Hebrews 11:8 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.

Hebrews 11 is the great “faith chapter” of the Bible, giving in verse 1 the only definition of faith we find in the whole Bible, and going on to give magnificent examples of faith in people throughout the Old Testament. We would do well to read through it regularly! This verse gives a vital element of faith that we tend to overlook, and that is obedience. Put another way, if you really believe something, you will act on it. The entire letter of James is focused on this issue. Words are important, but they are empty if there is no follow-through. We don’t have much record of things Abraham said, but we have a lot of record of things he did. God is going to call us to account for every careless word we speak, (Matthew 12:36) but equally, if not more, for everything we do. Abraham believed, and he acted. He did a number of things that were foolish, just as we do, but his heart was set on obedience to the God who had called him. We often forget that society in general had many gods in those days. We frankly don’t know if Abraham was actually a monotheist, but he was convinced that the God who spoke to him was real, and he obeyed, even when that obedience meant major life changes for him. That is the kind of faith we need to emulate. We tend to make a big deal of “doctrinal purity,” when I’m convinced that C. S. Lewis was absolutely accurate in saying that when we get to heaven, we’ll discover that we were all wrong somewhere. The point is listening to God with a humble heart, and then doing what He says to us.

This has been an issue for me all my life, as I think it is, actually, for everyone. I grew up immersed in the Bible, and read through it from Genesis to Revelation by the time I was 10. I don’t think I consciously disagreed with any of it, but obedience was a different matter. My mother had a rather colorful expression, “independent as a hog on ice,” and that applied to me all too well! I tended to trust my own evaluation of situations and possibilities, rather than inquiring of God and being obedient to Him. That got me into more trouble than I like to remember! Now, coming up on my 78^th birthday, I think I honestly desire to be fully obedient to God, but all sorts of things present themselves as excuses not to do so. Given my current level of health, I could well have another 20 years on this earth. I don’t want to waste any of it, but spend every moment in obedience to my Lord. That, frankly, won’t be easy! I need to submit every habit, every thought pattern, to Him, and speak and act as He says I should. Many things seem to be pointing to my turning this congregation more and more over to others. When I’ve been the pastor for 43 years, that’s not so easy. I need to discard my preconceptions and listen fully to my Lord, particularly when He is speaking through a person I can see physically. At the same time, I need to let Him show me His plan, whether anyone else sees it or not. I’m sure Abraham had a lot of people telling him he was crazy! My life needs to rest on the foundation of Jesus Christ my Lord, so that He will be manifested in every detail, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this clear, strong Word. Thank You for speaking to me morning by morning. May I listen obediently to You all day, every day, so that Your will may be accomplished in and through me for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!