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FAITH TREK: THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM
August 26, 2008st 26, 2008
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
Izbrano poglavje ne obstaja!

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

In the conclusion on the series of Abraham, what struck me the most about this message is about owning one’s faith. We say that we have faith in God, but how far does it go? When God tells us to do something that seems– not impossible– but unreasonable, how fast are we in getting up to obey? And to what end do we follow Him?

The story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac is a classic. God promises Abraham descendants as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore through his son, Isaac. Then one day, God tells Abraham to go sacrifice his son– his one and only son, the one whom he loves– to Him! Didn’t make sense, but still, Abraham obeyed the very next day. The story ends well, it was just a test! God provided a ram in the place of Isaac. Abraham proved that he witheld nothing from God.

See, God doesn’t want any competition in our lives. Just as He weaned Abraham from his love for Isaac, He would wean us from anything that could take His place in our lives. It was a hard test for sure, but God tests us not because He wants us to fail, but because He knows that we will succeed. Abraham had a lot of years of walking with God before he went through this test. His faith matured as he walked closely with God, just as ours would if we do the same.

So why does God put us through these tests? Well, for one thing, we have to learn to give up control! It’s easier for us to give up control if we understand why God gives us trials. These tests are not for His benefit, but for ours, and for the cloud of witnesses that surrounds us. Tests not only help us know ourselves better, but they also help us assess our relationship with God.

Abraham passed God’s test because God was the only object of His faith and His love. Abraham knew that God would not fail him. Belief has to be a settled conviction. Without trials, belief would be just a creed. With trials, we put our faith into a test, we learn to give up control.

Faith is not an intellectual assent! We have to own our faith and imbibe it into the very core of our being.So thank God when He puts you into a test, because that gives you a chance to put your faith into good use in the real world.

Join the conversation on this topic here.

See you guys later at Station One, it’s every Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. In the bowels of Union Church of Manila (basement 2), cor. Rada and Legaspi St., Legaspi Village, Makati.

With faith, hope and love,

Stef