Live with Peace and Holiness (Heb. 12:14)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 07-09-03

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus: Live with Peace and Holiness

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Hebrews 12:14

 

              Message of the verse:  “14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:” (NKJV) “Try to live in peace with everyone, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.”  (NLT)

            Dr. Wiersbe points out that as we run the race of being a believer we have two goals that we are to peruse: (1) to live at peace with others and (2) to walk holy before the Lord.  Now we know that as a believer in Christ He has provided us with peace with God because of His work on the cross, and Paul says that we also can have the peace of God in our lives too (Phil. 4:6-7).  Peter says that we are to be holy because the Lord is holy.  As believers we are to live out the new life that God has given to us when we come to know Him as Lord and Savior, which is holy.  Our new self is holy, set apart to serve God, just as God is our Holy God.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have had a hard time understanding exactly what living a holy life is in the past, and I still struggle with exactly what that life is, and even what the word means.  The Strong’s Concordance in not that much help to me, as it says about the word holy, “1) most holy thing, a saint.”  I know that God is holy and that I, as a believer am to be like God in living a holy life, but because of the old nature (flesh) it is difficult for me to live consistently that kind of a life.  God is certainly different than those of us who live on planet earth, because He is holy.

 

The Word of God was certainly a challenge to me as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To continue to believe the promises of God that He has had written in His Word concerning the storm that I am in, to trust His.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 121:1-3

 

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.

3.      He will not allow my foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.

 

 

 

The Results of Discipline (Heb. 12:12-13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 07-08-03

 

My Worship Time                                                           Focus:  The Results of Discipline

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                  Reference:  Hebrews 12:12-13

 

            Message of the verse:  “12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.”  (NASB)  “So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs.  Mark out a straight path for your feet.  Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong.”  (NLT)

            In verse 11 the writer gives one of the results of discipline when he says that it will “afterward it will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it,” or have exercised by it.  This is one of the results of discipline.  It also encourages us to exercise in spiritual matters like the Word of God, prayer, meditation and witnessing, etc, and this all leads to joy.

            How are we then to respond to the discipline of God?  “We may respond to discipline in several ways: (1) We can accept it with resignation; (2) we can accept it with self-pity, thinking we really don’t deserve it; (3) we can be angry and resentful toward God; or (4) we can accept it gratefully, as the appropriate response we owe a loving Father.”  Life Application Bible

            Now the writer uses the word “therefore” to start out the 12^th verse, which means it refers back to what we have been reading.  In light of all of these things he has been telling us in this chapter he encourages us to do these things he writes in 12 & 13.  The writer is like a coach who tells us to get into the race and to get it together and run the race of life and by doing this, we will also be able to encourage others around us to do the same.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am sure that it is true that there are others who are watching how I react to the storm that God is leading me through, and I do believe that part of this is truly discipline from the Lord for a number of things that I know that I have been doing wrong concerning my investments and the wrong attitude that I have had about money.  This may all be discipline, but whatever it is the Lord is lovingly getting my attention and I have confessed many different things that I have done wrong and am still asking the Lord to continue to search me in regard to this storm that He is leading me through.  I pray that I will be a good example as to how I handle this storm of discipline from the Lord so that others who see me will see the Lord in my life giving me the strength and the peace to deal with it.  God loves me too much to leave me the way I was.

 

The Word of God was indeed a challenge to my heart as I read it this morning.

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to trust the Lord to be true to His Word and search me, “23

Earthly Discipline and Heavenly Discipline (Heb. 12:9-11)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 07-07-03

 

My Worship Time                                 Focus:  Earthly Discipline & Heavenly Discipline

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Hebrews 12:9-11

 

Message of the verse:  “9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?  10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness.  11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”  (NASB)  “Since we respect our earthly fathers who disciplined us, should we not all the more cheerfully submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father and live forever?  For our earthly fathered disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how.  But God’s discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in his holiness.  No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it is painful!  But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who trained in this way.”  (NLT)

There are a number of points that I would like to make about this passage.  God disciplines in perfection in order that His children might reverence Him and to obey His will.  This is supposed to be the reason that our earthly fathers discipline us.

If we respond correctly to our Heavenly Father’s discipline we will live as verse nine says.  We must then take this that if we do not except the discipline in the way that God would want us to we could die as other Scriptures teach us.  1John 5:16 speaks of this, “ If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.”  This also happened in the OT on different occasions. (See 1Cor. 10:1-12 for evidence of this).  I must say that this is not the usual way that God deals with people, but He does do this on certain occasions as seen in Acts 5.

These writings in chapter 12 relate with the five exhortations in Hebrews.  If believers do not heed those exhortations then the Lord may choose to take their life in order not to graciously stop them from sinning more.  God makes no mistakes, even though it is not pleasant to go through His discipline, for He does it for our own good. 

The word in verse 11 which is translated as trained is the same word translated exercise in 5:14, so we are exercised by God’s discipline, and if we willingly submit to it then there will be a quiet harvest of right living.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I believe that God’s Word teaches that as a believer that I am to first of all bring honor and glory to Him, and there are far too many times when I am not willingly do this, for I do things that make me happy, not considering what they do to my heavenly Father.  The flesh is, or old nature, only wants to do what is contrary to the Word and will of God, so I must continually battle it by the power of God’s Spirit and His Word so that whatever I do may be done to the honor and glory of God, my Father. 

As I am going through this time of discipline from the Lord it is necessary for me to truly find out what He wants me to learn so that by His grace I will not have to take a repeat course on this subject, and most of all so that I will have greater reverence for the Lord and a deeper desire to do His will regardless of my circumstance or consequences to me.

 

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

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To continue to seek from God exactly what he wants me to learn from the situation that I am in right now, and to believe that God will work out, even these things, for my good and for His glory.

An Example of Discipline (Heb. 12:7-8)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 07-04-03

 

My Worship Time                                                           Focus:  An example of discipline

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 12:7- 8

 

            Message of the verses:  “7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.”  (NASB)  “As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children.  Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined?  If God doesn’t’ discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children after all.”  (NLT)

            The writer now moves on to personal experiences of being disciplined, and takes that from the father, as he would discipline one of his sons.  I have heard it said that we never have to teach our children to do wrong, but we certainly have to correct their wrong doing, and the reason that is because we love them.  Sometimes it not only hurts the child to do this but it also hurts the father, but this is what they call tough love.  We as parents probably would on many occasions want to discipline one of the neighbor’s children but because they are not ours we do not do so.  Our heavenly Father only will discipline His own children, and the reason behind this is His great love for His own children.  He loves us too much to leaves us go in the direction that we are going.  One of the interesting words in this passage is found in verse 8 and it is the word translated in the NASB, “illegitimate,” which is only used one time in the Bible, and is translated “bastard” in the KJV.  Dr. MacArthur says that this could be a reference to Hagar and Ishmael, both Hagar and her son Ishmael did not spiritually belong to Abraham.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is just like God to have me study a passage in His Word that certainly applies to the situation that I am in at this time, and it surely could be said that I am being disciplined by the Lord at this time of my life because of the investments I am involved in.  I will quote a portion from a verse note from the “Life Application Bible” that comes from verses 5-11 in Hebrews 12:  “Who loves his child more—the father who allows the child to do what will harm him, or the one who corrects, trains, and even punishes the child to help him learn what is right?  It’s never pleasant to be corrected and disciplined by God, but his discipline is a sign of his deep love for us.  When God corrects you, se it as proof of his love, and ask him what he is trying to teach you.”

 

The Word of God was challenging to me as well as convicting to my heart as I studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I certainly want to believe the truth of this section of Hebrews and I certainly want to learn what it is that God wants me to learn for my investment discipline so that I do not have to take the course over again.

The Discipline of the Lord (Heb. 12:5-6)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 07-03-06

 

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  The Discipline of the Lord

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 12:5-6

 

            Message of the verse:  “5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.’”  (NKJV)  “And have you entirely forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, his children?  He said, ‘My child, don’t ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when he corrects you.  For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children.’”

            This is the beginning of a new section in the outline given by Warren Wiersbe in his book on Hebrews, “Be Confident.”  He entitles this section “The assurance of the love of God,” and it goes from 12:5-12:13.  There are three sub-sections in this main section and the first one is verses five and six where he says that the love of God is confirmed by the Scriptures, for in this sub-section the writer quotes from the book of Proverbs chapter three and verses eleven and twelve.  It is interesting that this is said to be and exhortation, which means an encouragement and that may seem strange considering the subject that he is about to get into, the subject of discipline and punishment, or scourging.   What the writer is saying in these two verses is that if you belong to the Lord there is going to be a time when the Lord will use some tough love to move you into the right direction, the direction that He wants you to be going.  The writer says that we are not to despise this chastening of the Lord and we are not to be discouraged by it either, for whom the Lord loves he disciplines.  He even scourges those who are his own, and Dr. Wiersbe says that this could be seen as physical illnesses. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I would have to say that the problem that I am going through with my investments could be seen as a discipline from the Lord, a way that the Lord is refining me more into the image of His Son.  I can say that in many ways that I do not like it, however I do realize that this is proof that I do belong to the Lord, and that the Lord loves me too much to have me remain as I was.  My prayer through all of this is that I would learn and put into practice the things that the Lord is teaching me, and that if it is in His will for my life that I would recover my investment in a timely matter, the Lords timing.

     

 The Word of God was certainly challenging to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord, that He will be true to His Word, and that I would also be true to His Word, as I go through this discipline concerning my investments.

Not Yet Dying for the Cause of Christ (Heb. 12:4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 07-02-03

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Not yet dying for the cause of Christ

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                          Reference:  Hebrews 12:4

 

            Message of the verse:  “You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.”  (NKJV)  “After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.”  (NLT)

            It seems to me that the writer is giving his readers a contrast of what they were going through with that of what Christ had already gone through for them.  Now as he finishes this contrast he concludes that they had not given up their lives in their struggle against sin.  They may be called upon to do this at some point in the future, and if they are they have the best example to follow, that being Jesus Christ.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think it is good to remember the song that starts out “this earth is not my home I am just a passing through” in light of this verse I am looking at this morning.  As a believer in Jesus Christ I am to be obedient to what He has called me to do while on this earth for it is only my training ground for my real life beyond the blue.  If at some point in the future the Lord would call me to lay down my life for the cause of Christ I would pray that I would be faithful and trust the Lord to give me the strength to do that very thing.

 

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

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To believe the Word of God and to trust the God of the Word in spite of my circumstances or consequences.

Consider Jesus (Heb. 12:3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-30-03

 

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  Consider Jesus

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                         Reference:  Hebrews 12:3

 

            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 had 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.

 

            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, as 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.

Looking to Jesus (Heb. 12b)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-27-03

 

 

                                                                                                                       

My Worship Time                                                                       Focus:  Looking to Jesus

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 12:2b

 

            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)  “2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne (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 one 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.  “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him (Col. 2:6).”  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.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This passage makes me think of Peter when he was walking 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, and 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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

            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 with 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 he 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 what 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.

 

            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.

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

 

            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 blessed my heart, and spoken to my heart through this chapter, and I am thankful.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today: I must say that God has taught me more about faith than I have ever learned in my entire 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.

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

 

            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.” 

            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 they’re 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 “they 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 an earlier SD, and 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 and including in 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.

 

            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.