Some things are PRICELESS! Heirlooms and possessions to be treasured forever! They are NOT for sale!
I’m reading Proverbs as a part of my daily time of “coffee with the Lord”… This morning I read the following in Proverbs 23:23…
“Buy truth, and do not sell it! Buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding!”
Believe me, the wise will never offer these things at a rummage sale, a pawn shop or on eBay. You’ll never find them at a “surplus store!” They are personal, God-granted, treasures – the result of “fearing [reverencing] the Lord and loving His word!
“ETCETERA”(or “etc.” for short) … Webster says it indicates “a list of unspecified additional items.”
As the writer of Hebrews approaches the end of chapter 11 – the “Walk of Faith” chapter – after he has introduced each “case study” in faith with the words, “By faith” – he goes on to say… “AND WHAT MORE SHALL I SAY? FOR TIME WOULD FAIL ME TO TELL OF…” And then what follows is a kind of mind boggling, faith expanding, miracle producing, “ETCETERA.”
“By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets (just to name a few) — who through faith…
Women received back their dead by resurrection…” (from Hebrews 11:28-35a)
Wow! The possibilities of “walking by faith!” ETCETERA! Think about it… what God can do when we put our trust in Him! “ALL THINGS are possible to the person who believes!” (Matthew 19:26; Luke 18:27) Listen, I choose to put my confidence in God and “walk by faith!”
As Christians, we love our kids, and more than anything else we want to see them serving the Lord! Devoted Christians begin praying for them even before they are born! We have ceremonies of dedication we participate in that formally consecrate them and us as parents, and the entire believing community – the church, to their discipleship and spiritual nurture. Then we watch, and pray, and do our best to influence them for Christ. We pray they will embrace our values and the Savior! When the day comes that they put their faith in Christ for themselves and are “born again” we almost “think we’ve died and gone to heaven!” Every challenge they experience, every temptation they face, every concerning influence on their lives drives us to our knees in intense intercession. If they live out their commitment to Christ in faith-obedience, our hearts are filled with incredible thanksgiving!
That pretty well summarizes the message of “the walk of faith” we find Moses and his parents in Hebrews 11:23-28…
“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.”
I want to be that kind of parent! And like Moses, I want to make life choices by faith that express my devotion and commitment to God – that demonstrate I’m “walking by faith!”
