The first reading says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. He knew that his body was good as dead – he was old and that his wife Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he believed in the promise of God. At God’s appointed time Abraham was blessed with a son: Isaac. God fulfilled his promises. Jesus lived, suffered and died for our sin and was raised from death, for us to be justified with God. It is not our doing. When we repent for our sins, surrender our lives to God and accept Jesus as our Lord, we are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit is living in us, he will guide us in his ways. In the Gospel reading, Jesus says ‘by your fruits others will know who you are’. Our response in a crisis/struggle and the way we deal with one another will reveal our true nature – whether we are led by the Holy Spirit or not. When we open our hearts to the Spirit, his fruits would be more abundant in our lives.

PRAYER: Abba Father, we thank and praise you. You are our strength, our rock and our refuge. Amen.