What are you FACING, today?

Revivalist, pastor and author, Dr. Vance Havner, said the following in regards to Jesus: “He didn’t have a ‘hard face’ for it was full of love and compassion, but he did have a ‘set face.’ He had made up His mind that He knew where He was going. Though the devil offered Him the kingdom of this world, our Savior took no shortcut; He chose the way of Calvary… He had set His face like a flint, and neither friend nor foe, man nor devil, could divert Him from His goal.”

I loved that description of Jesus that He “had set His face like a flint.”

Truth be told, this is why I love digging into the Holy Scriptures. The Word of God is full of men and women, the heroes of the faith, who set their faces like a flint.

Caleb “…gave himself totally to God.” (Joshua 14:14)
Joshua said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
Elijah asked, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions?” (1 Kings 18:21)
Daniel “resolved in his heart” to be true to God. (Daniel 1:8)
Mary of Bethany “had chosen what is better,” and that was to sit at the feet of Jesus. (Luke 10:42)
Paul said, “…this one thing I do…” (Philippians 3:13)

I wonder today, where are we setting our faces?

I was encouraged and convicted by Daniel’s faith as we started our “Forged” series last Sunday in Harvest. At just 15 years old, Daniel “resolved in his heart” not to compromise what he was putting into his body. He took a stand as an exile in a strange land not to compromise who God had called him to be. The end result, “And God showed him favor…” (Daniel 1:9). On the other side of the testing, came the stand. And what followed? The blessing.

Remember this point that started the teaching time on Sunday: It is possible to live in Babylon and not compromise who you are and who God has called you to be. The three take-aways from last Sunday’s word were: