Thoughts for another day

May 3, 2012

Today's verse: Heb. 11:13. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (KJV)

(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

A thought most precious to the Lord is that of the one who believes…believes that God is there and that He is the only One needed in our lives.   Ch. 11 of Hebrews is a roster of the 'fathers' of faith; they of whom we think and sometimes pray that we be like them.  We hope to stand the way they did in the face of all odds and win despite the natural not being in our favor; realizing that the supernatural was with God and that God would hand it to them at the right time.

It's so wonderful to read about these people of God and be encouraged, but at the time these people were going through the trial God set up for them, I wonder what went on in their minds.  Imagine the mind of Rahab, when she saved the spies from Israel.  Were she to be found out, she would be dead; but she didn't fear and out of faith in the One she heard to be the God Who was with Israel, she saved her life and that of her family.  Then Noah: boy, when he was building the ark, he must've been the butt of jokes of the folk in that place; but we know what happened.  And so on we see men and women of God who didn't swerve from what God told them to do, no matter the difficulties and jeers of the world and they won.

Today our Scripture puts into our ears once again remembrance of these wonderful and notable people of God, whose stories we find in His Word and they are there because they all died in faith.  They didn't receive of the promise made by God then, but with eyes of faith they saw them distantly and believed and embracing them, acknowledged that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth and so marked their lives bearing witness to the glory of God and to belong to His rest in eternity.  You and I are called to bear witness to Him too – Sharp, Real and Unyielding witness; so that what our faith delivers will inspire others to believe in the One who is God of all and thus believing we also receive the promises that are ours in Christ Jesus.