Dear conqueror in Christ:
I count it an awesome blessing to bid you in this new year to increase your faith in God. Conscious of their powerlessness, the apostles prayed: Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.“ (Luke 17:5-6). Now the German chancellor Helmut Schmidt once said that the “biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.” Improve then yourself by maximizing your faith. Let’s learn how to build a stronger faith based on the model set by Abraham.
Abraham stands out as the father of faith because he exemplifies full confidence in God’s promises. God promised him a son when he was 75 years old. Both he and Sarah, his wife, were then past childbearing age. As time passed without result, ”Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed” (Rom 8:18). Although God’s promise looked like an impossible feat, Abraham persevered: “Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead” Rom 8:19). Yet by faith, Abraham showed patience “being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised”(Rom 4: 21). Like Abraham, strengthen your faith by standing firmly with hope, perseverance and patience on God’s promises for your life till victory comes. HAVE FAITH IN GOD!
Excelsior
Bishop Leon