Josh1Eight

Follow Jesus - Ryan Rose  10/15/13 Give it a listen!

The life of Abraham is a great reminder that faith is not about us.  In Acts 7 Stephen recounts a quick summary of the life of Abraham -the great founder of faith. It's easy to respect a guy who holds a major position in the major world faiths (Muslim, Jewish, and Christian).  God reveals Himself to Abram and calls him to follow Him away from his homeland and live hundreds of mikes away from anything and anyone he's ever known (Genesis 12:1-5).  Why? God doesn't exactly go into detail. He does however promise to bless Abram and be in relationship with him. Most of us would probably need a little more to go on but Abram stepped out in faith to follow God's leading not knowing the outcome.  This is where it gets tricky. If you read the account Abraham in (Acts 7:2-8) it kinda sounds like Abraham got the short end of the stick as a result of his faith. 1. God asks him to leave his homeland and family (vs 2).  2. He moves out of the country bu...

In the Old Testament there are two entire books based on two very different prophets of God who lived just a few generations apart. Both spoke for God and faithfully carried His message however one called for repentance and the other for God's judgment.  Jonah wanted justice for the people of Nineveh hoping that God would give them retribution for their sins as they deserved. Instead, He gave them mercy and a chance to repent- and they accepted His grace.  Jonah was later mad at God for mishandling the Assyrian situation and for failing to judge "those people" for their clear violation of God's Word after they relented. That was a kind of mercy Jonah just couldn't accept.  Fast forward 150 years and enter the prophet Nahum who decreed the pending destruction of Nineveh- the very same message of justice to the very same people that Jonah wanted to preach 150 years earlier. Of course God again later fulfilled His promise and destroyed Nineveh as He broug...