tradesho1

TennLady said: That reminded me of something that was said to Joshua: Jos 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. It seems that God wants us to be strong and courageous so that we may follow Him in all things. The great news is that His Spirit gives us the Hope that allows us to be strong and courageous. To step out in faith if you will. Phi 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Raymond

Well, lets try this again. Maybe I was just having a senior moment I wonder if the faith shown here is special. What we see in Abraham is an almost child like faith. He believed God and then acted upon it. He did not no where he was going or how he was going to have an heir with Sarah but he believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness according to Hebrews 11. Christ told us that we needed to come to him as a child. Perhaps this is what He meant. James said that if we can see a thing then it is not faith, God is pleased when we take His word for something and then ACT ON IT. This is the kind of faith I think Abraham was showing. Again James said faith without works is dead. Abraham showed his faith by the works that he did. God said it so he did it. One scripture that was an eye opener to me whas when God told Abraham that NOW HE KNEW that Abraham would fear and obey Him. It was like He didn't know until Abraham was willing to "ACT" on what God said about sacrificing Isaac. Gen 22:12 And He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad, nor do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me. Raymond

That is interesting TimS. It makes me think deeper about my own situation. Given what happened to the fellowship I referred to, it might well be that God set me aside to keep me from what happened later. I feel that I should have used that time better to Grow in Grace and Knowledge. I didn't but the experiences of that part of my life certainly were good training for what not to do later. My initial calling was something in my spirit if you will. You know how Christ said that His sheep would hear His voice. Well it was like that. I recognized His voice in the things I was learning. It was exciting and fruitful. It was only when I took my eyes off Him and started to look at others around me that I became disillusioned. Hmmm, a lesson in itself don't you think? Raymond

Abraham was living in a land full of false gods. It was a demonstration of his faith to call on Yahweh as his protector. It showed God that he was placing his life in God's hands to do with it what He wills. That I think should be our attitude as we pray to God, His will be done. He refers to us as clay and himself as the master potter in many places. He seems to want us to acknowledge that by placing His will above ours, as did Christ. Raymond

Because of the faith demonstrated by Abraham God blessed him with physical blessings during his lifetime as well as providing him an heir through a miracle (His and Sarah's age). He was also blessed in that he is given eternal life through Christ because of his faith, demonstrated through obedience. While it is obvious that Christ having come through his geneology blesses all nations they were also blessed in physical ways. For instance the rule of law has come to be mainly because of the laws of God given to Israel. It is these laws through which our modern economies exist without continual worldwide wars. Look at the relative peace our modern nations have as opposed to the constant warfare of earlier times. I believe it is the rule of Law that has allowed that. That law came through Israel and was magnified by Jesus. It is the physical blessing of the laws of God that bless the nations, physically at least. Also I wonder if a case could not be made that nations were blessed when they blessed Israel. Another spin on the blessings promised. Raymond

God called me when I was a young man. For 13 years I studied and proved the words of God but the fellowship I was with did not seem to me to be demonstrating the fruits that God said they should show. So I left and instead of continuing alone, if need be, my walk with God; I stagnated. I didn't go completely away I still believed but I did not exercise that belief properly. Abrams

Hello, folks. I am Raymond Mills. I live in the foothills of Mt Ranier. Near Seattle Washington. I am very interested in this type of Bible Study as I host a number of Religious Sites. I am a Sabbatarian by Faith, not Seventh Day Adventist but similar I suppose. Look forward to the study. Raymond