Fw: beyond belief

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2017 7:32 AM
Subject: beyond belief

Genesis 15: 5 And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

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Genesis 15:7 And he said to him, "I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess." 8 But he said, "O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"

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Abram (later Abraham) is considered the "father of faith" because he believed God when God told him that, even at a very old age, he would become a father and ultimately have countless descendants.  But right after believing...and right after we are told that his belief was the gateway to being counted as righteous...he has a big question about another promise God makes.  Abram isn't satisfied just hearing from the Lord that he was led from his old home country for the purpose of being given a new home.  He wants more...some kind of commitment from God.

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When we believe in the Lord Jesus...personally come to the place where we trust that He came to save us personally from our sin...that belief is counted as righteousness for us, just as Abram's belief counted for him.

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But that belief opens the door to a new relationship that leads to a new set of questions about God's plan and promises for our lives...and just as Abram is the example for faith that saves, so he is the example for faith that asks the next questions.