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Viewpoint from Allan Jeavons 10/06/2016
 Allan Jeavons
Elder, New Wine Christian Fellowship, Martham
as published in the Yarmouth Mercury
Last time I wrote in the Viewpoint column, I pointed out that Norwich had just got into the Premier League and what a blessing it was
How times change!
Life's landscape, unlike most of Norfolk, has its constant ups and downs and it is how we manage our life journey when things are on the way down that is a measure of our maturity in our faith
 There was a man about 4000 years ago called Abraham. Now, most of you have heard about him even though he was just a man who lived a long, long time ago but God chose him to begin a closer relationship between Himself and the whole of mankind
Abraham is the foundation for three of the world’s major religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
God made promises to this man: Genesis 12:2-3 (NLT)
2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others
3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt
All the families on earth will be blessed through you
Genesis 13:16 (NLT)
16 And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted!
(God did make him famous and the rest of the promises are still happening today)
 The point I want to make is, despite the improbability of all the promises made to Abraham, he believed and trusted God
Genesis 15:6 (NLT)
6 And Abram (Abraham) believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith
His relationship with God was made right, because He trusted and believed God
This is where the journey of faith begins …. in believing and then trusting in God who isn’t angry with us and who loves us so much that He was willing to die for us, through his son, Jesus Christ
We might not understand why we are going through the “downs” of life but as the writer of Proverbs tells us: “Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding
And the bonus for those who do trust and believe is:
Romans 8:28 NKJV
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”
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