EXPAND TO READ: HEBREWS 11 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 1): Getting at me right from the start in the Scripture today I see, Father. Thank You for always being blunt with me and coming at me in the way that I need through Your timely counsel and instruction. I do and have struggled with this verse quite a bit throughout my faith. Unfortunately, throughout my career, I have become a tangible proof of accomplishments type of person. When I go to improve something at work, I like to see proof of those improvements afterwards in various ways. The thing that I often forget is that this cannot be translated to my faith. As You’ve stated here, our faith is what’s hoped for and not seen, which means the tangible side of it, if any, should never be the justification for the strength of my faith. Please forgive me for often expecting some type of tangible results through my faith journey, Father. Also forgive me for often expecting to reap earthly tangible results through my faith. Neither of these are promised from You, but for some reason I keep expecting it and sometimes even yearn for it to the point that I regress a bit in my faith if I don’t get it. Forgive me for my immaturity in my faith, Father. Forgive me for my selfish desires at wanting a return on my faith to be tangible now, instead of realizing that the most tangible reward You could give us has already been given through Jesus as a sacrifice for my sins when I am definitely undeserving for eternal salvation by myself.
PROMISE (verses 39-40): I am so grateful for the promise You make to us through our faithfulness, but also the clarity You provide in this promise. To me, what You’re saying here, is that the earthly things we think we deserve are not the promises we’re getting because You have so much more to offer us if we are just faithful to You. You promise us something so much better through eternal salvation and the ability to enter Your kingdom when our time in this life is over. This promise is kept simply through our faith in Jesus, who died for us on the cross to be the perfect sacrifice for all of ours sins and to be our path into Your kingdom. Thank You so much for giving us such an amazing promise of restoration, salvation, and eternal life, Father. All we need to do is maintain our faith in You and Jesus, which is so much easier than perfection from ALL sinful ways in this life.
ATTITUDE (verse 16): Help me to live in the attitude portrayed here by Your followers, Father. Although they could have dwelled in an earthly, selfish attitude of wanting a tangible location on this earth to be their true homeland, they chose a more righteous path. They chose to have an attitude of desire towards the heavenly homeland You promise us. I do often get stuck in the mindset of tangible things in this life, Father, but I do also realize that the heavenly home You’ve prepared for me is far better than ANYTHING I could have in this life. Help me to have an attitude that aligns more with Your followers in this verse, so that I strive more for the “better place” that You provide than I do for the earthly place provided to me in this life.
COMMAND (verse 6): In this one verse, You give us a command of what we must do in order to please You. Although the command is quite simple, I find it extremely difficult to live in 100% of the time personally due to my own selfish and sinful nature. You tell us that it is impossible to be pleasing to You without faith. That those who draw near to You, must believe that You exist and that You will reward those who seek You. Please help me to be better at following this command thoroughly and daily throughout my life, Father. Help me to be better at my faith journey in this life, so that I am always trying to draw nearer to You through my faith.
EXAMPLE (ALL VERSES): This entire chapter is essentially a list of several examples of how we are to live out our lives through faith; through the unseen and intangible. Abel was faithful in his sacrifice to You. Enoch was protected by You through his faith. Noah’s faith produced a means of safety for so many animals and his family through the major apocalypse You destined the earth for. Abraham was faithful on so many levels and tested many times throughout his life for his faith, yet he endured and remained faithful to You through so many trials that I would’ve failed miserably with. Although these are just a handful of the examples You’ve provided in this chapter for living in faith, I thank You so much for the mental picture You’ve provided me in how I am to be living through an intangible and unseen faith. Thank You, Father, for always being faithful to me even when I have struggled in my own faithfulness many times.
*DAILY NOTE: Wow! This Scripture spoke loudly to me right from the start. I see You wanted to have a deep and meaningful conversation with me this morning, Father, throughout this entire Scripture of 40 verses. I am grateful of how straightforward and blunt You are with me when I need You to be, Father. Sometimes I have to dig in and focus more intently to truly hear You, but today You spoke to me loudly and directly that no matter the distractions in my head I knew and felt exactly what You were trying to convey to me today. Thank You so much for Your amazing instruction and counsel at just the right time when You know I need it and am open to listening and embracing it. Continue to work on me, Father. Continue to mold me into the righteous man that I am supposed to be. Please help me to truly understand and be willing to embrace the will You have for my life, Father, so that through my faithfulness I am pleasing to You. Help me to remember that the tangible rewards of this life are not important and that I should always be striving for the tangible rewards in Your kingdom in Heaven. Thank You, Father, for today’s amazing conversation and for this growing relationship I have with You.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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