The Blessing of Ordinary / Day 8

The Blessing of Ordinary

Day 8 of 10 Faithful Fans I wish the writer of Hebrews included a behind-the-scenes look at these heroes of the faith after their famous acts were performed… Moses stood before the Red Sea and it split, but then he had to babysit a million whiners for forty years in the desert… Gideon went from a nobody to deliverer of God's people, but then dealt with idolatrous pride… Noah built the ark for decades, endured the flood, and then shamed himself before God and his family… Mary raised Jesus, only to watch her son be wrongly accused by her religious leaders and tortured to death by the Roman Empire… Maybe having an "ordinary" life might mean you never kill a Goliath, but it also means you won't have to escape a murderous king by living in a cave. But the greater thing to realize is: Performing a "great act" for God doesn't mean you've "arrived" at the final stop of your faith.  There will always be more, and the more will always include the mundane. The writer of Hebrews says all these were living by faith when they died and none of them had received what had been promised. The message of Hebrews 11 and 12 is "KEEP GOING," not "DO SOMETHING AWESOME." Any sense of a final destination of arrival in our faith journey is an illusion: there is no arriving, there is only following. And we do not follow just as a means to an end-the following is both the means and the end. We follow Jesus one faithful step after one faithful step, growing in love and knowledge.  The faithful life I'm talking about is the race marked out for YOU. There was only one David, only one Rahab, and there's only one YOU. You can't focus on what race others are running or how fast they seem to be going; you have to lock your eyes on Jesus and His grace for you in your next step, which most likely will be a tiny action that you may repeat countless times.  And when you're exhausted, and need a boost to faithfully complete a simple task, remember the great cloud of witnesses, full of those who finished the race, that now surrounds you and cheers you on… Picture David holding a poster that says "Cheese and Bread!" and Mary waving a banner that reads: "Just Be Faithful!" Hebrews 11:1-16 NKJV 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Faith at the Dawn of History 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Faithful Abraham 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. This chapter has 16 verses Hebrews 11:39-40 NKJV 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Hebrews 12:1-3 NKJV 1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The Discipline of God 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.