Day 317: Hebrews 11:17-31

“By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.” - Hebrews 11:29 ESV

Death by drowning has to be one of the most fearful things to think about. Would we be willing to risk this fate by stepping out in faith if God commanded us to do so? The Israelites walked across on the dry land, through the Red Sea, with water walls on either side. Surely they had to wonder if the barricade would hold for all 1.5 million-ish of them to cross. God kept the waters at bay and allowed them to cross. Their faith had not been misplaced.

As we meander through Hebrews 11, we see people who did things by faith, causing them to take risks. Faith will always call us to take uncomfortable action. The Greek word used for faith throughout the New Testament is pistis, and it can also be translated as trust.

If we trust God enough to see us through, we need to believe He'll support us as we step into an unknown/exciting space.

In these moments, if God doesn't come through, we will fail miserably. History has shown, though, that God has always responded significantly to people who put simple trust (faith) in Him. What step is Jesus asking you to take next?

“There are two redemptions: redemption by price and redemption by power. Redemption by price was typified in the paschal lamb and the Passover. Redemption by power was typified in the passage of the Red Sea, when the children of Israel went through it dry-shod and the Egyptians were drowned.” - C.H. Spurgeon

Day 313: Hebrews 9:11-28

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” - Hebrews 9:27-28 ESV

Thomas Edison and his researchers in Edison's laboratory in Menlo Park, N.J., tested more than 3,000 designs for light bulbs between 1878 and 1880. They needed all of these unsuccessful attempts to get to their finished product.

How about Jesus? How many times did He need to carry out his rescue plan? It took one cross, a single offering, to atone for our many mistakes. When we receive this generous gift of grace, we are forgiven and set on a new path that leads to life (see Matthew 7:13-14).

Yet that isn't all. One day Jesus will come for a second time to bring justice to completion (all will be made right). Who is it that will be saved? Those who "eagerly await" him. This is one Greek word (apekdechomai), and it means to "look forward eagerly" or to “expect anxiously.”

Jesus saved us by His death when we came to Him in faith. Now we look ahead, not fearfully, but filled with hope.

And as we established at the start, Jesus is an expert in saving. He only needed one take to do what no one else could.

“At His first manifestation Christ took on Him the sins of humanity, and, though Himself sinless, endured the consequences of sin. At His second coming this burden will exist no longer. Sin then will have no place.” - Brooke Foss Westcott