"Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:5-6
All stories require a starting point. As it is said, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. So as we think about the stories of our faith (our stories!), I want to do so with the promise that the LORD God gave to Abram (Abraham).
Abram and Sarai, his wife, were elderly, beyond child-bearing years. Yet, after telling them to leave his father's house and land, Abram moved to the land which is now Israel. God gave Abram a great promise, that he would be the father of nations, and that his offspring would be more numerous than the stars in the sky and the dust of the earth. The verse above comes from Genesis 15, where God confirms that covenant with Abram.
Our stories of faith begin, in many respects, with this story. Yes, the story of creation, and the fall into sin, are also significant parts of our story, but this story is where we start to see that the LORD our God is one who is interested in us as people, not just a mass of humanity, but as individuals within that humanity. God selects Abram to be the means by which His promise will come true. God calls him by name, and changes his name, and gives him a promise that reaches out still today, to you and to me, and to all who put their faith in Jesus.
Our story begins with God's promise to Abram. Each of us who put our faith in God and in Christ Jesus and His sacrifice are one of these offspring that God promised to Abram. We may or may not be descended from the literal line of Abram, but we of the Christian faith are descendants of the faith of Abram, and it is that faith that God counts as righteousness.
Abram's story shows us that God takes a great deal of interest in us personally. It also shows us that God's story involves His promise to us, and not our good in life or our inherent niceness or goodness, which makes us right in God's eyes. God's promise came to Abram, and that same promise continues to come to us still today. When we believe the LORD, God counts it to us as righteousness, because of Christ Jesus, God's one and only Son, who endured the cross and death to make us recipients of that promise.
All stories require a starting point. As it is said, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. So as we think about the stories of our faith (our stories!), I want to do so with the promise that the LORD God gave to Abram (Abraham).
Abram and Sarai, his wife, were elderly, beyond child-bearing years. Yet, after telling them to leave his father's house and land, Abram moved to the land which is now Israel. God gave Abram a great promise, that he would be the father of nations, and that his offspring would be more numerous than the stars in the sky and the dust of the earth. The verse above comes from Genesis 15, where God confirms that covenant with Abram.
Our stories of faith begin, in many respects, with this story. Yes, the story of creation, and the fall into sin, are also significant parts of our story, but this story is where we start to see that the LORD our God is one who is interested in us as people, not just a mass of humanity, but as individuals within that humanity. God selects Abram to be the means by which His promise will come true. God calls him by name, and changes his name, and gives him a promise that reaches out still today, to you and to me, and to all who put their faith in Jesus.
Our story begins with God's promise to Abram. Each of us who put our faith in God and in Christ Jesus and His sacrifice are one of these offspring that God promised to Abram. We may or may not be descended from the literal line of Abram, but we of the Christian faith are descendants of the faith of Abram, and it is that faith that God counts as righteousness.
Abram's story shows us that God takes a great deal of interest in us personally. It also shows us that God's story involves His promise to us, and not our good in life or our inherent niceness or goodness, which makes us right in God's eyes. God's promise came to Abram, and that same promise continues to come to us still today. When we believe the LORD, God counts it to us as righteousness, because of Christ Jesus, God's one and only Son, who endured the cross and death to make us recipients of that promise.
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