2023_03_10 Insight Post- Emma Keeton
This week’s reading- Psalms 105, Hebrews 11, 1 Chronicles 2, Matthew 22
Football, country music, UFC, NASCAR, you name it, if it’s a sport or a music genre, there’s a hall of fame. All the people who have been inducted into these halls have been considered the stuff of legend. Their commitment, talent and accomplishments have earned them a spot in history. Hebrews 11 has become known as the ‘Hall of Faith.’ The names of bible heroes are listed along with their achievements, but the criteria for making it into the hall of faith is simply to BELIEVE. For instance:
- By faith Noah built an ark and it was over 100 years before the rain came.
- By faith Abraham left his homeland and followed God to an unknown place.
- By faith Sarah believed God and gave birth to Isaac though she was past childbearing age.
- By faith the prostitute Rahab hid the spies so Israel could take the promised land.
“All 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, admitting they were foreigners and strangers on earth.” Hebrews 11:13
I have asked myself the question this week “Am I living like I believe in God?” I can see things in my life that are often a struggle for me, but I take comfort in the following verse, “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” Hebrews 11:6. The people in the hall of faith had lives that were not perfect, but they did not give up and God rewarded them.
The chapter closes with these verses:
“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39-40
By God’s grace and mercy, we are included with these heroes and will be with them in eternity.
So, in the words of Philippians 3:14 “I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Jesus Christ.”
Prayer From the Nicene Creed
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
In Jesus Name
Emma Keeton
Prayer Team Lead