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| Volume 20 Number 8 August 2018 | Page 9 |
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| Volume 20 Number 8 August 2018 | Page 9 |
Courageous Faith
Therman Hodge
Faith is not just knowing the will of God but having the courage to act on it. May this degree of faith be seen in you and me.
One prominent Bible character had the courage to defy a king (Hebrews 11:23). Moses' parents were courageous. They hid Moses for three months! Then his mother made a boat and set him in the river!
What could cause a woman to do this with her baby? Could she not support the child any longer? Was it that the child was a burden to the family? Was he maybe an embarrassment to the family?
No! The king demanded that all the Israelite newborn males be killed. What would you do for your child when you were that desperate? Moses’ mother trusted the Lord! There is more to the biblical account (Exodus 1:22-2:10).
Moses had the courage to identify with his people (Hebrews 11:24-26). He courageously suffered with his people (Hebrews 11:24). Nursed by his own mother and learning of his nation’s dilemma, Moses refused to live a lie to keep material benefits. Who we are is more important than riches and pleasure!
Moses suffered hardships for Christ (Hebrews 11:25-26; Exodus 2:11-14). Christ suffered immensely for us (1 Peter 1:21-23). We should be willing to suffer for Christ. Serving Christ will bring some hardships and afflictions (2 Timothy 3:12). We must stand with God’s people in times of difficulty. Suffering for Christ is superior to the seasonal pleasure of sin. The results of suffering with Christ are better than worldly riches (Matthew 5:11-12).
Moses forsook the land of Egypt (Hebrews 11:27). He might have been second in command of the greatest nation in the world at that time. After all, he was the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He gave it all up, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible!
God’s children need the confidence to face incredible odds (Hebrews 11:28-29). The last plague was an attack on the house of Pharaoh through the death of the firstborn! Blood placed over the door to indicate who to pass over spared Israelite families (Exodus 12:21-23). There was no blood sprinkled on the houses of the Egyptians. To be saved today, we must be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ (1 John 1:5-7).
Crossing the Red Sea required faith and obedience by the fleeing Israelite nation, especially by Moses who led them (Exodus 14:21-28). Deliverance was through the Red Sea that God had divided. Israel had to trust God to hold the waters back. Every Israelite who entered the sea was saved, and every Egyptian who followed was lost!
Do we possess courageous faith like Moses? We need that degree of faith today as we follow and imitate Jesus Christ.
Ernest S. Underwood
Did you ever consider some things that Jesus could have done as He lived here on this earth, but that He didn’t do? He could have become a political king. Some tried to force Him to do this. Being a carpenter, He could have had a fine house. He could have taken up a “love offering” when He healed. In each of these, and many more, He didn’t do these things.
There is yet another thing He could have done but didn’t. On the night He was betrayed, and after observing the Passover with the apostles, they all, except Judas, walked down into the Kidron Valley and a short way up the side of the Mount of Olives to Gethsemane. When I visited Gethsemane a few years back, I was struck with an amazing fact. While Jesus was in the Garden, He could have seen those who were coming to arrest Him as they made their way to the Garden also. John states that they “came there with lanterns, torches and weapons.” He knew that they were coming, and He knew why they were coming. He could have run. He could have just gone farther up the side of the hill and gone down toward Bethany. He could have just kept on going up into Galilee, but He didn’t! He stayed, was given a mock trial, scourged and crucified when He could have escaped. Why? “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” How great is your love for Him?