For Mrs. Michelle Obama to keep vital spiritual disciplines including Bible reading and prayer, that she may hear and obey God�s leading
Come near to God and he will come near to you.
�James 4:8(NIV)
Holy God who reaches out to every person You have made, we praise and bless You today for making Yourself known to us! Thank You, Lord, for Your holy word which guides us and helps us know Your heart and Your will for each of us. Thank You for making Your truth available to us so we may draw near to You in love and faith.
Today we bring before You our First Lady, Michelle Obama, asking that she will keep in her life the daily disciplines of Bible reading and prayer. We know, Father, that her life is full, her days are busy and her responsibilities and challenges are many. May she turn to You every day, seeking Your truth and will for her life, so she may know and pursue Your will in her life as she supports her husband and family. In Jesus� beautiful name I ask this, amen.
...when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
"It is therefore the grace of God alone which can give us contentment, and prevent us from being distracted by irregular desires.
"...but as we nevertheless behold the image of God not only in the glass of the gospel, but also in the numerous evidence of his grace which he daily exhibits to us, let each of us awaken himself from his lethargy, that we may now be satisfied with spiritual felicity, until God, in due time, bring us to his own immediate presence, and cause us to enjoy him face to face."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
Hebrews 11:1-3,39-40
These verses are the beginning and the end of what is often called the Faith Hall of Fame. Almost every major character in the Bible is mentioned in this chapter of Hebrews. And each of them has an aspect of faith that we can learn.
Contrary to the popular phrase, "Seeing is believing," the writer of Hebrews says that faith is "our handle on what we can't see." "By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see..."
Are there things we have trouble believing because we can't see them? Of course there are. But...if we could see or touch the object of our faith, it wouldn't be faith anymore, would it? Remember, there will come a day when we will be able to see and touch the object of our faith!
This reminds me of something that was brought up in the book Jim and Casper Go To Church, that I read last month. I can't prove to anyone that God exists. I can't prove to anyone that I am going to heaven after I die. In fact, in all honesty, I am not 100% certain that this will happen.
You read that right. I am not 100% certain that I will go to heaven when I die. I'm not 100% certain that heaven even exists.
If you claim that you are, you are delusional. No one can be 100% certain of anything that is believed in faith. That's what makes it faith!!!
I don't know for certain that Jesus died and rose again, but I believe it is true! I believe it! My faith, which is a gift from God, tells me that it is true. And that's all I need.
I don't need proof!!
I don't care about the Shroud of Turin. I don't care about the excavations in Israel that are turning up evidence. That's great, sure, but who among us needs those things to validate our faith?? If you do, then it's not really faith.
I believe that what God said is true. I believe that God will do what he said he will do. I can't prove it. I don't need it proved to me. I believe it on faith.
Honestly, we actually have a tougher time with faith than the people mentioned in this chapter of Hebrews. I mean, I'm probably not going to get sawed in half anytime soon, but Abraham, and all these people mentioned after him, actually heard from God, and in some cases saw a physical representation of him. And, furthermore, not one of the saw the outcome of their faith! Not one! But they believed in the face of life-threatening (and sometimes life-ending) circumstances.
How can we do any less? If we truly have faith, we believe, no matter what.
I believe there are going to be some tough times ahead for Christians. For many years, now, we have been seeing a move toward "inclusiveness" in religion. The idea that there are "many roads to God" is gaining much headway, even among alleged "Christian churches." Our faith must remain strong. Someday, as Mr. Calvin said above, we will meet the object of our faith and "enjoy him face to face." Won't that be wonderful? I, for one, cannot wait for that day. But for now, we must live by faith. And the best thing that we have to show the world is that faith. If they want proof, well, too bad. We can't give them that. Oh, sure, we can throw the "Swiss watchmaker theory" at them to try to convince them that this universe didn't happen by accident, but we can't prove that God created the earth. All we have on that is his word. And our faith. The world will not believe until they are granted the same faith we have. That's why it is so important that we demonstrate faith to them.
I'm sorry...I've waxed on too long, here.
Grace and peace, friends.