Chapter 1\/2020<\/p>\n
Good Monday Morning,<\/p>\n
Grace is God’s acceptance of us. Faith is our acceptance of God accepting us.
\nAdrian Rogers<\/p>\n
By faith, Abraham endured when God tested him … Hall of Faith and Hebrews 11:32-39 says;<\/p>\n Many of these never received their promises directly in their lifetime but they have received it because they were faithful and believed in and trusted God for they understood that God, He would deliver the promise\u2026in due time.\u00a0 The fulfillment of the promises did also depended on Abraham, a strong act of faith; it \u201cwas especially\u201d strong in his ease from the circumstances that he had an only son, and that the fulfillment of the promise depended on his life. We do know that God never tempts any man in the sense of an inducement to evil is certain: “For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man” (James 1:13<\/span>). The factors in this supreme test of faith included an apparent contradiction <\/span>in the word of God himself who had promised Abraham that all of the wonderful promises of the covenant were to be realized through the posterity of Isaac, called here his “only begotten son” (which he was, as far as children by his legitimate wife were concerned); but who then was commanded to be offered up as a sacrifice to God. Any man of ordinary faith would have concluded that the two aspects of God’s word were irreconcilable and would have rejected the command to offer up Isaac, such a command being contrary to every instinct of Abraham’s heart and which seemed, on its face, to nullify the promise of an innumerable posterity through Isaac.<\/p>\n The manner in which Abraham reconciled God’s apparently contradictory messages constitutes the glory of his faith.<\/p>\n Since God’s promise required the survival of Isaac in order to its fulfillment, and since Isaac was then to die, how could God’s promise be true? Many writers have dwelt impressively upon the turmoil in Abraham’s heart over such a dilemma, but the astonishing fact is that there seemed to be no such turmoil in Abraham. It simply was not there! The impression that we get from the Biblical narrative is that Abraham treated it as God’s problem!<\/p>\n It was for God, not for Abraham, to reconcile his promise and his command.<\/strong><\/p>\n I gave in and admitted that God was God. C. S. Lewis<\/p>\n So when the command was given, Abraham promptly set about obeying it; his own duty was clear, and God could safely be trusted to discharge his responsibility in the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n A. Barnes writes in his commentary …<\/p>\n The requirements imposed by so tremendous a task as identifying the God-man, the Messiah, Christ, when he should come into the world, plainly demanded that seemingly contradictory things should be foretold concerning him. Thus, on the one hand, he was hailed as Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Lily of the Valley, Fairest of Ten Thousand, the Bright and Morning Star, and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, etc.; while, at the same time, the Scriptures described him as despised and rejected by men, a root out of dry ground, with no beauty or comeliness that people should desire him, and as being chastised, pierced, encompassed by the wicked, and crucified. Certainly, such apparent contradictory prophecies were an enigma to the Pharisees; and it was evidently in reference to this that Jesus raised his famous question of how David’s son could be David’s Lord (Matthew 25:45,46<\/span>).<\/p>\n Significantly, had the Pharisees been true sons of Abraham, they would, like Abraham, have believed all that God said, even the seemingly contradictory things; and the very fact that the ancestor of all the Jews had given so astounding an example of doing that very thing makes the Pharisees all the more culpable in their guilt.<\/p>\n No less than the Pharisees, we, the people of today need Abrahamic faith with reference to all God has spoken, even regarding the things which appear contradictory.<\/p>\n To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible. Thomas Aquinas<\/p>\n “He that had received the promises sounds like<\/span> \u201caccepted,\u201d yet it’s far more it’s welcoming <\/i>and embracing the promises by faith.<\/p>\n Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times. Martin Luther<\/p>\n Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. Friends, look up – take courage!<\/p>\n Philemon<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chapter 1\/2020 Good Monday Morning, Grace is God’s acceptance of us. Faith is our acceptance of God accepting us. Adrian Rogers By faith, Abraham endured when God tested him … By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future … By faith, Jacob blessed each of Joseph\u2019s sons … By faith Joseph, … <\/p>\n
\n<\/span>By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future …
\n<\/span>By faith, Jacob blessed each of Joseph\u2019s sons …
\n<\/span>By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus and gave instructions …
\n<\/span>By faith, Moses\u2019 parents hid him for three months,\u00a0 not afraid of the king\u2019s edict …
\n<\/span>By faith, Moses<\/span> chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than …<\/span>
\n<\/sup><\/span>By faith, Moses left Egypt,\u00a0 persevering because he saw Him who is invisible …<\/span>
\n<\/sup>By faith, Moses kept the Passover, so no one would not touch the firstborn of Israel …
\n<\/span>By faith, the people passed through the Red Sea …
\n<\/span>By faith, the walls of Jericho fell, marching around them for seven days.
\n<\/span>By faith, Rahab was not killed with those who were disobedient …
\nBy faith, many heroes and heroines in the Bible are not all given names\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\nMartin Luther King, Jr.<\/p>\n