Faith Comes from Hearing, and Hearing from the Word of God!

The first of my seven resolutions for this year of 2011(see January 7th posting for the complete list) is as follows: I resolve to get to know the Word of God better to better know the God of the Word. The first of two goals that I have set for myself to fulfill this resolution is to memorize a new verse (or verses) each week. To do this, I am using a very helpful iPhone app from Desiring God Ministries: Fighter Verse. It has proven itself in keeping me, for the most part, on track! My second goal to get to know the Scriptures better is to study through the book of Romans. To assist me in this, I am reading James Boice's four volume commentary on the book. Dr. Boice is a former pastor of mine (Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia). During his life, Dr. Boice was an internationally acclaimed Bible scholar and teacher (Amazon lists over fifty of his books that are still in print). His insights into the Scripture are quiet insightful and convicting! In today's reading in Romans chapter 4, he talked of Abraham's faith in God and in God's Word. His comments brought to me the words that appear later in the book (Romans 10:17) that I have paraphrased in the title of today's posting.

As I reflected on this, a little girl who began attending our Awana ministry came to mind. Susy (not her real name) is in Kindergarten. Last Wednesday I was asked to serve as a "listener" with the Spark's group (K-2nd grade). A listener does just that: listens to the children as they recite their memory verses. For about 15 minutes, I worked with Susy as she memorized John 3:16. By the time we were done, Susy had the verse memorized (at least in her short term memory). I encouraged her to ask her parents to help her with the verse at home. This past Sunday I saw Susy. She ran my way to excitedly tell me that she still remembered her verse. I asked her to recite it for me and she did so without needing a single prompt from me! I was thrilled! Now I pray that God will reveal to her young heart the truth of the words she has memorized! Faith comes from hearing ... and hearing from the Word of God!

If you are looking for an opportunity to invest in the lives of little children ... you can't go wrong with our Awana ministry. And even though this year's program is almost over ... there's always next fall!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj