Daily Scripture: Hebrews 11:1 Trusting[Hebrews 11:1 Habakkuk 2:4] is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see. 2 It was for this that Scripture attested the merit of the people of old.
3 By trusting, we understand that the universe was created through a spoken word of God, so that what is seen did not come into being out of existing phenomena.
6:1 And without trusting, it is impossible to be well pleasing to God, because whoever approaches him must trust that he does exist and that he becomes a Rewarder to those who seek him out.
Reflection Questions:
Hebrews 11:1 said, “Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see.” This is challenging, especially if hard experiences have left us wary of trusting anyone or anything. Yet belief isn’t limited to the realm of religion. Cosmologists and physicists wrestle with ideas like “dark energy” or “dark matter” —unseen, largely unexplained forces that even so leave clear signs of their existence. Religious belief, too, deals with unseen forces like divine love, grace, and dependability, forces that also leave the marks of their existence in our lives.
- No one alive today knew Abraham Lincoln, William Shakespeare or Socrates—yet we believe the testimony of those who did. Can you “prove” to another person the beauty of a beautiful sight, or the reality of love in a relationship? Scholar Leon Morris noted, “There are realities for which we have no material evidence, though they are not less real for that. Faith enables us to know that they exist.” What are one or two intangible realities that enrich your life? Are you willing to be open to the unseen reality of God?
- Oxford scholar Alister McGrath wrote, “Coming to faith doesn’t mean merely having a new idea. It means recognizing in our minds who God is and what he is like, and responding to him in our hearts.” What experiences or people have helped your faith in God move beyond assent to trust, commitment and obedience?
Lord God, you gave me a mind that questions and seeks answers. You gave me a heart that can marvel at things bigger than my analytical powers. Help me exercise both my intelligence and my capacity for marvel when I say, “I believe.” Amen.
Insights from Donna Karlen
Donna Karlen serves in Communications at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
Yesterday I saw all the proof I need to believe that God created the universe. I went to the zoo! While viewing the lions and tigers and bears (oh my! those polar bears are so cool), I couldn’t help but smile just imagining God’s delight in creating all these beasts of the field, birds of the air and fishes of the sea.
Let’s say he created a horse or two first – beautiful animals, right? But then God thought, “Hmm – let’s put some stripes on the next one” and poof – a zebra! Or say God first made a giraffe with a regular ol’ neck and then decided to give it just a iittle stretch to create one of my favorite animals. And God just kept going: let’s put a pouch on a giant mouse, make a funny bird that can’t fly but swims like a fish, put some spots on a big kitty, add a beautiful tail here, a trunk there … It had to have been a really good time for God, Creator of Heaven and Earth! No wonder God rested after all that.
I don’t know if God took six days or six millennia to create his own personal zoo and planet Earth; I’m just thankful he did – and faithful in believing it’s truth.
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Yesterday I saw all the proof I need to believe that God created the universe. I went to the zoo! While viewing the lions and tigers and bears (oh my! those polar bears are so cool), I couldn’t help but smile just imagining God’s delight in creating all these beasts of the field, birds of the air and fishes of the sea.
Let’s say he created a horse or two first – beautiful animals, right? But then God thought, “Hmm – let’s put some stripes on the next one” and poof – a zebra! Or say God first made a giraffe with a regular ol’ neck and then decided to give it just a iittle stretch to create one of my favorite animals. And God just kept going: let’s put a pouch on a giant mouse, make a funny bird that can’t fly but swims like a fish, put some spots on a big kitty, add a beautiful tail here, a trunk there … It had to have been a really good time for God, Creator of Heaven and Earth! No wonder God rested after all that.
I don’t know if God took six days or six millennia to create his own personal zoo and planet Earth; I’m just thankful he did – and faithful in believing it’s truth.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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