Monday 4 Dec 2017

December 4: Hebrews 11:1-3

Key Verse: Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Devotion:
Faith is not a way of living. It is not a religion. It is not an asset of anything received. It is not temporary. It is not an act. Faith is not a moral virtue. These are often things which are associated with faith because people do not know how to handle someone who shows faith. This first verse in Hebrews 11 describes what faith is.

Faith and hope go together because the same things which are the object of our hope are quite often the object of our faith; or they should be. Christian faith is the firm belief that God will perform all He has promised to us in Christ Jesus. This belief is implicit. It gives our souls an expectant foretaste of things to come. Faith will change our way of living. It may be seen to others as a religion but faith will give us a different outlook on life.

It is the substance of things hoped, not an asset of things already received. Faith is believing in things which we are told will happen. If we wait until after they have happened before believing, then we no longer have faith, we have evidence. We can look back through our bibles and see the evidence of things which have passed and have happened to others. That then gives us evidence of things which will come to pass because they come from the same source. Believing they will come to pass even though we may not see them is faith.

Seeing how a tightrope holds up a person is evidence. Getting ready to go out onto that rope for the first time takes some faith. Real faith could only be likened to being told about this rope, never seeing it, and being blindfolded and lead out to the rope. Out on the rope, we have the evidence that it did hold. Faith in Christ is continual because we will not get out on that rope until we get to heaven. Living by faith will change our lives just like it has changed many who have gone before us. Living by faith will give others the encouragement they need to take that first step out towards Christ.

Points to Ponder:
What gives you hope?

Could Christ have done anything more to convince you?