Without Faith

-


Scripture: Hebrews 11:6 (NRSV)

6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Devotion:

            The writer of Hebrews in this verse seeks to alert his readers to something that might seem obvious at first glance. Of course, believing in God is necessary to please him. How many of us, only seem to have faith in Jesus though? If our faith were truly tested how many of us could stand up to the testing? May we this day consider ourselves deeply and make a firm commitment to follow Jesus no matter the cost to family, job, or even to life itself.

            We think of those in the Bible who were commended for their faith. In the passage that this quote is taken from we consider four shining examples of faith. These were given as examples of the kind of faith that God would like to see in us. Our list begins with Abel who by faith offered an acceptable sacrifice to God. The end result of his faith was, however, that he was murdered by his brother who was jealous that Abel’s sacrifice had pleased God. Abel became the first to be martyred for his faith in God.

            Next, we consider Enoch whose faith was so great that God did not even let him see physical death but was taken directly to heaven. We are not told much about Enoch’s life in the Bible, but we can be sure that it must have been very great because of the way God rewarded him.

            Thirdly, we examine the life of Noah. The story of Noah’s faith should both comfort and challenge us. Noah was faithful to God even though his culture (much like our own) was very evil and continually inventing new kinds of evil. Noah remained faithful and was commissioned to be the savior of humanity via the ark. Noah’s life was not perfect, but his faith was strong enough for him to be considered worthy of life when all around him were condemned to die.

            Finally, we consider Abraham, who was chosen by God out of all the world to be the one from whom the promised Messiah would come. Abraham’s faith was so strong that God promised and delivered to him a son even in his extreme old age. Abraham pleased God by being willing to even give up this child of promise on an altar. Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness and is held up to be a model for all to emulate.

            We cannot help but be humbled looking at these giants of our faith. Let us ask God now to increase our faith that we may stand firm in these trying times.

Prayer:

            Heavenly Father, we come to you today confessing that we are not always as faithful as we would like to be. We ask that you increase our strength for the fight that is ahead of us. Let us be found to be faithful servants of yours. In your grace and mercy accept us as we are and help us to become the men and women you would have us to be. May our lives of faith bring you glory and honor. Amen. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcoming the Unwelcome

-
  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapter seven as an aid to interpreting the events that occurred last Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. On that da
Read more

Father Forgive Them

-
  Scripture: Luke 23:33-34 (ESV) 33  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Devotion:             The situation Jesus finds himself in here in today’s scripture is difficult for us to even imagine. A sham trial, no credible accusations of any kind, let alone any deserving of death, and yet here he is. A brilliant Rabbi, a teacher of the people who never led even one person astray from God’s will. This Holy One of God soon to be food for vultures.             This man who had done nothing wrong had no one in all the crowds who would speak up in his defense lest they be next to face the cross. An innocent man hung between two scoundrels. No voice from heaven declaring that this was the man that they were killing was actually the true Son of God. (See Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 12:28) No the heaven
Read more

Transgenderism letter

-
  This is a copy of my letter to my senators, representative, and President Biden. January 15, 2024 Dear President Biden, Senators T. Duckworth, R. Durbin, and Representative D. LaHood             I am writing to you because I am concerned about the situation affecting our children and grandchildren, namely transitioning them from one gender to another. This nation must adjust course concerning these “interventions” because they are dangerous, irreversible, and life-changing. Our country should not be permitting these procedures on minor children under any circumstances. We must also make sure that adults who seek this care are given informed consent as to the risks versus benefits of sex reassignment treatments.             There are many drawbacks to gender-affirming care for minors. Besides the loss of any ability to give or receive sexual pleasure and sterility these treatments cause, there are social and psychological effects that we have no way of identifying because these
Read more