Genesis 12:1-4
Now the Lord said to Abram "Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father's house,
To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
.........................
Genesis 15 God's Covenant with Abram - 1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." 2 But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." 5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." .........................
Genesis 17 The Sign of the Covenant - 25 Years later, God speaks, and delivers his promise to Abraham. Abraham is 100, and Sarah (his wife) is 90. 25 years Abraham waited. Abraham Believed in the Lord, and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness. .........................
Abraham was called 'God's Friend'. If you read more about Abraham's life in the OT you will find out that he wasn't always perfect. But, he never gave up on God. He waited patiently. He had faith when the covenant God made with him seemed impossible.
In the NT Abraham is mentioned more than 70 times.
*Romans 4:18 - against all hope, Abraham believed
*Hebrews 6:13-15 - Abraham waited patiently, then he received
*Hebrews 11:11 - Abraham was considered faithful
*James 2:22 - His faith was made complete by what he did, "Abraham BELIEVED God"
Do you ever struggle with your faith? Do you ever struggle with seeing God's promises fulfilled? Have you waited and waited and then waited some more?
James 22 says that Abraham's faith and actions were working together. His faith and what he did (works), were inseparable. His faith was a verb! He wasn't inactive with his faith. Faith was an active principle in his life. Without good deeds his faith would have been dead and useless. He was credited with righteous because of his obedience in offering his son. He was called 'God's friend'. He was right with God. Now understand this, he didn't earn God's favor by his behavior, he earned God's favor because he acted in a way a friend of God should act.
He trusted, he believed, he obeyed.
And... He waited.
From the very beginning, Abraham knew he would be waiting. God sealed his promise with an oath which implies it would be a while before it was fulfilled. Abraham never gave up. He was patient! For 25 years, when what was promised seemed impossible, he believed. He waited. God doesn't work like the world works. He doesn't need things to make sense by worldly standards. He doesn't need to be 'practical'. Remember, He made Adam out of dust and Eve from a rib. (Genesis 2)
Do you have faith like Abraham? You might not be waiting to be made into a Great Nation, but I bet you are waiting for something. Is your faith a verb? Do you actively seek God's will? Do you obey when He gently nudges you? Or maybe He boldly yells. Do you humbly obey or do you run the other way?
Don't run. Don't give up.
Make your faith a verb.
Actively live out your Christian life. When all hope is lost, have faith like Abraham.
Believe in God, don't believe in the world.
God is trustworthy.
He will fulfill His promises.
But they will be in His time, not ours.
In the NT Abraham is mentioned more than 70 times.
*Romans 4:18 - against all hope, Abraham believed
*Hebrews 6:13-15 - Abraham waited patiently, then he received
*Hebrews 11:11 - Abraham was considered faithful
*James 2:22 - His faith was made complete by what he did, "Abraham BELIEVED God"
Do you ever struggle with your faith? Do you ever struggle with seeing God's promises fulfilled? Have you waited and waited and then waited some more?
James 22 says that Abraham's faith and actions were working together. His faith and what he did (works), were inseparable. His faith was a verb! He wasn't inactive with his faith. Faith was an active principle in his life. Without good deeds his faith would have been dead and useless. He was credited with righteous because of his obedience in offering his son. He was called 'God's friend'. He was right with God. Now understand this, he didn't earn God's favor by his behavior, he earned God's favor because he acted in a way a friend of God should act.
He trusted, he believed, he obeyed.
And... He waited.
From the very beginning, Abraham knew he would be waiting. God sealed his promise with an oath which implies it would be a while before it was fulfilled. Abraham never gave up. He was patient! For 25 years, when what was promised seemed impossible, he believed. He waited. God doesn't work like the world works. He doesn't need things to make sense by worldly standards. He doesn't need to be 'practical'. Remember, He made Adam out of dust and Eve from a rib. (Genesis 2)
Do you have faith like Abraham? You might not be waiting to be made into a Great Nation, but I bet you are waiting for something. Is your faith a verb? Do you actively seek God's will? Do you obey when He gently nudges you? Or maybe He boldly yells. Do you humbly obey or do you run the other way?
Don't run. Don't give up.
Make your faith a verb.
Actively live out your Christian life. When all hope is lost, have faith like Abraham.
Believe in God, don't believe in the world.
God is trustworthy.
He will fulfill His promises.
But they will be in His time, not ours.
1 comment:
thank you, thank you, thank you, Annika, for sharing this! We all need this reminder, now more than ever. It is time for followers of Christ to get off the sidelines and make our faith an action. Thank you for your boldness to share.
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