And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. – Genesis 15:6 NLT
Abraham wasn’t completely demonstrating faith with his actions but it was his belief in the Lord that made him right with God. We can have a right relationship with God by trusting him when he speaks to us. A right relationship with God is based on faith.
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 NLT
Faith is the heartfelt inner confidence that God is who he says he is and does what he says he will do. When we operate with this level of faith it’s like we have a lot of currency to withdraw Gods heavenly provisions.
And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling. – Daniel 10:11 NLT
Daniel always choose to do things to honour God first. From declining to eat the royal food, to not bowing to the image of the king. Daniel displayed excellence that reflected the Glory of God. Not only that, he studied the scriptures and sought after God diligently. He knew that the time has come for Gods people to be delivered out of Babylon. This caused him to be highly esteemed or held in great respect in heaven. When we study the life of Daniel, we too can have this distinction in Heaven and cause our prayers to be answered.
When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him. – Genesis 5:21-24 NLT
The Bible doesn’t talk much about Enoch, but we know he lived a long time and walked in close fellowships with God. When he died God took him to heaven so he did not taste death. This version of the verse just said he disappeared. We should also strive to walk in a similar close fellowship with God every day of our lives that God would spare us from trouble that most people in this world have to face.
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ – Matthew 7:21-23 NLT
This verse serves as a warning to all of us. We don’t want to hear Jesus say “I never knew you”. But we want to know the will of God for our lives and do it. What we all hope to hear is “Well done good and faithful servant “ from Matthew 25.
When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:6-7 NLT
God doesn’t look at the things that man looks at. He considers your heart attitude towards him. If you keep a good heart attitude towards God then, your decisions would be inline with his word and you would end up doing his will. Having the right heart attitude will cause you to stand out from others in the sight of God.
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. – 2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT
And this verse is for all of us. As believers we are found in Christ. He has paid the price for our sins through his sacrifice on the cross and this has allowed us to be in right standing with God. This is why when we pray we can approach God in Jesus name. It’s in his name that we have a good heavenly credit score. And we’re going to pray now in his name.