DOES THE LORD TEST OUR FAITH AND LOVE FOR HIM?

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. but let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1: 2-4). “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD shall be seen. And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time. And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD or because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.” (Genesis 22:1-19).God was so pleased with Abraham’s faith and Love for the Him, that he blessed the whole World by bringing forth Jesus Christ from Abraham’s seed. (Matthew 1:1-17). “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”(2 Chronicles 16:9a). Why does the Lord test our Love and faith? Because he wants to know how deep our love is for him and our faith in his promises in his Word. Don’t you want to know how deep certain people’s love is for you? “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”(Hebrews 11:6). We can’t do anything without Jesus and his help.“ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. ”(John 15:5). “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”(Philippians 4:13). “We love him, because he first loved us.”(1 John 4:19). Maybe if Peter had said, “Lord by your help and grace, and strength, I will lay down my life for you.” Then he may not have had to go through those hard times and breakings to make him the leader the Lord wanted him to be. The Lord had this important lesson to teach him and humble him. Sometimes I can’t understand how God could have so much love to give his only begotten son to die for a guy like me. Maybe you feel this way too, but he did. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”(John 3:16).

Say this prayer if you want to be saved: Jesus, I want to know you, and to live forever in Heaven, I know I have made mistakes and done bad things- and I am sorry. Please forgive me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I accept your love and I accept you as my Saviour. I believed you died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead. Please come into my heart and life and fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me peace. Amen.

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