So let’s talk about faith. The bible describes Abraham as the father of faith and Romans  4 says that because Abraham believed in the One who had promised, that faith was credited to him as righteousness.

Abraham heard the word of God that he would be the father of many nations. He waited and waited for the promise to be fulfilled with his wife Sarah and when that did not happen, he thought he will help the promise along by having a baby with a servant. For the longest time, Abraham assumed the promise had been fulfilled until God appeared to Him again and reminded him that the promised child will be born of Sarah. At this point, both he and Sarah were so old it was laughable but Romans tells us he held on to that promise unwaveringly.

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Romans 4: 20-21 NIV

Abraham heard the word of God and it built up and strengthened his faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17 KJV). This weekend my family gathered together for a celebration and a discussion about the new age Christianity “name it and claim it ” doctrine ensued (shout out to my dad for sharing his thoughts on the subject). For those of you who do not know what the name it and claim it practice is it is where Christians are taught that what so ever they desire they can receive it as long as it is claimed in faith. Although this doctrine seems legitimate on the surface, it is flawed in its premise and this is why: sometimes the things people are naming to claim are not in God’s will for them and hence the faith they possess is not based on the word of God.

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:3 NIV

When one’s motivations for praying for anything are rooted in the will of God and based on the word of God, it builds up faith. And when faith is engaged appropriately in that circumstance, then one can truly say to mountains be removed and they will obey. So my question for you today is this: Is your faith rooted in the word of God and upon the fact that the One who promises is faithful?

P.S. I’ll chase this post with a dive into more about the nature of faith in a few days. Until then stay safe and be intentional in living out your faith.

Yours Truly.