By Faith

By Faith

We read in Hebrews 11:1-2, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” We want to be in the book written in the presence of the Holy One Himself because we are commended for our faith, which causes us to believe even though we have never seen Him in person and to hope for the very things that He has promised. We need a faith that will cause us to be an obedient, righteous people.

“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of Yahveh, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to Yahveh a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, The Lord Yahveh testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:3-4). The difference between Cain and Abel’s offerings had nothing to do with the offerings themselves; it was the intent of their hearts.

Abel loved his Creator; he could not wait to acknowledge his gratitude to Him. He could not wait to give thanksgiving, to bring his offering to Him from what he had. There was something amiss in Cain’s heart. The footnote in the Zondervan NIV Study Bible cites something really interesting, “If you [Cain] do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7 NIV). You must master sin. “The Hebrew word for ‘crouching’ is the same as the ancient Babylonian word for an evil demon crouching at the door of a building to threaten the people inside. Sin may be pictured here as just such a demon, waiting to pounce on Cain—it desired to have him.”

We have to master our flesh because sin is crouching, like a demon from hell, at the doors of our lives. Be careful. Give careful thought to your ways, give careful thought to what you do, make sure it is Yahveh God leading you. Make sure your choices line up with His Word. Make sure your actions please Him. Don’t lean on your own understanding, it could be a set up from the enemy crouching at your door, wanting to master you when you need to master him.