Day 21 – Abraham & God’s Promises

• Yesterday may have been tough going, but today’s passages are some of the most glorious in all of Scripture. They speak of salvation through faith, God’s eternal promises to us, His limitless grace and even the glory of His creation. If you haven’t read them yet, do so now, and read them slowly (especially the passage in Romans), drinking in the message that you’re reading.
• As we open up the passage in Genesis, Abraham is sharing his worries before God. What things is he saying?
• God’s reply throughout the remaining 18 or so verses of chapter 15 powerfully affirms God’s goodness to Abraham and to all his descendants to come. What covenant (building on the promises in chapter 12, which are now an unbreakable commitment) does God give to Abraham? 
• Abraham was told that his descendants will be servants in difficult conditions for 400 years. Do you know which story this is?
• Verses 5 and 6 are worthy of special attention. I’ve attached a video below showing a portion of a stunning photo taken by the Hubble telescope showing part of our nearest spiral galaxy, the Andromeda. Watch it now – all the way through. Remember to change it to the highest resolution your computer can handle. It shows a mind-blowing number of stars – more than we can ever see where we live. Abraham may have had a similarly wondrous attitude as he looked up and saw thousands upon thousands of stars on that dark night 6,000 years ago. “Abraham”, says God, “number these stars – if indeed you could even begin to try. Don’t worry about your present situation, because one day your descendants will be more than the stars in the sky”. It sends shivers down my spine thinking about it! And verse 6 tells us that Abraham believed God, and God counted him righteous. Abraham didn’t do anything special – he simply believed that God would do what He said, despite the situation.
• The apostle Paul used Genesis 15:6 as the basis for his argument when he wrote the words in Romans 4 – one of the great chapters on being justified (made right with God) by faith alone. Paul is writing to a mainly Jewish audience, and is trying to encourage them to let go of their “works-based” attitude to a “faith-based” attitude by (cleverly) pointing to how people were saved by faith in the Old Testament. What does Paul pick out about Abraham’s faith?
• What things struck you most about the passage in Romans? Think it through in your own mind before you read my notes.
• Have a look at verses 13-15 of Romans 4. What does Paul say that God’s law is needed for, if we’re saved by faith instead of good deeds?
• How does Paul link Abraham’s faith with that of ours? Verses 23-25 will help you.
• Romans 4:7-8 shows blessings indeed, don’t they? What do you think about when you read these verses? Guilt, perhaps – or just joy?
• Write down a sentence or two in your journal about your response to knowing that faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is sufficient for you to be counted as righteous before God. Jesus has taken the punishment and all we are called to do is to believe in his name. What words of thanks and praise can you think of?

The video might have made you feel very small when you consider the vastness of creation. So how does it make you feel knowing that Jesus died in your place to bring you back to God, your Creator and eternal Father? As you go to bed tonight, can I encourage you to spend some time in prayer or reflection about the passages today? I hope you might have perhaps marked Genesis 15:6 in the front of your journal, or written something down about the joy of knowing that our sin doesn’t trap us, but that we’re saved by faith in our Saviour Jesus. Use these verses, or your notes, as the basis for your thoughts or prayer.

As you read through the Bible this year there will be days like yesterday which were confusing, and there will be days like this when we read passages that just remind us about how wonderful the Christian message of new life in the Gospel is. I pray that you have been deeply encouraged today as we have considered that most joyful of Christian truths – that we are saved by faith in our super Saviour Jesus.