Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: Hebrews 11
Where Does Faith Take Us?

Where Does Faith Take Us?

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Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 

Hebrews 11:1-2 

Where does faith take us? When we have faith, what effect does it have on where we arrive in life? Our text says that by faith ‘the elders obtained a good testimony.’ What did their lives look like that caused them to obtain this good testimony? The rest of the chapter is a list of the heroes of the faith and it describes how their actions evidenced their faith. Abel offered the sacrifice God stipulated, instead of the work of his hand, as Cain did. Abel’s sacrifice pointed to Christ. Cain’s sacrifice was an exercise in self-righteousness. This meant one of the brothers looked to Christ, and the other to himself. The chapter goes on to speak of Enoch, whom the Scripture tells us ‘walked with God’ and who ‘pleased God’ according to our chapter. Noah believed that God would judge sin with the flood and thus prepared the ark, a type of Christ, Who saves us from the wrath of God. Abraham went out of his own country on the bare promise of God, Who said He would give  him a promised land. All these, and more we intend to consider, were those who had faith in God, and in the coming Christ, which led them to do what they did.  

Our Wise and Sovereign God, 
we rejoice that You lead us in the life of faith. 
We praise You that You show us Your Way, 
and teach us to follow You.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning 
What Must We Believe?

What Must We Believe?

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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.  

Hebrews 11:6 

What must we believe? According to the writer of Hebrews there are two foundational elements to our faith. The first is that God is. This is critical to faith. If we believe God is, then we believe what He has revealed of Himself in the creation. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.’ It also involves our belief in His revelation of Himself in His word. ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’ From that inspired word we learn ‘that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.’  This is the second element of faith the writer cites. Faith is confident in the character of God and how He evidences His character in His actions toward those ‘who diligently seek Him.’ Regardless of anything else we may understand about God and His dealings with us, these lie at the root of the tree of faith. When we believe God is, we believe He is all He tells us He is. When we believe He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, it brings us to Christ, Who is the manifestation of God doing good to us in the world. All true understanding of God leads us to Christ.  

Our Wise and Wonderful God,
we rejoice that You have showed us what is good.
We praise You that what You have shown us
leads us to faith in Christ.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
What Is Faith?

What Is Faith?

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Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  

Hebrews 11:1 

What is faith? We use the word, but what is it really? Our text offers the divine definition, but in order for us to understand even that definition, it requires some consideration. What is substance? We would say substance is that which can be empirically experienced. What is evidence? Evidence is the objective, substantive proof of the reality of an event or a thing’s existence. So faith is in what is evidently real and genuinely substantive, even though we have not seen it as yet. What we hope for is based upon all we know of the character of God. It rests upon the presupposition that God ‘is and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,’ as a later verse in the chapter says. Thus faith is treating as fact what God has said will be, without actually having seen it as yet. We need to have a working definition of faith if we are going to consider the heroes of the faith who appear in the rest of this chapter. Most of all, faith relates us to Christ. The whole book of Hebrews is to point the readers to Christ as the Mediator of the new covenant.  

Our God of Grace and Glory, 
we rejoice that You give us every reason to have faith in You. 
We praise You that all Your works 
point us to Christ. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Framed By God’s Word

Framed By God’s Word

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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.  

Hebrews 11:3

Why do we believe that God created the universe? We believe it by faith. Our text articulates this in clear terms. This takes us back to Genesis 1:1, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ Our thinking regarding these things flows from our presuppositions. We believe that God is. We also believe He has revealed Himself in creation and in the Bible. From these presuppositions flows the rest of our thought which brings us to Christ. John explains, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made.’ Thus Christ, to whom John is clearly referring, was the agent of the Trinity responsible for creation. The writer of Hebrews corroborates this same idea when he says that God, ‘has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.’ Thus we see that our belief in creation is a matter of faith in Christ. This supersedes all others claims. It stands on firmer foundation than human reasoning can afford us. Because our faith and conscience is fast-bound to God and His word, we believe by faith He created the universe, the world, and us. We are therefore, as His creatures, bound to acknowledge Him as God and obey what He has revealed to us. This will lead us inevitably to Christ.  

Our Glorious Living God, 
we rejoice that You are our Creator. 
We praise You that You have not only created us, 
but saved us by free and sovereign grace.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Here And Now

Here And Now

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For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Philippians 3:20 

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  
 
Hebrews 11:13 

We may speak of the sweet by and by, but we live in the here and now. Paul has spoken of the fact that our citizenship is in heaven . He has brought us to anticipate the return of Christ and the transformation of our body to be like His glorious body. There is some space of time between that day and today. If our citizenship is in heaven, but we are living here and now, how shall we live? The short answer is ‘as strangers and pilgrims.’ We are simply passing through this world on our way to the city of God. Therefore, there is no reason to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust does corrupt and where thieves break through and steal, as Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount. Rather as we  pass through this world, we should follow Christ and people like Paul, in the same manner in which he followed Christ. Thus, ‘For to me to live is Christ,’ becomes our approach to life. Christ went about doing good, and we shall. Paul preached Christ, and we shall. Christ showed us how to live, and we will imitate Him. This is how we, who are citizens of heaven, can live here and now. 

Our Glorious, Living Christ, 
we rejoice that You have shown us how to live in real time. 
We praise You, that as we follow You, 
we can live, here and now.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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