but you cannot repudiate the miracle or it does not last. When another’s faith brings a miracle, but he who received the miracle has a shadow of skepticism, the miracle does not last.—Edna Lister, December 14, 1964.


Faith is the comprehension bestowed by knowing that God is everywhere evenly present. Faith gives you the strength to stand.—Edna Lister, Responsibility and Respect, October 18, 1964.


To produce an "impossible" miracle, stand in silence and hold the goal before you, in faith only, with no feeling of tension.—Edna Lister, April 22, 1965.


People’s capacity for faith diminishes as world opinions and ideas leave God out of the equation entirely. Worship of worldly opinions causes some to conform to secular humanism, and worship of material things causes others’ faith to shrink.—Edna Lister, The First One Through, May 2, 1965.


If you have to see it before you believe it, your vision is of the self and stuck in the world of appearances. Faith is the first action in moving beyond the world. Faith is the ability to use your inner soul vision, to believe that you will see law work. This is how God stepped out on faith in the beginning when He said, Let there be Light!—Edna Lister, Eternity Is Now Mine, May 9, 1965.


Praise starts faith into action.—Edna Lister, May 16, 1965.


The world lives by faith in God and love for God, which is not enough. God has created you from His Love-Substance, and it must possess you, or your malnourished soul finds no sustenance. You must achieve complete love and faith, with no variation, no turning. Only by the faith of God can you surrender to the point of perfect balance, and your surrender of self must equal your faith and love of God.—Edna Lister, Your Life: Detriment or Glory, June 5, 1965.


The measure of your faith of God is your surrender to be the servant of all Power.—Edna Lister, June 7, 1965.


Faith and victory are synonymous, yet faith is not victorious when you dilute it.—Edna Lister, June 14, 1965.


Desire, thinking, and imagination form the real power of faith, which is unconquerable. Faith reaches up to its Source, and love bestows comprehension. Love moves forth, forms a sphere of Light around you, and this becomes your protection.—Edna Lister, Your Mysterious Coach, August 25, 1965.


The word "faith" represents loyalty, honesty and integrity.
  Being faithful unto death is wiping out every negative self-expression.—Edna Lister, A New Found Horizon, May 8, 1966.


The law of abundant ascending faith is more and more, not less and less. Let your hope become your reality.—Edna Lister, September 8, 1966.


Your faith determines the height of your ascension.—Edna Lister, October 20, 1966.


Don’t bruise another’s faith, even if it’s in the devil; listen, and gradually help him to expand his faith into truth.—Edna Lister, October 27, 1966.


Faith operates under the great principle of nonresistance. The keynote virtue of faith is to stand and hold, immovable and untouchable. To apply faith as nonresistance means to hold, to stand, to endure—this is the background, the foundation and the reason for miracles. You stand, hold and endure continuously until the miracle comes.—Edna Lister, Am I Strong to Endure, December 18, 1966.


Faith is the capacity to know God, and its virtue is your ability to accept.—Edna Lister, Judgment and Love, May 14, 1967.


There is an element of faith even in indifference, because that is all the faith some souls have.—Edna Lister, June 11, 1967.


Faith is love as action. Faith is the substance of the bloodstream. You either have faith or you don’t, and you don’t have faith if you fail to use it. If you do not exercise faith, or if you let your faith falter often, you will develop anemia or some soul disease that affects the blood.—Edna Lister, November 20, 1967.


Faith is the substance of Light; it is the evidence of things not seen.—Edna Lister, The Keys of the Kingdom, June 16, 1968.


Faith is God’s hold upon you. Faith permeates your soul, your emotional life, your mind.—Edna Lister, The Heavenly Mysteries Unveiled, October 20, 1968.


You approach the Mount of Transfiguration through and by the principle of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.—Hebrews 11:1. All substance everywhere is faith, for faith is Light. Let there be Light! released that original Power of faith.—Edna Lister, Your Mount of Transfiguration, December 2, 1968.


Faith is your live wire to omnipotence, your telephonic line up to the Source.—Edna Lister, How to Be Enfolded in Light, December 15, 1968.


A miracle is faith in action.—Edna Lister, Light on the Path, July 6, 1969.


Your faith is a book, chapter after chapter, a record of your life.—Edna Lister, Secret Place of the Most High, November 16, 1969.


You can’t have real faith without humility.—Edna Lister, November 24, 1969.


Every statement you make is dedicated to you. To ponder faith, analyze Hebrews 11:1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is real, not a blank or absence in your consciousness about delay or fear. You must have full faith, not just Wisdom, Love and the Word, but a complete faith. The Word (God) is complete—when you speak it; all that God is acts in one direction at once.
  If faith as substance is to do the work, you cannot do it. You must, under law, prepare the way to a complete, strong vibration. To do this, you must comply with the laws that reach that vibration. How can you reach this faith? Breathe! As God created, He breathed. Faith then operates under the expansion principles of substance, which includes everything. God gave man the ability to inhale life itself, so breathe. You either breathe and expand, or shrivel up to nothing.—Edna Lister, Faith Complete Now, November 15, 1970.


The law of materialization is Believe and know, nothing doubting. Complete faith fulfills the law of materialization, because faith is the divine Substance of all things hoped for.—Edna Lister, The Fiery Furnace, November 17, 1970.


Faith is all of God in action—God acting as you. You must be the living expression of faith to be one with all that God is.—Edna Lister, When Is Healing Lawful, November 22, 1970.


Believe in the unbelievable.—Edna Lister, May 9, 1971.


God is with you and nothing can defeat you. Believe that you now receive the power to succeed from Him. If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.—Matthew 17:20.—Edna Lister, Undated Papers, 1933-1971

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Declaration of Unconquerable Faith

By Edna Lister, 1939

Unconquerable faith is the golden stream of life flowing from the Heart of God. Faith is the ever-flowing bloodstream of the white Light of the Christ. Faith is the beginning and the end of life.
  Faith is the substance underlying all manifestation, its foundation bedrock. Faith is the everywhere evenly present substance from which all creations are fashioned and formed.
  Faith is the Flame of Life within the heart of the co-creator with God. Faith is limitless, inexhaustible. Faith is unending and all enduring. Faith is unconquerable. Faith is all conquering. Faith is complete here and now.
  Faith is mine to use here and now. Faith can open all doors, overcome all darkness, overlook all weakness and perform miracle after miracle. Faith is the Life of my life, the Heart of my heart, the Soul of my soul.

Faith is the divine rod of Power between God and His Sons and Daughters. Let faith now rule your life, and reign upon earth forever!


Faith is the invisible substance of my visible miracles to come.—Edna Lister, February 23, 1960.


Exercise your faith with the words you use; for example, to treat for arthritic hands, declare: Faith is the substance of all bone tissue. Pure faith moves through these hands. I am now conforming with the divine pattern of beautiful hands. Every extra bit of substance and tissue is melted and dissolved from the bone. Light moves through these joints, melting and dissolving all unneeded material leaving the joints perfect and normal. Study a picture of beautiful hands. Because God levels the high places and builds the low places and makes the crooked places straight, He is now reducing and making these knuckles perfect. Thank You, Father.—Edna Lister, June 26, 1963.

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Faith Is

By Noah Webster

FAITH, n. L. fides, fido, to trust; Gr. to persuade, to draw towards any thing, to conciliate; to believe, to obey. In the Greek Lexicon of Hederic it is said, the primitive signification of the verb is to bind and draw or lead, as signifies a rope or cable; the sense of the verb, from which that of rope and binding is derived, is to strain, to draw, and thus to bind or make fast. A rope or cable is that which makes fast.
  1. Belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting on his authority and veracity, without other evidence; the judgment that what another states or testifies is the truth. I have strong faith or no faith in the testimony of a witness, or in what a historian narrates.
  2. The assent of the mind to the truth of a proposition advanced by another; belief, or probable evidence of any kind.
  3. In theology, the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth of what God has revealed. Simple belief of the scriptures, of the being and perfections of God, and of the existence, character and doctrines of Christ, founded on the testimony of the sacred writers, is called historical or speculative faith; a faith little distinguished from the belief of the existence and achievements of Alexander or of Caesar.
  4. Evangelical, justifying, or saving faith, is the assent of the mind to the truth of divine revelation, on the authority of God's testimony, accompanied with a cordial assent of the will or approbation of the heart; an entire confidence or trust in God's character and declarations, and in the character and doctrines of Christ, with an unreserved surrender of the will to his guidance, and dependence on his merits for salvation. In other words, that firm belief of God's testimony, and of the truth of the gospel, which influences the will, and leads to an entire reliance on Christ for salvation.
  The faith of the gospel is that emotion of the mind, which is called trust or confidence, exercised towards the moral character of God, and particularly of the Savior.
  Faith is an affectionate practical confidence in the testimony of God.
  Faith is a firm, cordial belief in the veracity of God, in all the declarations of his word; or a full and affectionate confidence in the certainty of those things which God has declared, and because he has declared them.
  5. The object of belief; a doctrine or system of doctrines believed; a system of revealed truths received by christians.
   FAITHFUL, a. 1. Firm in adherence to the truth and to the duties of religion.
  2. Firmly adhering to duty; of true fidelity; loyal; true to allegiance; as a faithful subject.
  3. constant in the performance of duties or services; exact in attending to commands; as a faithful servant.
  4. Observant of compact, treaties, contracts, vows or other engagements; true to one's word. A government should be faithful to its treaties; individuals, to their word.
  5. True; exact; in conformity to the letter and spirit.
  FAITHFULNESS, n. 1. Fidelity; loyalty; firm adherence to allegiance and duty; as the faithfulness of a subject.
  2. Truth; veracity; as the faithfulness of God.
  3. Strict adherence to injunctions, and to the duties of a station; as the faithfulness of servants or ministers.
  4. Strict performance of promises, vows or covenants; constancy in affection; as the faithfulness of a husband or wife.

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Stories That Illustrate Faith

A Valley Filled with Water: Elijah illustrated a superb act of faith when he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.—2 Kings 3:16-20
  Elijah put his lines of omnipotent faith up to God and held them there until God welded them to the Source.—Edna Lister, Fulfillment, June 6, 1948 Jairus’ Daughter: Behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying.…While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.—Luke 8:41-42, 49-55
  We all reach a stage where our unconquerable faith, like that of Jairus (Luke 8:41-56), comes to the fore. His child’s unconscious unconquerable faith in her parents was a sight draft1 on her parents and relatives, to comply with her wish to be healed. When they were unable to save her, they partook of her faith. Our unconquerable faith tells those who doubt that they can partake of our faith because it is there. This is the unquestioning devotional approach.—Edna Lister, Prove Me Now, October 28, 1951.

A Woman Healed: A woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.—Luke 8:43-48 (see also Matthew 9:20-22). A Mother’s Faith: Matthew’s Account: Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.—Matthew 15:21-28.

Mark’s Account: [Jesus] arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.—Mark 7:24-30.

Endnote


1^ A sight draft is like a bearer bond or cashier’s check, payable on demand.

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New Testament on Faith

Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.—Matthew 8:13 [A law of reciprocity].

Behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: for she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.—Matthew 9:20-22

According to your faith be it unto you.—Matthew 9:29 [A law of reciprocity].

[Jesus] did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.—Matthew 13:58

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.—Matthew 17:20

With God all things are possible.—Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27

And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.—Matthew 21:19-22

And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.—Mark 5:25-34

Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief.—Mark 6:4-6

If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.—Mark 9:23

And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.—Mark 11:22-24

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.—Mark 16:16

With God nothing shall be impossible.—Luke 1:37

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: and she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.—Luke 1:41-45

And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.—Luke 8:43-48

Fear not: believe only.—Luke 8:50

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?—Luke 16:10-12

And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.—Luke 17:6

The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.—Luke 18:27 and Mark 5:36

As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.—John 1:12-13

Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. [Faith is not reciprocal.]—John 2:24-25

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.—John 3:14-16

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.—John 3:18-19

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.—John 3:36

And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.—John 4:46-53

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.—John 5:24

I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?—John 5:41-44

Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.—John 6:29.

Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.—John 6:35-40

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.—John 6:47

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.—John 7:37-38

Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.—John 11:38-45

Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.—John 12:35-36

He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.—John 12:44-47

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.—John 13:20

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.—John 14:1

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do.—John 14:12

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.—John 20:27-29.


Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.—Hebrews 11:1.

1 Thessalonians 5 is your prayer of faith: But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.—1 Thessalonians 5.

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man Top ↑


Old Testament on Faith

The Lord preserveth the faithful.—Psalm 31:23

A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.—Proverbs 11:13

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Faith in Other Sacred Writings

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of his love: and faith is the beginning of cleaving unto him.—Wisdom of Ben Sirach 25:12

A man of understanding trusts in the law; and the law is faithful unto him, as an oracle.—Wisdom of Ben Sirach 33:3

Become earnest about the Word! For as to the Word, its first part is faith; the second, love; the third, works; for from these comes life. For the Word is like a grain of wheat; when someone had sown it, he had faith in it; and when it had sprouted, he loved it, because he had seen many grains in place of one. And when he had worked, he was saved, because he had prepared it for food, (and) again he left (some) to sow. So also can you yourselves receive the kingdom of heaven; unless you receive this through knowledge, you will not be able to find it.—The Apocryphon of James, Codex I, 2

The living book of the living was manifested in the hearts of little children: No one could have become manifest from among those who have believed in salvation unless that book had appeared; for this reason, the merciful one, the faithful one, Jesus, was patient in accepting sufferings until he took that book.—The Gospel of Truth, Codex I, 3 and XII, 2

Faith came to dissolve the division of wisdom into ignorance, and it brought the fullness of love, in order that there should be the unity of perfect thought.—The Gospel of Truth, Codex I, 3 and XII, 2

Faith receives, love gives. No one will be able to receive without faith. No one will be able to give without love. Because of this, in order that we may indeed receive, we believe, and in order that we may love, we give, since if one gives without love, he has no profit from what he has given.—The Gospel of Philip, Codex II, 3

Farming in the world requires the cooperation of four essential elements. A harvest is gathered into the barn only as a result of the natural action of water, earth, wind and light. God’s farming likewise has four elements—faith, hope, love, and knowledge. Faith is our earth, that in which we take root. And hope is the water through which we are nourished. Love is the wind through which we grow. Knowledge, then, is the Light through which we ripen.—The Gospel of Philip, Codex II, 3

Things visible among men will dissolve—for the vessel of their flesh will dissolve, and when it is brought to naught it will come to be among visible things, among things that are seen; then the fire1 which they see gives them pain on account of love for the faith they formerly possessed. They will be gathered back to that which is visible.—Thomas the Contender, Codex II, 7

You have understood all the things Christ has said to you, and you have accepted them on faith. If you have known them, then they are yours. If not, then they are not yours.—The Dialogue of the Savior, Codex III, 5

Endnote

1^ This fire is not the high Light, but the creative fire, which being rooted and grounded in desire, seduces the body to attend to the truth of appearances first. Thus is the human will suborned and eventually corrupted to serve the dubious pleasures of the physical.

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Edna Miriam Lister
1884—1971
The original Pioneering Mystic,
Christian Platonist philosopher, American Idealist, Founder, Society of the Universal Living Christ, minister, teacher, author, wife, and mother.


Edna Lister


Etymology of faith: Latin fides trust, faith, confidence, reliance, credence, belief, from root of fidere to trust. Gr. to persuade, to draw towards any thing, to conciliate; to believe, to obey. In the Greek Lexicon of Hederic it is said, the primitive signification of the verb is to bind and draw or lead, as signifies a rope or cable. But this remark is a little incorrect. The sense of the verb, from which that of rope and binding is derived, is to strain, to draw, and thus to bind or make fast. A rope or cable is that which makes fast."


Faith is an absolute principle.

Faith is an abstract principle.

Faith is a law of being.

Faith is a law of doing.

Faith is a soul virtue.

Faith is a soul faculty of mind (knowing faith).


Faith Is

Faith is belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting on his authority and veracity, without other evidence; the judgment that what another states or testifies is the truth. The assent of the mind to the truth of a proposition advanced by another; belief, or probable evidence of any kind.


Joy and Peace in Believing
Sometimes a light surprises
The Christian while he sings;
It is the Lord who rises
With healing on His wings;
When comforts are declining,
He grants the soul again
A season of clear shining,
To cheer it after rain.
– William Cowper


References

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia. New York: The Century Co., 1896

Cowper, William. The Poems of William Cowper, John Cann Bailey, editor. London: Methuen, 1905. This work is in the public domain.

Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, 2024.

The Holy Bible. King James Version (KJV).

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 2024

The Nag Hammadi Library. James M. Robinson, ed. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988.

The Oxford English Dictionary: Compact Ed., 2 vols. E.S.C. Weiner, ed. Oxford University Press, 1971.

Webster, Noah. Webster’s American Dictionary. New York: S. Converse, 1828.


Related Topics

Fidelity

Faith in Action: Edna Lister Bible study, October 3, 1934

Abiding in Christ: Edna Lister sermon, October 7, 1934

Jewels of the Soul: Edna Lister Palm Sunday sermon, March 29, 1942

The Price of Freedom in Christ: Edna Lister sermon, November 3, 1946

An Encompassing Faith: Edna Lister sermon, May 4, 1947

What Is Freedom?: Edna Lister,, July 10, 1955

Religious Slavery or Freedom?: Edna Lister sermon, October 9, 1955

Religious Slavery or Freedom?: Edna Lister sermon, November 27, 1955

Seeking Independence,: Edna Lister sermon, October 20, 1957

Is Faith Enough?: Edna Lister lecture, June 21, 1960

The Four Faiths: Edna Lister sermon, September 11, 1960

Here and the Hereafter: Edna Lister, November 14, 1960

The Ladder of Faith: Edna Lister sermon, December 18, 1960

Without Shadow of Turning: Edna Lister sermon, June 18, 1961

This One Thing I Do: Edna Lister sermon, November 26, 1961

A Formula for Daily Living: Edna Lister, June 16, 1964

The First One Through: Edna Lister sermon outline; May 2, 1965

Your Soul’s Accomplishment: Edna Lister sermon outline; May 30, 1965