Today's Reading:Genesis 15:1-21
"God's Covenant with Abram"
Focus Verses: Genesis 15:6
6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Insight:
Abram believed God's promises, but this did not stop him from asking God the honest questions he had in his heart and mind--"How can I have an heir if I have no children?" (v.5), "How can I be sure that I will possess the land?" (v.8).
In answer to these questions, God instructed Abram to take animals and sacrifice them for a covenant ceremony. In the ancient tribal world, when two parties made a solemn promise to each other, they would cut animals into halves. The person making the promise would then pass between the pieces of the sacrifice. The meaning of this ritual act was essentially, "If I don't fulfill this promise, may I be torn into pieces as these animals."
God used an ancient ritual Abram was accustomed to, and entered into it. Abram had a vision of God's presence (represented by "a smoking firepot with a flaming torch") passing between the pieces of the sacrifice. This solemn vision strengthened Abram's confidence that God would fulfill the promises he had made.
Response and Action:
Even as a believer, I will not hesitate to lift up my questions and doubts to God. In order to know and understand God's promises, I will commit myself to read and apply God's Word. I will ask God to confirm my faith through the everyday ways he blesses, protects, guides, and sustains me.
Where is my faith? Do the choices and actions of my life indicate a trust in God? What are the questions I have about God's promises to me? What has God done to bolster my confidence in the promises of the Gospel?
Even as a believer, I will not hesitate to lift up my questions and doubts to God. In order to know and understand God's promises, I will commit myself to reading and applying God's Word as it is given to me in the Bible. I will ask God to confirm my faith through the everyday ways he blesses, protects, guides, and sustains me.
O Lord, I believe. Help me grow in my faith. When I have honest doubts and questions, remind me to offer them up to you. Show yourself to me, O God, and teach me your ways. With every step I take in following you, increase my confidence to take the next. Amen.
Proverb for Today: Prov. 28:14
"Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble."
New Testament for Today: Romans 4:23-24
23The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
In Context: Romans 4:13-25
Resources:
Genesis: The Story We Haven't Heard
by Paul Carlton Borgman
