Romans 4:20-21 Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. New Living Translation (NLT)
I read the following quote in my devotions this morning: "To those to whom Christ is the hope of future glory, he is also the life of present grace". (John Owen from "The Glory of Christ".
It is one thing to trust in God and what the future holds when everything is going well and there are no troubles on the horizon and it is another to trust in God through those challenging, difficult and sometimes heart rendering times. The Bible is full of examples of those who held onto their faith in God through those times and we still read of their testimonies today. You may think of Abraham, as referenced here in Romans 4, or it may be Joseph or David, Paul himself or possibly Stephen in Acts chapter 7. Their faith grew stronger and in doing so their life stories brought glory to God.
John Piper writes, "God is honored when we are humbled for our feebleness and failure, and when he is trusted for future grace (Romans 4:20). So unless we learn how to live by faith in future grace, we may perform remarkable religious rigors, but not for God's glory....He is glorified when the power to be holy comes from humble faith in future grace. My great desire is that we learn how to live for God's honor. And that means living by faith in future grace."
That "future grace" is trusting in what He will do in our future, here and for eternity. It is possible because He overcame the grave, He lives and we trust that we too will do the same.
Because he lives
I can face tomorrow
Because he lives
All fear is gone
Because I know
He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because he lives
Read the passage from The Message below. May we not "tiptoe around God's promises" but plunge in and come up strong in His future grace.
In Christ,
Mike
Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace NIV
Romans 4:19-25
The Message (MSG)
19-25 Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say, "It's hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child." Nor did he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right." But it's not just Abraham; it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.
No comments:
Post a Comment