Check It Out Just As It Appeared In Detroit Metro News🗞️📰

Hebrews 11:2 (KJV) For by it the elders obtained a good report.

Hebrews 11:3 (KJV) Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

We are about to look at some of those who by their FAITH obtained a good report. Before the flood and after. These we are about to look at lived different types of lives. Men and women alike had great faith in the God they could not see with their natural eye. But they moved and followed and because they did we know about them to this day. But let us not forget they were just as you and I. At times their feelings of being victorious over what looked to be impossible. I’m sure it placed doubt in their minds. But that is when they trusted in the God that loved them and moved forward with great faith. I’m sure you have heard of a man named Daniel who spent the night with some lions. Oh, that was never his intention and he didn’t do that to prove that he had great faith in God. Oh no this was his punishment by mankind because of his great faith in his God. Well how did that turn out? He had a good night's sleep with lions. Oh you might say that those lions were not hungry. No, God protected Daniel because of his faith. Why do I say that? Because the Bible makes it clear. Daniel was taken out and those men who had worked up a plan to get Daniel in the lion's den. Well they were placed in the lion’s den themselves. Before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions attacked them and crushed all their bones. It’s all written for us to read about in the book of Daniel chapter 6. It takes FAITH as we look out each morning and ask ourselves where did that great light the sun come from? It never misses a morning. It's coming up and it’s going down and then we see another light that guides us through the night. Where did this all come from?  Our God!   Genesis 1:16 (KJV) And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. Or maybe this is what you have your faith in. The Sun is a 4.5 billion-year-old yellow dwarf star – a hot glowing ball of hydrogen and helium – at the center of our solar system. It’s about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from Earth and it’s our solar system’s only star. Without the Sun’s energy, life as we know it could not exist on our home planet. All that is true but where did it come from? I think I will just put my faith in  what God has told us about all that. It’s much easier than to think it decided to appear just the right distance from our home planet the earth. Isn’t wonderful how all this appeared and the best part is no one made it. I wonder what you and I will find today that no one made??? Did you hear about the new factory in Detroit? The one that just appeared overnight with new cars being made. It was the strangest thing: a new factory, new automobiles and no workers. It just all appeared. Check it out for yourselves in the Detroit Metro News just as it appeared on February 30, 2024.

Whose Life Have 🫵 Influenced?

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

We are about to read about great faith. Verse 38 in chapter 10 says this  Hebrews 10:38 (KJV) Now the just shall live by faith: The just shall live by faith. Chapter 11 we will see faith in action. We are first told what faith is “faith is the substance of things hoped for” the word “substance” Webster says ”that which really is or exists” another word would be confindance. Now faith is that which really exists. Then we read “of things not seen” but even though it is not seen we are told “the evidence” evidence is that which enables the mind to see truth. Let’s put this verse together. Now faith is the confidence that really exists of the things we can’t see but the evidence of the truth is clearly seen. In my house running in every wall and ceiling there is a power I can’t see. But there is evidence that it’s there and I see the evidence every time I turn on a light. Not only that, although I can’t see it if I touch it, the evidence is there because I can feel it. Same is true about our faith in Jesus Christ. It takes faith to trust Him, as we will read about these great people of faith that are in this chapter. Some walked into great danger and walked out, others walked into great danger and didn’t. We all like winners, the Noah’s, the Abraham’s, the Moses's. We love to read about the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace who walked out because of their great faith. But then there’s the Job’s who had great faith but things turned out much differently for them. Here is what I think is so hard for many who have placed their trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Too many times we are looking to be great overcomers in this life when this life is not where we will live for eternity. Faith takes us way beyond this life we are living and gives us the confidence of the life we will live for eternity. Maybe you are like me. The closer I get to the end of this life, the more I want to stay because of those I love. It’s not the richest of this world, the bank account, the 401 k or anything else of value. The most valuable things in this life are not in the bank or stock market. My father n law was one of the best men I ever knew. He had an impact on so many. When he died I couldn’t believe all those that came to the funeral home to pay their respects. He had an impact on the young but wait they aren’t young anymore they are in their 60’s now. His impact in their lives lasted over 40 years, now that’s impacting a life. They came one by one to pay their respects to a man who had somehow and in some way touched their lives. Let me say this: we all impact others for the good or the bad. Where am I influencing others? What are they hearing me say? Where are they seeing me go? Who are my friends? How am I influencing those in my family? My children? My grandchildren? Those I work with and are around? Whose life have I had an influence on?

Ghost 👻😳

 Hebrews 10:29 (KJV) Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

What do you think of a person who shows no respect for the Son of God deserves? His blood of the promise and they act and treat it as if there’s no difference from other people's blood. They insult the Spirit that God gave us out of his kindness. What’s the punishment for such? 

Guilty of what? Denying his deity, and eternal sonship; who render him useless in his offices, undervalue his sacrifice, despise his righteousness, and strip him of the glory of his person, office, and grace. The Son of God who became the son of man for the sake of men, is superior to men, and equal with God: One might say I don’t believe the Bible at all. Therefore I can’t believe anything it says. Then on the other hand that person has no problem at all believing in ghosts and those who claim to have seen or had an experience with ghosts. Do ghosts exist? We have all heard of someone who has seen a ghost, heard a voice. They made a TV series called ghost Hunters. It ran for 15 seasons on and off  from 2004 to  April of 2023   The review were interesting like this one. “I've watched ... it seems ... about 100 shows. Never once have they shown any visible signs of apparitions ... no ghosts, no white smoky clouds. I smell ... fake!” Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity. Ghost hunting has been heavily criticized for its dismissal of the scientific method. No scientific study has ever been able to confirm the existence of ghosts. But still there are those who believe in ghosts but many have a hard time believing in the Bible and Jesus Christ paying our sin debt. You will never see nor understand the Love of God looking from the outside. But once on the inside it is as clear as day.  

Revelation 3:20 (KJV) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

If YOU have never opened the door Jesus has never entered. Therefore you are on the outside trying to look in. I just heard a knock at the door; go see who it is; If it’s Jesus let Him in. 

Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity. Ghost hunting has been heavily criticized for its dismissal of the scientific method. No scientific study has ever been able to confirm the existence of ghosts. But still there are those who believe in ghosts but many have a hard time believing in the Bible and Jesus Christ paying our sin debt. You will never see nor understand the Love of God looking from the outside. But once on the inside it is as clear as day.  

Revelation 3:20 (KJV) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

If YOU have never opened the door Jesus has never entered. Therefore you are on the outside trying to look in. I just heard a knock at the door; go see who it is; If it’s Jesus let Him in. 

Fearful Time ⏰

 Hebrews 10:31 (KJV) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

It caught my attention. I couldn't help but think of the word “fearful” What does that mean? Webster says “Affected by fear; feeling pain in expectation of evil; apprehensive with solicitude; afraid. I am fearful of the consequences of rash conduct. Hence. Timid; timorous; wanting courage.”

Fearful as if your house was on fire and you were looking for your children only to realize they were still in the house and you couldn’t get to them. Or as the man who was at the lake enjoying a summer afternoon with his family. Then he hears the cry for help. It’s his daughter's voice she is drowning. He runs to save her knowing he can’t swim, jumping into the water and they both drown. I’m talking about real fear, fear that makes you do things that you won’t ordinarily do. My grandson has a special needs child. It is hard for anyone but his dad to get him to do what he is asked to do. Sometimes his dad has to work at night and my wife and I are left to try to get him in bed. The other night was one of those nights he wasn’t wanting to do anything to help us get him ready for bed. I said all the things that I knew to make him do what we were asking but nothing I said made any difference. Then I called his dad and after he heard his dad’s voice he did what he was asked to do. What made the difference? He knew his dad and the fearfulness of what would happen if he didn’t comply. It’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. One morning my dad asked me to do something before I went to school and then he left. I thought to myself, I’ll do it when I get home he will never know. Good plan! And it was until I saw the house and my dad’s car in the driveway. I began to be fearful of what was ahead of me. That’s kinda the way life is. God made a great plan for salvation and we put it off and then it’s too late when it’s time to face God; trust me it will be a very fearful time if we put it off and turn the corner and see the car sitting in the driveway. 😱

Know Little, 😰 Know Much 🧐

Hebrews 10:30 (KJV) For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

One may know facts about a person like their birthday, where they went to school, their favorite restaurant, and many other details about them. But that doesn’t mean you know them, you just know about them. How does someone get to KNOW another? The answer I would say would be TIME the more time you spend with them the better you know them. When we read these words “For we know him” we have to know whom the personal pronoun “him” is speaking about. So we read on and it is made clear that the pronoun “him” is “the Lord.” Now we ask this question: do we KNOW the Lord? Or do we just KNOW about HIm? The answer is to KNOW Him we must spend time with the Lord. How much time we spend with the Lord will determine how well we Know Him. I don't think any of us spend too much time with the Lord. It's spending little to no time with the Lord, that’s our problem. Do we read our Bible? The answer may be I can’t understand it. Now that’s a cheap answer, there's a lot of things we didn’t understand but now we do understand. How is that? Maybe because we wanted to understand and put the time in. I have put in over 1800 days learning the Spanish language. Day after day I work at it. Learning words, phrases, how to pronúnciate, and how to spell. Well let me say if you and I were to be dropped off where they only spoke Spanish I’m not sure I would be much help to either of us. Why don’t I just quit working at it? You might ask if you don’t understand Spanish. Great question. But if I quit I will never learn and what I have learned will fade away. I am reminded of this phrase that  Vince Lombardi said “quitters never win and winners never quit.” One last thing I would say I don’t know everything I need to know about the Lord; that’s impossible I would say. Neither would I say I know everything about my wife, whom I love dearly. But what I do KNOW is that I know her so well that if she is in a large crowd of people I can pick her out. I know her voice so well that if I were to hear her without seeing her I would know it was her. I said that to say that I don’t know all I need and want  to know about the Lord. But when I get to heaven I believe I know the Lord enough that I won’t have any trouble picking Him out in the crowd.

Consequences😳

 Hebrews 10:27 (KJV) But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Remember how verse 26 closed “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” If we refuse the sacrifice that was made for our sins then there remains no more, nothing else, no other way. In other words, if we never accept the gift of salvation that God has provided then all that is left is a terrifying wait for judgment and a raging fire. What is the Gift of Salvation? Great question: here's what the Bible says. From the mouth of Jesus Christ.  

John 4:10 (KJV) Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 

From the mouth of the Apostle Paul

Romans 6:23 (KJV) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now a gift must be accepted before it ever becomes yours. It’s your birthday 🥳 a gift from your wife, mother and dad, best friend or just a friend is handed to you a 🎁 what is your response? Reach out and receive it  🎁🫲you paid nothing for it, it was given to you out of the love from another that loved you. Refuse to reach out and receive the gift of God and the results are fearful. All that is left is a terrifying wait for judgment and a raging fire. You may believe that will not be the case, I hope you are right. Man I hope you are right, not just for yourself but for the many that believe just like you do. But if you are wrong and the Bible did tell us the truth and all the people you thought just got brainwashed really didn’t. The results will be devastating with no remedy. Maybe you are right there is no God with no restraints, no set rules. Maybe when you are dead you are just dead. So we can do whatever and whenever with whoever it’s fine, it’s ok, do what you want to do. But if not what’s the consequences?

Let’s Ask The Question 🙋‍♀️❓🙋‍♂️

 Hebrews 10:26 (KJV) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, Wow this is a hard verse “For if we sin wilfully” I would take that as doing something we know is wrong, sin, against God’s will and doing it anyways. Could we say that would be premeditated? Premeditated means we thought about it before we did it. Well how did we know it was wrong? “we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth” We knew it was wrong because we knew the truth or what was the right thing to do. Then we read if we do sin willingly knowing God has said don’t and then we do it then “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” Are we doomed? Some would say this is God’s  Predestination which is a part of the unchangeable plan of the unchangeable purpose of an unchangeable God. Let’s ask the question: does God know all? To which I would say yes! Nothing catches our God by surprise. God knows who will and who will not accept Him as their savior but He doesn’t make that decision for us. We are told that 

John 3:16 (KJV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God gave each and everyone of us the same opportunity; accept His Son Jesus Christ and have everlasting life. God did not pick and choose who will and who won”t have everlasting life. God is nothing like us, He doesn’t think like us, to place God on our level of thinking is wrong. This is a great controversy but it was made simple to me as by the way my college professor explained it. On the outside of the door of heaven we read “who so ever will” once we enter we turn to read “Predestinated from the foundation of the world.” I have never forgotten that. Never let us forget the tricks of the enemy, he’s clever and there are tares among the wheat. Matthew 13:25 (KJV) But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. There has been a lot of sleeping going on in our Churches. The Churches of 2024 are nothing like the Churches of the 1970s. Sin has become acceptable in today's Churches. There are leaders, teachers and pastors in today’s Churches that would have never been in office the 70’s and behind. So while men slept, his enemy the devil came and sowed tares. Tares look like wheat at the first but as the tares grow the difference is noticed. We see it in our Churches today. No Sunday night service, Wednesday nights are small group sittings, revival meetings that were once or twice a year or more and went for at least a week are now Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and maybe Wednesday. If asked why the answer might be we just don’t have the time. Like I said asleep. If we refuse to accept Jesus Christ God”s Son as our Savior then “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins”