The Upper Room Daily Devotional of The United Methodist Church of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Living by Faith" for Monday, 2 October 2017 - Read Hebrews 11:1-16

The Upper Room Daily Devotional of The United Methodist Church of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Living by Faith" for Monday, 2 October 2017 - Read Hebrews 11:1-16
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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.
4 By trusting, Hevel offered a greater sacrifice than Kayin; because of this, he was attested as righteous, with God giving him this testimony on the ground of his gifts. Through having trusted, he still continues to speak, even though he is dead.
5 By trusting, Hanokh was taken away from this life without seeing death — “He was not to be found, because God took him away” — for he has been attested as having been, prior to being taken away, well pleasing to God.[Hebrews 11:5 Genesis 5:24] 6 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.
7 By trusting, Noach, after receiving divine warning about things as yet unseen, was filled with holy fear and built an ark to save his household. Through this trusting, he put the world under condemnation and received the righteousness that comes from trusting.
8 By trusting, Avraham obeyed, after being called to go out[Hebrews 11:8 Genesis 12:1] to a place which God would give him as a possession; indeed, he went out without knowing where he was going. 9 By trusting, he lived as a temporary resident in the Land of the promise, as if it were not his, staying in tents with Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, who were to receive what was promised along with him. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with permanent foundations, of which the architect and builder is God.
11 By trusting, he received potency to father a child, even when he was past the age for it, as was Sarah herself; because he regarded the One who had made the promise as trustworthy. 12 Therefore this one man, who was virtually dead, fathered descendants
as numerous as the stars in the sky,
and as countless as the grains of the sand on the seashore.[Hebrews 11:12 Genesis 15:5–6; 22:17; 32:13(12); Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 1:10; 10:22]
13 All these people kept on trusting until they died, without receiving what had been promised. They had only seen it and welcomed it from a distance, while acknowledging that they were aliens and temporary residents on the earth.[Hebrews 11:13 1 Chronicles 29:15] 14 For people who speak this way make it clear that they are looking for a fatherland. 15 Now if they were to keep recalling the one they left, they would have an opportunity to return; 16 but as it is, they aspire to a better fatherland, a heavenly one. This is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
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Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))
Recently, I used the guidance system in my car to travel to an unfamiliar location. As I drove through morning traffic, I wondered, What if I get there, and it’s not the right place? Should I have consulted a map? My only assurance was that the guidance system had successfully directed me to other places in the past.
I thought of a difficult family situation about which I had been praying. I had been tempted to quit praying about it until I realized that the promises of scripture were like my guidance system. God would guide me to a place where God’s promises would be fulfilled.
Jesus often talked to his disciples about faith, praising those who had confidence in him. He said, “Everything is possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23). Faith, according to Jesus, was a prerequisite to answered prayer.
Finally, the voice in my guidance system said, “You have arrived at your destination.” If I had given up on the system’s directions, I would not have found the place I was looking for. Likewise, if I give up on God’s promises, I may never see them fulfilled. Even as I was driving my car by faith, I saw that I had to live by faith in God’s promises.
Read more from the author, here.
More from Zoe Hicks
Too often we try to live by reasoning, not by faith. This summer I went on a mission trip to Haiti. I consulted The CDC (Communicable Disease Center) website and read that those with non-essential travel needs should not travel to Haiti. I thought, My travel needs are not essential and therefore I should not go. It’s dangerous there and I might get hurt (or worse).
Then I remembered God’s promises of protection and began praying them: “You who live in the shelter of the Most High and abide in the shadow of the Almighty will say of the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust" (Psalm 91:1-2, NIV). As I recited the words of protection in Psalm 91, I saw again that I must live by faith and not by reasoning. Our church prays this psalm over mission teams, and it gives those of us in the field great confidence. We sent a team to Liberia during the Ebola crisis, and I would never have dared go on that trip without knowing my church was praying this psalm over us every day. Our team also prayed it every morning before going to the mission site where we worked.
I went to Haiti and had an amazing time, witnessing God’s work in this impoverished land and learning new ways to minister with these people. Had I stopped at human reasoning I would not have gone. Thankfully, I went beyond what I could see to what God promised and stepped out in faith on those promises. We came home refreshed, revitalized for ministry, and reminded that God is faithful.
The Author: Zoe M. Hicks (Georgia, USA)
Thought for the Day: I can trust God’s promises.
Prayer:Dear God, thank you for being faithful to your promises. Help us to receive them by faith so that we will be able to see them in reality. Amen.
Prayer focus: To keep faith in God’s promises
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