Michael Collum
Inactive
Hebrews 11
Hebrews 11
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Faith, trust, certainty this is defined by thing sure of things we cannot see . recently i saw a church billboard that said "faith is living by invisible means of support" and it gave me a bit of a chuckle so i thought i'd pass it along . Faith is another way of seeing . but it involves a premise opposite of our regular seeing . this premise is trusting God in everything .
2This is what the ancients were commended for.
The people who followed God in the past were commended for their trust in God .
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
By trust in God we understand that the universe was formed at God's command and that the visible is made out of the invisible . So faith is not ignorance . faith is a means to understand what cannot be explained by our eyes .
4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
Abel's sacrifice had trust . but Cain's did not . So Abel's sacrifice was accepted but Cain's was not . Faith is what makes one righteous . actions as Cain illustrated do not make one righteous . This also shows that Faith is a power that reaches beyond the grave . when God said, your brother's blood is crying out from the ground against you . It was a statement of fact . because by trusting God he still speaks even though he is dead .
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
By trusting God Enoch was taken from this life without having to die . He was commended as one who pleased God .
6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Without faith it is impossible to please God . Without trusting God it is impossible to please Him . i feel like a kid on a blackboard .. how many times do i need to write it out before i get it? lol . to come to Him you must first believe that He exists and trust that he rewards those who sincerely seek Him .
7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
Trusting in God sometimes makes a separation between those who do trust God on something .. and those who don't . and those who don't may feel left out . in Noah's case they just died and he lived on .
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
Faith sometimes means not knowing where you're going and why you're doing it . that's why it's called trust .
9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Faith does things . and quite often faith makes one seem like an alien from another planet (or at least one that does not belong) in their surroundings . Trusting in what you don't see . builds something beyond imagination later . so keep trusting .
11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.
Trusting the source of the message no matter how ludicrous it may seem . when you know it is God speaking . is what Trust is all about .
12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
If it seems like "it's over, there's no way that's going to happen" keep trusting God . odds are there have been more impossible odds than what you're currently facing and God helped people through that too . just keep trusting .
13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.
Living by faith means not getting to see exactly what God promised to you in this life . but you may get to see the beginning of your Godly dream from a distance and welcome it as other people of faith walk into your promise .. and receive Godly dreams of their own . and so faith builds upon faith from generation to generation .
And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
Living by faith also means not doing things the way this planet tends to do things .. because God is always into doing something new . Living by trusting God means after a while .. you'll realize that the place you are now is not your home . and that your Home really is with God in the place where He is .
14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.
15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
People who admit that they are aliens and strangers on the earth are looking for a home in God . this is Trusting Him . Jesus said something similar "the foxes have holes, and the birds have their nests but the Son of Man has no where to rest His head." and so it is with anyone who would say "i will follow you wherever you go" . And those who seek to be with God and are not ashamed to say this earth is not my home but by Home is with God .. God is not ashamed to be called their God and has prepared a city for them .. probably that one in revelation coming down from the sky .
17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Trust that God can raise from the dead is something important to Him and is core to our current covenant too . i guess this would be type and shadow of the resurrection .
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
This would be an example of blindness and faith working together . sometimes we might be blinded or the full perspective hidden from us so we do what God wants instead of what we think is best .
okay at half point so gonna stop there . might continue later . but i'm reading the passages and nothing is coming to me . and it's an important chapter . gotta proceed by faith right?
Hebrews 11
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Faith, trust, certainty this is defined by thing sure of things we cannot see . recently i saw a church billboard that said "faith is living by invisible means of support" and it gave me a bit of a chuckle so i thought i'd pass it along . Faith is another way of seeing . but it involves a premise opposite of our regular seeing . this premise is trusting God in everything .
2This is what the ancients were commended for.
The people who followed God in the past were commended for their trust in God .
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
By trust in God we understand that the universe was formed at God's command and that the visible is made out of the invisible . So faith is not ignorance . faith is a means to understand what cannot be explained by our eyes .
4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
Abel's sacrifice had trust . but Cain's did not . So Abel's sacrifice was accepted but Cain's was not . Faith is what makes one righteous . actions as Cain illustrated do not make one righteous . This also shows that Faith is a power that reaches beyond the grave . when God said, your brother's blood is crying out from the ground against you . It was a statement of fact . because by trusting God he still speaks even though he is dead .
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
By trusting God Enoch was taken from this life without having to die . He was commended as one who pleased God .
6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Without faith it is impossible to please God . Without trusting God it is impossible to please Him . i feel like a kid on a blackboard .. how many times do i need to write it out before i get it? lol . to come to Him you must first believe that He exists and trust that he rewards those who sincerely seek Him .
7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
Trusting in God sometimes makes a separation between those who do trust God on something .. and those who don't . and those who don't may feel left out . in Noah's case they just died and he lived on .
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
Faith sometimes means not knowing where you're going and why you're doing it . that's why it's called trust .
9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Faith does things . and quite often faith makes one seem like an alien from another planet (or at least one that does not belong) in their surroundings . Trusting in what you don't see . builds something beyond imagination later . so keep trusting .
11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.
Trusting the source of the message no matter how ludicrous it may seem . when you know it is God speaking . is what Trust is all about .
12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
If it seems like "it's over, there's no way that's going to happen" keep trusting God . odds are there have been more impossible odds than what you're currently facing and God helped people through that too . just keep trusting .
13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.
Living by faith means not getting to see exactly what God promised to you in this life . but you may get to see the beginning of your Godly dream from a distance and welcome it as other people of faith walk into your promise .. and receive Godly dreams of their own . and so faith builds upon faith from generation to generation .
And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
Living by faith also means not doing things the way this planet tends to do things .. because God is always into doing something new . Living by trusting God means after a while .. you'll realize that the place you are now is not your home . and that your Home really is with God in the place where He is .
14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.
15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
People who admit that they are aliens and strangers on the earth are looking for a home in God . this is Trusting Him . Jesus said something similar "the foxes have holes, and the birds have their nests but the Son of Man has no where to rest His head." and so it is with anyone who would say "i will follow you wherever you go" . And those who seek to be with God and are not ashamed to say this earth is not my home but by Home is with God .. God is not ashamed to be called their God and has prepared a city for them .. probably that one in revelation coming down from the sky .
17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Trust that God can raise from the dead is something important to Him and is core to our current covenant too . i guess this would be type and shadow of the resurrection .
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
This would be an example of blindness and faith working together . sometimes we might be blinded or the full perspective hidden from us so we do what God wants instead of what we think is best .
okay at half point so gonna stop there . might continue later . but i'm reading the passages and nothing is coming to me . and it's an important chapter . gotta proceed by faith right?