By Faith

“But without faith it is impossible

To please Him, for he who comes

To God must believe that He is,

And that He is a rewarder of

Those who diligently seek Him.”

     Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)

Most of us are likely familiar with Hebrews chapter 11 with its wonderful list of saints in the so-called hall of faith.  When we think of faith heroes, dramatic actions involving great victories often come to mind.  And Hebrews 11 does include some of those kinds of acts.  (See Hebrews 11:33-34) These individuals had faith that God would be with them and help them achieve success, rather than relying on their personal strength and own abilities to win.

But Scripture also records occasions where there was no outward victory—in fact, they were awful defeats from a worldly perspective, such as those who were “stoned,” “sawn in two,” “slain with the sword,” “being destitute, afflicted, tormented.” (Hebrews 11:37)  Yet these individuals faced their severe trials with faith in their hearts, and by their faith, God was pleased.

This hall of faith also has some surprising inclusions.  For example, despite the fact that the Bible contains a lot of detail about Isaac’s life, he’s included in this chapter because “By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.” (Hebrews 11:20)  Similarly, with Joseph, his life as recorded in Scripture was filled with faith-filled actions and yet, he’s listed in this chapter because “By faith, Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.” (Hebrews 11:22)  This gives us a glimpse into what is important to God: a life of faith, trusting Him for things unseen. 

The things that take the most faith are often the daily battles we face, such as the uncertainties and fears we have in this world, longsuffering in illness, patient trust during long seasons of prayer without seeming answers.  Even without outward victory and even when we stumble, we can live lives of faith by trusting our Lord, whatever the circumstances, whatever the outcome.  He sees everything we do and even our small acts of faith are pleasing to Him. 

Thursday Devotional - Goal Drifting?

How are you doing on your goals for 2020? How about a goal to meet with God daily? Maybe you are already ready to give up on some of your goals. Let’s especially persevere in our walk with God. He welcomes us back anytime. However, it is harder to come back the further we drift. Satan knows this.

The writer of Hebrews knew it, too, and warned the Jewish believers to persevere. Hebrews 2:2 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

They were being tempted to revert back to the old ways of Judaism. However, Jesus had done away with the old sacrificial system as both the perfect High Priest and perfect sacrifice.

Hebrews 2:9, 14, 17-18    ⁹ But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone… ¹⁴  Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— … ¹⁷ For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Most of us probably aren’t tempted to revert back to Judaism, but maybe to a life or routine void of God. Let’s make sure He’s a priority each and everyday so we don’t drift!

Jesus is fully man and fully God, so He can relate to our struggles and help us!   

Alice

Just Do It

But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”

Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord?  Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”  Exodus 4:10-12

When I was growing up, gym shoes were not the fashion statement they are today.  Back then, the most popular shoes were ‘Converse All-Stars.’  All the basketball players had them, and when the man they called ‘Dr J.’ Julius Erving was caught wearing them on the court, they were the craze of the neighborhood.  Then as I got into high school, some little off brand caught my eye.  They were called, Nike, and they had this swoosh emblem.  It looked kinda cool, but nothing really took off.  Then, they became the ‘in’ thing when Michael Jordan became their spokesman.  However, that only got the company part way. Then the thing that tipped the scales to make Nike a universal brand was neither an athlete nor a sport.  It was a saying.  It’s something anyone who ever questioned themselves or worried about failure could relate to.  It’s the thing that they tried to teach us in the story of ‘The Little Train That Could.’  It is the thing people heard when they faced undaunting odds and the voice I heard as a freshman in high school waking up to go to school while my mom was in the hospital. Three simple words; just do it.  They have them on many shirts they sell, and you can almost hear it being said every time you see the emblem.  It is also at times the words God whispers to us when an idea comes to mind or we are too cautious to move or act on His word.  Just Do It.

God wants you to walk with the firm belief that you can indeed achieve what you may perceive is impossible.  How often has God both looked at and given us what seemed to be an impossible task?  And then as we walked, how often did we look to God, and asked how can this happen?  This is where we find Moses today.  At this point in the story, God had now appeared to Moses, and confirmed that He is the God of Abraham.  God had also reaffirmed that He will be with Moses every step of the way.  With all this being said, Moses was still not convinced he can lead the Israelites from Egypt, and now he was trying to convince himself he was not the perfect messenger for God.  “I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled,” he said (Exodus 4:10b).  I really enjoyed reading this discussion between Moses and God because it shows how God can build anyone up to lead His people.  It also shows how we often want to shy away from the light of God and will use any possible reason to do so (I’m not a good speaker?  Really?).  God shushes (yes, I used that word) Moses once again, saying “Now go!  I will be with you as you speak, and instruct you in what to say.”  This was that Nike moment.  Just Do It, Moses!  Quit telling me who you are not because ‘I Am.’

God can make a way at times when we cannot see it.  This is not either to say that God will do everything you want to do because He will not or to start a surety test to confirm God is with you.  But if you want the one true living God to be with you, maybe now is the time to stop making the excuses on the things you know He asks of you.  Maybe God is tired of our excuses for not being able to do something.  If God is asking something of you today, yesterday, or maybe even months ago, don’t say, “I don’t know what to say.”  Instead, say, “Father, I trust you will give me the right guidance.”  What barriers are you putting up for yourself to stop you from achieving God’s glory?  Where has doubt stolen what God wants from you?  My prayer is that we acknowledge those things God wants from us, and simply, ‘Just Do It.’  Amen.