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Advent: faith


When I started looking into the weekly themes for Advent, I realized there's not really a uniform list... so I guess I just get to pick and choose what I focus on ;) So I'm using this list from Focus on the Family a few years ago:

Welcome to Advent 2021 - Focus on the Family

Last week was hope, and this week I want to look at faith.

 

 One of the most famous places to look at for faith in the bible is Hebrews 11, often called the "faith hall of fame." In the Voice translation, the chapter starts off with this:

"Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for,
the absolute conviction that there are realities
you’ve never seen."
(Hebrews 11:1)

What follows is an amazing list of some of the heroes of the bible:

  • Abel
  • Enoch
  • Noah
  • Abraham
  • Sarah
  • Isaac
  • Jacob
  • Joseph
  • Moses
  • Rahab
  • Gideon
  • Barak
  • Samson
  • Jephthah
  • David
  • Samuel

We all love to hear the great, dramatic stories of faith. We are thrilled to hear about miracles and people standing for their faith in the face of great persecution, like Daniel when he was thrown into the lions' den or when David faced Goliath.

What we tend to forget, though, is that God isn't just pleased with the superheroes of the faith.

God is also looking for those with a quiet faith.

He is proud of the parents who teach their children to follow Him.

He is close to the brokenhearted who know God will see them through, even when the pain of loss seems unbearable.

He is listening to the bedtime prayer of the child and the cry for help from the teenager.

He is giving strength to the one choosing another day of being sober.

He is watching the nurse who smiles at the hateful patient.

Faith doesn't have to be spectacular...but even a quiet faith is life-changing. 

 

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Thoughts? I would love to hear them!
~Mandy

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