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Week of October 23, 2016
Living Between the Commas
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Scripture Readings:
(6) “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (27) By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:6, 27 NKJV http://bible.com/114/heb.11.6,27.nkjv “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 NKJV http://bible.com/114/heb.11.1.nkjv |
“Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:2-3 NKJV http://bible.com/114/mat.18.2-3.nkjv Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”” John 20:29 NKJV http://bible.com/114/jhn.20.29.nkjv |
Devotional:
When somebody does something for us we become loyal to their cause. When somebody gives or purchases something for us we will love them for days. We are a results-driven people. But is this really how we regard God? Do we believe and have faith in God because of what He does for us?
Our faith is what pleases God. However, we must consider the sources of our faith. So often we refer to what God has done - and we are grateful for each and every deliverance and miracle, every mountain we’ve been carried over, and every hedge of protection. But these things are about what God does for us, not about who He is.
Faith is “...based on the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is about what we don’t see - what doesn’t necessarily happen in our physical sight. This being the case, faith should be based on who God is - the substance. Allow these words to soak in - Just who God is. God is Love and He loves us unconditionally.
Hebrews 11:6 states, “... for he who comes to God must believe He is, ….” We often miss this subtly between the commas. This faith walk is about who God is, not what he does for us. True, God is victorious in all things. But when the victory doesn’t happen as we expected - we question and even doubt - because we’ve tied our faith to a result.
Hebrews 11:27 reads, “...,, for he (Moses) endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.” After the comma, we see that Moses endured. The New Living Translation (NLT) says, “... He kept right on going….” The New International Version (NIV) says, “... he persevered….” We won’t always be able to see our calling, nor will we always understand immediately what we are directed by God to do. And - truth is - we get anxious. But we are anxious because we are trying to see the outcome; we are trying to physically see God in the mix. I have such an admiration for a blind person. His belief that there is more ahead of him is bigger than the fact that it can’t be seen before he moves. This is how we must build our faith - on the assurance that God goes before us and is with us whether we can see the results or not.
As I continue to work on my faith journey, I am drawn to Matthew 18: 2-3, which says unless we “, ... become as little children, (we) . . . will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Little children have much trust and faith in their parents. Always believing in the joy of their parents presence. We must remove the strain of adulthood hurts and responsibilities and reclaim our childlike joy of unconditional love and faith that comes with just being in the presence of the Lord.
We should each begin to live between the commas. Loving God for who He is (Hebrew 11:6). Serving God, evidence unseen (Hebrews 11:27). Seeing God with the humility of a child (Matthew 18:3). We are reminded in John 20:29 which states, “Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””
Be blessed and believe.
When somebody does something for us we become loyal to their cause. When somebody gives or purchases something for us we will love them for days. We are a results-driven people. But is this really how we regard God? Do we believe and have faith in God because of what He does for us?
Our faith is what pleases God. However, we must consider the sources of our faith. So often we refer to what God has done - and we are grateful for each and every deliverance and miracle, every mountain we’ve been carried over, and every hedge of protection. But these things are about what God does for us, not about who He is.
Faith is “...based on the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is about what we don’t see - what doesn’t necessarily happen in our physical sight. This being the case, faith should be based on who God is - the substance. Allow these words to soak in - Just who God is. God is Love and He loves us unconditionally.
Hebrews 11:6 states, “... for he who comes to God must believe He is, ….” We often miss this subtly between the commas. This faith walk is about who God is, not what he does for us. True, God is victorious in all things. But when the victory doesn’t happen as we expected - we question and even doubt - because we’ve tied our faith to a result.
Hebrews 11:27 reads, “...,, for he (Moses) endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.” After the comma, we see that Moses endured. The New Living Translation (NLT) says, “... He kept right on going….” The New International Version (NIV) says, “... he persevered….” We won’t always be able to see our calling, nor will we always understand immediately what we are directed by God to do. And - truth is - we get anxious. But we are anxious because we are trying to see the outcome; we are trying to physically see God in the mix. I have such an admiration for a blind person. His belief that there is more ahead of him is bigger than the fact that it can’t be seen before he moves. This is how we must build our faith - on the assurance that God goes before us and is with us whether we can see the results or not.
As I continue to work on my faith journey, I am drawn to Matthew 18: 2-3, which says unless we “, ... become as little children, (we) . . . will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Little children have much trust and faith in their parents. Always believing in the joy of their parents presence. We must remove the strain of adulthood hurts and responsibilities and reclaim our childlike joy of unconditional love and faith that comes with just being in the presence of the Lord.
We should each begin to live between the commas. Loving God for who He is (Hebrew 11:6). Serving God, evidence unseen (Hebrews 11:27). Seeing God with the humility of a child (Matthew 18:3). We are reminded in John 20:29 which states, “Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””
Be blessed and believe.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for all things. We come to you today, seeking to strengthen our faith walk with you. We love you, Lord, and stretch our hands to you - evidence unseen. For these and many other blessings we pray, in Jesus’ name; Amen.
Heavenly Father, thank you for all things. We come to you today, seeking to strengthen our faith walk with you. We love you, Lord, and stretch our hands to you - evidence unseen. For these and many other blessings we pray, in Jesus’ name; Amen.
by Vernet Clemons Nettles
2016
2016