Today Nelson wrestles with the definition of a true Christian, gleaning insight from Hebrews 11.
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October 10, 2022
(Continued from yesterday….)
Hebrews 11:13—“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”
Here it is again, “strangers and exiles” on earth. This is probably important to grasp at some point. We don’t fit in here, and that’s the norm. If we fit in without much of a difference, then are we really Christians?
Being exiles is the norm. This place is not our home. The home is believed in “by faith”, not by sight. (Verse 23) “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.”
Here is one that shoots down the idea that we should obey the law of the land no matter what it says, no matter how much it opposes God’s word, and just blindly obey it.
To me, that’s the thing about the cowards not inheriting the kingdom of heaven and going to the second death. Hiding behind that is what the church has done this whole time [during Covid] when the regulations came around about the virus and all that fake garbage.
I’m so thankful we never closed our church the whole time. I would love to get some affirmation for that someday straight from God… “By faith they kept their church open and praised Me, even though the wicked leaders of the day raised themselves up as gods, lying by saying that singing and worship would spread a fake disease. By faith, they faced persecution even from their fellow-church members who were afraid of confrontation and hid to avoid persecution.”
“By Faith…” All real faith is faith in Jesus Christ. I have to keep that in mind. We love Jesus. He is the reason we can have power in weakness, be content in everything, and come to God at all. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
I can hardly believe the life I have now. I have the best woman in the world, I have a son with her. I have a house most likely up here in Rochester, Minnesota. I have Cancer. It was stage 4 when they found it. I’m not sure if it can go back to stage 3 or other lower stages, or if once you get to 4, there’s no going back.
Either way, it was a death sentence, and now it seems I might get another chance. The grave sure reached up and tried to take me. I’ve had that before but not that I realized, until it was over. A scrape with death.
It’s actually quite scary. People say I was afraid because it’s not my time to go yet. A person in their 80’s is at the end of their life either way, so they are ready. I’m in my 40’s, so it doesn’t make sense for me to die. I suppose there is truth to that.
The fear of death is a funny thing. I don’t know who wouldn’t be afraid of it, at least a little. You do it alone with Jesus. It’s the biggest act of faith there is, probably. You go out without anything you can see. The only thing you take with you is your faith. If you have no faith, you have nothing beyond what’s here, and we can all see plainly that no one takes anything with them.
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“We walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)