Night Vision - Himalayan Heights - April 28 Readings: Hebrews 11:2-7 – Creation, Abel, Enoch

 Hebrews 11 - The Hall of Faith

All Scripture is God-breathed and useful, but there are some Scriptures that we can consider the Himalayan mountaintops of the Bible. In the next few months, we will be looking at a series of great texts that inspire and move us - the "Himalayan Heights" of God's Word.

Today's Reading:  Hebrews 11

If you have time, read the entire chapter, Hebrews 11. Our key passage today is verses 2-7, and you should spend time focusing and meditating on those verses.

2 For by this our ancestors were approved.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
7 By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Through the Bible Readings: 1 Samuel 15-16, Luke 18:1-30, Psalm 53, Proverbs 11:27-29

If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings. 

Devotional: Night Vision

We learn two key truths in verse 6, which is perhaps the theme verse of this entire chapter. First, the author tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please God." We cannot please God by our good works or by our sterling characters. We relate to God on the basis of trust, faith in him. It is by grace we have been saved through faith, and having been saved, we walk by faith, not by sight. Faith is absolutely essential to our lives as Christians.

The second truth defines faith. It is not positive thinking or some quantity we build up. Faith is believing that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him. The kind of faith that will be described in this chapter, the kind of faith that makes people significant in God's kingdom, is two things.

Faith in Night Vision

Night vision goggles seem to be a really cool toy! You are walking in the blackest darkness and can see nothing and then you slip those goggles on and you have the ability to see clearly what is going on in the night. We live in spiritual night and skeptics tell us there is nothing to see. The Governor of New York recently scoffed at the idea that God played any part in the slowing down of the coronavirus. "We did this. God didn't do it," he said. The world is dark and we cannot see God. When we put on the night vision goggles of faith, suddenly we can see that God exists and understand what God is doing in this world. With the revelation of Scripture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our faith enables us to experience the spiritual in as real a way as we do the physical. Lost people think we are crazy, but it is their lack of faith that makes it impossible for them to understand the reality of God.

Faith is Time Travel 

We spoke of this a few days ago, when studying 2 Corinthians. Faith helps us know that God rewards those who seek him. This is not a promise that everything will work out for you today if you seek God, but a promise that eternity will be the reward for those who deny themselves, die with Christ, and serve him. Our reward comes when we see Jesus face to face.

By faith, you know that God exists, even though you cannot know him through your senses. By faith, you live for eternal rewards and eternal glory, not the things of this world. And that faith is the only way to please God.

Father, help me to develop the faith that pleases you and will make a difference in the lives of others. 

Think and Pray:

Consider your life. Is it a life of faith?
Do you see this world with the eyes of faith or doubt?
Do you live for eternity or for the things of this world?