Day of Praise

Sat, 02/11/17, "Day of Praise"

"Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection." - Hebrews 11:35

 

God's not only worthy of our praise, for God is almighty and abounding in faithful love. But God's also given us people who inspire us to stay the course and to trust God no matter what. One of those people for me was Elizabeth Alvey, who was 93 when she recently passed, having been born December 26, 1923 and having been THE key person who encouraged me to be a pastor from the time I was in ninth grade in Kingsport, TN. 

 

Today's verse speaks of people both who trusted God and saw miracles and also who trusted God and tasted death.

 

Their inspiration was the "better resurrection" that God promised in Jesus. The "lesser" is what we get when we turn from Jesus so we can have what the world offers. The "better" is what we get when we turn from the world so we can have what God offers.

 

Hebrews 11 lists how people lived for the "better". They inspire us.

 

Who lives for the "better" and inspires you? Praise God for them! 

And as I did, but I wish I'd done more often, with Elizabeth Alvey, tell them now how they have inspired you to trust the Lord. Tell them now both so they can enjoy you thanking them while they're alive (because Elizabeth Alvey can't hear me now that she's deceased) and also so you can inspire them to keep inspiring others. 

How awesome would the world be if we all regularly thanked those who encourage us to trust and praise and share the Lord with others? I think it would surely be a world that is tasting a lot more of the "better" even now until the BEST of heaven is given at the final resurrection to all who trust God's work through Jesus! 

Praise God!