Consider Jesus (Heb. 12:3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-30-03

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Consider Jesus

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 12:3

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”  (NKJV)  “Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don’t become weary and give up.”  (NLT)

            The writer wants his readers to consider the things that the Lord has gone through in order to make a way for our salvation.  John MaCarthur says in his footnote on this verse “Jesus is the supreme example of willingness to suffer in obedience to God.  He faced hostility and endured even the cruel cross.  The same opposition is faced by all who follow Him .”  As stated before these early Jewish believers were undergoing persecution because of their faith and were considering going back into Judaism so the writer again encourages them to stick to their faith and in this verse he encourages them by reminding them what the Lord suffered in making a way for them to be saved.  Jesus Christ was there example and of course is our example today in all aspects of our life, even when He chooses for us to suffer for the cause of Christ it will be in the long run good for us even though we do not understand it in the present situation.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When I compare this situation that I am going through with my investments with what Christ went through there is no comparison at all.  I know that I could blame myself for this mess that I am in, and of course I could blame Gary and Andrew for this mess, but in the overall scheme of things I have to believe that the Lord is in control of this and choose this for me and others to go through this for His glory and our good.  God is in control of all that goes on in my life and in control of all that goes on in the world and will work out everything for His glory and for the good of His children, His Word teaches this.

 

The Word of God has bee challenging to me as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord and trust His Word in spite of the circumstances and consequences that I am going through.  Jesus never fails and is always on time.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 121:1,2

 

1.      I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come?

2.      My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

 

Looking to Jesus (Heb. 12:2b)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-27-03

 

 

                                                                                                                       

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Looking to Jesus

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Hebrews 12:2b

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  (NASB)  “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.  He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward.   Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven.  (NLT)

            I like the way that the NLT reads in this verse where it says that Jesus is the One “whom our faith depends from start to finish.”  This reminds me of a verse in on of Paul’s writings where he said that we are to live our Christian life in the same way that we became a Christian, and that is by grace through faith.  It does not change, like this verse says from start to finish.  Jesus Christ was willing to die for the sins of the world because He knew that this would please His Father, and by doing this it gave Him great joy.  Now I do believe that there is a difference between joy and happiness, and when I read about His death I do not believe that Jesus was happy, but deep in His heart he had a joy about it, for afterwards He would sit at the right hand of God as our faithful High Priest and minister on the believers behalf.  This is who the believer is to look at in order to run the race and go on to victory.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This passage makes me think of Peter when he was waling on the water and how when he took his eyes off the Lord that he began to sink.  Peter was walking on the water which is what all of the disciples feared, and there are many times in my Christian walk that I fear, but that is when I need to keep my eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of my faith.

 

The Word of God was refreshing, convicting, and instructive to my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord by not being so prideful in what He is teaching me, but accept it by grace, and be quietly thankful for it.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Psalm 121:1

 

            1.  I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come from?

Keep Our Eyes on Jesus (Heb. 12:2a)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-26-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Keep our eyes on Jesus

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Hebrews 12:2a

 

1.Message of the verse:  “2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  (NASB)  “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.  He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward.  Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven.”  (NLT)

In the latter part of verse one the writer tells us to run with endurance the race that is set before us, and in the NLT it tells us how we are to run this race with endurance.  Endurance means “1a) in the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings 1b) patiently, and steadfastly.”  The way to run this race with endurance is to keep our eyes on Jesus.  Now when a person is saved they have to look to Jesus for He is the only way to be saved.  Jesus Himself said that He is the way, and this means that He is the only way to be saved.  Acts 4:12 puts it this way, ‘“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”’  The writer goes on to say that Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith.  The word author means, “2) one that takes the lead in any thing and thus affords an example, a predecessor in a matter, pioneer.  Jesus certainly fits this in His work for us concerning our salvation.  The word perfecter or finisher means, “one who has in his own person raised faith to its perfection and so set before us the highest example of faith.”  This is true of Jesus for when He was on planet earth He lived His life by faith like no one has ever done.  He is our example, and the only way that we can live by faith is to follow His example.

 

2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Jesus Christ is not only my Savior and Lord, and also my High Priest, but He is my example on how to live the Christian life by faith.  I want to follow His example, and as I learn more about Him, and then by the power of the Holy Spirit I can then be more like Him in my everyday life.

 

The Word of God has been a challenge to me as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to turn my eyes upon Jesus, and look full in His wonderful face so that the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Psalm 121:1

 

1.  I will look my eyes to the mountains, from whence shall my help come from?

 

 

 

 

 

Running the Race (Heb. 12:1)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-25-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Running the race

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Hebrews 12:1

 

            1.  Meaning of the verse:  “1 ¶ Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”  (NASB)  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress.  And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.”  (NLT)

            There is a lot of meat in this wonderful verse.  It is a turning point in the book of Hebrews and since it starts wit the word “therefore” it refers back to the section that was just written, Hebrews 10:19-11:40.  The cloud of witnesses refers to those great men and women of faith in chapter eleven, but it does not indicate that they are watching us, but rather that we are the ones who have been the witness to what they have done and have learned from their example.  Romans 15:4 is a verse that helps to understand this:  “ For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

            The writer knew something about being an athletic, for in this section he uses athletic terms to make his points.  A runner when would run a race would take off any excess weight that would slow him down so that he could run his best.  We as believers in Jesus Christ are in a race and we need to take off any excess baggage that would slow us down in our race.  He then gives an example of this weight, which is the sin that so easily entangles us.  Now to understand this sin that he is speaking about we need to look back again at chapter eleven and identify from there what he is talking about now.  The chapter was about faith, and the opposite of faith is unbelief.  What was the reason that kept the children of Israel out of the promise land, it was the sin of unbelief, and what would they have needed to do to enter into the promise land, they would have needed to believe the Word of God and stand on that, and seen with their eyes of faith instead of their natural eyes.

            The writer then tells us how to run this race that we are in and that is with endurance.  The KJV uses the word patience and Strong’s says of this word:  “1a) in the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.”  The word swerved means to “change directions,” so a believer is not to change directions, but we are to continually keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ, which is written about in the next verse.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at this sin of unbelief in light of just studying chapter eleven I can now get an idea of why the Lord would consider this a sin that would be very upsetting to Him, and that is because of all of the things that He has done for me, and first on the list is to have taken me from death to life, and then I would not trust Him for the help and strength to keep me going on in the race of life that He has set before me.

 

The Word of God has challenged my heart; it has also convicted my heart concerning unbelief in my life.

 

 My Steps of Faith Today:  To believe what the Lord has told me in His Word and to live by that even if it does not seem like it is the best thing for me at the time, to have faith and not be unbelieving.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 121:1

 

1.  I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come from?

 

 

 

 

Faith Will Live On (Heb. 11:39-40)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-24-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Faith will live on

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Hebrews 11:39-40

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”  (NASB)  “All of these people we have mentioned received God’s approval because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.   For God had far better things in mind for us that would also benefit them, for they can’t receive the prize at the end of the race until we finish the race.”  (NLT)

            It is hard to come to the end of this great chapter, but as stated before I believe that this chapter is continuing, and will continue to the last person is saved by grace through faith.  I believe that is what the last verse in this chapter means when it says “for they can’t receive the prize at the end of the race until we finish the race.”  There are still people out there, who are finishing the race, and there are people out there living by faith, they believe the Word of God in spite of their circumstances or consequences to them.

            This has been a great blessing from God, this eleventh chapter of Hebrews, and He certainly has bless my heart, and spoken to my heart through this chapter, and I am thankful.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today: I must say that God has taught me more about faith than I have ever learned in all of my walk with Him over these past twenty-nine plus years of being a believer.  This seems to have opened up a new window of opportunity for me in serving God, and I am looking forward to that.

 

The Word of God was very refreshing to my soul as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to continue to trust the Lord concerning the storm that He has put me in for my growth in my walk with Him.  He is in control of this storm and He will see me thought it.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 121:1

 

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come from?

 

Faith in Troubled Times (Heb. 11:35-38)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-23-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Faith in troubled times

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Hebrews 11:35-38

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “35 Women received their dead by a resurrection: and others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

36 and others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:  37 they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword: they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38  (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and the holes of the earth.”  (ASB)  “Women received their loved ones back again from death.  But others trusted God and were tortured, preferring to die rather than turn from God and be free.  They placed their hope in the resurrection to a better life.  Some were mocked, and their backs were cut open with whips.  Others were chained in dungeons.  Some died by stoning, and some were sawed in half; others were killed with the sword.  They were too good for this world.  They wandered over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.”   (NLT)

            In the first part of verse 35 we see that there were some women in the OT who received their loved ones back from the dead.  This is probably referring to when Elijah and Elisha were on the earth as prophets of God:  “1 Kings 17:22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived.  2 Kings 4:34 And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child became warm.  2 Kings 4:35 Then he returned and walked in the house once back and forth, and went up and stretched himself on him; and the lad sneezed seven times and the lad opened his eyes.”

            These were wonderful answers to faith and trust in the Lord, but the remaining events described in verses 35-38 are not as pleasant for in them we read of much persecution and pain because of their faith in God. I do not know of all these incidents, and to where there are found in the OT for it does not recorded all of them as they are described here.  What I do want to do is focus in on the first part of verse 38 which says “the were too good for this world.”  It has been well said that earth is not my home, I am only passing through, and there are times when believers need to understand this.  In this world today it is said that on the average of 400 believers die each day for the cause of Christ, and others are tortured for their faith.  As stated in and earlier diary, I believe that Hebrews chapter 11 is continuing on with the events that are taking place in the Church since this letter has been written.  There are people who have had wonderful miracles happen to them and then there are others who have suffered greatly for the cause of Christ, even up to today’s time.  Jesus Christ suffered and died for the Church and He said that there would be some that would do the same, and it is comforting to know that He has been through this and can give comfort to those who are going through it now.  Hebrews says of Abraham that he did not receive all the promises that God had made to him while he was on the earth, however he will receive them along with all believers, because those promises were also about a heavenly kingdom and a city that is being built by God.  See John 14:1-3.  “1 ¶ "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  2  "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  3  "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  For many years of my Christian life I have not clearly understood the story of Abraham concerning all of the promises that God had given to him.  It had always seemed to me that some of them were not fulfilled and that is what I did not understand.  Now I believe that these promises of a land and a city were that of the one that Jesus mentions in John 14:1-3 and this gives new meaning to me because It shows me that indeed this is not my home, and even though there are times when things seem to be going good that can all change in a moment, however I am encouraged by the truth that God is in control and that He is preparing a place for me, and that He has given a Person to me, and that He has given a peace to me.

 

The Word of God was full of challenges as I read it this morning, yet it was also very refreshing to me too.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to live my life like this is not my home, but to do things that have an eternal value to them.  I want to be sensitive to what the Lord has for me to do each day of my life, and by His grace do it for His glory.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Psalm 121:1

 

1.  I will lift my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come?

     

      

 

Others Who had Faith (Heb. 11:33-34)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-20-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Others who had faith

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Hebrews 11:33-34

 

            1.  Message of the verses:  “33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens.”  (ASV)  “By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them.   They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword.  Their weakness was turned to strength.  They became strong in battle and put the whole armies to flight.”  (NLT)

            The writer now moves on to events that probably happened to different people, but from this point on he does not mention anyone’s names, as he puts these events into categories. There were many leaders in Israel’s past who subdued kingdoms, men like Joshua, David, Samson and some of the other judges and kings did this.  There were many leaders who ruled with justice, men like David, Moses, Joshua, Hezekiah, Josiah, and a whole list of other kings who ruled justly.  Men like Abraham, Moses, David, and Solomon obtained promises from God.  When you think of men who stopped the mouths of lions there are three who come to mind; Daniel, David, and Samson.  Verse 34 speaks of quenching the power of fire, and this reminds me of Daniel’s three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  David is one who escaped the edge of the sword when Saul was chasing him, and others did this who were in battle too.  There is quite a list of men in the OT who were at one time weak and then God gave them strength, men like Ehud, Jael, Gideon, Samson, and Hezekiah.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at these list of events that the writer of Hebrews gives out here in these verses and then think about the fact that there were many men who had true Bible faith in doing these events in their lives it makes me think that God has things He wants me to do in my life that He has prepared me to do, and desires me to do them based on faith in Him, and in believing what He has said in His Word.  As I said in yesterday’s spiritual diary, I believe that believers are still living out this eleventh chapter of Hebrews today, and that in heaven someday will be read by the Lord.

 

The Word of God was challenging to my heart, and it was refreshing at the same time.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To continue to stand on and to the Word of God as I go through this storm that the Lord has called me to go through.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-17

 

To review these verses.   

More from Hebrews 11:32

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-19-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus: See Both SD’s  

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Hebrews 11:32b

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “32 ¶ And what shall I more say? For the time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah; of David and Samuel and the prophets:”  (ASB)  “Well, how much more do I need to say?  It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson Jephthah, Davie, Samuel, and all the prophets.”  (NLT)

            I will try and finish this verse today, but there is a story of faith to tell about all of these that are mentioned, and even at the end where the writer talks about the faith of all the prophets, and it does not stop there, for one could tell stories of all of the Apostles in the early days of the Church.  I some how believe that this chapter of faith will be well documented when we all get to heaven, as all believers in Christ have been given an opportunity to demonstrate faith in the Lord.

            Barak demonstrated faith in the Lord even though he had to get help from a prophetess, and some of the credit went to her, but the Lord did receive glory from Barak. When thinking about Samson one often thinks of all the trouble that he got himself into because a problem with lust, but he did however believe the Word of the Lord and acted upon it in great faith.  Jephthah has an interesting story in the book of Judges, and in that story I believe that he may have made a foolish vow by saying that he would sacrifice his daughter if the Lord would answer his prayer to defeat the sons of Ammon in the land.  The Lord gave him the victory, and as far as the sacrifice of his daughter some believe that she remained a virgin for the rest of her days.

            David and Samuel are two men whom the Lord did much through, and who both demonstrated much faith in the Lord.  There is far too much written about them in the Scriptures to mention all of the ways that they demonstrated faith in the Word of the Lord.

 

2.Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As stated above I believe that this story of faith is still being made in the lives of the believer in Christ today, and will be spoken of in heaven someday.  It is important that I learn from these people that are mentioned in this chapter to see what they did that was so pleasing to the Lord that He had them all mentioned in this great chapter of faith.  It is important for me to learn that these people were not perfect, yet when they fell they picked themselves up and demonstrated faith in the Lord; they believed His Word in spite of circumstances or consequences. 

 

The Word of God was very inspiring to my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to continue to stand upon the promises that pertain to the storm that the Lord has put me, along with others into.  God will never leave me nor forsake me.  God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-17

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06/19/2003

My Worship Time                                                          Focus:  Various Heroes of Faith

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 11:32b

            Message of the verses:  “32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets.”

            I have to admit that in trying to change the fonts on the original SD for this date I mistakenly deleted it and so I thought that I would try and look at this verse again to see what the Lord has for me from it.  I can say that in his commentary for this section of Hebrews that Dr. Warren Wiersbe entitles the section “Various heroes of faith” and it covers verses 32-40, so we will just focus in on the last part of verse 32 which speaks of a total of six named OT characters and also includes the prophets, so there is much to speak of when it comes to this verse. In the last SD on this verse we spoke of the faith of Gideon, so we will look at some of these other characters that are mentioned in the rest of verse 32.

            Dr. Wiersbe begins this section of his commentary with an important statement, a statement that we can all learn from:  “Faith can operate in the life of any person who will dare to listen to God’s Word and surrender to God’s will.”  I have to say that it is a difficult thing to surrender to the Lord, to just say like Isaiah said in the sixth chapter of his book:  “5 Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven." 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"” (Isaiah 6:5-8)  This was a very bold thing that Isaiah did, that is surrendering to the Lord and have the Lord do through him what He wanted done, and if I am not mistaken we find a statement in the 11^th chapter of Hebrews that tells us what finally happened to Isaiah:  “37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (Hebrews 11:37).”  I have heard that the portion that I have highlighted in this verse is what happened to Isaiah. In our church service this morning there were three candidates for missionary service that gave their testimony, both of when the Lord saved them and also when they said to the Lord “I surrender to Your will for my life, and I will go where you want me to go.”  This is a great step of faith and as we look back at the statement that Dr. Wiersbe made at the beginning of this paragraph we can see what he is talking about.  The men listed in the 32^nd verse of the 11^th chapter did just that, as they surrendered their lives to the Lord.

            I will try and give you the references of where you can read about some of these men from the Old Testament.  Gideon’s story can be seen in Judges 6:11-7:25.  Barak is the judge who won a resounding victory over Sisera and that is found in Judges 4:1-5:31.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Both Gideon and Barak are encouragements to us who falter in our faith.”

            We read of the fascination story of Jephthah in Judges 11:1-12:7.  In this story some think that he sacrificed his daughter, but this is very unlikely, as he probably dedicated her to the Lord as seen in the 27^th chapter of Leviticus, for the type of dedication.

            Now as far as Samuel and David their stories are told in the books of 1^st and 2^nd Samuel, along with 1^st and 2^nd Chronicles for more on the life of David.  It is interesting to me that the writer of Hebrews did not speak more on the lives of David and Samuel or for that matter the prophets, but I have made the statement that I believe that the 11^th chapter of the book of Hebrews is a chapter that is not finished, but will be finished when we get to heaven.

7/19/2015 9:25 PM

           

PS:  I found the other SD so now there are two of them.

 

Gideon's Faith Strengthened (Heb. 11:32)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06/17/2003

 

                                               

My Worship Time      Focus:  Gideon’s faith strengthened

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Hebrews 11:32

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “32  And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets,”  (NIV)  “32 ¶ And what shall I more say? for the time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah; of David and Samuel and the prophets:”  (ASB)

            I would like to focus in on the faith and Gideon in this spiritual diary, and the reason that these two encourage me is because I can see the patience of God as He worked with them.  Gideon was told to conquer an enemy of Israel and was not quite sure that it was the Lord who was speaking to him and if it was he need some added assurance from Him.  He asked the Lord if it were truly He who was speaking to him that He would make the dew only be on the fleece that he lay upon the ground.  That happened, but he was still not completely satisfied so he asked the Lord to have all the ground around the fleece wet with dew and the fleece dry.  This happened and it strengthened his faith so he obeyed the Word of the Lord and conquered Israel’s enemy with 300 men, because the Lord was with him.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I go along the path of the Christian life that the Lord is leading me on I sometimes think of Gideon and his fleece and I sometimes put out my own fleece so that I can be reassured that a certain thing is what the Lord would have me to do.  There are many times when I do that, that I feel a bit guilty about it too.  However as I look at what Dr. Wiersbe says about this, that Gideon is an encouragement to those of us who need our faith lifted up, I too am encouraged.

 

The Word of God gave me encouragement as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I must continue to trust and obey the Lord as He leads me and guide me through this storm that many of us our going through.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-17  (Review them)

 

 

The True Faith of Rahab (Heb. 11:31)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-16-03

 

 

                                                                                                                       

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Rahab demonstrated true faith

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 11:31

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “31 By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient, having received the spies with peace.”  (ASV)  “31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.”  (NIV)

            The story of Rahab is a marvelous testimony of the grace of God in giving salvation to her and in spurring her on to good words, that always com with true faith in God.  Rahab demonstrated true Bible faith by believing the Word of God in spite of circumstances or consequences in her life, for she risked her life in order to save the spies from Israel and then as a reward of her faith she is even mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in the book of Matthew.  Her faith took courage, but by the grace of God she was up for the task.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I think of Rahab I think of her faith, her courage, and also her obedience to the Word of God.  These are all qualities that I pray that I would have in my walk with the Lord today.

 

The Word of God has encouraged my heart through the story of Rahab that I read about this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I would pray as stated in the “spiritual meaning for my life today” section that I would demonstrate the faith that Rahab demonstrated by having faith, having courage to do what is right, and being obedient to the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within me. 

 

Memory verses for the week:  Review of Psalm 40: 1-17