Foundations: Heros of the Faith
Scripture and Christian history are
full of faith heroes – men and women who stepped out in obedience when God said
“go”. Those who have gone before us stand as a great cloud of witnesses spurring
us onward in the faith. Their testimony urges us to spend our lives for the One
who spent His life for our salvation. May your faith be built as you read their
stories.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,
and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our
eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set
before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men,
so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3
Introduction
READ: Hebrews 11
God is faithful. His faithfulness
is foundational to His character, and is evident all throughout Scripture. His
promise to never leave or forsake His people is fulfilled so clearly in every
inch of the Bible. God is already ready to embrace repentant sinners. In love
and faithfulness He came to earth to save mankind from our sin, and in
faithfulness we know He will return to bring salvation to those who are waiting
for Him.
Because God is faithful – true to
His Word – we can, and must, put our faith
in Him. Hebrews 11 tells us that faith is being
confident about what we hope for and certain
about the things we cannot see. The chapter goes on to highlight a number
of men and women throughout the Bible who demonstrated this kind of faith. Ephesians
2:8 tells us, “For it is by grace you
have been saved, through faith…” Faith is necessary to the Christian life
and “without faith it is impossible to
please God.” The Bible teaches that righteous people live by faith; like
Abraham, they step out and obey what God tells them because they trust in His
Word.
READ: Hebrews 12:1-3
The men and women of Hebrews 11
are given to us that we may be spurred on in our faith. To be spurred is not a
pleasant feeling. It is a sharp poke in a horse’s side, urging him onward.
Throughout the summer months you will be introduced to some men and women of
the past 6000 years who have demonstrated great faith. It is our hope that
their stories will spur you to
greater faith and to joyful obedience to our Lord. They are ordinary people who
chose to obey God. They come from different walks of life, have different
abilities and have received different callings. Some have sacrificed much for
the sake of Christ, but they have come to relate well to the Apostle Paul: “[they] consider everything a loss compared
to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus [their] Lord.” (Phil
3:8) And because of their faith and obedience, they have joined together as a
great cloud of witnesses. Their testimonies spur us on towards godliness,
encouraging us to throw off the sin that hinders us and to run the race marked
out for us, setting our eyes on Jesus who is our great Reward.
How This Works
The summer Foundations will look different than previous editions. You will
notice there are no specific “Journaling and Prayer” questions; however it is
vital to your devotional life that you continue to incorporate these things
into your time with the Lord. Though some of the write-ups are short, we
encourage you to invite the Holy Spirit to move in your heart as you read and
reflect. There is so much to learn from these people, both for us personally
and for the Canadian church. Remember to add personal prayer and intercession
(praying for others) as you go through each day. Here is an outline of how to
approach each segment in this devotional.
STEP 1: Read the given
Scripture passage. If the character is from the Bible, the passage may tell
a portion of their life story. If the character is from Christian history, the
passage may display an aspect of their spiritual life, or illustrate a Biblical
point that they were passionate about.
STEP 2: Read the character’s
life description. We encourage you to do this prayerfully, asking the Holy
Spirit to speak to you through their life. As you read, think about the faith
this person possessed.
STEP 3: Prayer and
journaling. Have your journal open, and spend time thinking and writing
about the character and Scripture passage you read. What does the Holy Spirit
want to reveal to you from it? Here are
some things that you may want to think and pray about during your devotional
time:
- How can you relate to what you've read?
- How was this person influenced to godliness? How does this speak to you about the influence you have on others?
- How are you spurred on by what you have read? What do you want to do or change as a result of your reading?
- What/who do you need to pray about/for in response to what you have read?
- How does God want you to walk in faith today?
- Ask the Lord to show you anything that you need to confess based on what you read today.
- How does what you have read build your faith?
- How does what you read increase your love for the Lord?
We encourage you to bookmark this
page so that you can come back to it if you need direction during your
devotional times.
There are 67 individuals covered
in this summer edition of Foundations (69 “days” in total). We encourage you to
spend time on 1 (sometimes 2) per day throughout the months of July and August.
It is our prayer that you will be encouraged by these brothers and sisters in
Christ who have demonstrated how to run the race.
JOURNALING AND PRAYER
1. Where
do you feel weak in your faith?
2. Ask
God how He wants to grow your faith this summer. What does He want to do in
your heart?
3. Thank
God for what He has shown you, and pray that it would become a reality in your
life.
Abel (martyred c. 3850 BC)
By faith Abel brought God a
better offering than Cain did… Hebrews 11:4a (NIV)
READ: Genesis 4:1-12
The faith of Abel is remarkable
in that it centers on obedience. It is
safe to assume that both Cain and Abel were taught by their parents the proper
procedures to offer a sacrifice. They
both built an altar and they both brought the fruits of their labours. Cain brought the fruit of the soil (v. 3)
whereas Abel brought the firstborn of his flock (v. 4). In Israel’s history both grain offerings and
animal sacrifices were legitimate expressions of worship, so why does God
reject Cain and his offering and accept Abel’s?
The answer is in Hebrews 11:4; By faith Abel brought God a better
offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of
his offerings. And by faith Abel
still speaks, even though he is dead. Abel brought his offering in faith. It seems that Abel was in a relationship with
God and Cain was separated from God. The
first person of faith listed in the mighty faith chapter of Hebrews 11 reminds
us that faith is not necessarily rewarded on earth as Abel ended up dying for
his faith. Yet his blood still speaks to
us today, reminding us of the value of eternity and the importance of faith!
JOURNALING AND PRAYER
1. Where do you feel weak in your faith?
2. Ask God how He wants to grow your faith this summer. What does He want to do in your heart?
3. Thank God for what He has shown you, and pray that it would become a reality in your life.
