SUNDAY, JANUARY 29
Scripture: Hebrews 11:33

Hebrews 11:33 says, “…who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions…” The first question that comes to me is how did they really subdue kingdoms? And the truth of that is so visible in their lives that we often read right over the real foundation for all of it. The foundation is in each prophet’s life. It is consistent and it is always the same. So let’s look first at Daniel, then look at Samuel and some of the others. Daniel 1 is the story of Daniel and his three friends being taken from Jerusalem into the captivity of Babylon. The very first battle they faced was a choice – would they stay true to the Word? There were many dietary laws which they had to keep and they faced a test – would they honor God’s Word? When they brought themselves under the authority of the Word of the Lord, they grew to a place where they brought the kingdom under the same God they served. That pattern goes all the way through Scripture. If you and I and other believers will first bring ourselves under the authority of God’s Word, then faith grows to bring the nation in which we live under the authority of God’s Word. That is how they subdued kingdoms. They started out by saying they could not do anything without God and He grew them to the place where, through their choices, they subdued the kingdoms in which they lived. But the choices they made often came at the peril of their own lives. It started with their obedience to God and with their choices. Are we willing to work on ourselves first? That is where it all starts.