Faithfulness in a person ultimately rests on his or her trust in God, and if a person is going to be faithful, its because he or she believes what God says.

Gideon began his life as a coward, became a conqueror, and ended a compromiser, all the while needing assurances from God to bolster his flagging faith.

God has chosen the weak and base things of the world, yet we can still sacrifice our personal concerns for the greater good just as our Savior did.

Like with the heroes of faith, our testing will be commensurate with the job God has prepared for us. We must make our relationship with God our top priority.

Faith permitted Enoch, Noah, and Abraham to receive God's personal calling. Like our patriarchs, we were called while we lived in the wicked world.

While the carnal mindset is hostile to everything in God's word, we have been provided a gift to enable us to overcome: the faith from being born of God.

God's calling is personal and individual rather than general, opening otherwise closed minds, replacing spiritual blindness with spiritual understanding.

The heroes of faith may have had a longer period of testing than those called now, but the trials will come at greater intensity here at the end.

Faith falters when our attention moves to ourselves. God periodically allows storms to test our faith. We are driven back to God when there is nowhere else to turn.

Far from being blind, faith is based on analyzing, comparing, adding up from evidence in God's Word, our own experience, and our calling by God's Holy Spirit.

We would like God to instantly gratify our desires. Consequently, we find living by faith difficult; we do not trust that He has things under control.

Abraham embodied living by faith. Through perpetually living in a tent, he demonstrated his complete trust and reliance upon God.

The Bible abounds in metaphors of warfare, indicating that the Christian's walk will be characterized by stress, sacrifice, and deprivation in building faith.

Those reveling in the 'new freedoms' of apostasy cannot be persuaded to return to former beliefs because they no longer believe in the sanctified Word of God.

Both the 'eternal security' and 'no works' doctrines are destroyed by the remarkable example of Noah, who performed extraordinary works based upon faith.

God protected Enoch from death so he could teach Noah, providing the godly instruction that Methuselah and Lamech (Noah's grandfather and father) failed to give.

God requires His people to put their faith in action, giving evidence of their hope, demonstrating godly behavior rather than abrasive carnal behavior.

According to Plutarch, heroism is not about nobility, strength, boldness or even courage. The critical component in the ancients' view of the hero is compassion.

God is pleased to save those who humble themselves, allowing Him to perform a mighty work through them, and putting everyone in debt to Him.

Life is difficult to navigate. Adversity is a common part of life, yet now, having been called by God, we must work hard to overcome and conquer these challenges.

We must develop patience, perseverance, and endurance for the times ahead, safe-guarding the precious calling God has given us and enduring to the end

Affliction seems to be an integral part of Christianity. However, when it is viewed in the context of eternity, it is relatively light.

None of the heroes of faith faced their challenges by themselves, but were aware of God's protection and power, a power much greater than themselves.

None of the heroes of faith lived a settled life. They experienced continual change to their circumstances, yet they soldiered on and emerged victorious

Abraham, the father of the faithful, did not have a blind faith; it was based upon observation of God's proven track record of faithfulness.

Desmond Doss was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor. This Sabbath-keeping medic exemplifies total conviction.

Christians are not called to fight in this world's wars, but we are called to spiritual battle. Hebrews 11 speaks of some heroes of faith—spiritual veterans.

The young often lack the wisdom to distinguish mere fun from real joy. Sometimes such wisdom has to come from the hard knocks that result from bad decisions.

Moses sacrificed great worldly honor to become a servant of God, demonstrating real servant leadership. God praises Moses for his faithfulness and meekness.

In both the basket carrying Moses and the ark carrying Noah's family for over a year, God was in control, and guided both arks to safety.

The quality of leadership affects the morality and well-being of a nation, and the quality of family leadership trickles up to civic and governmental leadership.

Jephthah's vow has been a bone of contention for centuries. Did he really sacrifice his daughter? What kind of man was Jephthah?

As God found it necessary to test our forbears, He allows us to go through grueling experiences (trials, tests, and temptations) for maximum growth.

As God's children, we have no need to become discouraged for long. God has given and done so much for us that we have no reason to get down.

God and Noah worked side by side to deliver the remnant of humanity through the Flood, God supplying the sanctification and grace and Noah obeying in faith.

Our sins can drag us down, but there are other weights that impede our progress, limit our usefulness to God, hold us back, and hinder us in our race.

Hebrews 11 provides examples to bolster faith. The faith described is not blind, but is carefully developed from systematic analysis of available evidence.

Imagination, coupled by the power of the Holy Spirit, helps us to understand the power and reality of the invisible. Faith as a concept is immaterial.

Among his many other accomplishments, King David was a significant prophet. Psalm 22, for example, is a clearly recognizable prophecy of Christ's suffering.

Trials define who we are by placing choices before us, forcing us to have faith in God. Character is built by making right, though difficult, choices.

Persistence is impossible without a transcendent and ardent vision, which prevents us from casting off restraint and gives us the will to keep on.

Like Jesus and other heroes of faith, we need to look beyond the present to the long term effects of the trials and tests we go though, seeing their value.

Faithfulness is living continually by faith, acting even though doing so may cost us. Love is not primarily a feeling, but faithfulness in applying God's Word.

Greek and Roman myths have shaped the world view of Western culture, including our attitude toward hope, a concept which is often abused and distorted.

A spiritual Israelite undergoes a metamorphosis in which his own self-centered will is broken so that God's creative work can be completed within him.

Without daily contact with God in prayer and Bible study, and without continual contact with the brethren, we may lose the determination to persevere.

Nothing and no one can thwart God's purposes. We need to develop the faith to yield and conform to His will as clay in the potter's hands.

We learn from Abraham's experience to trust God even when we have incomplete information. When we attempt to take the expedient way out, we will run into trouble.