ICS Daily Devotions
Trust in the Living God
1 Tim 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
In Genesis, we see a contrast between Lot and Abraham, where Lot trusted in what he saw but Abraham trusted in God. While Lot ended up in Sodom, lost his wife and possessions, Abraham who had faith in God, conquered the enemies and gave a tenth of his spoil to Melchizedek. Abraham is the father of our faith and he lived a life of faith, which we are also called to live.
Abraham lived a consecrated life where he acted on the call of God on his life. He was totally dependent on God, and a lifestyle of giving—Isaac and the tithe—kept him on track. He was convinced that God has blessed him richly, whereas Lot went with the world and pierced himself with many sorrows.
Matt 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Psa 35:27b “Let the LORD be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
The character of God is well-captured in these verses: He is a good Father who loves to bless His children with good things, and He takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. He is happy when we do well! We need to believe that God is good and He gives us richly all things to enjoy!
We are a product of our thoughts, which form our values and principles. It is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. We must live the kind of life that Abraham lived—a life of faith in God where we are unaffected by what we feel, see or hear, or moved by our circumstances, but totally convinced and convicted by the spoken Word of God to us.
We need to move from mental assent to faith from the heart through speaking what we believe and acting out the conviction. What we believe will be shown forth in our actions, because faith without deeds is dead.
When we are convinced that we are blessed by God to enjoy His blessings, let’s start to bless others around us too!
Sermon: Blessed by the Better
