Abraham was was made promised even before the law was enacted. And that promise was to him and his offspring.

“¹⁶Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ. ¹⁷This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void;” – Galatians 3:16-17 (ESV)

Promises of God are forever and cannot be changed. The covenant that was with Abraham remained in place until Jesus Christ. And even then, the promise of Jesus Christ was in place, so the promise never changed or was added to or subtracted from.

“²¹Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. ²²But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” – Galatians 3:21-22 (ESV)

Promises made by God are unchanged. They cannot be amended. God knows and has known all for all time and when making the promises He has the now and later in mind. I have to believe the promises of God and not hang on the law to get me there. I am a child of God and therefore I believe in the promises of God.

“²⁸There is neither Jew not Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no make and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” – Galatians 3:28-29 (ESV)

What about you, are you relying on the law? Are you aware of the unchanging promise of God? Do you believe in the promise?

Great, eloquent speakers fill the world with rhetoric that mesmerizes the audience. I will admit that I enjoy listening to those that speak well and grandly in the world. But, I am impressed by how they speak and less by what they speak.

“¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” – 1 Corinthians 1:17 (ESV)

Paul writes to impress on the Corinthians, that he was not there to wow them with his words and speech. He was sent by God to preach the gospel and it was highly likely that he would not be the great orators of the day that impressed with how they spoke. He was there to preach and allow the Holy Spirit to work among the people as opposed to he himself be revered for his rhetoric.

“¹⁸For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” – 1 Corinthians 1:18 & 21 (ESV)

There are many smart people in the world, and they are able to provide for the world in their own way, and I am grateful for these. That is all they are though, smart for the worldly view of things. My need is much greater than this world and I have to look to the Lord for the wisdom needed to get there. The wisdom provided by God is not found in the world, by the world’s standards. Godly wisdom is found only in Him and His Word. I have to focus on it and not look for elegant speakers to bring it to me. I have to look at His Word and those that are also focused on His Word. I am looking for God’s Wisdom and Salvation, NOT that of the world as brought to me by man.

Where are you looking for wisdom? What is your source of salvation? Are you looking for the speaker or the Word of God?

I have been studying “believe” for the past few weeks and until this morning, I have appeared to see the inward heart action of belief. This morning I was reminded that I not only should believe in my heart, I should also confess with my mouth.

“⁸But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in you mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your hear that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” – Romans 10:8-10 (ESV)

Over the past 3 years with the guidance of God, I have chosen a word to live out for each year. Stand, Example, Authentic in that order. Each year builds on the previous and leads me to my Kingdom Purpose. I have been more of each of them as the days and weeks and months and years have passed and with that I have been more vocal. I have confessed more and as a result have been met with more and more adversity over the past year or so.

Paul writes to guide the readers of the approach to Christ-like living. He encourages and guides me to the way of Christ. He gently, and sometimes not so gently, tells me the truth of what I should be doing and the right way to do it. I am charged with reading and listening and understanding and doing.

Believing in my heart is hard, especially when the adversity continues and even ratchets up. Confessing with my mouth is even harder as I share with those around me the reasons for my actions and the what is in it for me and them. Knowing that my confessions will likely generate even more adversity does not make confessing any easier. But, God is there to provide the actions to take, guidance for those actions, protection against the enemy, and reward in heaven.

Are you one that truly believes? Are you aware of just how hard believing is? What about confession, will you confess with your mouth? Are you able to believe and confess daily?

The first 3 words of the title are pretty morbid there. What I refer to is that if I believe that I have died with Christ for in my sin, I have to believe that I live in the eternal life through His resurrection.

“³Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” – Romans 6:3-4 (ESV)

There is a lot going on in those verses, but what I see in them is that when I accepted the salvation of Christ and was baptized, I died in the sin that was and would be part of my life, and was created anew in the life of Christ as He rose.

I continue to be a sinner, and for that I must repent daily. I am also alive in Christ and live thanks to Him and for Him. I believe that my life prior to salvation was wrought with sin and I was slowly dying to that sin, and now with the life of Christ in my heart, I live a glorious filled life.

“⁸Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we also live with him.” – Romans 6:8 (ESV)

When you think of your life, are you still living in sin? Have you died with Christ? Do you believe you died and now believe you live?

“²⁰No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith and he gave glory to God, ²¹fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. ²²This is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness.’” – Romans 4:20-22 (ESV)

Abraham was fully trusting in God. Every day he grew stronger in his faith as “he gave glory to God”. What a great approach to life with Christ. Giving glory every day and growing in faith as a result of that glory.

And look at the result of that growth, it led to being “fully convinced”. Not just a belief in the power of God, but ultimate and complete belief that He would provide for any and every need that came up.

“²³But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, ²⁴but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, ²⁵who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” – Romans 4:23-25 (ESV)

Abraham was not the only one that benefited from faith in God. For as “the father of many nations”, he was writing the story for me. Abraham was fully convinced and committed to my Lord and serves as an example of what it looks like to believe and be fully convinced of the glory of God in my life.

I am just a believer that struggles every day with my faith. When I read about Abraham and how he did not “waver” and grew “strong” in his faith through giving glory to God, I am encouraged to do the same and follow the leading example. I will be approaching life “fully convinced” of the glory of God.

When you think about your belief, are you growing strong every day? Are you giving glory to God always? Are you “fully convinced” in the glory of our God?

Abraham is the father of nations. He was counted as righteous through his faith and not through any other actions.

“⁹Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. ¹⁰How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. ¹¹He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well.” – Romans 4:9-11 (ESV)

Abraham believed and then was circumcised, not the other way around. He believed in God and was counted as a child of God even before the law was enacted that one had to be circumcised. In fact the covenant and act of circumcision was enacted by God with Abraham.

I look for ways that I can demonstrate my faith in the world, and as I read these verses and study more closely about belief, I am reminded that I only need faith and to act accordingly in my life. When I am acting according to my faith, that is the demonstration of my faith. I do not have to do anything “great”, I only need to do the will of God as He has instructed me.

My righteousness is not defined by the works that I do, but by my faith in God my Father. I am only to have the faith and believe, for works are not was get me there, by are the product of my faith and belief.

What order are you looking at for belief and works? Are you looking for the outward actions to show others your faith and belief, or are you simply looking to do the work of the Lord? Are you willing to just have faith in order to believe?

“²¹But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophet bear witness to it—²²the righteousness of God through Faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is not distinction: ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” – Romans 3:21-23 (ESV)

I am no different from you in the eyes of God. Whether Jew or Gentile, Baptist or Catholic, Polish or American, rich or poor. We all have the same opportunities.

God is our Lord and Savior. Not just the Jewish. I am a child of God just as you are a child of God. Salvation is for all of us.

When Jesus died on the cross, he died for all our sins. When it is said all our sins. Not all OUR sins, but ALL our sins. What a difference it makes when I put the emphasis on the different word in the phrase. ALL to me means everyone and every. Not just those that fit into my box, but ALL sins that have occurred or will occur. Not just for me, but for everyone.

Jesus died for us ALL to cover ALL sin in the world.

When you think about it, do you understand the word ALL here? What are you thoughts with regard to Jesus’ coverage of sin? Do you feel as though you fit into the ALL without distinction?

Imagine being wrongly imprisoned as you were accused of something that you were not. I imagine that if there was an opportunity to escape that imprisonment, that a good number of us would do so. Paul and Silas were imprisoned for being “Jews” and for spreading the word of God in the Roman empire which was considered against the law (even though they were not accused of any specific actions).

“²⁶and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s bonds were unfastened…²⁸But Paul cried with a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’” – Acts 16:26 & 28 (ESV)

They prison was shaken so much that everything was opened and in effect everyone was “freed” from their bonds and could (yes I said could) have escaped, whether rightfully or wrongfully accused. But they did not.

“²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,” – Acts 16:25 (ESV)

Everyone in the prison were worshiping to God and therefor they were not thinking of escaping, they seemed to be living more by the law of God as opposed to the law of man. They did not need to be “freed” to be free.

“²⁹And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰Then he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ ³¹And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ ³²And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all where were in his house.” – Acts 16:29-32 (ESV)

The jailer recognizes that something is different about Paul and Silas. He knows that they, along with the rest of the prisoners, had every opportunity to escape and yet they did not take it. He knew that there must be something greater than man to keep them all imprisoned. He was so amazed and taken with what it could be, he asked and truly wanted to know. When he was told, he and his house believed.

I have been fortunate to be in a Christian home as a child and lead a Christian home as an adult. I believe that my household would be more like Paul and Silas and understand that justice will be there when it is supposed to be. I know that our purpose with Christ is more than we know and the seeds of grace that we plant all around will sprout roots when the time is right with the right individual meant to receive them. Every situation provides an opportunity to worship and witness to and for God.

When you are in a difficult situation, what is your attitude? Are you looking for your own freedom, or looking out for the spiritual well being of those around you? Are you using the difficult situations to offer opportunities for other to believe?

This morning I read in Acts about belief. I was brought to chapter 15 where the apostles and elders of the church were gathered. They were discussing the finer points of what it took to be saved.

“⁵But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.’” – Acts 15:5 (ESV)

The law of Moses was a “powerful” thing. In order to be considered for salvation, one was to uphold the law to the utmost. Even the smallest of deviations from the law created great turmoil for those that deviated. If you were not circumcised, then you could not be considered a believer, for that would be a deviation from the law of Moses.

“⁷And after there had bee much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, ‘Brothers, you know that in the early days, God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.’” – Acts 15:7 (ESV)

What a statement by Peter to remind those in attendance that just hearing the word of the Gospel was enough to believe and be saved.

“¹⁰Now, therefor, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” – Acts 15:10-11 (ESV)

And he continues to speak that the law of Moses does not apply any longer as a “requirement” to be saved. It is “the grace of the Lord Jesus” that gives us salvation and our acceptance of His grace.

“¹²And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.” – Acts 15:12 (ESV)

The disciples continued to speak of all the blessings that they were able to deliver to the Gentiles. There was no requirement for them to receive those blessings other than to hear, accept, and believe. Look at the first six words of the verse, “And all the assembly fell silent”. If that does not tell the story of the power of God’s Word, I don’t know what does.

Do you fall into the legalistic, law following crowd of what it takes to believe? Are you a believer by faith and the grace of God? What would it take for you to simply hear, accept, and believe?

I am sure that most of us have heard of “Doubting Thomas”. He was the disciple of Jesus that did not fully believe until he was able to touch the scars on Jesus’ body after the resurrection.

“²⁵So the other disciples told him, ‘We have see the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’” – John 20:25 (ESV)

This is a bit difficult for me to believe that one of Jesus’ disciples would not believe until he was able to touch Jesus. I am taught and understand from my growing up in the Christian way of life, that I need only to have faith and believe, yet Thomas needed the physical to believe.

“²⁷Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put you finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ ²⁸Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” – John 20:27-28 (ESV)

Jesus made it possible for Thomas to believe. He appeared before the disciples to give Thomas the needed “proof” for him to believe. And Thomas exclaimed his belief at that moment.

“²⁹Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” – John 20:29 (ESV)

These are the words to me. Jesus understood that where Thomas had the opportunity to physically see and touch Jesus, other did not nor would they. Those were no less blessed with belief than Thomas.

NIV Commentary: “Jesus wasn’t hard on Thomas for his doubts. Despite his skepticism, Thomas was still loyal to the believers and to Jesus himself. Some people need to doubt before they believe. If doubt leads to questions, questions lead to answers, and the answers are accepted, then doubt has done good work…Let your doubt deepen your faith as you continue to search for the answer.”

I am a believer and have not had physical contact with Jesus. I do have many questions and those questions lead to answers which I then have the opportunity to accept. My belief is driven by my understanding of Christ.

When you think of Jesus, are you able to believe? What “proof” do you need for that belief? Are you able to ask the questions to get answers and accept to deepen your faith?