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Believe God “ Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Genesis 15:4-5 I was out walking recently. The sky was clear. The stars were brilliant. My gaze turned toward heaven. And right in front of me sitting over the crest of the silhouette of a nearby treetop was the Big Dipper. It’s in pivotal times that the Lord speaks to me through this seemingly insignificant constellation. Yet that night, with its handle down as if I could grab it, the Lord again spoke the words He does when I see this sight …“Remember My Faithfulness.” Did Abraham count as told? I suppose he quickly knew the impossibility of that feat, and simply, with heart-faith, received the Word of the Lord’s Promise. His belief settled in the very nature and power that backed the word spoken from the One who is in Faithful. Our Father of Faith was now positioned in a place of alignment for the fulfillment/reward of what was spoken. (Heb. 11:6, 11, 12) Many times the Lord referred to this promise, then apparently waited in silence… for 25 years. Time passed, hasty decisions evolved, and Abraham settled comfortably with current circumstances. “Until the time that His word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.” (Ps. 105:19) At the appointed time, God wanted the Word to be fulfilled. Abraham (and Sarai) had to yield as vessels to a promise that the Lord now appointed, though they seemingly lost desire to see manifest! “Oh that Ishmael might live before You.” (Gen 17:18) Abraham had to agree with the Word and “against hope, believed in hope.” (Rom. 4:18) When there was no (natural) hope, he BELIEVED (activated faith) in hope in the ability of God, for God’s dream to unfold, thus enabling a quickening of the grace (power) of the Holy Spirit. As children of Faith, Abraham’s descendents, should we believe any less? Trust that the Lord is faithful to His Word. All the promises of God in Him are YES (He will do it) and in Him are AMEN (we agree, so let it be) to the Glory of God through us.” 1 Cor. 1:20 Walking by faith, Pastor Sharon Carlson 7/14
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