DRAWING NEAR
November 18
Looking to the Future
"By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even
beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him
faithful who had promised; therefore, also, there was born of
one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as
the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which
is by the seashore" (Heb. 11:11-12).
Your faith in Christ will influence future generations.
I've been blessed with a wonderful Christian heritage. In fact, I'm
the fifth generation of preachers in our family. The faith of my
predecessors has had an enormous impact on my life-- either directly
or indirectly. I have the same responsibility they did to influence
others for good--as do you.
Hebrews 11:11-12 gives a very personal example of how one man's faith
influenced an entire nation. Verse 11 is better rendered: "By faith
Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren
--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful
who had made the promise" (NIV).
God had promised Abraham that he would become the father of a great
nation (Gen. 12:2). But Sarah, Abraham's wife, had always been
barren, and both of them were advanced in years. At one point Sarah
became impatient and decided to take things into her own hands. She
persuaded Abraham to have a son by her maid, Hagar (16:1-4). That act
of disobedience proved to be costly because Ishmael, the child of
that union, became the progenitor of the Arab people, who have been
constant antagonists of the Jewish nation.
Despite his times of disobedience, Abraham believed that God would
keep His promise. God honored Abraham's faith by giving him not only
Isaac, the child of promise, but descendants too numerous to count.
One man's faith literally changed the world.
Similarly, the faith you exercise today will influence others
tomorrow. So be faithful and remember: despite your failures, God "is
able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works within us" (Eph. 3:20).
Suggestions for Prayer:
1.Thank God for those who have had a righteous influence on you.
2.Pray for greater opportunities to influence others for Christ.
For Further Study:
Read the account of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18-21 and 23.
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
Genesis 12:2
2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your
name great; And you shall be a blessing.
Genesis 16:1-4
16:1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had
an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
2 So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from
bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain
children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
3 Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and
gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt
ten years in the land of Canaan.
4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that
she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
http://www2.oneplace.com/Ministries/Grace_to_You/
and
http://www.gty.org.uk/
You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
letters@gty.org
NOTE for those of you reading via newsgroups: If you wish to reach
me, please contact me via e-mail for quickest results.
In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
http://www.gty.org/Gospel/
http://www.nwbible.org/
To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
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