{"id":13436,"date":"2025-07-18T07:50:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T11:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/?post_type=oyb&#038;p=13436"},"modified":"2025-07-18T07:50:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T11:50:19","slug":"a-father-by-faith","status":"publish","type":"oyb","link":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/oyb\/a-father-by-faith","title":{"rendered":"A FATHER BY FAITH"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201c&#8230;Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, \u2018I have made you the father of many nations\u2019&#8230;&#8221; (Romans 4:16\u201317 ESV).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Paul emphasizes that Abraham is not only the father of the Jewish people but of all who believe by faith. Quoting Genesis 17:5, he highlights how God declared Abraham \u201cfather of many nations\u201d before Isaac was even born. God speaks in the past tense about future promises, because His Word is sure. He has the power to give life to the dead and to call into being things that are not. This means the promise to Abraham is fulfilled not by works or law, but by grace through faith, so that it is available to all, Jew and Gentile alike. Abraham is the spiritual father of all who believe in Jesus, the promised &#8220;Seed&#8221; (Gal. 3:16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We who believe in Jesus are part of Abraham\u2019s spiritual family. His story reminds us that God\u2019s promises do not depend on our performance, but on faith in His grace. Just as Abraham believed God could do the impossible, we too must walk by faith in the God who raises the dead and creates from nothing. When we feel discouraged by what we can\u2019t see or haven\u2019t yet received, let us remember: God speaks with certainty about what He will do. We can live in hope, even when the fulfillment is not yet visible, because we serve a God who keeps His promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for making us part of Abraham\u2019s spiritual family through faith in Jesus. Help us trust in Your promises even when we cannot yet see them. Give us faith like Abraham to believe in Your Word and walk in hope. Teach us to rest not in our efforts, but in Your grace. In Jesus\u2019 name, amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201c&#8230;Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, \u2018I have made you the father of many nations\u2019&#8230;&#8221; (Romans 4:16\u201317 ESV). Paul emphasizes that Abraham is not only the father of the Jewish people but of all who believe by faith. Quoting Genesis 17:5, he highlights how God declared Abraham \u201cfather of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"scripture-book":[1312],"scripture-chapter":[1337],"oyb_day":[1726],"location":[],"class_list":["post-13436","oyb","type-oyb","status-publish","hentry","scripture-book-romans","scripture-chapter-1337","oyb_day-july-18"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb\/13436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/oyb"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13436"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-book?post=13436"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-chapter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-chapter?post=13436"},{"taxonomy":"oyb_day","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb_day?post=13436"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=13436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}