January 29-30 - Imagine 

We fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT, second edition)

Children have an amazing capacity to live in the imaginary moment as they play. They can’t see something physically, but they imagine it in their minds and it becomes real and tangible. Imagination is essential to living by faith, and children teach us so much.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (NLT, second edition).

Faith is when we hope for something, and we just know it’s going to happen! The secret is, in order to hope for something, you have to picture it in your mind.

Hebrews 11 is God’s Hall of Fame. When you read through the heroes of faith, you realize that every one of them became heroes of faith because they used their imagination.

For instance, God said to Abraham, “You’re 90 years old, and you have no kids. But I’m going to change your name from Abram to Abraham, which means ‘father of a great nation.’”

He told Abraham to go outside at night and count the stars — that’s how many grandchildren and great grandchildren he would have in his family tree — the nation of Israel! What is God doing when he tells Abraham to go count stars? He is activating his imagination. He’s saying, “I want you to visualize what I’m going to do in your life.” If we would only do the same!

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “We fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

We can’t see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but they’re going to last for eternity. We can’t see our own soul, but it’s going to last for eternity.

The Bible says we need to focus on the things that will last — the things we can’t actually see with our eyes. So how do we focus on things we can’t see? You use your imagination.

Imagination shapes your life because it is essential to living by faith. 

'And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them”' - Mark 10:13-16 ESV

Today, Ivan Parker will sing “I Can Only Imagine.” Click on the picture to listen.