Week 5 Day 2
Pray:
Ask God to reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Reflect:
Everyone is proving God true. How is this so? Those who live apart from him, refusing to live by faith in him, are proving him true in the ways their lives unfold externally, internally, and ultimately…eternally. Those who live by faith in him are proving him true as well. Who they are becoming on the inside, the ways their lives are changing on the outside, and the ways their lives end up ultimately are proof of God’s promises. This is how Noah’s faith “condemned the world.” He showed that without faith it is impossible to please God, but he also showed that it is possible to have faith and therefore to please God. What makes his faith a “condemnation” is that he was not special. His faith was not a singularity; only someone as great as Noah could pull it off. Noah was a normal man. His faith was a gift from God. All can receive the same gift if they choose. When people refuse to respond to God and they live the results of life apart from God, they cannot in the end blame God. Faith in God was not beyond them. This is how Noah’s life becomes a condemnation. But his life is also a commendation. He commends righteousness to us. He, through faith, became an heir to the family fortune, the great riches of righteousness. Righteousness is right standing with God. His faith brought him an escape from a death by drowning, but that was a temporary escape. He eventually died. What was more important was that his faith brought him into the family inheritance. He became an heir to right relationship with God. This transcends this life and is a fortune that you “can take with you.” When you see the human devastation of sin, let it break your heart. But keep this in mind: “this too is proving God true.” Now, demonstrate the blessing of faith in your life. Do not merely be a sign of condemnation for the world; be a person of commendation. A person whose life receives God’s commendation by faith and a person whose life can commend God to others. Close the gap today; see how your life can commend God to others. This is your responsibility, and this is your opportunity.
Pray:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today.