Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....February 14, 2022
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!
We continue this week with our series on Faith and Jesus Christ....
Faith....The Substance of Hope
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
When Jesus calls you; the question you must ask yourself is what do you expect Him to say?
This issue of expectation is central to the issue of faith.
If faith is the substance of things hoped for, then what do you hope for?
Where is that hope based - In God? If it is, then how big is your God?
The problem for most of us is that we spend too much time in our minds. We have to figure everything out. We want to know the details. I receive questions every week about Spiritual issues and everyone wants the "details" of the issue. What about this, how about that, when does...STOP THE INSANITY!!!!
For most of us, that’s not working very well. I have adopted Romans 12:1 & 2 as my 2nd life verse, because, I have a mind that desperately needs to be renewed. Most of us go with the first thing that comes to mind. That doesn’t always work so well.
Consider this exercise:
- The tree that grows from an acorn is called an …
- The vapor that rises from fire is called …
- The sound a frog makes is called a …
- The white of an egg is called the …
The simple fact is that when it comes to faith, most of us can’t trust our minds. We all have minds that desperately need to be renewed.
Paul tells us that because of his faith, Abraham is “the father of us all”. Paul tells us that Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations. Paul goes on to say that Abraham’s faith was based on “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.”
The question on the table still is - how big is your God?
Consider what John Ortberg says:
“I strongly believe that the way we live is a consequence of the size of our God. The problem many of us have is that our God is too small. We are not convinced that we are absolutely safe in the hands of a fully competent, all-knowing, ever-present God.
When we wake up in the morning, what happens if we live with a small God?
We live in a constant state of fear and anxiety because everything depends on us. Our mood will be governed by our circumstances; we will live in a universe that leaves us deeply vulnerable.
When we have a chance to share our faith, we shrink back – what if we are rejected or cannot find the right words? It all depends on us.
We cannot be generous because our financial security depends on us.
When we need to give someone strong words of confrontation or challenge, we will be inclined to pull our punches. That is because of we don’t live in the security of a big God’s acceptance, we become slaves to what others think of us.
If we face the temptation to speak deceitful words to avoid pain, we will probably do it. We may try to get credit for something at work that does not belong to us because we don’t trust in a Big God who sees in secret and will one day give reward.
If somebody gets mad at us or disapproves, we will get all twisted up in knots – we will not have the security of knowing that a giant God is watching out for us.
When human beings shrink God, they offer prayer without faith, work without passion, service without joy, suffering without hope. It results in fear, retreat, loss of vision, and failure to persevere.”
Let me ask it again - how big is your God?
The disciples were faced with this when Jesus came to them walking on the water.
Matthew 14:27 - But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
In his commentary on Matthew, Dale Bruner gives us some insight as to the power of Jesus’ response. Bruner tells us that a more accurate translation is “Take courage! I AM. Don’t be afraid.”
I can only imagine the reactions of the men in the boat. I assume that most of them grew up good Jewish boys and learned the basics of the faith. I assume that they knew that when Moses asked God his name, the great voice from the burning bush answered, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Can you imagine what went racing through their minds?
Did he say I AM?
It was I AM who spoke through the burning bush.
It was I AM who delivered the nation of Israel.
It was I AM who parted the red sea.
It was I AM who spoke from Mount Sinai.
It was I AM that saved Daniel in the lion’s den.
It was I AM who was the fourth man in the fiery furnace.
Could that be Him? Could that really be Him?
Matthew 14:33 - Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
It seems that for some of us the concept of a big God is not as hard as the concept of a personal God. Sometimes it’s just hard to comprehend I AM intimately involved in my life. While it’s something I want, my own sense of unworthiness prevents me from receiving it.
For me, a real turning point in my view of God, the time when God became more real to me and I began to see God grow, and I realized His intense involvement in my life was about 17 years ago.
It was when I really began to explore the concept of worship.
You see you can’t really worship a small God.
You can’t really worship a distant God.
You can’t really worship with pride in your heart.
Real worship requires humility.
Real worship requires a God who is there.
Real worship requires a God worthy of worship.
I noticed that the worship songs I was singing began to shape my image of God and my philosophy of His involvement in my life. That’s one reason we pay so close attention to the doctrinal purity of the songs we select.
It seems that today’s songs more than ever magnify God and promote that intimate relationship with Him.
Consider just the titles of these worship songs about God...
GOD OF WONDERS - ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE
MY HOPE IS YOU - YOU ARE A HOLY GOD
WE FALL DOWN - AS WE WORSHIP YOU
It seems that worship draws you into God’s presence where I AM can meet with you.
So when you are facing the storms of life, Jesus would say to you - “Take courage! I AM. Don’t be afraid.”
There He is in the storm with you.
The same I AM who spoke through the burning bush.
The same I AM who delivered the nation of Israel.
The same I AM that saved Daniel in the lion’s den.
The same I AM that walked on the water.
The same I AM that raised Lazarus from the dead.
The same I AM that healed the sick, caused the lame to walk and the blind to see.
That’s the I AM, our big God, who calls to us from the storm.
Matthew 14:33 - Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
The writer of Hebrews, I believe Paul, opens chapter 11 with a brief description of faith: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV). This statement should not be regarded as a complete definition of faith. Instead, the author focuses on two critical aspects of a much broader theological concept to introduce a famous gallery of Old Testament heroes of faith. The first vital facet of faith is that it is “the substance of things hoped for.”
The word for “substance” (KJV, NKJV) in the clause faith is the substance of things hoped for, is alternatively translated as “assurance” (ESV), “confidence” (NIV), and “the reality” (NLT). In the original Greek, the term conveys the idea of “a firm foundation,” “the real being,” “the actual existence,” “the substantial nature,” and “a resolute trust.” One sense of the word refers to a title deed or a legal document guaranteeing the right to possess a property.
According to Moulton and Milligan in Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, “faith is the substance of things hoped for” could be translated “faith is the title-deed of things hoped for” (Robertson, A. T., Word Pictures in the New Testament, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1960). Another commentary suggests that faith, as described in Hebrews 11:1, “apprehends reality: it is that to which the unseen objects of hope become real and substantial. Assurance gives the true idea. It is the firm grasp of faith on unseen fact” (Vincent, M. R., Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. 4, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887, p. 510).
The clause faith is the substance of things hoped for describes a conviction that already takes custody—here and now—of what we hope for and what God has promised us in the future. This present-day ownership of things hoped for and promised in the future is an inner reality. Right now, amid a global pandemic, financial crisis, and social unrest, as our world seems to be falling apart, we can stand on the rock-solid, unshakeable promises of God’s security, rest, peace, provision, mercy, grace, and salvation. His Word can be trusted. We can have full confidence in the Lord’s promises because they are real and a firm foundation for this life.
This “substance” or “assurance” describes our inward response to God’s trustworthy, unfailing nature. We can be sure of the Lord’s promises because, as the writer of Hebrews goes on to show, biblical heroes of every generation have proven them to be true: “By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death” (Hebrews 11:4–5). On and on goes the list. By faith Noah built the ark, saved his family, and became an heir of righteousness (Hebrews 11:7). By faith Abraham obeyed God and moved from his homeland (verses 8–10).
The writer of Hebrews presents example after example of those who demonstrated faith as the substance of things hoped for: “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 that they were foreigners and strangers on earth” (Hebrews 11:13). From the patriarchs to King David to anonymous champions of faith, believers have trusted in God’s promises despite enduring unimaginable challenges (verses 17–38).
Faith, being the substance of things hoped for, is also an outward force. Possessing the reality of hope supplies believers with the motivation to endure trials and hardships. It results in decisive obedience—the kind that caused the ancient heroes of faith to act upon their hope. Faith, as the substance of things hoped for, activates believers to preach boldly, pray unceasingly, love unconditionally, serve compassionately, and work tirelessly “as long as it is day” (John 9:4). The inward substance of faith moves our hearts while the external reality moves mountains.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
We continue with our brief overview of the Books of the Bible...
Judges
Author:
Some suggest the prophet Samuel
Date:
Written approximately 1050BC, covering events that went back as far as 1375BC
Synopsis:
Israel goes through times of sin, suffering, and salvation. After Joshua’s death, the Israelites go through periods of time they cannot drive pagan people out of the Promised Land. The Israelites got in trouble when they did things according to their way rather than God’s way.
Verses:
Judges 2:12New Living Translation (NLT)12 They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord.
Judges 2:16New Living Translation (NLT)16 Then the Lord raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their attackers.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
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