Post by Woody Williams on Jan 9, 2006 9:11:50 GMT -5
Text for the Day -- Genesis 17:1-14
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When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and
said to him, 'I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.
And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you
exceedingly numerous.' Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to
him, 'As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the
ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be
Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the
ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly
fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from
you. 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. And I
will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you
are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding;
and I will be their God.'
God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and
your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my
covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring
after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall
circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the
covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations every male
among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including
the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from
any foreigner who is not of your offspring. Both the slave born in
your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So
shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any
uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his
foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my
covenant.'
Devotional
----------
God is a covenant-making God. In the old days God established a
covenant with Abraham that was guaranteed forever. God committed to
Abraham as Abraham's God and God promised that God would bless all
the nations through Abraham. So begins a long story of God's
redemptive plan, working through a covenanted people. The covenant
promise continued into the New Testament. Baptism is one aspect of
the new covenant in Christ, as is Holy Communion. God's promise of
old is continuously being enacted with each new generation as God
continues his covenant promise. You have been joined to God in this
covenant relationship and called to be one of those through whom God
will bless the world and be with you forever.
Prayer
---------------
O God, seal my heart through your Holy Spirit that I may continue to
believe and serve. Amen
----------
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and
said to him, 'I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.
And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you
exceedingly numerous.' Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to
him, 'As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the
ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be
Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the
ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly
fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from
you. 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. And I
will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you
are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding;
and I will be their God.'
God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and
your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my
covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring
after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall
circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the
covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations every male
among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including
the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from
any foreigner who is not of your offspring. Both the slave born in
your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So
shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any
uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his
foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my
covenant.'
Devotional
----------
God is a covenant-making God. In the old days God established a
covenant with Abraham that was guaranteed forever. God committed to
Abraham as Abraham's God and God promised that God would bless all
the nations through Abraham. So begins a long story of God's
redemptive plan, working through a covenanted people. The covenant
promise continued into the New Testament. Baptism is one aspect of
the new covenant in Christ, as is Holy Communion. God's promise of
old is continuously being enacted with each new generation as God
continues his covenant promise. You have been joined to God in this
covenant relationship and called to be one of those through whom God
will bless the world and be with you forever.
Prayer
---------------
O God, seal my heart through your Holy Spirit that I may continue to
believe and serve. Amen