The next picture we see is that of Isaac.Isaac was the son that God promised to Abraham & Sara. He had witnessed his Father's faith when his Father was asked to sacrifice him to God. He also had seen the salvation of the Lord when a ram was provided instead.
He grew up walking beside his Father learning of God's promise for a promised land. But he didn't just see it as a promise to his Father only, but had faith in that promise himself. He spoke of that promise when he blessed his two sons, Jacob & Esau (Heb. 11:20/Gen. 27:1-40). And he died believing in that promise& passed that promise to his son, Jacob ( Heb. 11: 9-10,13).
That is why, he is in the great hall of of faith.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Sara~ her faith gave her strength to follow her husband into a new land & become the Mother of God's people
Sara
Sara's picture stands next to her husband, Abraham's picture for a reason. Why? They both walked that path of faith. How? They both set out on a journey away from their home and all the comforts it gave them, and lived in tents. This may not seem like much to most of us, but let us remember that they were not young when God called them to do this. In fact, they were probably old enough to be having someone take care of them. Many a woman would not follow her husband into such a journey, but Sara did. That my friend takes faith.
Another area that Sara showed her faith was when she became pregnant with Isaac(Heb. 11:11). I heard ladies say that the older they got the harder it was to carry a baby and give birth. And we don't have to remind ourselves that Sara was old.
I have a little understanding ad to the faith it takes to get through a hard pregnancy. I almost died carrying my son. His Father thought that if I lived long enough to give him birth, that I would die soon afterwards. But I had prayed for this child and I fought to stay alive, give birth and raise him. But I also believe that I would not had fought so hard, if I had not had the faith that God would help me do it. I believe that Sara had that kind of faith too. That is why she is in the great hall of faith!
Sara's picture stands next to her husband, Abraham's picture for a reason. Why? They both walked that path of faith. How? They both set out on a journey away from their home and all the comforts it gave them, and lived in tents. This may not seem like much to most of us, but let us remember that they were not young when God called them to do this. In fact, they were probably old enough to be having someone take care of them. Many a woman would not follow her husband into such a journey, but Sara did. That my friend takes faith.
Another area that Sara showed her faith was when she became pregnant with Isaac(Heb. 11:11). I heard ladies say that the older they got the harder it was to carry a baby and give birth. And we don't have to remind ourselves that Sara was old.
I have a little understanding ad to the faith it takes to get through a hard pregnancy. I almost died carrying my son. His Father thought that if I lived long enough to give him birth, that I would die soon afterwards. But I had prayed for this child and I fought to stay alive, give birth and raise him. But I also believe that I would not had fought so hard, if I had not had the faith that God would help me do it. I believe that Sara had that kind of faith too. That is why she is in the great hall of faith!
Abraham~ whose faith made him the Father of God people
Abraham
Let us go to the next picture hanging in the great hall of faith. This one is that of Abraham. Now Abraham was a giant in faith, indeed. Let me explain.
God went to Abraham and told him to leave his home where he had grown up and travel to a land he didn't know anything about. You see, God didn't give him the details, like it is in such and such place, or it has lots of good grazing land. No, God just told him to go where I lead you, and as an act of obedience he went. (Gen. 12:1-13; Heb. 11:8-10). This is not easy and can't be taken without a leap of faith. I know, because my husband & I moved to Ohio in obedience to God. You kind of feel as though you are throwing yourself off of as cliff, praying the whole time that God is going to catch you as you free fall. But as with Abraham and Sara, we found that god is faithful to take care of us when we obey him.
Because Abraham honored God by obeying him. God in turn honored Abraham by making a covenant with him, promising him land and heirs when he was 75 years old (Gen. 15). When Abraham was 99 years old, God came back and reminded him of that promise (Gen. 17:1-18:14). And then fulfilled that promise (Gen. 21:3).
But you can really see the relationship between God and Abraham in Chapter 18 of Genesis when God chooses to share his heart with Abraham. Let us look at that. After God had come back to remind Abraham of his promise of an heir through his wife Sara. God got up to head out towards Sodom to destroy it. But because he honored Abraham, God told him what he was about to go do. Abraham's nephew, Lot's family lived there. So Abraham asked God to spare the city. But God said, "no", for it was evil. So Abraham negotiated with God until he got God to say that if he found ten righteous men there, he would not destroy the city. I believe that he stopped with that number because there were that many people in Lot's family. But a last, there were not ten righteous people found in Sodom, so God went to the city and got Lot, his wife, and 2 of their daughters out before he destroyed it.
Years after Isaac was born, God tested Abraham to see if he still had faith in Him. Let us look at that. God went to Abraham and asked him to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac to him(Gen. 22:1-11). Abraham was again obedient to God, believing that God would come through for him (Gen. 22:8). And when God saw that he still had faith in him, he spared Isaac & provided a lamb for Abraham to use instead (Gen. 22:13).
Abraham died not seeing the total fulfillment of God's promise of a homeland, as did Isaac & Jacob. Yet, they lived that promise everyday of their lives (Heb. 11:12-21). They passed on that hope to their sons before dying, and even Joseph spoke of that land before he died. We could learn a lot from these men, as we too, travel this earth waiting for a city not made by human hands(heaven). We too are just travelers passing through this earth.
Let us go to the next picture hanging in the great hall of faith. This one is that of Abraham. Now Abraham was a giant in faith, indeed. Let me explain.
God went to Abraham and told him to leave his home where he had grown up and travel to a land he didn't know anything about. You see, God didn't give him the details, like it is in such and such place, or it has lots of good grazing land. No, God just told him to go where I lead you, and as an act of obedience he went. (Gen. 12:1-13; Heb. 11:8-10). This is not easy and can't be taken without a leap of faith. I know, because my husband & I moved to Ohio in obedience to God. You kind of feel as though you are throwing yourself off of as cliff, praying the whole time that God is going to catch you as you free fall. But as with Abraham and Sara, we found that god is faithful to take care of us when we obey him.
Because Abraham honored God by obeying him. God in turn honored Abraham by making a covenant with him, promising him land and heirs when he was 75 years old (Gen. 15). When Abraham was 99 years old, God came back and reminded him of that promise (Gen. 17:1-18:14). And then fulfilled that promise (Gen. 21:3).
But you can really see the relationship between God and Abraham in Chapter 18 of Genesis when God chooses to share his heart with Abraham. Let us look at that. After God had come back to remind Abraham of his promise of an heir through his wife Sara. God got up to head out towards Sodom to destroy it. But because he honored Abraham, God told him what he was about to go do. Abraham's nephew, Lot's family lived there. So Abraham asked God to spare the city. But God said, "no", for it was evil. So Abraham negotiated with God until he got God to say that if he found ten righteous men there, he would not destroy the city. I believe that he stopped with that number because there were that many people in Lot's family. But a last, there were not ten righteous people found in Sodom, so God went to the city and got Lot, his wife, and 2 of their daughters out before he destroyed it.
Years after Isaac was born, God tested Abraham to see if he still had faith in Him. Let us look at that. God went to Abraham and asked him to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac to him(Gen. 22:1-11). Abraham was again obedient to God, believing that God would come through for him (Gen. 22:8). And when God saw that he still had faith in him, he spared Isaac & provided a lamb for Abraham to use instead (Gen. 22:13).
Abraham died not seeing the total fulfillment of God's promise of a homeland, as did Isaac & Jacob. Yet, they lived that promise everyday of their lives (Heb. 11:12-21). They passed on that hope to their sons before dying, and even Joseph spoke of that land before he died. We could learn a lot from these men, as we too, travel this earth waiting for a city not made by human hands(heaven). We too are just travelers passing through this earth.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Noah- the man who saved animal & mankind
Let us move on to the next picture on the wall. It is the picture of Noah. Let us take a closer look at Noah to see why he is in this great hall of faith, shall we?
Noah was blessed to come from a godly family. For his Great-grand father was Enoch, Grandfather was Methuslah and hid Father was Lamech. When Noah was born his Father prophesied over him by saying, "From the very ground om which the Lord put a curse, this child will bring relief from all our hard work" (Gen. 5:28-29 Today's English Version). These words were so true. Let us look at his life story to see why.
The Lord became upset with how wicked the people on earth was , so He decided to destroy them, but the Lord was pleased with Noah (Gen. 6:1-8). Noah had no faults & was the only good man of his time. He lived in fellowship with God (Gen. 6:9-10 Today's English Version). So God shared his heart with Noah & gave him instructions & blueprints in which to build the ark, and fill it with supplies for the animals, birds, and bugs. Then God told him to get into the boat seven days before the flood....AND NOAH OBEYED all that God had instructed him to do (Gen. 6:13-7:5).It is believed that he took 100 years to build it (Gen. 5:32,
7:13). That shows just how faithful he was to God and what God had asked of him.
It rained 40 days and nights, but that is not the only way God flooded the earth, check out Gen. 7:11-12. But Noah and his family were in the boat for one year (Gen. 7:11; 8:13-18). Can you imagine being on a boat for a whole year and not knowing when you would get off of it? Now that would take faith.
When the world finally became dry and they could get off of the boat, Noah built an altar and worshiped and thanked God. This pleased God so much that he made a covenant with Noah, his family, their descendants, all living things & their descendants. This is the first covenant recorded in the Bible (Gen. 8:20-9:17). We are reminded of that covenant every time we see a rainbow in the sky.
We could learn a lot from Noah, such as obeying God's instructions when he asks something of us... sticking to the task God gives us no matter how long it takes to do it... even when the task doesn't make sense at the time or place in which you are doing it...and remaining faithful to the task when you can not see its fruits.
What saw Noah through all these days of labor and waiting? His faith in God is what lead him to obey God & that obedience pleased God greatly & is why he is in the great hall of faith (Heb. 11:7).
Noah was blessed to come from a godly family. For his Great-grand father was Enoch, Grandfather was Methuslah and hid Father was Lamech. When Noah was born his Father prophesied over him by saying, "From the very ground om which the Lord put a curse, this child will bring relief from all our hard work" (Gen. 5:28-29 Today's English Version). These words were so true. Let us look at his life story to see why.
The Lord became upset with how wicked the people on earth was , so He decided to destroy them, but the Lord was pleased with Noah (Gen. 6:1-8). Noah had no faults & was the only good man of his time. He lived in fellowship with God (Gen. 6:9-10 Today's English Version). So God shared his heart with Noah & gave him instructions & blueprints in which to build the ark, and fill it with supplies for the animals, birds, and bugs. Then God told him to get into the boat seven days before the flood....AND NOAH OBEYED all that God had instructed him to do (Gen. 6:13-7:5).It is believed that he took 100 years to build it (Gen. 5:32,
7:13). That shows just how faithful he was to God and what God had asked of him.
It rained 40 days and nights, but that is not the only way God flooded the earth, check out Gen. 7:11-12. But Noah and his family were in the boat for one year (Gen. 7:11; 8:13-18). Can you imagine being on a boat for a whole year and not knowing when you would get off of it? Now that would take faith.
When the world finally became dry and they could get off of the boat, Noah built an altar and worshiped and thanked God. This pleased God so much that he made a covenant with Noah, his family, their descendants, all living things & their descendants. This is the first covenant recorded in the Bible (Gen. 8:20-9:17). We are reminded of that covenant every time we see a rainbow in the sky.
We could learn a lot from Noah, such as obeying God's instructions when he asks something of us... sticking to the task God gives us no matter how long it takes to do it... even when the task doesn't make sense at the time or place in which you are doing it...and remaining faithful to the task when you can not see its fruits.
What saw Noah through all these days of labor and waiting? His faith in God is what lead him to obey God & that obedience pleased God greatly & is why he is in the great hall of faith (Heb. 11:7).
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