Sunday 12 Oct 2008

Sunday Reading: Galatians 3:6-9
 
Key Verse: Galatians 3:9
9  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Devotion:
When we read the first few books of the Old Testament we can see just how much the people of Israel were looked after by God and how much they too looked up to God. But we also see the evidence of the amazing promise made to Abraham; we see how the tribes of Israel expanded and were blessed just as God had promised. When we look further though our bibles we then see the promises that God has made about other people being drawn to Him and about how He would bring someone that would cover our sins once and for all. Reading further we find the proof that that is exactly what He did through Jesus Christ.

If ever we need some sort of encouragement that God carries out His promises, we need look no further than our bibles; even though the world stands as a testament to God man still seems to think that he can either do it himself or that God will not carry out His promises. What is it that puts that doubt into people’s minds? The biggest cause is a lack of knowledge in what God has done for us.

We see how much the people of Israel believed in God when He did amazing things for them. We see how they followed Him when He made their lives good... But as soon as something went wrong, their faith would dwindle. As soon as they lost a leader who continued to praise God, they too fell away from God. So much of our faith seems to come down to following a good example of faith. If we stood firm in our faith, then others would have an example to be encouraged by. If we want to stand firm in our faith, we need to stand firm in our bibles, in God’s Word. He has promised us so much and as soon as we understand that, we will continue to be encouraged by those promises. Reading His Word will help us to know Him and stand on those promises and be that faithful example to encourage others...

Points to Ponder:
Are you encouraged by others who succeed?
 
Are you building up your faith by reading?