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| Imperial State Crown, UK $39 million Most expensive crown in the world. |
After all, what person wouldn’t like a crown and the favor that goes with wearing one?
Being born into a family offers rewards that others don’t
have when it comes to perks special to a particular group of people. Upon becoming a child of God, we
automatically receive crowned favor gifts of grace, mercy, forgiveness, eternal
life and much more.
These are gifts that all Christians receive upon
salvation, but there are others that are earned. That may not seem fair, but who said God is
fair?
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Amberley &
Berkhamsted, England, United Kingdom; Maria Ellend, Lower Austria, Austria;
Lima, Peru; South Africa; France; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Australia;
Canada; Trinidad & Tobago, Russia; Ireland; Germany; Kenya; Uganda; Lebanon;
Sweden; Spain.
USA – Morrisville,
NC; Fargo, ND; Winona, MO; Carneys Point, Mount Laurel & Clayton, NJ;
Cumming, GA; Tampa & Ormond Beach, FL; Brooklyn, NY; Greenville. TN.
Thank you for your continued support and sharing
Believing Our Belief on Daily Favor.
(DFB - Daily Favor Blog)
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below. All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life. Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss
out on this week's challenge (below).
Read Messages, updates and visit the Q & A or other sections.
In order to have
the favor of Abraham,
you need faith like Abraham.
Faith that receives favor
will be tested and proved to be authentic.
Like
Me Back
You didn’t see that one coming did you? Whether we like it or not, it’s true. The
Bible tells us God is faithful and rewards those who seek Him. Nowhere does it say He is fair, and why
should He be? How fair would you be to
someone who refuses to believe in you?
Every day I see people post online how angry they are
because someone hasn’t “liked” or “followed” them in a short time frame. They immediately unlike that person. If that’s the case, why would they turn
around and favor you over those who are faithful to re-tweet or share a
post? Aren’t we asking for favor that is
undeserved or earned?
Do we want God to
do favors for us, and in turn we’ll serve Him as long as it is within a
reasonable amount time or the request isn’t great? I was wondering that with all the messages I received
this week.
God Doesn’t Wave A Magic Favor Wand
People have questioned why I receive favor from the Lord
on a daily basis. What they don’t ask is about the size of favor I
receive. Sometimes it’s huge and others
it’s not so big. They never wonder about
the sacrifices that are made.
These same people are expecting God to wave a magic wand
over them and poof, everything is hunky-dory in their lives. It doesn’t work that way.
Let me share a secret with you. It’s a piece of cake to receive favor from
God all the time. What’s not so easy is
staying in faith to believe God, and that’s the part satan is counting on from
us.
There’s no trick, no fancy things we have to do and no
hoops to jump through when it comes to walking in the favor of God. If we want to have favor like Abraham fall on
us, we have to believe like he did whether we see anything happening or not.
Oh, father of many nations …
For anyone who has studied the book of Genesis, you learn
quickly that there was one man that everyone knew received continual favor from
God. As a matter of fact, this person is
the only one noted to be “a friend” of the Living God.
What the Bible also states is that Abram wasn’t exempt
from falling into sin. The difference
was that he didn’t remain in sin and was willing to do whatever it took to stay
in relationship with God. Notice I
didn’t say he was willing to do whatever it took to get God to favor him over
someone else.
Abram’s time and fellowship with God was more important
to him than anything on this earth, and that included his family. His actions proved the love he had for the
Father. God rewarded that faithfulness and love by changing Abram’s name.
Maybe a name change doesn’t seem like a big deal to you,
but during those days a name identified a person and their status in life. In some nations this still holds true. When God changed Abram’s name to Abraham it
repositioned him in the favor line – forever!
Why would God do this for him and not someone else? It was in those “down” times when things were
not going well that Abram remained faithful to following the ways of God. He chose to serve, give tithes and offerings
as he worshipped the Almighty before he received outlandish favor.
A name change transformed how Abraham viewed his relationship
with the LORD. God made Abram a promise
that he would be a father of many nations before he was even a dad. Therefore, every time anyone uttered the name
Abraham, they were calling his destiny into existence.
It would take several decades before Abraham became a
father, but the real test of faith came after he became a dad.
What it takes to be an Abraham ...
It’s really nice to have things going good, especially
when everything is lining up the way we want.
The journey we’ve been taking here is all about understanding and
walking in God’s favor. If we want to
experience favor like Abraham, there are some things we need to remember.
What does it take to be an Abraham so that we too find
favor from God and mankind? The answer,
we’ll have to be tested like he was. The
problem is that most want to live a favored life without walking through the
fire.
When God tested Abraham, He was given instruction to
sacrifice his promised son Isaac. (See Genesis 22:1-18) The LORD wasn’t trying to destroy
Abraham’s family or faith; He was trying to get Abraham to see the depth of his
belief. (See Hebrews 11:1-19)
God didn’t say He would renege on the promise He made to
Abraham if he refused to follow the instructions. The promises of God are true and
forever. This promise God made was with
Himself, so Abraham couldn’t break the deal.
So what is it that we need to learn from all this? It’s huge!
Here I Am
While Abraham was in the process of preparing the altar
for sacrifice, Isaac called to his father and Abraham replied, “Here I
am.” When Isaac asked where the lamb
was, his father made the statement that proved he believed God when he said to
Isaac, “God will provide for Himself
the lamb for the burnt offering.”
With no lamb to be found, Abraham continued to follow the
instructions of God without hesitation.
God saw faith in action.
“…the Angel of the LORD (Jesus) called to him
from Heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! So he (Abraham) said, Here I am.
And He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad,
or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, since you have not
withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (Genesis 22:11-12 NKJV)
The lesson we learn is that Abraham feared and revered
God. Abraham believed God wouldn’t break His promise to him, even if it meant
giving up his son. He believed if the
LORD asked this of him, He would surely raise up his son so that the promise of
becoming a father of many nations would be fulfilled. There was no way he didn’t believe or obey
God, even if the request seemed heartbreaking.
How do we know that Abraham believed God despite the
strange request? We know this by what he
told his servant as they left to make the sacrifice. Does this sound like a person who was afraid
he was about to lose his son?
“Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we
will come back to you.” (Genesis 22:4)
Abraham never told his wife, his son or his servants that
he was going to “off” his kid, because he never doubted in the promise God made
to him. Without fail he knew the Lord, Jehovah Jireh would show up and provide. His faith was unshakable!
Give Nothing Gain Nothing
When we withhold nothing from God, He will withhold
nothing from us. If we want to have favor
like Abraham’s, we have to have faith like his and hold nothing back from the
Lord when He asks something of us.
Giving up chocolate for Lent is not what God is talking about even
though it may seem like a sacrifice for some.
Abraham’s decision to obey propelled him and his descendants
into positions they could never have achieved in their own strength.
Doors were opened that man refused to give
passage, all because Abraham believed God over what things “looked” like. God sees belief as righteous faith.
“Then the Angel of the LORD (Jesus) called to
Abraham a second time out of Heaven, and said: By Myself, I have sworn, says
the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son,
your only son (the one of promise).
…(with) blessings (favor) I will bless you, and
multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the Heaven and as
the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate
of their enemies. In your seed all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
(Genesis 22:15-18 NKJV)
Abraham proclaimed that God would provide a lamb Himself,
and that promise was fulfilled through Christ Jesus. Like Abraham, God isn’t asking us to
sacrifice what He will provide. He is
asking us to believe that He will, when we lay down our "Isaac" for Him.
This Week’s Challenge:
Believe the Promise
God’s Kingdom kids will always find themselves in the
midst of a challenge. Without fail satan
will try to tempt us into doubting that God will follow through on His promises
and what we are believing for in prayer.
It’s because we are heirs of the promises of God that
Jesus said trials and tests will come. Perhaps
you need some major favor to come immediately, and things look rather
challenging to say the least. Is that
correct?
I know that if the Holy Spirit directed you to this writing
that He is looking at your belief level right now. You have been looking for that Abraham favor
to come into your life, but you haven’t followed through with the testing.
Favor like Abraham’s comes to those who believe enough
to obey God’s voice no matter the request.
What has God instructed you to sacrifice (or do) that you
are holding back? If He has made a
request of you, it’s because there is something bigger that the Lord has in
mind for your journey. Remember what God
did for Abraham when He saw that he believed Him? You have to believe He will provide.
As a child of God’s you are heir to His Kingdom, which
includes blessings and favor. What can
be greater than that? Does that mean God
favors you over an unbeliever?
Absolutely!
If you haven’t believed God and received Jesus as your
Savior, you can change that by accepting Him.
Read how here.
No matter how things look, the sacrifice you make will never
equal the favor God has in store for your obeying the voice of the Lord.
Through The Fire - the Crabb Family
Until
next time, believe favor is a Word away.
“Because you believe Me,
I will bless you with My favor.”
Jesus Christ
What’s New This
Week: Click on book or link.
Unshakable Faith in Unthinkable Circumstances
by Carol Kent
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I
know, but would like to have this kind of favor in your life also. Click on the above tab “Tell Me” for more
information on becoming a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
Scripture
reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Gateway BibleImage credit: Google Images or Dreamstime Creative Common License if not specified.
Image: Imperial State Crown United Kingdom Magic Wand Abraham Covenant Abraham & Isaac Righteous Faith
Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
