Sunday, September 2, 2012

Keep the Faith

In the forty-seventh chapter of Genesis, we see that Joseph has brought his father, Jacob, before the Pharaoh of Egypt to introduce him.

And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?

 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

Here is a man who was blessed with a dozen sons, who was endowed of God with wealth beyond his wildest imagination, who is the bearer of the promise given to his forebears, who reports, at the age of 130, that the days of his life have been "few and evil."

Yet with faith in the promise, Jacob, when dying, blessed both sons of Joseph, and worshipped God.

What hope, then do we have?  The days of our life are indeed few.  That they will be plagued with evil is a given.  In the blessings that God grants us, we have hope only in the greatest blessing of all, the gift of salvation through His grace in the redeeming blood of His only begotton Son.

Hebrews 12:1-3
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

5 comments:

Shelly said...

Loved this. It is a soul boosting shot this beautiful Sunday morning~

Vee said...

Like the sermonette! Maybe I'll crawl back into bed and not go the church this morning. NOT!

vanilla said...

Shelly, thank you. Blessings on this Lord's Day!

Vee, thank you; it is not a substitute for the worship service.

Sharkbytes said...

Ah! One of my favorite passages!

vanilla said...

Shark, this passage, along with Revelation 2:17!