Persuaded
Today’s Scripture Selection: Romans 4:21
“…being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
What persuades you?
What arguments or statements do you find persuading?
What is it upon which you are so fully persuaded that you are willing to stake your own welfare and that of your family’s too?
For Abraham – it was the idea, the fact, that God had the power to do what he promised.
That’s one of the things that for which he is commended in the Letter to the Romans.
The section begins, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed….”
It goes on to talk about how, very late in life, Abraham sent out to a new land – and a new life for his people and generations to come.
Indeed, because Abraham took for first steps in faith – people all over the world believe in God today.
Because he was persuaded, so are billions today.
Oh, I know there is a lot more to the story that Abraham’s faithful obedience.
It’s just that according to the Scripture a great story took an important turn – a story of redemption – that is still unfolding today.
So I ask again – what persuades you?
I hope it is God’s promises.
Prayer: Lord, in faith, I am persuaded and follow. AMEN.
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By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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