Hebrews 11:36-40
One day as Jesus is hanging out with the twelve guys who we
call the disciples, the conversation turns to the cost of being a
follower. This is what Jesus had
to say on the subject, “If anyone (that
seems to be all inclusive) would come after me, let
him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for my sake will find it.
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and
forfeits his life? Or what shall a
man give in return for his life? Often I ask the question, “Is it
unbelief or have we been taken captive by the schemes of the enemy? Are you and I so polluted by this world
system, and the lust of our flesh, that we ignore what Jesus has spoken in
Matthew 16:24-26?
The apostle John tells us not to love the world or the
things in the world, that to do so will make you an enemy of God. And the apostle wants us to understand
that the world is only temporary, at best it is like a moment compared to
eternity. In first John 2:17, “And the world is passing away along with its desires,
but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” I’ve come to this conclusion we are not that
stupid, so it has to be ignorance, unbelief, or the enemy of our soul has sold
us a bill of goods.
With that back-drop, look at what Hebrews 11:36-40 has to
say about those who had only the promise of God and they were willing to deny
themselves, they were willing to be tortured, others suffered mocking and
flogging and imprisonment. This is
what the Bible has to say about them: “They were
stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and
goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated -the world was not worthy of
them. They wandered in deserts and
mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. They were all commended for their faith, yet none of them
received what had been promised. God planned something better for us so that only together
with us would they be made perfect.”
I am not being paranoid, we are being watched, and not just
by angels and demons, but also by a great cloud of witnesses, and many of them
are the ones talked about in God’s hall of fame. Hebrews chapter twelve gives us some great
instructions on how to live this life in the fullness that was God’s plan for
us. It’s a must read, and let me
give you a hint, it is only possible if we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of our faith.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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