100 Days to a Healthier Churchनमूना

Day 96 Today’s Big Idea: The story continues. Are you one of the people who has only been reading the Key Verse in these devotionals instead of looking up the entire passage? ( Gotcha! You thought you were getting away with it, didn’t you? ) I know this happens because I’ve done it, too. But I ask you to slow down a little. Stop and find your Bible, look up today’s Passage of the Day and read it. You’ll be glad you did. Key Verse: God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect (Hebrews 11:40). Thoughts to Consider: If I was told I could only preach from one Bible passage for the rest of my life, it’s hard to imagine a better choice than this one. The roster of great people of faith is inspirational, what they endured for their faith is staggering, and what we can learn from them is unfathomable. Yet after all the decisions they made, all the courage they exemplified, and all the persecution they endured, maybe the most shocking statement of the entire passage is our Verse of the Day: “God had planned something better for us.” For us! Really?! As powerful as their testimonies are, and as much as we should honor their extraordinary sacrifices, these heroes of faith knew nothing of the life, teachings, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. There were glimmers of him given by the prophets, but the reality of Jesus was far beyond anything they could have imagined. But we don’t have to imagine it. For us, the story of Jesus is not unknown, it’s history. And, more than history, we live with the presence of the Holy Spirit right now. This is why their story is only “made perfect” (complete) when it can happen “together with us.” Their story is made complete in our story, because of Jesus.