A Christ Follower: The Journey

 Considering God's Promises A Murdered Man’s Faith: Abel By faith, Able 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, Able still speaks though he is dead. Hebrews 11:4 Abel’s life is a short story, unlike others in this Hebrews lineage of stories representing people of Faith, but his faith demonstrated the life of a faith filled, simple Shepherd of a man, who pleased God, and who demonstrated how to please God. You don’t have to be rich, famous, powerful or anything exceptional, but as you live a life of faith, God causes something special to occur. Let’s consider his story, as expressed in Hebrews 11:4. Let’s look at what his faithful journey can tell us that can help us in our individual journeys: 1. Abel's faith made his offering more acceptable to God than was Cain's offering. Abel didn’t impress God with the size of his gift, but with the heart from which it flowed. His fait...

  “By 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.” Hebrews 11:3 Faith Sees the Invisible Work of God As we continue our journey through the Heroes of faith, I want you to think about this: Hebrews 11:3, our faith verse for today, shifts the focus, from the heroes of faith, whom we will say more about later, God willing,  to the source of ALL faith: Without our Creator, God, who reveals Himself, in Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, faith is not possible; therefore, before Abel offered a more pleasing offering to God, before Enoch walked with God is such a special holy way that God" took him, "without him dying, before Noah built the Ark — God spoke. And from nothing, everything appeared! Where Faith Begins  This verse reminds us that faith doesn’t begin with our actions. Faith, unquestionably, begins with God’s spoken Word .  We weren’t there when the universe was formed. We didn’t...

  Hebrews 11:1 & 2  Faith is the certainty of the things we hope for. It is the proof of things we cannot see. For this the ancient ones received God's Commendation Faith and Sight Faith begins where sight ends. It anchors us to the things we hope for long before those things ever appear. When we say that faith is “the certainty of the things we hope for,” we are declaring that God’s promises are more solid than our present circumstances. And when we say faith is “the proof of things we cannot see,” we are admitting something powerful: the unseen world is not imaginary — it is simply invisible. Faith becomes the bridge between what God has spoken, through The Word, by the Power of The Holy Spirit,  and what we have not yet experienced. Ancient Commendation This is why the ancient ones, of Hebrews 11, were commended. They lived as if God’s word was already reality. Because God's promises are, indeed, the ultimate reality. They trusted His voice more than their surround...

Today   Today, I want to help you experience life changing faith that is similar to what we are calling the “Heroes of Faith,” in this series on faith, which is found in Hebrews 11. If you look at today’s picture of life, you will see three important parts as we chug along in our Christ Follower’s journey. Check out what each part of this picture attempts to share in order to, hopefully, encourage you in your faith. Locomotive = Faith: Faith leads. Faith pulls. Faith is anchored in the truth of God’s Word. It comes from God as a gift. It comes when we read the Word of God or hear it out loud. (Romans 10:17.) It is based on H - O - P - E , as we Hold On Promises Eternal, and God’s eternal promises are NOT based on the shifting sands of emotion. Coal Car = Facts / God’s Promises The coal car feeds the engine. God’s Word fuels faith. Without the truth of Scripture, faith has nothing to burn. We could consider the Holy Bible as God’s Coal Car for our lives. Caboose = Feelings: F...

The Creator's Hall of Fame: Hebrews 11 In the 20th and 21st Century, people who succeeded in their various areas of life, when they came to a place of age and maturity, were glorified as they were selected to their various Halls of Fame.  As a matter of fact, you may just be surprised how many there really are. Check this out: 🏆 Sports Halls of Fame United States (most influential globally) • Baseball Hall of Fame (1936) – Cooperstown • Pro Football Hall of Fame (1963) – NFL • Basketball Hall of Fame (1959) – NBA + global basketball • Hockey Hall of Fame (1943) – NHL • College Football Hall of Fame (1951) • NASCAR Hall of Fame (2010) • International Tennis Hall of Fame (1954) • World Golf Hall of Fame (1974) International • FIFA Hall of Fame (various national versions) • World Rugby Hall of Fame (2006) • International Boxing Hall of Fame (1989) • Olympic Hall of Fame (various national committees) 🎶 Music Halls of Fame • Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (198...

  John Wesley It May Surprise You Since the 1700s, the Methodist Movement was used to bring about miracles of Grace.  The modern Global Methodist Church is also seeking to be used in a similar way by "Making disciples and spreading Scriptural holiness throughout the world."  One big part of this is called,  "Second Blessing Holiness" or "The Baptism of The Holy Spirit." And many Pentecostals credit Wesley with leading the way of the modern day "Pentecostal Movement."  What is surprising is John Wesley never used the phrase “baptism of the Holy Sp irit" after a person is saved by grace. His doctrine of entire sanctification absolutely assumes a real, experiential, transformative work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer after justification, after a person has been saved by grace. This moves the Christ Follower into a deeper walk of grace which is also described as Scriptural holiness or going on to perfection. Personally, I know w...