Restore

Believe me, it's too simple

 What does Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.' The one who does not have works to show, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. As David says: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and those whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account."                            Rom 4:3,5,7-8

 Abraham, though the father of our faith, has no great feat to cause us to admire him. In fact there is plenty to question about him. He believed God, followed and failed. He lied. He was outwitted by Lot, who out maneuvered him to gain the better territory. He lacked patience in waiting for God to fulfil His promise, so he had sexual relations with his wife's maid, to conceive Ishmael, a blight on his nation's people for the last 5000 years! So what's so great about Abraham? Just this: His belief demonstrates the good news of the gospel. We are credited with righteousness and our sins are obliterated in God's sight, by simply believing Him!

What do we believe? Simply, Jesus is God's Son who died on the Cross to take away our sin, who rose from the dead to declare us righteous (justify us), and guarantee our place in Heaven. All we have to do is believe this! As we do, grace will be released to us bring our actions into parity with the righteousness God has granted to us. He will not be mocked, and leave our lives awash with sin. Through our faith He will forgive, cleanse and deliver us from sin's grip. As we exercise our faith, and it becomes more central to our lives, we will increasingly be empowered not to sin, but choose righteousness.  Even this is God's work in us, so that we can't boast. Towards the end of his life, God miraculously blessed Abraham with Isaac, the first step in the fulfillment of His promise to make him father to a multitude of nations. Be patient and believe! God will strip sin's power in you too! Believe!!!