Will You Be a Hero?

Daily Reading: Hebrews 11

Scripture Focus: ...in reverent fear constructed an ark. (Hebrews 11.7)

Devotional Thought: Who are your heroes - people who shaped - maybe even "saved" - you? I have many who showed me the way. Some showed me life skills: my childhood neighbor, Si Siler; my Uncle Cedric; my father-in-law, Nick Moore. These men taught me a work ethic and the value of saving. There are other heroes, men who constructed spiritual values: my first pastor, Nelson Perdue; the district superintendent who gave me my first church, Eugene Simpson; an older friend who spent time with me, Don Ekis. These men led me to God. They, among many, many others, are my heroes.

Hebrews 11, is all about heroes of faith. Noah was one such man in this "Hall of Faith." Noah, in reverent fear, constructed an ark, and...

• Condemned the world. Noah was not afraid to name sin for what it was. He stood in stark contrast to the evil of his day, by his faith and obedience. The world today needs women and men who will stand against the evils of pornography, human trafficking, economic oppression, loose morality, and all other forms of sin.

• Inherited righteousness. Noah was not righteous by his own efforts; he inherited it from God. Noah then claimed his inheritance, and went to work to possess it. Today, we need people who will take God at his Word, receive the righteousness of Christ, and build their lives according to his pattern.

• Saved his family. Noah's faith not only saved him, but also his family. When men and women of God give themselves to works of righteousness, the generation following them will benefit. We need parents who will put faith above sports, generosity above materialism, and holiness above pleasure.
  

Will you be a hero?

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11. Help me, O Lord, to be a hero of faith, so that others may find their way to you. Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 50.1-6

1 The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.

3 Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest. 4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: 5 “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” 6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah