Grains of Sand

Pixabay I was named a “fool” this morning for saying that Hebrews 11:1, “ Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see ” is indeed the definition of faith. If this had come from someone who didn’t claim to be a believer I would not have been surprised. But it didn’t. It’s okay. In this case, I'm a happy fool! This morning I was playing catch-up in my reading (yes, I do sometimes get behind—with or without a valid excuse). Sure enough, Abraham is the heart of the passages that I needed to read. He plays a large part in the Hebrews 11 description of people of faith, those who believed where there was no evidence to support the promises made to them. In Genesis 12, Abram left Haran and completed the journey his father had begun—the journey to Canaan. He would never see the fulfillment of the promises God made to him. When he arrived in Canaan, God confirmed that promise: “ Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west...

thegospelcoalition.org (Google Images) Prayer is tricky. No, the actual action of praying is not difficult, but praying correctly is. I don’t mean the form of prayer we use when I say, “correctly” but rather the content of those prayers. When Jesus gave us His model prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4, He gave us the basic elements that should be included in our prayers. Most of them are very straightforward. But when it comes to the “ Give us each day our daily bread ” we often run into the problem of “correctness.” We know that this statement is a general one, and can include every need that a human being can have. But it is what to ask for that will guarantee a positive response from God that troubles us. “How do I know that what I am asking God is according to His will?” is the question that many ask. I remember the prayers that our missionary team prayed many years ago on behalf of a woman in our small congregation in Caracas. She was one of the first converts to Christ. ...