Hebrews 11:1-10

  "Trusting is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see." (CJB)  Faith in God means to confidently trust Him.  Our hope is in the complete Truth of God's Word.. for eternal salvation.. which we cannot see yet; but live for.. yearn for.. and yield our lives to.. 

Our understanding of God, the Creator, is an act of faith.  God spoke the world into being. There was nothing.. and He spoke and it became earth. Light was spoken into existence. We.. were spoken into existence. 

We are given the testimonies of those who had faith.. who believed God's Word and lived in accordance with it. 

Abel believed God.  His offering attested to his belief. He believed God and offered a sacrifice that expressed his faith. His offering was accepted by God who declared him righteous. 

Enoch believed God.  He walked in a way that was "pleasing to God".  Because of his faith, Enoch was taken to heaven without seeing death. 

And 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 seek Him.""  (v6) 

Noah also believed God.  He heeded God's warning that a flood was coming. He followed God's instructions and built an ark.  He obeyed God because he trusted God's Word to him. 

Abraham believed God. He left his home and traveled into an "alien" land.  He didn't even know where he was going, but he trusted God to lead him. 

We are given these examples so that we can know that God can be trusted.. that we can believe His Word and "hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." 

Father in heaven, thank You for giving us faith to believe.. a gift... that we cannot even begin to fathom its depths..  May we be like these who have borne witness to us by their lives of faith in You.  We want to live lives that please You.. lives of faith. No matter what lies ahead.. the unseen things here on earth.. keep our hearts fixed on Jesus, and on that city "which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God."  Fill us Holy Spirit we pray, in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.