Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Abram, A New Name?

 

Genesis 17:1-8, CEB - When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai.  Walk with me and be trustworthy.  I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants.” Abram fell on his face, and God said to him,  “But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations.  And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram but Abraham.  I will make you very fertile. I will produce nations from you, and kings will come from you.  I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you.  I will give you and your descendants the land in which you are immigrants, the whole land of Canaan, as an enduring possession. And I will be their God.”

 

                When you make a covenant with God, it changes who are.  You begin living not just for yourself, but for God and the people God has called you to serve.  And make no mistake;  you ARE called to serve God and you ARE called to serve specific people.  My simple message today is that you consider how you are different (if indeed, you are different) because God called you to serve.  Do you know clearly what specific people God wants you to serve?  If not, pray for God to give you clarity about that. 

                Abram’s name changed because God invited him into covenant.  Abram means “father of many” whereas Abraham means “father of many nations.” 

 

Questions:  What is your covenant with God and how has it changed the trajectory of your life?

 

Reading Further: Genesis 17-21

 

Prayer:  God, help us understand more fully what it means to be in covenant with You.  Put on our hearts the specific people You have called us to serve.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for Annual Conferences throughout Methodism who are meeting throughout Methodism in the month of June. 

 

Song:  El Shaddai – Amy Grant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qJMl95lb9k

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