We are called to demonstrate our faith to the world

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By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. --Hebrews 11:8 Abraham stands apart from everyone else in human history. His faith is stands as an incredible example to us even today. Think about how deeply he trusted God.  When God revealed Himself to Abraham, Abraham was living a life of ease and comfort in Ur, an ancient center of commerce and idolatrous religion.  But when the true God called him, Abraham left that life to go to a land that he didn’t even know! Abraham is such a great example of true faith…putting actions behind our words. Demonstrating true faith is one of the most difficult things a person can do, but Abraham did it. And even though Abraham stands alone in the pages of history, we are like him in that we too are called to step out from the world in a dark and faithless time. While God doesn’t speak to us as He spoke to Abraham, He is still calling us to follow Him and demonstrate the reality of true faith to the world. Because Abraham was faithful, and openly demonstrated his faith in God, thousands of lives have been influenced over the centuries to follow his example.  I challenge you today to let your faith shine brightly, so that others may see it and be encouraged to trust God We are called to demonstrate our faith to the world.

Moving Forward

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:12–14

The collapse of the French defenses and the rapid advance of the Nazi armies in May of 1940 left hundreds of thousands of British, Canadian, and French forces in danger of being surrounded and destroyed. A desperate rescue effort was put in place called Operation Dynamo. British officials hoped to save at least 45,000 troops by using naval boats and fishing vessels to ferry them across the English Channel before the Germans arrived. The operation was a huge success, and in the end nearly 350,000 Allied soldiers were rescued. Many in England viewed it as a triumph, but Winston Churchill took to the floor of the House of Commons to point out a painful truth amid the rejoicing. “We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations.”
The direction of the Christian life is meant to be forward, not backward. Though we encounter obstacles and opposition, we must remember that retreat is not an option and that the victory has already been secured for us. “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). We are not to be constantly looking back either in regret for things done or undone, or with desire for what is in the past. Instead we are to be looking to Jesus and striving to accomplish all that we can for Him.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

God has given us power to overcome the world, and we must move ahead to claim the victory for Him.