Monday, November 4, 2024

         The book of Genesis has so many wonderful stories of faith, triumph and God’s prevailing power.  We think of Noah, Joseph, Isaac and Jacob.  We think of the creation story and God speaking the universe into existence.  And we often think of Abraham maybe as much as or more than any other character in Genesis.  God called this man and chose him to be the vessel and vehicle of the promises that God wanted to carry out for the good of all who would believe and trust in Him.  The salvation story began in God’s call to Abraham.  From Abraham would come the Lord Jesus. There is a great verse in Genesis that is really foundational for much of what we read elsewhere in the Bible.  It is a verse that helps us to understand how we relate to God.
            Genesis 15:6 says, “Abram believed the LORD and He credited it to him as righteousness.”  At this stage, Abraham is still known as Abram.  The name change will take place a bit later in Genesis.  But notice the power of this verse.  Abram “believed” the Lord God.  A simple act of faith.  A response to God grounded in trust.  Do you believe God today?  Not believe in God, the existence of God or the reality of God or the presence of God.  But do you believe God?  Do you trust God at His Word?  Would you place every hope, dream, desire and need squarely in God’s hands alone each day?
            The Bible tells us that Abram took God at His Word.  He leaned his weight and life upon the Lord’s Word.  Now the context of this verse is important.  God had just promised Abram a son—not a servant but a son.  Abram did not have a child and was well-beyond the age when most couples start a family.  But God hesitated not one second in telling Abram that he would have a son, “a son coming from your own body” (Genesis 15:4b).  Most of us the age of Abram would have trouble believing this.  Honestly, we often have trouble believing God for far lesser things and in far lesser ways.  But Abram believed God.  It can be difficult to trust God with a lot of small and ordinary things each day.  But a son?  Yes, that was the promise and the test of faith.
            I read about a missionary who struggled to put the word “faith” into the correct word for the language of the community that he was trying to reach with the gospel.  At last, this missionary realized that the best way to describe or translate faith is to call it “resting one’s weight fully upon God.”  That is what Abram did.  He had no ability to produce a son by himself or even with his wife Sarai.  So, he trusted God.  Think of all the times and ways that we are called to trust the Lord.  We trust Him primarily for salvation—to forgive our sins and bring us new life.  We trust Him for eternity.  We trust Him with our lives here and now.  We trust Him to provide.
            We possess no righteousness of our own.  But to believe the Lord is a righteous act.  To take God at His word is a righteous deed.  Maybe today, the Lord calls you to trust Him with something.  Maybe you are challenged to trust God with something that is completely beyond your strength and wisdom.  Trust God with the big things and small things.  Paul trusted the Lord in prison.  A thief dying beside Jesus placed his simple faith in Christ in his dying breaths.  Faith is not to be minimized or soft-pedaled today.  Faith matters and the One in whom we place our faith matters more than anything else.  Today, we can take joy that we rest our full weight upon Christ and nothing else.  People will let you down.  Wealth can be squandered and lost (just ask the prodigal son).  Those we often turn into heroes often disappoint us.  But the Lord remains strong, trust and good. 
            Remember you can worship any time at YouTube.com/FirstBaptistKannapolis.  Share our worship with others too. Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes are due back on November 11.  And remember to pray for the names we have in the sanctuary who need to know Christ.  Pray for God to reveal Himself to them.  Be willing to share your faith with those who do not know the Lord or His grace.  Have a great Monday!