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Going deeper...to go further

Daily Bible reading strengthens our relationship with God, nourishes our spirits and equips us to live a fruitful, effective life for Him.

This month we're focusing on verses about building and growing in faith. As we read the Word it’s important that we apply what we read and pray it out over our lives. One of the way you can do this is by using the acronym SOAP. To find out more about SOAP watch this video.

Below you’ll see what we’re reading today. To go forward or back a day in our reading plan use the 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons.

Faith

  • We come into a living and vital relationship with God through faith in all that Jesus Christ has done in His cross and resurrection.
  • Trust in God without which it is impossible to please Him.
  • Jesus exercised faith during His ministry and taught His disciples to live by faith.
  • Faith is an on-going, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
  • Faith is believing God’s Word and therefore putting it into practice, and trusting the Holy Spirit to be our enabler in every situation.
  • Many rewards come through such a faith.
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Genesis 15

1After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 2But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” 8But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 9So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” 17When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

Romans 4

Abraham considered righteous1Those of you who are Jews know that Abraham was our forefather. So what did he understand about all this?2If the basis of Abraham's relationship with God had been the works he did, then he would have had cause to boast, although not before God. No one has cause to boast before Him!3God's Word helps us to understand that 'Abraham was considered to be righteous because he believed God' – by faith, not by works.4A man's wages are not a gift but his right because of the work he has done to earn those wages.5However, the person who knows that no amount of work can make him pleasing to God understands that he must put his faith in God's mercy, for only He is able to forgive sinners and make them acceptable and righteous in His eyes.6David also understood this principle. He speaks of the way God has blessed those He accepts as righteous, quite apart from any works of their own:7"Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven because they have been covered by God's mercy.8Blessed is the person whose sins God will never hold against him."9-10Are these blessings only for the Jews, or have they been extended to people of other nations? Well, we have already seen that it was Abraham's faith that put him into right relationship with God, and this had nothing to do with the fact that he was circumcised, for he was counted as righteous by God before his circumcision. In fact, the act of circumcision was a sign of the righteous relationship he could now enjoy with God. It was a seal of that relationship, a demonstration of God's approval of Abraham because of the faith he placed in the Lord.11This means that Abraham is the father of all who are put right with God through their faith, no matter whether they are Jews or not. God regards as righteous and acceptable any who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.12Of course, Abraham is the father of all true Jews, those who have not only received the rite of circumcision, but also walk as Abraham did, in the kind of faith he had before he was circumcised.13Therefore, it was not through the law that was given much later that Abraham and his sons received the amazing promise from God, that he would inherit the nations of the world. No, it was because he was brought into right relationship with God by his faith.14If those who lived by law could inherit the nations, there would be no need of faith and God's promises would be worthless.15We have seen that, because of disobedience, religious law can only lead to failure and condemnation and God's subsequent judgment of wrath. But at least the law points out where we go wrong!16So we can see clearly that God's promises are given to a people of faith; and they will only be fulfilled by His grace, what He does in and through us. These promises are guaranteed to all the children of Abraham, not only those brought up under the Jewish law, but also to all who live by faith in God, trusting in Him and not themselves. So, then, Abraham is the father of all of us who believe.17This fulfils God's Word to Abraham: "I have made you a father of many nations." In God's eyes, Abraham is a father to all who believe. He believed that God gives life to those who are spiritually dead and is able to speak of things that have not happened as if they had already taken place, so sure is His Word.18If you had looked at Abraham's situation when God spoke to him, you would have thought it beyond any possible hope or expectation that he could become the father of many nations. But God had spoken and said this would be the case; he would have children in many nations!19-20When he was about a hundred years old and his wife Sarah way beyond the time when she could bear a child naturally, Abraham still believed God's promise without wavering in his faith. Sexually his body must have seemed as good as dead, yet he was not guilty of unbelief about God's promise that he would have a son.21Instead, he was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God for the outcome. He was utterly convinced that God had the power to make possible what He had promised, even if, humanly, it looked impossible.22So you can see why God considered Abraham righteous. It was because of his faith.23-24Yet this principle is not only for him, but for all who believe in the One who raised Jesus from the dead; they are all considered righteous by God.25This is only possible because Jesus was deliberately made the sacrifice for our sins. Yes, He died and was raised back to life because this was the only way we could be made acceptable to God.
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