Life may be a struggle but there will be eternal bliss!!!!! Day By Day By Grace Bob Hoekstra November 15, 2013 Contrasting Consequences of Accessing Grace through Faith Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. (Hebrews 11:35) This verse serves as a transition from enjoyed blessings to endured difficulties. Both were experienced by depending upon the Lord. Herein, we see contrasting consequences of accessing grace through faith. The blessings we may anticipate. The difficulties may seem to us unusual. Even the blessing of resurrected loved ones is not surprising to be found in the history of Gods people, since we serve a God of resurrection power. Elijah understood this. Consequently, he did not balk when he knew that the Lord wanted him to be an instrument of resurrection. This miracle of Gods grace would occur in the home of a widow who was supplying food for the prophet. The son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him (1 Kings 17:17). This faithful widow was distressed and perplexed. So she said to Elijah, What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son? (1 King 17:18). In most situations, prayer would have been appropriately offered for the strength and comfort of the remaining family. However, Elijah was led to cry out to the Lord for the boy. O LORD my God, I pray, let this childs soul come back to him (1 Kings 17:21). The Lord confirmed that this was His will by raising the deceased son. Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived (1 Kings 17:22). This miraculous blessing was brought forth by faith in God. Yet, faith in the Lord does not always result in such temporal blessings, as the contrasting conclusion to our verse documents. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Living by faith is the general context of this chapter (By faith…By faith…By faith-Hebrews 11:3, 4, 5). It is also the immediate context of our verse (who through faith-Hebrews 11:33). These others [who] were tortured were also living by faith. Their faith in God would work for them an eternal blessing, to be enjoyed at the final resurrection of the righteous. We can embrace this same outlook. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18). Meanwhile, we can be learning to live by resurrection power: that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10). Lord God of Resurrection, I cry out to You to revive the dead or dying areas of my own life. I also look to You for the sustaining strength I need in times of suffering. Teach me to live daily by the power of Your resurrection, Amen. This has been brought to you by the following ministries: Living in Christ Ministries Blue Letter Bible Sowing Circle This emailed devotional is a daily mailing courtesy of the Blue Letter Bible to which you have subscribed. This devotional was mailed to To unsubscribe, please log into your BLB account at blb.org/userPrefs/userPrefs.cfm and use our Manage Your Subscriptions section to change which devotionals your receive, and in which format (HTML or Plain text). If you continue to receive the mailing, REPLY to this email and state that you wish to unsubscribe. One of the Blue Letter Bible staff will take care of the request manually. The Blue Letter Bible 22431 Antonio Parkway, Suite B160-618 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-3932 949-600-6000 Reply, Reply All or Forward | More by Jesus Belzunce on
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 22:02:08 +0000
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