From rca.org;
Posted: 26 Feb 2012 05:41 AM PST "I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you" (Genesis 17:7). What a great promise God passed down to us through Abraham and his wife, Sarah. We are heirs. He will be our God. We only need to accept our inheritance, walk with him, and be blameless. Wow! Well...maybe. The inheritance part is great, but walking with God and being blameless is easier said than done. We are human. We make mistakes. It's hard to exercise faith. Even Abraham and Sarah had trouble trusting God. Abraham tried to pass Sarah off as his sister to Pharaoh to protect himself. Sarah felt she would never have a child, so she gave her servant, Hagar, to Abraham. Sarah laughed aloud when God promised them a son at ninety-nine and ninety years of age. Who wouldn't have laughed? But with God, all things are possible. So, true to God's word, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Throughout the Bible, people of faith had trouble being blameless and walking with God. Moses killed an Egyptian, and then for years ran from God before he was called to lead the Israelites back to their land. David was a hero for killing Goliath, but he later used his power as king to have a man killed so he could marry his wife. One of Jesus' disciples resorted to violence and cut off a soldier's ear in the Garden of Gethsemane. How do we take God at his word? How do we trust him with our finances, with finding jobs and affordable homes, when we're lonely, when we have family issues, depression, stress, addictions, struggling marriages, divorce, change, illness, pain, or grief? Think about the good news. From the beginning, God's plan and promise was to bless us and connect with us. He provided a perfect, blameless, sacrificial lamb to accomplish this. The only man who could pay the price for our mistakes and teach us how to walk with God was from the lineage of Abraham. Through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus, on the cross, God wiped out our sins, removed them entirely, eliminating guilt and blame and securing God's great blessings for us on earth and through eternity. Now that makes sense. God knows each of us. He reveals himself through his word. He made us an everlasting promise, which has never changed. Through this season of Lent, may we take time to listen to his voice, read his Word, and connect with him. God bless. Oh...he does! Lynne Ross Wilson, fourth and fifth grade Sunday school teacher and volunteer director for 60+ singers |
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