The next picture we see in this hallway is that of Enoch. To understand where in God's history Enoch falls, let us look at whom came before him, shall we? Here is a list of some of some of his relatives that we may know: God, Adam, Seth...Cainan...Jared, then Enoch. Enoch was 7th one from Adam. I find this interesting. Let us look at this great man of faith to see how his faith lead him to walk a holy life.
Enoch witnessed for God. As a prophet he spoke of how God would judge the ungodly(Jude 14). Some believe that he was speaking of the flood that would come later.
Enoch "walked with God" (Heb. 11:5-6). He must have been a holy man to have a holy God walk with him. The Bible tells us that he walked with God, 300 years after he had Methuselah (Gen. 5:21, 24).
Enoch pleased God (Heb. ll:5). Remember without faith we cannot please God (Heb.11:6). So Enoch had to have faith in who God was & acted upon that faith.
Enoch was such a good example of being an obedient servant of the Lord, that his son, Methuselah, and other generations behind him followed closely to God also (Gen. 5:18-32). In fact, God choose to bring his son, Jesus into the world through Enoch's blood line (Luke 3:23-38). You could say that those who came behind Enoch found him to be faithful to the God he had faith it.
He is one of two people the Bible says did not die. Enoch & Elijah (2 Kings 2:1-11). The Bible said that Enoch simply "was no more" (Gen. 5:24) . I believe that God felt so close to him, that when he just took him home to be with him.
We would do good by following Enoch's example as a great man of faith, as we strive to walk with God. If we do, we too can be in God's great hall of faith.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Into the hall of the heroes of faith / Abel
Up to now, we have learned what faith is & that faith without action is dead. The Bible says that those in this hall received a good report from God.We all want that when we stand in front of Jesus, after we have served Him in this life and hear, "Well done my good and faithful servant", don't we? To learn how they did that, let us step into that great hall of faith that bear pictures of its heroes, & see what we can learn from each one, shall we?
When we first step into the hall we will see that it is a very long hall lined with many pictures from the beginning of time until today. Let us stop a moment and take in the vast length of this hall. It's a little overwhelming , huh? And as we look at each person and what they went through, it may seem even more so. But don't let it be so. Instead, let it encourage you as you realize that many,many has" walked by faith and not by sight"(2 Cor. 5:7), before you.
Ok, now it is time to start looking at these seemingly, giants of faith. The first picture is a picture of Abel.
Abel was Adam and Eve's second son (Gen. 4:2). Cain was his older brother (Gen. 4:1). When these two sons of Adam and Eve grew up they both brought sacrifices to God. Cain brought the first fruits of his harvest to God, while Abel brought his best lamb to God. God was pleased with Abel's sacrifice and not Cain's. Why? Because God had taught them to sacrifice the blood of an animal to cover their sins. When?
I believe that God did the first sacrifice of blood when he killed an animal and used it's hide to cover their naked bodies (Gen. 4:21). Their sin was disobeying God's one rule (Gen. 3:1-11). I also believe that he taught them how he wanted them to make blood sacrifices to cover their sins.
Why? Because of what God says to Cain when Cain had given a sacrifice of vegetables, grain, or fruit. God was speaking of him as a loving Father would speak to a son who broke the rule In other words, Cain disobeyed God. While Abel had obeyed God.
Why is that important? Obedience to God showed that Abel honored Him. And Because Abel honored God, God declared him righteous (Heb. 11:4). His faith lead him to obey God & that is why he is in the great hall of faith.
When we first step into the hall we will see that it is a very long hall lined with many pictures from the beginning of time until today. Let us stop a moment and take in the vast length of this hall. It's a little overwhelming , huh? And as we look at each person and what they went through, it may seem even more so. But don't let it be so. Instead, let it encourage you as you realize that many,many has" walked by faith and not by sight"(2 Cor. 5:7), before you.
Ok, now it is time to start looking at these seemingly, giants of faith. The first picture is a picture of Abel.
Abel was Adam and Eve's second son (Gen. 4:2). Cain was his older brother (Gen. 4:1). When these two sons of Adam and Eve grew up they both brought sacrifices to God. Cain brought the first fruits of his harvest to God, while Abel brought his best lamb to God. God was pleased with Abel's sacrifice and not Cain's. Why? Because God had taught them to sacrifice the blood of an animal to cover their sins. When?
I believe that God did the first sacrifice of blood when he killed an animal and used it's hide to cover their naked bodies (Gen. 4:21). Their sin was disobeying God's one rule (Gen. 3:1-11). I also believe that he taught them how he wanted them to make blood sacrifices to cover their sins.
Why? Because of what God says to Cain when Cain had given a sacrifice of vegetables, grain, or fruit. God was speaking of him as a loving Father would speak to a son who broke the rule In other words, Cain disobeyed God. While Abel had obeyed God.
Why is that important? Obedience to God showed that Abel honored Him. And Because Abel honored God, God declared him righteous (Heb. 11:4). His faith lead him to obey God & that is why he is in the great hall of faith.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Faith is more than Just believing
Ok, so now we know what faith is, but faith has to be more than just believing in God. James addresses this when he says, "You believe that God is one, you do well. Even the demons believe - and shudder" (James 2:19). James tells us just above us why that is not enough. Let us look at that.
"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, If you say that you have faith, but do not have works? Can faith save you" (James 2:14 NRSV)? than answer to this is no. Faith a lone can not save you. You have to ask for forgiveness & accepted Jesus to be saved. That required you to do something.
James goes on to say, "But some will say, 'You have faith & I have works'. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith" (James 2:18 NRSV). James give an example of what he is talking about. "if a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you say to them, 'Go in peace; keep warmed and eat your fill,' and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that" (James 2:14-16). It goes on to say, "So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (James 2:17).
You see, if you have a faith that is a live it will change your thought pattern, & your actions. Those around you will see the change & wonder at it. Paul speaks of this when he says, " they will see your works & glorify your Father in heaven" ( Mat. 5:15-16). We are not saved just for ourselves, but for those around us who also needs God in their lives.
Now, let us go into the great hall of faith and look at each hero of faith's picture and see how this type of living faith moved them into acting out their faith & in doing so, helped others for the kingdom of God, shall we?
"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, If you say that you have faith, but do not have works? Can faith save you" (James 2:14 NRSV)? than answer to this is no. Faith a lone can not save you. You have to ask for forgiveness & accepted Jesus to be saved. That required you to do something.
James goes on to say, "But some will say, 'You have faith & I have works'. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith" (James 2:18 NRSV). James give an example of what he is talking about. "if a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you say to them, 'Go in peace; keep warmed and eat your fill,' and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that" (James 2:14-16). It goes on to say, "So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (James 2:17).
You see, if you have a faith that is a live it will change your thought pattern, & your actions. Those around you will see the change & wonder at it. Paul speaks of this when he says, " they will see your works & glorify your Father in heaven" ( Mat. 5:15-16). We are not saved just for ourselves, but for those around us who also needs God in their lives.
Now, let us go into the great hall of faith and look at each hero of faith's picture and see how this type of living faith moved them into acting out their faith & in doing so, helped others for the kingdom of God, shall we?
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Faith, what is it?
First we need to understand what faith is, before we look at those in the great hall of faith. So what is faith, really? According to Hebrew 11:1, "...Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Let us look at that statement closer to better understand it. I wanted to really understand what each main word in this statement meant to make sure I understood what it meant to those who was reading it in the original language. So, I looked them up in the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.
This is what I found out.
Faith means to have a conviction of religious truth or to have a strong assurance, belief , confidence, or trust in something. Substance means to have an abstract assurance or concrete essence of something to stand on. And Evidence means proof or conviction. So with that in mind, I would say that faith is to have a strong belief in things that we can not see with our physical eyes, yet have a strong conviction of the proof seen with our spiritual eyes.
Then Paul goes on to give an example of that in Hebrews 11:3, "Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." In other words, when God spoke and made the worlds, he took something from the spiritual world & made our physical worlds.
You see, we often have things backwards in our lives. We often let our minds tell our bodies & then souls what to do, or we let our physical bodies' feelings tell our mind & soul how to act. Instead, we should have our souls dictate to our minds how things should be, and then our bodies will follow. When we do this, we will be walking in faith.
This is what I found out.
Faith means to have a conviction of religious truth or to have a strong assurance, belief , confidence, or trust in something. Substance means to have an abstract assurance or concrete essence of something to stand on. And Evidence means proof or conviction. So with that in mind, I would say that faith is to have a strong belief in things that we can not see with our physical eyes, yet have a strong conviction of the proof seen with our spiritual eyes.
Then Paul goes on to give an example of that in Hebrews 11:3, "Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." In other words, when God spoke and made the worlds, he took something from the spiritual world & made our physical worlds.
You see, we often have things backwards in our lives. We often let our minds tell our bodies & then souls what to do, or we let our physical bodies' feelings tell our mind & soul how to act. Instead, we should have our souls dictate to our minds how things should be, and then our bodies will follow. When we do this, we will be walking in faith.
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