Faith

A one word title means I don't have to be as creative this early in the AM. :)

The Lord woke us very early/late last night. We took the time to pray which was nice. If you don't pray with your spouse you should start. I don't know if I've ever felt more intimate with her than when I pray with her. We didn't get back to sleep for some time, and so I'm a little groggy this morning. So bear with me would ya?

Hebrews 11. If you're interested in the power of Faith this chapter is for you. Heb 11:1-2 describes faith as the assurance of the things we hope for. It is the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality - to perceive them as real though they have not been revealed.

In the New Testament, God over and over again states that believers are saved by faith through grace (unmerited favor from the Lord). Hebrews 11:6 says it's impossible to please God without faith. For whoever draws close to Him must first believe He is real, and a rewarder of those who seek Him diligently.

As we read through Hebrews 11 we are given the "short form" of the lives of many of our great "faith heroes" in the Word. I am personally humbled when reading all these recounts of these great acts of faith by people of all walks of life. Heb 11:15-16 is particularly humbling to me. It says if they had been thinking of where they came from they would have found constant opportunity to return to it. However, they were thinking about where God was taking them instead. I have often found myself longing to return to my own Egypt. The lifeless cage that it was, was still familiar to me. There is false safety in the familiar. We may be damaged there, but believe we are aware of all the ways we are damaged and don't often wish to risk new or different damages. God never seeks to damage us believers, only to grow us.

The issue (as it seemingly always is for the believer) is sanctification, being separated from Sin. It's a progressive process. Encouragement for me comes in Heb 11:24-25 where the Word says when Moses had grown to maturity and became great he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He did this so as not to deny his lineage, and to avoid being treated "better" than his brethren. So he would not lead a life of sin. Now you could read this as when Moses grew up and became a man, however after reading the Pauline Epistles I'm reading this as the process of sanctification. When Moses was mature in his faith he was able to be obedient. As we grow closer to God, our faith grows stronger. It is evidence of our closeness to Him.

Heb 11:40 is the hammer verse in my opinion! What do all these great people of faith that Hebrews 11 recounts have in common? None of them witnessed the fulfillment of the promise of the Christ, Jesus. Why not? Why if these men and women had so much faith did He not send His Son to them at that time? Because He was thinking of us, and those that may come after us. He didn't send Christ to them because He didn't want them to come to perfection before we will. We will all attain perfection at the same time when we are bodily resurrected on the day of His return! This will happen when the full number has been saved, and not before.