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What Does God Sound Like?
An Excerpt from Speak, My Soul If we are to hear our own soul speak, we Read More
Ben Ingebretson | Read Hebrews 11:39-40
The writer of Hebrews looks all the way back to Abel and then forward to the days just preceding John the Baptist. This whole time was an era of unfulfilled (or incompletely fulfilled) promise. God’s covenant through Abraham was that Abraham would be a great nation and that all the...
Holy God, I humbly join those who await your final consummation in Jesus Christ. I too am impatient with your plan at times. Help me trust you and live today with hope. Amen.
Isaiah compares the people of Israel to a vineyard that God has planted. However, the grapes that grow there have become wild. There is no justice, no right living in the vineyard, so God is considering letting it be destroyed. The psalmist uses the same metaphor to bemoan the state of God’s people. The vineyard has been overrun, burned, and cut down. The psalmist appeals to God to restore the vineyard. The author of Hebrews presents many more examples of people of faith in past times. All these exemplars now surround us and cheer us on in our life of faith. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus cautions that following the gospel requires full commitment. For some, this will mean tension in relationships, even within families. Following Jesus is not a commitment of convenience.
Read Isaiah 5:1-7. Recall a time when you lovingly prepared a place. What would prompt you to destroy it?
Read Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19. How has God restored you when you have been at your most vulnerable?
Read Hebrews 11:29–12:2. Who makes up your personal Faith Hall of Fame? How does each person cheer you on in your spiritual journey?
Read Luke 12:49-56. What does it mean for your life of faith for Jesus to have come to bring division?
Respond by posting a prayer.
