Genesis 12-14 (Abram in Egypt and with Lot)

God made great promises to Abram. He promised to bless him and through him to bless all nations. He also promised to give the land of Canaan to Abram’s descendants.

At first Abram had a hard time trusting those promises. When he went to Egypt, he told Sarai to lie in order to protect his life. That doesn’t sound like a guy who believes God will take care of him.

But when he returned, Abram showed faith in God’s promises. When he let Lot pick the richest land, he was trusting God to bless him even in the dry mountains. When he refused to take gifts from the king of Sodom, he was trusting God to make him rich instead.

Abram’s faith in God’s promises helped him to be generous, patient, helpful, and brave.

Belief is the necessary starting point for all godly behavior. Like Abram, if we lie, insist on our own way, or get greedy it shows that deep down we don’t believe what God has promised us in Jesus.

If we belong to Jesus, God has made us into great people, dearly loved and richly blessed, with a home awaiting us. We can afford to be honest, generous, patient and helpful.

Do we deeply believe this? If we do, it will change how we behave.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Jack Klumpenhower