Week 42: By Faith...

This week's reading plan is as follows:

* Sunday (epistles): Hebrews 11-13
* Monday (the Law): Deuteronomy 1-3
* Tuesday (history): II Chronicles 21-24
* Wednesday (psalms): Psalms 120-121
* Thursday (poetry): Proverbs 31
* Friday (prophecy): Nahum
* Saturday (gospels): Acts 7-8

This week we'll make a beginning with the last book of the law, Deuteronomy. The name Deuteronomy comes from the Greek word 'Deuteronomium', which means 'second law': This book contains a reformulation of many of the laws that were given in the books of Exodus, Numbers and Leviticus. Also on the menu this week is the book of Nahum, the 7th of the 12 minor prophets who prophesied against Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrians, probably in the 7th century B.C.

Proverbs 31 is a noteworthy read as well. That chapter sings praises to the Christian woman who manages her household. As you'll see, she runs her household, takes care of the family, and does business all at the same time. Her secret? She fears the LORD (v.30).

Our SOAP for this week, however, is from the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 11 is one of those key chapters in the Bible that define the Christian faith. The chapter recounts the 'faith giants' of the Old Testament, and the writer of Hebrews uses them as examples for our faith.

Scripture
Hebrews 11:1: "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see."

Observation
What an amazing verse! Faith is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen, and the evidence of things we cannot yet see. How contrary to the beliefs of modern man! In this era of 'naturalism' or 'realism', we don't believe anything anymore unless we see it on TV or can Google it... We look at things that have happened and that we have observed, and based on those facts, we make predictions about the future. Typically, God is not part of that. If we cannot explain something logically, it either hasn't happened or we dismiss it. Physicists like Cambridge professor Stephen Hawking have made it their life goal to explain everything we see today from laws of physics. In his recent book 'The Grand Design' he asserts that 'finally, there is no need for a creator to explain the existence of the universe'.

What a stark contrast with Hebrews 11:3, which says: "By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen." This is a totally different mindset from the naturalist perspective above, which claims that everything we now see can only come from anything that can be seen.

The writer of Hebrews understood that God is not bound by laws of physics. Jesus was not bound by laws of physics: he was perfectly capable of walking on water, defying Newton's laws of gravity (actually, these are God's laws of gravity; Newton simply discovered them!).

Application
I know I have to be careful to not take Hebrews 11:1 for granted. My thinking is very much influenced by the naturalist/realist perspective. I can't tell you how many times I quenched my own faith by 'not believing' because I was 'not seeing'. I simply didn't have the faith to believe that what I hoped for was going to happen. I was wavering, and first wanted to see before I believed. God wants us to live the other way around, to first have faith, so we can glorify Him. Verse 6 tells us: "it is impossible to please God without faith." See, God enjoys it most when we step out in faith, and fully trust that He will come through with his promises. Nothing pleases Him more than to grant a wish to one of his children, something the child could only hope for.

Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive us for all the times we have fallen short in simply believing you at your word. Lord, we so often only trust in things we can see, not the things you promise. Help us to overcome our lack of faith, and trust you no matter what. You are worthy of all our praise, and our heart's desire is to please you. Thank you for your Son, who is an example to us when it comes in trusting you.

Have a great week.

In Him,

Dick