Verse of the Day 5/7

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  English Standard Version (ESV)

 Yesterday we considered the gift of salvation and how it is all of God and not of our own doing.  We should be grateful for  such a gift and it should  be reflected in our actions.  Gratitude should be involved but this gratitude should not solely be our effort to "pay God back" for what He has done.  As with the gift, we cannot pay Him back, trying to do so would  take away from the gift.

But the gratitude, the joy and thankfulness we have should show in how we live, in faith.  By living in faith as a substance, as evidence and conviction of things not seen we truly honor God.

John Piper writes, "Gratitude looks back to grace received in the past and feels thankful. Faith looks forward to grace promised in the future and feels hopeful. "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1). This faith in future grace is the motive for obedience that preserves the gracious quality of human obedience. Obedience does not consist in paying God back and thus turning grace into a trade. Obedience comes from trusting in God for more grace — future grace — and thus magnifying the infinite resources of God's love and power. Faith looks to the promise: "I will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9), and ventures, in obedience, to take the land."

Today is the National Day of Prayer and there is plenty that we can pray for.  May we look back in gratitude for the grace received and offer a  prayer of thanksgiving and pray for the future grace to live for Him, while praying for others that they too may have this "faith, the assurance of things hoped for" in the challenges faced today.

The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.   Hebrews 11:2 The Message  

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Hebrews 11:1-2The Message (MSG)

Faith in What We Don't See

11 ^1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.