Welcome to my first post. This blog is a record of my personal bible study, I hope it can help someone else as I journey though this..
notes and scriptures copies from www.bible.cc
Hebrews
11 (NIV) / NKJ
1Now
faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not
see. 2This
is what the ancients were commended for.
1Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen. 2For
by it the elders obtained a good report.
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.
3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
...
38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
38(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
"Faith
in the divine declarations answers all the purposes of a convincing
argument, or is itself a convincing argument to the mind, of the real
existence of those things which are not seen." But is it a good
argument? Is it rational to rely on such a means of being convinced?
Is mere "faith" a consideration which should ever convince
a rational mind? The infidel says "no;" and we know there
may be a faith which is no argument of the truth of what is believed.
But when a man who has never seen it believes that there is such a
place as London, his belief in the numerous testimonies respecting it
which he has heard and read is to his mind a good and rational proof
of its existence, and he would act on that belief without hesitation.
When a son credits the declaration or the promise of a father who has
never deceived him, and acts as though that declaration and promise
were true, his faith is to him a ground of conviction and of action,
and he will act as if these things were so.
My
notes
Faith
appears a funny thing. It is the juice that makes us believe in, or
trust totally, that which we would otherwise merely hope for. The
interesting thing is that in Heb 11:32..40 there are examples of men
of faith who did not receive what they were promised during their
lifetimes. Faith does not translate into an easy life. In many
cases, faith kills us in this life, makes us destitute and poor. But
that is just the thing. Faith also presupposes that this life is
fleeting, and we need to see the big picture, and naturally come to
see this time on earth as fleeting and temporary. We are just
passing through, aliens in this land.
How
does this translate to our every day life?
We
need to continually remind ourselves that this life is fleeting and
that much is to come, and prepare our hearts for that time. We need
to keep a timeline in our minds, with this current time being a small
speck on the scale. We need to clearly understand the promises we
believe in. We need to clearly recognise which promises of God are
meant for this life and which may be applicable only later. This is
not an “easy out” for allowing events which we believed would not
happen. We need to be very very sure of what exactly God is
promising and what not.
