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By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Hebrews 11:7 I return to Noah because he's such an intriguing man of God. I was thinking about him today and it dawned on me: Noah was stubborn. That's it. Yes, he had faith. No one denies that. But he had grit and spunk that few ever had. He preached righteousness for 120 years. How many converts? Today, the church growth experts would...

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Hebrews 11:6 It has to be the longest construction project ever: 120 years working on a wooden ship. Noah did it by faith. Up to that point, it had never rained before, so even the concept of rain was foreign to Noah and those who watched him day after day (Genesis 2:5-6). I suspect he was harassed and ridiculed. The people probably laughed...

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6 After discussing creation, Cain and Abel, and Enoch as they all relate to faith, the writer of the Book of Hebrews pauses to expound slightly on pleasing God. It's perhaps one of the better known verses in Hebrews. How can we please God? By faith. The two words are as complex as they are short. People have faith in a lot of different things: Some strongly believe that there...

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. Hebrews 11:5 Pleasing God. It's what many of us aspire to do. We yearn for God to find favor in the things we say and do. We long for His approval. Enoch did just that and God commended him for it. Enoch was a unique individual. He was one of three Bible characters (Melchizedek and Elijah were the other two), who...

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. Hebrews 11:4 Genesis 4. Cain and Abel. Cain brought "the fruit of the land" as an offering and Abel brought the firstborn from the flock of his sheep. Both were probably taught about offerings and the need to bring first fruits or the firstborn. The passage is clear that Abel brought the firstborn while Cain gave some of his fruits and vegetables....

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. Hebrews 11:1-2 In the next few weeks I will be going through the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. I will spend at least one day on each of those mentioned in this chapter. Entire libraries have been written about faith. We have a sure hope in Jesus although we do not see Him. A number of years ago, Larry King asked Billy Graham, “do you have any doubt about your eternal destiny?” Absolutely...

A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away. Proverbs 13:23 If you do a quick search throughout the Scriptures, you'll see that God has a special place in his heart for the poor and needy and those who cannot defend themselves. The poor rarely have an honest voice (when they have a voice at all) in government. In many lands, what they do have is ripped away by greedy bureaucrats and power-hungry officials. Stop today to consider the plight of the poor and the needy. Many, through no fault of their own, are in desperate...

I saw the tents of Cushan in distress, the dwellings of Midian in anguish. Were you angry with the rivers, O LORD ? Was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea when you rode with your horses and your victorious chariots? You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers; the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high. Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of...

God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth. His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden. Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps. He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed. His ways are eternal. Habakkuk 3:3-5 (FYI: According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Teman was originally the name of a tribe and then of a district of the Edomites. The Temanites were famed...

LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2b This is an interesting and overlook-able four words right in the midst of Habakkuk's prayer to God. First he praises God for his awesome deeds, asks Him to make those deeds known, then he takes a twist and asks God to have mercy when He's doling out His wrath. It's almost as if Habakkuk's saying, "go easy on those who can't really see your awesome deeds!" Contrast...

LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2 A number of years ago I saw a simple Ziggy cartoon. Ziggy was on a cliff watching a brilliant sunrise and said, "Go God! Do it again." In childlike faith, the cartoon character expressed what we often want to say. "God, you are awesome!" This is the essence of Habakkuk's prayer. Like Ziggy, Habakkuk is saying, "you did it before, there’s no reason why you can’t or...

You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and be exposed! The cup from the LORD's right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory. The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and your destruction of animals will terrify you. For you have shed man's blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them. "Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes...

Stations of the Cross date back to the fourth century By Tim Puet Columbus, Ohio, Mar 11, 2009 / 03:12 pm (CNA).- The Stations of the Cross in the form most American Catholics know best are of comparatively recent vintage in Church terms, dating back to the year the U.S. Constitution was ratified. However, their history goes back well before that, to the days when pilgrims were first openly able to go to Jerusalem and walk in the footsteps of Jesus on Good Friday. The emperor Constantine permitted Christians to legally worship in the Roman Empire in 313 after 250...

"Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his nest on high, to escape the clutches of ruin! You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, shaming your own house and forfeiting your life. The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it. "Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime! Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with...

Indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples. "Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, 'Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?' Will not your debtors suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their victim. Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who...

Then the LORD replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. "See, he is puffed up; his desires are not right-but the righteous will live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:2-4 Perhaps the toughest job of a prophet was to foretell of future events without being able to witness them. Already in the first Chapter God foretold of Babylonia's...

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Habakkuk 2:1 Have you ever had burning questions that you needed God to answer: who will I marry? What will my career be like 10 years from now? Should I join the military? Which college should I go to? Those answers are rarely cut and dried for us. Unfortunately, we don't hear a voice from heaven saying "do this!" I’m not even sure we’d want that deep...

You have made men like fish in the sea, like sea creatures that have no ruler. The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy? Habakkuk 1:14-17 Habakkuk speaks truth when he states that men (and women) often have a "we want...

O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? Habakkuk 1:12-13 God's seen and heard it all. That's perhaps the understatement of the year. He was from the Beginning and He'll be in the End. Infinite. Everlasting. Unending. Without respect for days...

They [Babylonians] are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor. Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like a vulture swooping to devour; they all come bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. They deride kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; they build earthen ramps and capture them. Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—guilty men, whose own strength is...