Jesus Fellowship: Faith to stop Lions. 11/16/15

Day 319

https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/Heb.11

Hebrews 11:20-40

20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two,[a] they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Supplied Life Devotional by Bill Freeman

Understanding God’s will November 16th

“Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” EPHESIANS 5:17
The word “understand” in this verse simply means to compre- hend. In other words, the will of the Lord is not something we cannot comprehend or something we cannot know. Rather, the will of the Lord is something we can grasp and understand with our mind. In Ephesians 5:15 Paul says, “See then that you walk carefully, not as fools but as wise.” In the original Greek, the word carefully means accurately (akribos / ajkribw"' ). Thus Paul is telling us to have a walk that is accurate in its aim and goal. Do not be unwise. Do not be a person without an accurate understanding of the will of the Lord. As believers our walk should be accurate according to God’s one unique will.
Then Ephesians 5:16 says, “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” The context of this verse shows us that “redeeming the time” is not just having the right priorities and learning how to
order and schedule our lives properly. People can do that without God. Here, redeeming the time is directly related to our having an understanding of what the will of the Lord is. The result of this understanding is that we relate to our daily life as one opportunity after another to live out the will of the Lord. Even the word “time,” according to the Greek meaning, emphasizes time in the sense of opportunity. Redeem the opportunities — every kind of situation — because the days are evil. The tide of this age is evil, away from God, indifferent toward God’s revealed will. Do not be unwise, but be wise. By walking accurately, or carefully, with an understanding of what the will of the Lord is, we can be wise and redeem all the time and opportunities in our life.

Pray Until Something Happens (PUSH)

Anna, Ariana, Ariel, Georgie, Linnette, Wes, and Zoe.