Monday after the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on October 5, 2020 by under
Scripture: Hebrews 11:17-40 (NKJV)
11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.
24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
Devotion
Faith trusts in the promises of God’s Word. The Holy Ghost gives us this faith, and He gives us the humility that goes with it. Faith says to the Lord, “Thy will be done…” False teachers encourage Christians to think faith is about manipulating God into doing what they want. Confusion is sown about hope and prayer so that people are taught to seek their own wills. Some believe that if they just wait and hope long enough, or recruit enough people to pray for something, then that is how they get what they want from God.
True faith does the works that are prepared for us by the Lord. Sometimes that work is a grand event like those recorded in the Scriptures, other times the work is simple acts of daily compassion and patience according to the Commandments. Still other times the work is to suffer and endure while still doing the right thing. But in all such cases the focus is on God’s will, not the will of our flesh.
However, faith also works to conform our will to His. Hope clings to the promise of forgiveness and life in Christ. Faith empowers us to obey God’s righteousness, because in His will and works the truth of our Lord Jesus is proclaimed. The faithful men and women of the Old Testament served and suffered while looking forward to the power of the Savior’s atonement. Now, in the New Testament Church we have the great joy of that promise fulfilled in our crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ!
Prayer: Lord, we beseech Thee, grant Thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds to follow Thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
