SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Scripture: Hebrews 11:32-35

Verse 35 says, “Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.” Is it possible that the more adversity we have, the better our resurrection is going to be? Not accepting deliverance is a concept that is very difficult to grasp. We are trained to accept everything God does and it’s almost impossible to imagine not accepting deliverance to gain a better resurrection. There is something about suffering that most in our present day generations do not know. It is often pointed out that there is a vast difference between the generations that went through the Great Depression and World War II and the ones that later generations did not. There is a place in faith where God dramatically rewards those who do not see what they spent a lifetime believing for. Their reward is a better resurrection. I suspect there are many believers right now who that applies to – people who have not seen but have believed for a promise God gave them. There is such an emphasis on fulfillment that discouragement outweighs the promise of better resurrection. According to Hebrews 11, the reward is greater for those who choose not to receive fulfillment. Yet, it feels like church leaders have not trained the Body of Christ in this dimension and rarely even pointed it out. Is it possible there are gifts in the Bible that we have never understood and brought to the people of God? There is a gift revealed here and if we don’t see it, the enemy can use discouragement to thwart us and slow us down in the Kingdom. Discouragement is a battle that can be won with biblical gifts. Let’s pray the church into the place we can hear and receive!