Heb. 11:39-40

39 And [kai] these [houtos] all [pas], having obtained a good report [martureo] through [dia] faith [pistis], received [komizo] not [ou] the promise [epaggelia]:

40 God [theos] having provided [problepo] some [tis] better [kreitton] thing [tis] for [peri] us [hemon], that [hina me] they [teleioo] without [choris] us [hemon] should [teleioo] not [hina me] be made perfect [teleioo]. KJV-Interlinear

39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect. NASB

All of these people, that have been mentioned in the last several passages, from Adam to Abel, to Enoch, to the various prophets, have one thing in common. They used faith, in God and in Gods promises, as their basic guide through life.

None of them had the same personalities. None of them were perfect. All of them made many mistakes of one sort or another.

And one more thing, they all died without receiving the ultimate promise of eternal blessings.

Eternal blessings will come in the future, not in this life time.

The whole point of the Bible is to teach us that we are in deep, deep doggie doo-doo if we ignore the truth of life. That truth being that we are sinful mankind. We are separated from God. We will not live forever. We will one day die. God holds everything in this universe together. And If we want to have a life after our death, then we better listen to what God has to say about how we can accomplish that.

We can be born and argue about when life starts for a human being. We can go to school and argue about whose school is better. We can get a job or start a business and argue about what is best for our life. We can retire, we can party on the weekends, we can go on vacations, we can sit back and have our opinions about this, that, or anything else. And When it is all said and done we will all die, leaving our opinions and things behind us. What then?

We can place our faith in that which we can see and measure, or we can place our faith in something that we cannot see, in something we cannot measure.

John 20:29

29 Jesus said to him, Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed. NASB

1 Peter 1:10-12

10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, 11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things into which angels long to look. NASB

The animals know when the seasons are changing, and even the angels learn from human history. Doubt that the angels had toasters, or even knew of the existence of sub-atomic particles. They wouldn t have any need for that kind of knowledge. But human history not only reveals knowledge of a tangible nature, but the workings of Gods plan.

Humanity is the only creature that seems to have difficulty in understanding his right from his left.

And so life goes on. Those who are self righteous continue in their quest to change the world, or in proving themselves right while all others are wrong. Those who would steal, steal. Those who would be tyrants, will commit atrocities. Those who won t get involved will look the other way. And the vast majority of humanity will just figure that what they are doing in life is more than adequate to qualify themselves, for whatever life or God, has prepared for them.

The basic truths continue. In order to be included in Gods plan, you must believe in His only Son and Savior, Jesus Christ. In order to qualify for the vast blessings of eternity, you must conduct your life responsibly. Which means that you must grow up in your spiritual life.

The Lake of Fire (perpetual separation from God and the complete loss of controls of every kind over ones existence) awaits those who reject His salvation offer.

Being saved is infinitely better than the Lake of Fire.

By the same token, the blessings of eternity for the spiritually mature, infinitely exceed those blessings for those who reject their spiritual lives now.

Likewise again, life right now in these physical bodies will be far better for those who are advancing in their spiritual lives, than it will be for those who ignore their spiritual obligations. God honors faith.

Placing your trust in God has a win, win outcome. But trust is not an emotional response to a wish, nor is it a matter of being lucky. It is the result of a daily, steady advance in ones spiritual life by means of pursuing a daily study program in Bible doctrine, and applying it to ones own daily life. You learn as you grow and you grow as you learn.

Gods plan is not designed for the immediate fulfillment of ones wishes, but is designed for the long term result for ones life.

Now is the time to post a prayer.