“By faith Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain did. . . . And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead” (Heb. 11:4, NIV). Abel’s life, although brief, was not wasted because of his faith in God, expressed through his witness.
Have you ever wondered what people will think of you when you’re gone? What will your grandchildren know about you? Wouldn’t it be wonderful, if, like Abel, you are remembered throughout all the generations to follow as one who lived by faith in God?
Abel passed the baton of truth that leads to faith to the next generation, which was represented by his little brother, Seth. If you are single or childless, you are not exempt from the privilege as well as the responsibility of relaying the baton. While unable to relay it to your own children, you can relay it to someone else’s. The possibilities are limitless. So . . . pass it on!
God surely gave Joshua the strangest strategy for overcoming Jericho that any general has ever been given! God told him to lead his armed men in a silent march around the outside walls of the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times. On the last lap, the priests in the army were to blow trumpets loudly and the people were to shout. Then the wall would collapse, and Joshua’s army could successfully capture the city!
God answers prayer, but sometimes the way He goes about it can be incredibly confusing and unconventional, which is one reason He goes about it in that way — so that our faith rests totally in Him. Then, when the answer comes, we know without a shred of doubt that it comes from Him alone and that He knows best. And we give Him all the glory.
Sometimes, when faced with great problems, our tendency is to focus on the hands of God – what He has not done for us and what we want Him to do for us – instead of focusing on the face of God – simply Who He is. Our depression can deepen through this kind of self-preoccupation. Often, in the midst of great problems, we stop short of the real blessing God has for us, which is a fresh vision of Who He is. When we stop focusing on our problems and on ourselves and focus instead on our almighty and omnipresent God, our problems, as the old hymn promises, “grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
Have you grown so impatient, wanting your problems solved now, that you are missing the vision of His glory God has for you? Get your eyes off yourself, your problems, your circumstances, and look to the face of Christ!
Once, I was invited to address a group of professional women golfers the night before the U.S. Women’s Open. I was struck by the intensity of their focus as they pursued their goal of competing in and winning the golf tournament. Their entire lives, including diet, schedules, activities, friendships, and material resources, revolved around their one purpose – of being the best golfers they could be. I told them I also had a similar sense of purpose that dictated where I went, how I spent my time and money, what I said and did, and who I interacted with. For more than 30 years, I have nailed down what I believe to be God’s purpose for my life, and I have sought to achieve it. Simply stated, it is to increasingly grow in my personal knowledge of God as I follow Him in a life of faith.
I want to know God today better than I knew Him yesterday. I want to know Him better next year than I do this year. I want to know Him until one day, like Abraham, God refers to me as His friend!
Karl Barth, one of the twentieth century’s premier theologians, said that all religion is man reaching up to God in his own way, according to his own terms, on his own merit, in his own strength. Christianity alone is God reaching down to man.
All non-Judeo-Christian religions are an expression of man’s defiance of God, including His way, His will, and His work. If you ask most people today why they think God will let them into heaven, they will say something like, “I try to be good. I go to church. I’m not perfect, but I believe God will weigh my good deeds against my bad deeds, and I hope the good outweighs the bad. If it does, He will let me into heaven.” It is man’s pride that believes God somehow owes him a heavenly home or eternal life as a reward for good deeds or extra effort or earnest sincerity. But heaven cannot be earned or deserved or bought, which is why God has reached down and just given us Jesus!
