Today we’re going to take a look at the the beginning of Hebrews 11:
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Most people when they hear faith detach it from anything grounded in reality. In fact, even some Christians I know separate their faith from from fact. Think of the song from the show Oklahoma “O what a beautiful morning, O what a beautiful day, I’ve got a wonderful FEELING, everything’s going my way.” What is that feeling based in? Not in reality or facts! Yet for many of us, we can use those two words interchangeably. But the author of Hebrews is here reminding us that faith is true, and assured. We know from 1 Peter that we were born into a living hope (1 Peter 1:3), and thus our faith is grounded in the reality of the empty tomb. Now it’s true, we didn’t see it, and it’s also true that we won’t see the complete ramifications of that until Jesus’ glorious return, but we also have evidence to back up our faith.
It’s also true that we’re not the first generation of God followers to need faith, as the next verse reminds us everyone at every time in human history has either been commended or condemned for their faith. Which leads us even further back in history to the very FIRST thing, the creation of the world! It is faith that reminds us and gives us the encouragement we need to trust that God is in complete control of everything we see. All of the created order bows its knee to him. Now, we don’t currently see that reality (see Romans 8:20-22), but we know that someday our faith will become sight. So my encouragement for you today is to take some time to think about your faith. Thankfully it’s not dependent on you, as Hebrews will go on to remind us, our faith is as assured as long as Jesus is on his throne (spoiler alert, that’s forever), so we can trust that He is continuing to work all things out. Trust in Him!
SONG:
Today’s song picks up that very theme of the need to cling to Jesus, it’s an older song by a guy named Rich Mullins that you should go check out, it’s called ‘Hold Me Jesus’ and you can listen on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY.
Don’t forget, I’ve got all the songs together in a playlist HERE.
FREE STUFF:
One of my favorite ways to listen to the Bible has been through a new app I found last year called Dwell. They have different translations, different readers, with different options for background music to listen to too. You can also do plans, listen to a verse repeatedly to help you memorize it, or do themed plans. They are giving away 60 free days to anyone interested, and I’ve signed up our church HERE. If you like it, I’d encourage you to get subscribe to them to help them continue releasing new content, and if you don’t like it, then it was free 🙂 Let me know what you think of it!
Pastor Mike's Musings 