So many of the Lord's flock are indecisive! They never shall attain the first resurrection because they cannot make up their mind that the things of God are more important than what they see about them. They waver and are driven about by every wind of doctrine, desire, and fear.

They do not know what to believe. One moment they are persuaded to follow the Lord with their whole heart. A week later they are thinking about something else.

Every day we make choices, we decide among alternatives. The individual who does not keep clearly before himself or herself the Glory of God, the goal of discipleship, the mark of the heavenly calling in Christ, can never arrive at the first resurrection. He is weak and fearful and because of this he will turn back into the wilderness at the first sign of the enemy. It is the conqueror, the overcomer, who inherits all things, who is counted as God's son. God takes no pleasure in fearful, indecisive people.

God takes no pleasure in those who, for whatever reason, cannot make up their mind to serve the Lord. Those who do make a success of the process of redemption are as frail and spiritually handicapped as those who fail. One of the differences is that the victorious saints are single-minded. They put their hand to the plow and do not look back. When they stumble they get up again and continue pressing forward. God considers them worthy of eternal life in His Kingdom.

Choose this day whom you will serve. Be hot or cold. If the Lord is your God, then serve Him. If Satan is your God, then serve him. It is impossible to attain the first resurrection if we cannot make up our mind what direction we will go.

Our faith that causes us to follow the Lord in strict obedience. Faith is an important part of our response to God's invitation to life.

Faith brings us through the process of redemption until we arrive at the resurrection that will take place when the Lord appears.

The eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews is a definition of what it means to live by faith. The righteous live by faith.

As we ponder the eleventh chapter of Hebrews we notice that the faith by which the righteous live is not a profession of belief in doctrine. The faith by which the righteous live is obedience to the revealed will of God. Faith is a laying hold on God in such a manner that the promise of God is brought to reality.

Faith apart from works is dead. When we think of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, we can see that a profession of belief in doctrine is not what they had in common. What they had in common was an actual, practical response to what God had shown them to be true. They did what God told them to do. They did not continue in their daily business and claim that God by Himself was going to bring the promise to pass.

To be continued.