Morning Musing: Romans 4:17-21

“As it is written: ‘I have made you the father of many nations’ – in the presence of the God in whom he believed, the one who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist. He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be. He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body to be already dead (since he was about a hundred years old) and also the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, because he was fully convinced that what God had promised, he was also able to do.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the more incredible things about the Scriptures is, other than Jesus, it doesn’t make any of the characters into heroes. Yes, some of them are praised highly for one character trait or another, but they are all broken in some way. They all have a fatal flaw or twelve that prevents them from achieving God’s righteousness and experiencing the full goodness of His plans on their own. Abraham is most definitely included in this less-than-perfect club. But he still got some things right. Let’s talk about what Abraham got wrong, what he got right, and the example he sets for us.

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Digging in Deeper: Hebrews 11:1-2

“Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For by this our ancestors were approved.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of my favorite songs from the 80s is George Michael’s song, Faith. I liked it pretty much entirely for the music. I never could understand the lyrics beyond the chorus. I looked them up before writing this and it’s probably good I never understood them. They’re incredibly shallow and make a mockery of real, Biblical faith, but at least the music was good (good enough for the song to make him a lot of money over the years). As we get into the next chapter of our journey through Hebrews this morning, we find ourselves in the famous Hall of Faith. This is one of the greatest reflections on faith anywhere in the Scriptures. It starts out here by defining terms for us. Let’s talk this morning about what faith is. Then, over the next few weeks, Lord willing, we’ll get a bunch of examples of what it looks like. Dive in with me.

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