SERMON QUOTE
“Genesis 15:6 – some have called it the key verse in the Old Testament. Because it shows how we get right with God. Even in the Old Testament it is faith not works.”
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT
Abram is living in a place of tension. God has promised to bless him abundantly, to entrust a land to him, to make his descendants as numerous as the stars. Yet he stands before us aging and childless, waiting for promises to become reality. Does that resonate with you today? Are you waiting, perhaps for opportunity or healing or relationship? Are you living between a promise and its fulfillment? Are you beginning to doubt God’s faithfulness?
“Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6).
Abram knew God’s character and trusted that God’s promises were true and possible. Paul tells us that:
“No unbelief made [Abram] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” (Romans 4:20-21)
The faithfulness and generosity of our God know no bounds. In fact, God
may surpass our expectations in ways we could never anticipate. Through the biblical narrative, we watch Him turn a childless man into a nation that will bless all people through Jesus Christ. We can trust that we are saved by faith alone, as an undeserved gift from our gracious, unconditionally-loving God. In the blessing of salvation we receive in Christ, we can know this amazing God intimately, now and forever.
Reflect on God’s faithfulness to His people and to you personally. Is He inviting you into deeper trust or surrender, to relinquish the desire to prove or earn or control? He alone is worthy of our trust and able to make us righteous in Christ by His Spirit.
AUTHOR BIO
Katie Edwardson has served as Director of Guest Services at the Lake Forest campus since she graduated from Denver Seminary and married Eric last July.
PRAYER
Father, as the Potter of my life help me to wait and to yield to the press of your hands shaping me for what you have in mind. Let me recall your faithfulness, using my doubt to draw me closer to you, so that I can get near enough to remember that who I become in the waiting is what is important to you; building my faith to fully trust that you can and will accomplish what is far better than I can ever conceive.