Bible Verse and Hymn for Friday 7 January

"Greetings in the Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"

Today's Blog Title: God's Promises To Abraham"
Today's Readings: Genesis 12:1-9
Today's Key Verse: Genesis 12:2-3: "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.  I will bless those that bless you, and I curse those that curse you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

In the opening verses of Chapter 12 we see that God makes Abram (which means "Exalted Father") unconditional promises by telling him "I Will".  There are seven elements in God's promise to Abram in verses 2-3.  These verses are an introduction to the set of passages that together form the Abrahamic Covenant.

1. God told Abram to leave his home and family, promising to create a great nation through him
2. God promised to bless Abram.  The blessing of God is His smile, and the warmth of His pleasure.
3. God told Abram that he would make his name great. To have your name live on was a supreme honor given to Abram from God.
4. God told Abram to be a blessing.  Abram was under a direct divine command to be blessing unto others.
5. God would bless those that blessed Abram and his descendants
6. God's curse would come upon those that curse Abram or his descendants.
7. God said that through Abram all the  families of the earth would be blessed.  This is the final and most meaningful promise to Abram and his descendants.

In closing, we have seen in Chapter 12, how God comes into the live of Abram, with the words "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you."  With these unconditional promises, God made demands.  He commanded them to leave their homes and their extended family and go to a new land.  He commanded them to be a blessing to others.  

In the next few days we will see that God also told Abram to walk before Him and be blameless, and to circumcise the males in there household as a sign of the covenant.  We will see that although God's promises were unconditional, Abram's participation in God's blessings were conditioned on his faithfulness and his obedience to God's commands.  We will see that Abram withstood the test because he believed and obeyed.

Today's Question and Closing Comment: How does God affect the way you make decisions?  God promised to bless Abram and make him great, but as we read there was a condition: Abram had to do what God wanted him to do.. This would mean leaving his home and friends and traveling to a new land where God promised to build a great nation from Abram's family.  Abram obeyed, leaving his home for God's promises.  Listen to the voice of God because God may be trying to lead you to a place of greater service and usefulness for Him.  Don't let the security and comfort of your present position make you miss God's plan for you.

When we walk with he Lord, in the light of His word
What a glory He sheds on our way
While we do His good will, He abides with us still
And with all those that trust and obey
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey

Heavenly Father, May we as Christians, be like your servant Abram, and follow you no matter where it may be, and as we do so, may you bless us, and those that we come in contact with. 
                                                                 Amen

Have a God Filled and Spirit Led Day. May you listen to God's voice and follow it to where He may lead you.

Yours In Christ,
Cindi