![]() “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”įaith is to have a solid conviction, to be fully persuaded, and assurance is the picture of a land deed So, faith is like the legal title to hope. Hebrews 11:1(ESV) calls us all to this decision point: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:13-18 niv). “ Who do people say the son of man is? …Who do you say that I am?” He brought the disciples to Caesarea Philippi, where worship of many false gods including Greek god, Pan, (half man, half goat,) was taking place. Over 300,000 people heard the gospel sparking the evangelistic crusades that defined the rest of his ministry.Ĭhrist brings each of us to a watershed moment to make a choice to believe in Him, in His Word, and in His ability to keep his promises. Weeks later, Graham preached at the Los Angeles Crusades. “ Father…I will believe this to be Your inspired Word.” ![]() Years later, many former students, now leaders, assembled for a recommissioning and vision setting gathering and they represented over fifty Christian organizations.īilly Graham while a speaker at Forest Home at the start of his evangelistic ministry, in his watershed moment, laid down his Bible on a stump, and prayed, Anything less than that would not be worthy of Christ nor of his will for my life.” When I consider my ministry, I think of the world. The founder, Henrietta Mears, brought young leaders to the mountain. Many others have had watershed moments at that same conference center: Forest Home. That day, though, we committed, as a couple, to be writers, speakers, and leaders to help others with their most vital relationships. In a sense, our ministry Love-Wise was born that day, even though it would be many more years until we titled our speaking and writing ministry. In our watershed moment, as we sat in a chapel at Forest Home years ago, Bill and I recommitted ourselves to be used, as a couple, to share God’s love and equip people to love wisely. Revelation 1:8 (NIV) says of God: “ Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”īecause God is pre-existent and self-sustaining, he was never born so can never die so he is fully able to keep every promise. Because God made this promise, if he fails to keep it, he will die. God was proclaiming the same type agreement. People knew that if a person broke the promise, the other could slay him as punishment. God used this covenant process because it was familiar to the culture. The promises in the Bible are as good as the One making the promise. God knew Abram was human and would fail, so he made a promise with himself to keep the promise. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram” When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. ![]() …As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, …In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here…” So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other the birds, however, he did not cut in half. One of the preeminent watershed moments was when God asked Abram to bring a sacrifice that was symbolic of the life and death commitment made in a covenant between two parties. In life, a watershed moment is a a choice to take a side of a decision, to align loyalty, to slant your tomorrow by the choice made today. On the farm I grew up on, we slanted the roofs of the sheds and farmhouse to direct the rain water to travel a path for the most positive impact: to water a garden, to be saved in case of drought, into a water trough, to water a flowerbed, etc. These promises become moments of personal choices of belief: a watershed moment that vitally impacts our future. “ Look up at the sky and count the stars-if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord. At the Saturday evening session, we experienced a God-ordained watershed moment listening to the story of God giving the covenant promise in Genesis 15:5-6: (NIV) Bill was a youth pastor at the time, so I leapt at the opportunity for a rare cozy weekend away for us. I was eight months pregnant when an invitation to a free marriage retreat arrived from Forest Home Christian conference center. ![]() In Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament: A Creative Bible Study Experience, I share a true-life story of a vital decision-point in our lives.
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