Tag Archive | Obedience

Genesis 17

Oct14

Good morning y’all. Today we in chapter 17 of Genesis. Interestingly there is a 13yr gap between this chapter and the previous one. We don’t know what happened to Abram in those 13yrs. Perhaps God was not pleased with him seeing as he doubted him and had a child by Hagar.

Let’s see what we can glean from the chapter. I pray Holyspirit enlightens us as we study 🙂

Verse 1 says: When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord  appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.(NKJV). Here, God is reintroducing himself again to Abram as God Almighty after 13yrs of silence. Some translations say Sovereign God (NET) or All Powerful(CEVUS06) or El-Shaddai (NLT).  It’s like God is reminding him again that I call the shots and not you! He then gave him an instruction…He said walk before me and be blameless. This suggest to me that Abram in those 13yrs was not walking upright as God desired. Some translations interpret this as ‘obey me and always do right’ (CEVUS06 ), ‘serve me faithfully and live a blameless life’ (NLT ). To be blameless here means to be without fault. That is to do the right thing and no wrong is found in you. We know in previous chapter that Abram didn’t do the right thing by sleeping with Hagar. So here God was telling him as from now on if you obey me and do what’s right I will make my covenant with you. Obedience!!! again it is very important, if we want to enjoy God’s best for us. Like Abram God requires us to be obedient to his commands and do what is right.

What you are being called makes a difference. God changed Abrams name to Abraham. His old name was not in line with where God was taking him so God had to change his name so that his new name was a reflection of the promise. Abraham means father of many. This was in line with the covenant and promise God made to him. Truth is society gives us a name or label – ‘the fat one’, ‘the useless one’, ‘the skinny one’, ‘stupid’, ‘failure’, ‘ugly one’…Good news is we dont have to accept those name no more for we are now in Christ. We have a new name in Him. Today, lets ask God to open our eyes so we can begin to see ourselves as God sees us – the victorious one, the head and not the tail, the chosen one…

Covenant is an agreement between 2 or more parties. Each party has a responsibility in the agreement. When one party fails to abide by the terms and conditions of the covenant, the covenant becomes null and breached. Usually there are consequences when that happens. In this case God made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Abrahams part was to obey the terms -which was to make sure every male young and old was circumcised and going forward every male baby should be circumcised on the 8th day. As long as Abraham and his descendants obeyed the terms, the covenant stood. God is always on point to fulfill his side of the covenant. We know He never lies or fails. We are usually the ones holding God back due to our disobedience. I pray God will give us a heart that’s willing to obey at all times.

Abraham doubted God’s promise to give a son through Sarah. Biologically speaking it was highly impossible for Sarah to get pregnant. She was 90 and even Abraham was almost100…They were just too old. So Abraham laughed at the promise.  Abrahams doubt was so strong that he even asked God to let Ishmael be the promised child. God refused because indirectly that meant Abraham was trying to tell God that he is not able to bring his promise to pass, that he is a liar and not powerful enough even though earlier on God introduced himself as the All powerful Sovereign one. Abraham couldn’t believe because he was looking at his situation through the natural eye. But I thank God that he didn’t give up on Abraham rather God stood by his word and went on to tell Abraham when the promised child was going to be born and the name of the child.
Friends I don’t know what promise God has made to you that seems impossible today. Perhaps like Abraham the circumstances around you are telling you to forget the promise cos there is just no way it can happen. I’m begging you today to not give up on God. God is not a man that He would lie. Though the promise may tarry it will surely come to pass. God is the all powerful one. He can do anything he chooses to do, when he chooses to do it. Take your focus off the situation and put your focus on the one who is able to do exceedingly above all you can ask or imagine. Stay in faith and keep your hope alive and God will surely come through for you. If he did it for Abraham, He can do it for you too. He is the same God yesterday today and forever!  Be encouraged 🙂

Prayer:
Dear Lord we thank you for today. We thank you for loving us unconditionally.  We ask today you gave us a heart that is willing to obey you. For as many of us that are weary we ask you encourage us today and give us the grace to trust you more and believe in your promises. Thank you Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Thank you for joining today.

Have a blessed day and let’s get to obeying and trusting God today 🙂

***With God all things are possible***

Genesis 15

Oct12

Good morning y’all. Happy sunday!!!
Today we in chapter 15 of Genesis. I thank God for bringing us this far :).
In this chapter we see God reassuring Abram of his promises to him. Abram demonstrated faith in God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Be blessed 🙂

God’s promises to Abram seemed impossible, it seemed too high to reach. Even Abram had doubts about it. He told God in v 2-3 :
But Abram replied, “O Sovereign lord , what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.” (Genesis 15:2-3 NLT)

God being the patient and loving father that he is, reassured Abram that he will bring his promise to pass. Notice God didnt tell Abram when the promise will be fulfilled. It’s not for us to know when or how, our job is to believe and trust God CAN and WILL do what He has promised. After the reassurance came, Abram believed and Lord was pleased with him.
And Abram believed the lord , and the lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. (Genesis 15:6 NLT)

Friends whatever promise God has made, no matter how long it has tarried for or how bad the situation is right now, pls dont give up. Let’s keep believing and trusting God. If we feel our faith is shaking, let’s go back to God and ask him for reassurance. If he did it for Abram, He can do it for us too. Be encouraged today. It’s not over until God says it’s over 🙂 God has the final say! Not the doctors, lawyers, teachers….It is God who gets to decide what happens and how our story will end! Right now for me, that is a comforting and wonderful thought to know that God is the one in charge of my future and destiny. (Doing my dance 🙂 )

As i continued my study on the passage, the word ‘Obedience’ dropped into my heart. I felt God was telling me obedience is key to enjoying His blessings. Isaiah 1:19 says if you are willing and obedient.  For some of us the reason why the promise or blessing is delayed is not because God can’t do it but because he is waiting on us to obey the instructions he has given us. In v9 of this chapter, God gave Abram instructions and in v10 it says and Abram obeyed the Lord.
Then the Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon.”  Abram obeyed the Lord….. (Genesis 15:9-10a CEVUS06)
Further down the chapter we see what is obedience earned him. God revealed things to come to him even until four generations and God also made a covenant with him.

Friends what is God asking of us, it’s time to be obedient and do as he requires so we don’t miss out on the best that he has in store for us. I believe strongly that if God has asked us to do something, He always supplies the grace to do it. God doesn’t expect us to do it alone, that’s why he gave us His Holy spirit to help. Ask for help today.

Prayer:
Dear Lord we thank you once more for today. You are a good and kind God and we praise your Holy name. Today we ask for the HolySpirit help to trust and believe you more. For as many of us that are feeling shaky, I ask oh Lord that you will reassure us of your promises. Holyspirit we also ask for the grace to obey. Thank you Lord, we worship you for you are a great God, you are the same yesterday today and forever. In Jesus Name. Amen

Thanks for joining today.

Have a blessed Sunday and remember it’s not over until God says it’s over! Keep fighting until your victory is won 🙂

***With God all things are possible***