Hebrews 11:6  "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

I can't figure out what God looks like.  So when I   "…come to him…",   I am always trying to figure out  where he is.  How he is listening to me.  What is he doing?  Is he sitting down or standing up?  Is he visible with Spiritual eyes?  Is there a correct way to talk to Him?

Sometimes I find myself drifting because I have a hard time focusing on something I can't see.  But I keep on trying to talk to him.  I don't know if you could call it prayer;  it's move like an ongoing conversation.  But the thing that keeps me praying is faith.  I am diligently seeking his will for my life.

 I know, that even though I don't seem to have a good handle on exactly how to do prayer, that God hears me.  God is listening.  He is on my side.  He loves me.  I know He is there.  That is faith mixed with assurance.  That is "a lively" hope that comes from a firm grip on prophetic scripture and recorded history.  My faith is built on Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.  Facts.

So I know it pleases him when I talk to him.   Because the opposite of the statement: "…without faith it is impossible to please him…"  is:  that if we have faith, we please him.

Faith is a funny thing.  It feels good.  You want everyone else to have some.

Share your faith.  That's what it means to spread the gospel.

Encouragement.   What a difference it makes in our lives.  Every time I go to see my daughter in Edmond, (Oklahoma) I stop at Edmond's Antiques to see Pam.  ( It's one of those places that makes you feel good when you walk in the door.)  She said she had been reading my blog and that she wanted me to know how much it meant to her.  She said she was praying for Ken and me.  My soul was encouraged.  I sit here in my house writing, wondering if anyone gets anything out of this.  I just keep writing.  It's nice to hear encouraging words.

I have been thinking about the 11th chapter of Hebrews and how almost everyone calls it the "Faith Chapter of the Bible"--but I can't help think that it is really a chapter on encouragement.  It is a "keep on keeping on" chapter reminding us of those great men and women who remained faithful to God.

The writer of Hebrews gives us the names of those who have gone before in the faith.  But the words are really written to encourage us by examining their faith.  To see that their lives had meaning because of their faith.  And that God honored their faith.

Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sara, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the harlot Rahab,  Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthae, David, Samuel and all the prophets.  The writer says in verse 13a, "All these died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them and embraced them…"   Faith.  In what God promised.   Heb. 10; 36 "For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise."

The promise of eternal life.  The promise of the Messiah. The promise that our sins would be forgiven.  In the Old Testament, they looked forward to the coming of Christ.  We look back.  But all of us, then and now, believe that God does what He says He will do.  We have faith in Him.

And we are encouraged by faith in the lives of others.

Heb. 10: 38a, "…the just shall live by faith…"  The writer is finishing up the 10th chapter and ready to begin one of the most well known passages in the entire New Testament.

In Hebrews, the 11th chapter, we have "The Faith Chapter."   One after another of the Old Testament patriarchs are named and their faith examined.  The chapter begins with a  definition.

Heb. 11: 1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  What a marvelous definition of faith.

Substance:    Of things hoped for.  Not just any hope, but a confident hope.
Evidence:     Of things not seen.  The spiritual touches our hearts.  Unseen, but felt.

How can you explain faith to a person who has none.  Our faith is not blind; we have a tremendous record of evidence to prove the Deity of Jesus.  We believe because of  Old Testament Jewish prophecy.  We believe because of the testimony of the Disciples and the radical turnaround in their lives after the resurrection.  We believe because of the miraculous vision and conversion of Paul on the road to Damascus and his transformation from killing Christians, to converting them with the story of Christ. We believe because…because…because.   The list goes on and on.

But in the end, there is a leap.  A leap from questions, to faith.

And the rest is history--in each of our lives.  The just shall live by faith.

I truly do love the book of Hebrews.  I guess you can tell.

Heb. 10: 26  "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins."

One sacrifice.  Jesus.  You can't keep killing Him over and over.  The Jews have that religion.  They have to keep making sacrifices for sin over and over again--in anticipation of the Messiah.  We don't.  He died and paid for all our transgressions.  Once and for all.  The lamb of God.

We know from fulfillment of all the Jewish prophecies (as I recall, over 72 predictions) that Jesus was the Messiah.  Plus, the resurrection seals the deal.  He conquered death for us all.  One, if not "the", most validated events in all the records of history.

So sinning willfully isn't an option.  You either give Him control, or you don't.  Do we sin.  Of course.  But premeditated, willful sin is another matter.  There is a scripture in James 4:17 that says, "Therefore to him who knows to do good and does it not, to him it is sin."

So don't get into the trap of trying to be someone else's judge.  If they have the Holy Spirit--He--God,  will take care of it.  However, don't stick your head in the ground and say you don't know what God expects of you.  It's all there in His word.

Heb. 10: 30-31  "For we know Him who has said, Vengeance belongs to me says the Lord...And again, The lord shall judge his people...It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Fearful.

Heb. 10: 25,  "Don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching."

Church.  Why is it so important to go,  instead of staying at home and sitting in front of the TV and watching a sermon by yourself--which might be a lot more interesting than what your preacher has to offer.   Not every preacher can be Billy Graham.

But God covered that question when he told us in verse 24---to "...provoke each other to good works."  You need to be where people are to be able to provoke (encourage).  They come to the gathering that we call church for a lot of reasons, looking for something more.  A group allows a person to be anonymous as exhortation takes place.  The group gives support.  The Holy Spirit does the rest.  

In verse 25 (from above),  God says  for us to assemble.  Then He says for us to exhort.

Church isn't about you.  It is about the strength of the group.  It's about what you do for the others in the assembly.  They are your church family and they need you.  There are dozens of ways to help.

And God is very clear.  You don't have an excuse for not finding a group where you can serve.

It is all about giving.  Not getting.

And like it says, "The day" is approaching.  One way or another we will have to answer to a Holy God for our behavior here on earth when it comes to the subject of assembling.

There is strength in numbers.

The tenth chapter of Hebrews is full of important verses.  I want to talk about all of them, but I would never get through the book if I did!!

Heb. 10: 24, "And let us consider one another,   to provoke unto love and to good works:"

Consider one another.  Provoke.  Consider--to provoke.

Consideration and courtesy don't seem to be very present in today's society.  But we are challenged to consider each other for a common Christian purpose.  The good of others.

But how do you be considerate and provoke someone at the same time.  You do it with love for the intended  purpose.  For the result:  To challenge others to do good works.  In the name of our God.

My class at church is very good at this.  "Would you help me cook dinner for this family who need some help?" someone will ask.

How can you refuse.  It may not be convenient at the moment, but the women in my class seem to get the job done.  We provoke each other to do good works.  That's the point.  If you are a Christian, you are supposed to do good.  Your works don't make you a Christian, but are a result of your "…holding fast to your profession of faith."

I really don't like to be provoked.  I'd rather be the provokee.

In Oklahoma, after a rain in the summer, you can find crawdads crawling around on the ground.  I have no idea why they come out of their holes.  Maybe because the holes fill up with water?  I remember  when I was a child, splashing through the wet grass, picking them up behind the pinchers and putting them in a box so I could play with them.

Sometimes I would find a mother with her tail literally covered with hundreds of tiny babies holding on like they were glued.  It was fascinating the way the mother would raise her pinchers to defend her family.  And as long as the babies didn't let go, they were safe.
'
That may be a stupid story.  But when I think about holding on, I think about those babies holding on to their mother with every thing they had.  The storm raged and the the water rose, but they were safe as long as they held fast.

Heb. 10: 23 "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised;"

Once we have given ourselves to our Holy God, we have two things to do according to the author of Hebrews.  1.  Hold fast to our profession of faith.   2.  Don't waver

Our salvation is due to the faithfulness of God, not ours.  He promised.  We are protected because of the nature and character of God.  Not because of our character or our nature.   We are babies when we begin our Christian journey.  We hold on and He carries us.

The foundation of our faith is His faithfulness.   He's got us.  Whatever happens, hold fast.

I'm holding on.  He's faithful.  What more can a person ask for?