A Christ Follower: The Journey

  By Faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, and he gave instructions for his bones. Hebrews 11:22 The Rest of The Story: Stay Tuned This passage in Hebrews 11:22 reveals only a small glimpse of what Joseph's faith ultimately produced, and we will examine that passage carefully. However, there is far more to Joseph's story, and it contains a powerful message for Christ Followers today: The final chapters of Genesis reveal a man who endured betrayal, abuse, persecution, false accusations, and suffering, yet he never lost his faith in God. Stay with me because we will explore "the rest of the story," and we will discover why Joseph's faith remains such beacon of encouragement for those facing life's darkest trials. I know some of you, my readers, can relate to this.   Stay tuned: If you are experiencing hardship, abuse, persecution, or a season of deep difficulty, you will not want to miss what Joseph's life ...

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshipped, leaning on the top of his staff. Hebrews 11:21 Israel Before and After God Jacob, before God transformed him into Israel, was a grabber, and he was a scoundrel,  but The God of Israel transformed his life, and HE blessed him to be a blessing. Even as his own blessing was unusual, later, as a transformed man, and as a new creation, his Faith blessed in an unusual way that can help each of us glorify God, live more fully, and no matter what we were before becoming Christ Followers, we can be the unique new creation people God wants us to be, individually and collectively. Then we, too, can have the kind of 21st century faith that makes us blessed to be a blessing, in accordance with God's will, and for HIS glory. His Faith Blessed Beyond His Lifetime (21a) Jacob’s blessing wasn’t limited by dying. Death had no control over the destiny of his God given blessing. Yes, he was an old dying man, but Scri...

  By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future Hebrews 11:20 The Value of The Elder T here comes a moment in every generation when Godly Elders of a family arrive at a place where they must speak —they must speak to the future. They should not do this from preference, not from emotion, but from faith. Isaac did this. And when he opened his mouth, God opened the future. It is important for our following generations, to realize that God cares for the Elder. The Elders in your life matter. Their words matter. Their faith matters. Their God given blessing may have an surprisingly important impact on things to come. The Elder’s words just might affect you more than you realize, if you will listen. Elders Have Important Role Before Isaac, gave his blessing, blessings came only from God. As a matter of fact, Isaac becomes the first elder to speak a covenant blessing forward. His words become the bridge between Abraham’s promise, that God gave him, and Israel’s future...

  (17)Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promise, was in the act of offering up his only son. (18) of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." (19) He considered that God was able to even raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking he did receive him back. Hebrews 11:17-19 There are moments in life when life is challenging, and it seems like God asks us to trust Him in ways that stretch us beyond anything we imagined. Abraham knew that feeling. Isaac wasn’t just his son — he was the promise, the future, the joy of his old age. And yet God asked Abraham to place Isaac on the altar. Wherever you are living today,  the test feels the same. God seems to ask for something precious. Something personal. Something that feels  really difficult, if not impossible to surrender. And in that moment, faith becomes more than a belief — it becomes a God given Supernatural choice. The Supernatural Test of Faith...

  Hebrews 11:13-16 All these people were living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting they were foreigners and strangers on the earth. V.14. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. V.15. If they had been thinking of the country, they left, they would have opportunity to return.  V.16. Instead, they were longing for a better country --a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Faith That Believes Even Though It Doesn’t Receive Consider This Some of the deepest faith in Scripture is found in people who never saw the full answer to God’s promises during their lifetime. Hebrews 11:13–16 pulls back the curtain on Abraham, Sarah, and their descendants, showing us a faith that kept believing even when the visible results were small. Their lives teach us that real faith isn’t measured by w...

  Hebrews 11:11-13 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the sea shore.   Coming Attraction: When we consider this special woman, Sarah, we are about to see something each and everyone of us would like to experience. I know I would want to have this as part of my life.  Please, check out what Hebrews 11:11-13, faith makes possible for our journeys: God's timing overturning our human impossibility. The laughter of faith, not cynicism, that fills us with delight. God's generational promises that multiply exponentially long after you or I have departed planet Earth. God's  shift from barrenness to blessing. God's Timing God's timing is not our timing. It is "much more better."  Think about Sarah. She had lived 90 years...