Scripture: Hebrews 11: 1, 6

Now faith is the ^[a]substance of things hoped for, the ^[b]evidence of things not seen. (1) 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.(6)

Scripture Commentary:

We have people in our lives that we have complete faith in because we know them. We can see them and can talk and listen to them when we seek them out. But what about God who is not seen? Although we can’t see Him in the flesh, His Spirit is with all of us. He knows everything about us.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, faith is a firm belief in something for which there is no proof. It is a belief and trust in and loyalty to God.

Do you have the faith to go to God and believe He hears you?

Do you believe He will guide you in the direction you should go? Is your faith strong enough to believe He can do anything?

Believing that God exists is only the beginning. Even the devil believes.

God wants a personal, dynamic relationship with us; one that transforms us. Do you believe? If not, ask God to help your unbelief. God will show you the way.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Hebrews Chapter 11

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Hebrews:

Every Life Involves Struggle … Endure!

Believe the Word that Jesus Speaks to You

Scripture: Hebrews 12: 27-29

²⁷ Now this [expression], “Yet once more,” indicates the removal and final transformation of all those things which can be shaken—that is, of that which has been created—so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, and offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship with reverence and awe; ²⁹ for our God is [indeed] a consuming fire.

Scripture Commentary:

Eventually the world will crumble and only God’s kingdom will stand. Those who follow Christ are part of this kingdom which cannot be shaken. They will withstand the shaking, sifting, and burning.

No matter what happens on earth, our future is built on a solid foundation.

When we feel unsure about the future, all we have to do is believe in Our Lord Jesus Christ. In John 14: 2, Jesus tells us, ” In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you.” No matter what happens here, our future is built on a solid foundation that cannot be destroyed.

Don’t put your confidence in what will be destroyed.

Instead, build your life on Christ and His unshakable kingdom. Do not let sin block your vision of God. Renounce sin and accept Him into your life.

When your earthly life ends, are you going to Jesus’s kingdom or Satan’s hell? You have only two choices. After Jesus came, God welcomed us, through Christ, into His presence. Accept His invitation.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

Hebrews Chapter 12

John Chapter 14

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Hebews:

Faith is the Substance of Things Hoped For

What is the Evidence of Your Faith?

Scripture: Hebrews 12: 4-8

You have not yet struggled to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; ⁵ and you have ^[c]forgotten the divine word of encouragement which is addressed to you as sons,

“My son, do not make light of the discipline of the Lord, And do not lose heart and give up when you are corrected by Him; ⁶ For the Lord disciplines and corrects those whom He loves, And He punishes every son whom He receives and welcomes [to His heart].”

⁷ You must submit to [correction for the purpose of] discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons; for ^[d]what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ Now if you are exempt from correction and without discipline, in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate children and not sons [at all].

Scripture Commentary:

God is not only a disciplining parent but also a demanding coach who pushes us to our limits and requires our lives to be disciplined. Although we are constantly striving and may not feel strong enough to push on to victory, we will be able to accomplish it as we follow Christ. Draw on His strength! Then we can use our growing strength to help those around us who are weak and struggling.

We may respond to discipline in several ways:

• We can accept it with resignation
• If we think we don’t deserve it, we can accept it with self-pity
• We can be angry and resentful toward God
• Or, we can accept it gratefully, as the appropriate response we owe to a loving Father.

Do you love and obey your Father or are you not listening?

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Hebrews Chapter 12

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Hebrews:

Faith is the Substance of Things Hoped For

Jesus Is the Perfect Forever Sacrifice For Our Sins

Scripture: Hebrews 6: 13-15

When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, ¹⁴ saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”^[d] 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

Scripture Commentary:

Abraham waited patiently 25 years from the time God promised him a son until it came to pass. Because our trials and temptations are often so intense, they seem to last an eternity. Both the Bible and the testimony of mature Christians encourage us to wait for God to act in His timing even when our needs seem too great to wait any longer.

God’s promises are unchanging and trustworthy. That’s because God is unchanging and trustworthy. God took an oath on His own name when he promised Abraham a son. God embodies all truth; therefore, He cannot lie.

God is truth.

And because He is truth, you can be secure in His promises. You don’t need to wonder if He will change His plans.

Are you true to your promises to God? Our hope is secure and immovable when anchored in God. To the true seeker who comes to God in belief, God gives an unconditional promise of acceptance.

When you ask God with openness, honesty and sincerity to save you from your sins, He will do it. This truth should give you encouragement, assurance, and confidence.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Hebrews Chapter 6

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Hebrews:

Jesus Freed Us

You Cannot Please God Without Faith

Scripture: Hebrews 11: 1-3

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Scripture Commentary:

We read about people who had the assurance of God. How is our faith? Is it like Abel who offered God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain? Note that it wasn’t about the gift itself … it was about Abel’s heart which was true.

Enoch’s faith was so that God did not let him see death. On faith, Abraham left his home to go to a strange land, taking Isaac and Jacob because God told him to do so. Sara believed God when He said she would have a child although she was old.

By faith Abraham offered up Isaac to God as a sacrifice. God gave Abraham a nation instead. And then there’s Moses who took God’s people out of Egypt, passing through the Red Sea to safety.

God’s people had confidence that the walls of Jericho would fall. And the harlot, Ra-had was saved for doing what God told her to do.

There are so many more people we can point to who stood on the assurance of God.

Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephunneh , David, Samuel, and the prophets. They did what God told them although they did not see God. What faith!

Take courage from these people. They lived and died without seeing the fruit of their faith on earth and yet they continued to believe. Serve the Lord, Jesus Christ. Our best and greatest rewards await in heaven!

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Hebrews Chapter 11

Read Other Commentary from Hebrews Chapter 11:

You Must Believe That He Is

Faith Is the Confidence In What We Hope For

Scripture: Hebrews 1: 5-8

^5-6 For God never said to any angel, “You are my Son, and today I have given you the honor that goes with that name.”^[b] But God said it about Jesus. Another time he said, “I am his Father and he is my Son.” And still another time—when his firstborn Son came to earth—God said, “Let all the angels of God worship him.”

⁷ God speaks of his angels as messengers swift as the wind and as servants made of flaming fire; ⁸ but of his Son he says, “Your Kingdom, O God, will last forever and ever; its commands are always just and right.

Scripture Commentary:

God has many angels but He has only one Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus was with His Father in the beginning of time, and He is with Him now. Christ, like His Father, is changeless.

When you put your faith in Christ, you are absolutely secure because He stands on the firmest foundation in the universe. He is always fair, just, and merciful to us who are so undeserving.

Jesus is God’s Son and is worthy of all praise!

In verse 6, God says to His angels, “Let all the angels of God worship him.” Then God “gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3: 16)

Don’t ever think God could never forgive your sins. All you have to do is accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as your Savior. Stop sinning and have faith in Him.

God can and will forgive us when we come to Him through His Son.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Hebrews Chapter 1

Also referenced:

John Chapter 3

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Hebrews:

Jesus and the Throne of God

Don’t Harden Your Hearts to God

Scripture: Hebrews 3: 7-11

Warning Against Unbelief

So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

Scripture Commentary:

The Bible warns not to “harden” your hearts toward God. This means stubbornly setting yourself against God so that you are no longer able to turn to Him for forgiveness.

Obey God’s Word.

God’s ‘rest’ has several meanings in Scripture:

• The seventh day of creation and the weekly Sabbath commemorating it.
• The promised land of Canaan.
• Peace with God now because of our relationship with Christ, through faith, and our future eternal life with Christ.

When you trust your own efforts instead of Christ, you, too, are in danger of turning back. Your own efforts are never adequate. Only Christ can see you through.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Hebrews Chapter 3

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Hebrews:

You Must Believe That He Is

Jesus Is the Perfect Forever Sacrifice For Our Sins

Scripture: Hebrews 12: 1, 4, 7

 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (1) …  In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.(4)  It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? (7)

Scripture Commentary: We do not struggle alone.

We are not the first to struggle with the problems we face.  Being a Christian involves hard work.  It requires us to give up whatever endangers our relationship with God, to run patiently, and to resist sin with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Many have already made it through life, enduring far more difficult circumstances than we have experienced.  We are alive so God still has a job for us.

God’s discipline is a sign of His love for us.

God keeps us, corrects us, and even chastises us at times because He loves us.  It is never pleasant to be disciplined by God, but His discipline is a sign of His deep love for us.

When God corrects us, we should view it as proof of His love and ask Him what He is trying to teach us.  When we talk to God and ask Him questions, He will answer.

Our God is a living God who takes care of us.  Talk to Him.

Let the Holy Spirit grow in you.  God will never lead you in the wrong way.  Christ is both sufficient and superior.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Hebrews Chapter 12