Without Faith

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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. 

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