Covenant #8 - New Covenant New Me

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Our study of the God's Covenants, solemn binding agreements, have been personal and rich. There's so much I could say to wrap up about the New Covenant changes our lives ... how it's changed MY life. I hope this one page description of what we were before the New Covenant might be a good way to seal the life-changing truths on our hearts. 

I encourage you to print it out, use it for review, and use it as a guide for praise. Because of the New Covenant, our only right response should be worship, and we have so much to look forward to! (Hebrews 12:28)

(If you receive an email subscription, click on the post title, so you can see the visual today.)

The New Covenant and the New Me

If you find the visual encouraging, would you share it on Facebook or Twitter? Pass on the good news of the what it means to be in a Covenant relationship with Abba Father!

Covenant #7 - Into heaven itself

I've wondered if readers ever catch the word "Covenant" in a blog title and hit "delete" because it seems to "Old Testament-ish" and "theological." I know you don't have time to waste, and I know you're probably like me in that you want to know what difference something makes to your life. That's not a bad thing.

This week's study focused on Hebrews 7-10 and how Jesus has acted as our high priest in the New Covenant that is better than the Old one, enacted in heavenly places instead of earthly ones, and done once for all instead of needing to be done over and over. It's heavy in "what difference does it make," but let me tell you one difference it's making to me ... today.


This past week has been a quiet one for me. My old voice ghost has haunted me, and I've been wrestling with the Lord over it. Doesn't He know how hard this is? Doesn't He understand how frustrating this is? Can't He relate to being weak and wanting to break free of its confines? You don't have to have a voice to whine.


I know from Hebrews 4 that my "high priest" DOES sympathize with my human feelings, because as part of the Covenant relationship we share, He became what I am ... flesh. Before I took on His identity, He took on mine. He agreed to make my hardships His own, while I was glad to make His glories mine. Our adversity? My voice struggle? He gets it.


But is He doing anything about it? When we're crying out (me silently, you aloud) or waiting for His provision, is He acting? God may be silent, but He is not still.


Our high priest, unlike earthly ones who enter rooms made by men and keep going back over and over, acted on my behalf and then sat down. He didn't sit down as if no longer involved, but because He finished making the one-time sacrifice; then He sat down with the right to represent us before His Father.

"For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, not to appear in the presence of God for us ..." Heb. 9:24. 

This week Jeff talked to my mom (& dr & kids & friends) on my behalf. Ministry partner & friend Karen called about event details for me. Friend Tara called the doctor for me. The kids answered the phone for me. Sometimes I need someone to "be the voice" for me. We ALL need someone to "be the voice" in heaven for us, and our Great High Priest is doing that.


He made a one-time sacrifice that brought us into a relationship with Him, then He sat down beside His Father in heaven, and He's appearing there for us now.


Maybe it IS theological with ancient roots, but it gives me peace for where I am today.  Just think ... Jesus entered heaven itself as our priest, offered Himself as the sacrifice, and is there right now FOR US.  That should leave us all speechless.

Let's take a minute to stop and say thank you for that kind of relationship - a Covenant relationship!

Covenant # 6 - Written on our hearts

As we continue on our Covenant journey, Matthew 1:1 identifies the One who established the New Covenant: "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Mt.1:1).

Jesus' Ancestor Abraham -
We know that the Abrahamic Covenant was a one-sided agreement God cut with His friend, Abraham. In it, He promised the Land, countless descendants, and many nations to come through Abraham's own seed. That Covenant passed from Isaac to Jacob, who was later called "Israel."


Jesus' Ancestor David -
The Davidic Covenant included God's promise that He would build a house/Kingdom for David that would last forever. Ultimately, this Covenant was realized when David's descendant, Jesus, was born to be the Messiah.

The Covenant of the Law -
God had also made the Covenant of the Law with the people of Israel, a 2 sided agreement made when the Nation was freed from slavery in Egypt. The people were meant to live a holy life before those around them, showing God to the world. This Covenant was broken when the people rejected God and chose false gods, inviting His chastisement, instead.

Jesus sharing about the New Covenant. (VisualBibleAlive.com)

The New Covenant - 
Kay Arthur says, "The Law was given so God's people would know how to live in the land." But what the Law could not do, Jesus accomplished (Rom. 8:2-4). The Son of God was the only One who could fulfill the demands of the Law for us. In doing so, as the Son of Abraham and of David and of God the Father, He created the New Covenant, and it went further than any other.  He celebrated this New Covenant at the Passover dinner with His disciples. (Luke 22:19-21)

This New Covenant reaches me! It reaches you!

"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."   Jeremiah 31:33,34

For those of us grafted in as God's people, we share in the New Covenant made when Jesus, Himself, was the sacrifice:  the torn flesh, the spilled blood, the promise. More than the tablets of stone upon which the Law was written, God wants to write His truth on our hearts.  As His word is etched on our very being, He wants to be our God, to have us be His people, to know Him, to be forgiven. 

Tablets of stone may be broken, lost, or faded, but by the New Covenant, His word on our hearts and lives will change us and bear fruit that lasts!

Covenant #5 - Enter in ... to Oneness

Well, it's noon as I sit down to write today's Covenant reflection, and I'm moving kind of slow today. After a morning coffee/meeting with a friend, I have a teen home not feeling well, and one of my own physical "thorns" is reminding me a lot that I am "but dust." These things keep us humble, don't they? They also make me so relieved I am in a covenant relationship with the strong, healing, faithful God who sought me out. I like being "in covenant."


This week we focused on the oneness of covenant, specifically at how earthly marriage expresses and reflects the qualities of this solemn, binding, God-witnessed relationship. I see these qualities in testimonies of women like Antoinette, Julie, and Elaine, shared as part of my Marriage Monday October Marriage Survivor Stories. How they've challenged me!



God has a heart for the making of Covenant. As our holy God, He calls those in relationship with Him to be pure. We have to LEAVE our old way of living and CLEAVE (hold fast) to God's ways (Colossians 3:1-11), revealed in His Word. As we do that, we experience ONENESS. When we embrace sin and feed on worldly things, we injure our oneness and lose the peace and blessing we're mean to know as God's friends. If we're "members of Christ" (1 Cor. 6:15-16) then we shouldn't join with immorality, in essence joining Him with immorality. Just as the first Covenant was made by passing through two pieces of flesh, shedding blood, and becoming one, so physical intimacy creates a "one flesh" union between a man and woman; we must treat the sacred act of intercourse as the sacred thing it is.

God has a hatred for the breaking of Covenant. Because a Covenant is made before God (including a marriage covenant), He detests when it's broken. Malachi 2 tells us God is the witness of our marriage vows, that He makes a couple "one," and that the Spirit is in their union.When we break our covenant, it injures God's name. He is the great Healer who is able to restore what is broken and comfort the broken.

• We wear the mark of our marriage covenant when we wear a wedding ring. Other cultures may use a different "mark" to symbolize the relationship. Jesus is "marked" with my name imprinted in His hands, pierced for my sin. Isaiah 49:15-16 tells us God has engraved our names on His palms, a symbol of His covenant with us! Imagine that!
• A new name is given to symbolize the relationship and blessing of Covenant. Abram was given a new name:  Abraham.  A believer in Jesus is given a new name:  Christian (little Christ) and Overcomer (to those who are faithful).  Jesus took on a name for me:  Son of Man.  In my culture the taking of a man's last name symbolizes a marriage relationship.
• To celebrate and acknowledge a covenant, a meal was often served for the two partners to enjoy as one. Someday, there will be a Marriage Supper of the Lamb for the celebration of the Bridegroom, Christ, to receive His Bride, the Church. I wonder if there will be wedding cake ... Now you know why a covenant meal, a reception, is traditionally held following the marriage ceremony of a couple in most cultures. By feeding the partner, each partakes of the other, just as we are invited to partake of the Bread of Life ... Jesus, and begin a relationship with Him.

Just as in a marriage relationship, we are no longer only "individuals," but we are united with Christ in relationship with Him. This means we have to die to ourselves and our own desires, daily, so we yield to the union and our Covenant partner. That's not easy day in and out when we have to "give up" our "rights," and our culture sells us an opposite marriage. God's ways are not the ways of the world. Oneness is celebrated by a Covenant meal, reflected in wearing a covenant symbol, and identified by a Covenant name. 

This oneness brings the comfort of knowing our needs are provided for (Phil. 4:19), we will share in the "family" inheritance (Rom. 8:32), our requests are answered (James 4:1-4), and our possessions are for the good of the union (Lk. 14:33).

Many women find themselves in a marriage relationship with a husband who is not spiritually united with Christ, and that can be so hard. There is comfort in knowing that a wife's covenant behavior can be used to win her husband to Christ (1 Peter 3:1), and her covenant God will meet her needs and be faithful to her.

Marriage is a picture of the oneness of a relationship with God. Only His great grace makes it possible. Only His great mercy invites us to "enter in" to this oneness and to enter in to what was once out of reach and "behind the veil." No more, now we can enter in.

Covenant #4 - Through the Veil

I find great comfort in knowing NOTHING can separate me from Jesus (Rom. 8:38-39). But it wasn't always like that. I know that I was born into a heritage that would keep me from holy God; only His initiative to take away my sin barrier could give me open access to Him. I'm so glad He first loved me and made a way to Himself.


When God made a covenant with Abram in Genesis 15,  Abram BELIEVED God's promise of descendants like the stars. When God told him to get animals to sacrifice, Abram obeyed and put the two pieces of flesh opposite each other, leaving a space between. After Abram slept, God divinely brought a firepot and a torch to pass through the pieces of flesh covered in blood. As a 21st century gal, this might not seem like it makes much sense, but its meaning reaches beyond the limited years of my life. Covenant is defined by what happened here to Abram, the man who believed and was considered "righteous" because of his faith.

As the nation of Israel tried to gain access to the Holy God, they had to be represented by a priest who would enter the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement on their behalf. God's presence was there awaiting them, but it was hidden behind a veil.  Access was limited. It wasn't a wedding veil, but an 8 inch thick curtain that would've taken 2 teams of horses to rip apart. There was a separation between God and man under the Old Covenant.

When we look into the New Testament (Covenant), we find the "rest of the story" that explains some of what Abram's experience means to us, and we see the beautiful granting of access. As Abram's covenant was forged through blood, ours is also made possible by blood," but the sacrifice for us was made once for all when Jesus was crucified. 

"Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith..." (Heb. 10:18-22a).  

When Jesus died (Mark 15:25-39) the heavy veil that hung in front of the Holy of Holies in the temple in Jerusalem was torn in two by God, showing that the separation was gone.

VisualBibleAlive.com

 

When Jesus' flesh was torn for us, He gave us access to know and unite with our Heavenly Father in a covenant relationship. Where once we were separated, but we're now invited to draw near. Breath taking. He is OUR sacrificial Lamb, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. And just like covenant happens only by passing through the pieces covered in blood, Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

By passing through the sacrifice of Jesus' body, our Lamb, we gain access into a relationship with God. The curtain that once kept Him hidden from us is gone, and He waits for us to draw near. This song expresses the truth of the cross that welcomes us to God so beautifully. You might just click to let it play (If this is in email form, click the post title to get to the video) as you sit quietly, close your eyes and meditate, or just go about your work and let the Lord seal this beautiful truth on your heart today. 

I'm so glad He took initiative to love me and make a way to Himself. You?

Marriage Mondays: Antoinette's Story

Since "two becoming one" takes divine work, we need to hear stories of victory. I want to give something precious to my Marriage Mondays readers in October. When a marriage relationship goes to the hardest of places, Survivor Stories give us hope that we, too, can experience the sweetness of being one. 

Each Monday in October (there are 5!) I'll share a "Survivor Story" to encourage you. Along with the beauty of the love you'll read in each one, our first Survivor, Antoinette, has donated a gift to be given as a giveaway with each story. She is a generous soul who loves to lavish by making jewelery, and so I have the joy of giving a weekly creation from One of a Kind Jewelery to someone who comments on that post or comments on the Come Have a Peace Facebook page that day. That makes it easy to enter. I'll announce the winner the Wednesday following.  If you want to catch a glimpse of today's necklace and matching earrings (Orange/white in honor of UT football season this week!), you can see the photo on the CHP Facebook page.

Antoinette's Story ~

When Clarence and Antoinette moved to our city for law school twenty years ago, she remembers that they "thrived on love, but had no idea of what was need to make marriage work." Her childhood was spent with a single mom, and Clarence was left to the foster care system when his mom died when he was just an 8 yr. old boy. Clarence remembers walking past a window as a boy, peering into a New Orleans restaurant, longing for the steak he saw on the plate inside. With little stability and no role models for a strong marriage, Antoinette admits it was a "recipe for disaster." 


Clarence was driven to save whatever money they made, and Antoinette was driven to spend for any momentary pleasure she might get to enjoy. Finances, conflicts over parenting their first child, and communication mysteries were complicated by an inability to conceive another child. After the first ten years of marriage, Antoinette knew her husband was "checking out." She explains with certainty that, "My marriage was dead."


Antoinette was 30 yrs old when they gave up on infertility treatments. A month later, she experienced new life as she began a relationship with Jesus Christ. Not long after, she and Clarence separated; their marriage needed a miracle. Antoinette never could've anticipated what Clarence would tell her soon after. In "checking out" of their marriage, he had an affair, and the woman was pregnant.


She wondered if her God had deserted her. It was almost too much for her new faith, but she believed they could work through it "by the grace of God." Her husband still didn't know Christ as his Savior, but she decided that "the most important thing to me was to be in God's will."


And then she realized her own menstrual cycle was a day late. After four years of trying for a baby and the shock of betrayal, her own pregnancy test showed that SHE was pregnant, too. The two women would carry the same man's children within days of each other. Antoinette's tender heart recognized that the other mother was experiencing pain, too, and would be a single parent. She decided to stay in her marriage and demonstrate Christ to the woman who was part of her pain. "If my Heavenly Father hates divorce, I should hate what He hates."  Even if oneness involves trials and tribulations, she was determined to obey. "The door was always open ... I would've been there waiting for him." She also knew that it was "too big a burden to bear without Christ." 


In God's kindness, Antoinette delivered her baby first;  Serena was born at the end of November, a month early and a month before her 1/2 sister Maya. Antoinette called to tell the "other woman" that she would love little Maya as her own.

She knew that the right attitude began with her. She reflects:

• If you sow unforgiveness, you reap unforgiveness.
• If you sow mercy, you reap mercy.
• If you sow forgiveness, you reap forgiveness.
• If you sow kindness, you reap kindness.

And the "other woman?" She told Antoinette, "You are truly a woman of God."  There is no unkindness between them, and Maya spends every summer with her beloved "nearly twin" sister, Mommy Antoinette, her older sister, and her Daddy. They admit that it isn't always easy, but it is sweet.


And the "hurtful husband?" When the baby sisters were just one, their Daddy went to a wedding and heard the marriage vows. It was as if "scales came off of his eyes," and he came to know Jesus as his Savior. To show that he was a totally new creation, Clarence shaved his head, and he'll keep it that way as a reminder of leaving the old man behind. Antoinette says, "He is a man after God's own heart. I see fruit in his life abundantly ... God was the only One who could save our marriage."  Now he asks his loving wife, "What can I do to make our marriage better?"  She just wants him to keep growing in his walk with Christ, alongside her. She says she never wants to see "that man" again!  She has a new marriage! She has a new husband, and she says the new one is an awesome husband! 


Painful? Yes. She says, "My first marriage crashed, died, burned."  But she also knows, as only a triumphant and grateful Survivor can know, "To experience the fullness of all marriage has to offer, you have to have Christ." 


Is your marriage dead? Is the burden too much to bear? Do you feel deserted by God? God doesn't want you to stay the "old wife" married to the "old husband." He wants to make your marriage new, and He can. Hold out for the fullness!


Thank you to Antoinette who so lovingly made the 5 creative gifts I'm giving away in October.  Thank her also for her willingness to share their story, so others will be encouraged to let their old marriages die and experience the fullness of all marriage has to offer with Christ.

To enter today's giveaway, share a comment here or on the CHP Facebook page.

Covenant #3 ~ Floor to Table

"Do not fear," God tells us more than once in scripture, because we have a tendency to be afraid.  Sometimes it's just our humanness that drives it, but it's magnified by our ignorance. When we act in ignorant fear, consequences can be profound, and that was the case with the Nanny of 2 Samuel. If she only knew ...


The biologically rightful king-to-be Jonathan cut a covenant with the divinely annointed king-to-be David in 1 Samuel 20. Jonathan promised his life to David, and David promised forever protection of Jonathan's family when he became king. Ultimately, they were both yielding to God's plan for His people. The covenant agreement they made included all of Jonathan's descendants, but when he and his father (Saul) were killed, those descendants didn't act as if they knew about the promise. They were afraid, and they were ignorant.

"Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth."  2 Sam. 4:4

But David did not forget his promise to his covenant friend; in 2 Sam. 9 he wanted to know if any of Jonathan's descendants remained ... not so he could eliminate threats to his throne, but so he could fulfill the "hesed" (lovingkindness) love of the covenant. When the grown, but still crippled, Mephibosheth was brought to David, the handicapped man called himself a "dead dog," realizing he was totally helpless apart from the King. Raised by the Nurse who was ignorant of the covenant, he expected to be treated like the royal threat he still thought he was. Instead, David granted him back all of his grandfather's land, many servants, and a place at the King's table. 

The King took the cripple from the floor to the table because of his covenant faithfulness and love. 

In her ignorance, the nurse who once fled in fear and dropped a small boy raised him to see himself as "just a cripple."  She didn't know that the King wanted to protect and receive and bless him. 



What were you like in your "Mephibosheth" state?  When you were crippled, what did you look like? Yesterday, our group described ourselves with words like: 

• proud
• angry
• empty
• dead dog (We like Mephib's description!)

And what WOULD you have been like?  We used words like:

• alcoholic
• arrogant
• abusive
• hurtful

But we do not have to stay afraid, ignorant, and crippled spiritually on the floor of helplessness. Through the New Covenant of His Son's blood, God wants to lift us from the floor to the table, to wrap us into His Kingdom and seat us at His table.   If we've come into a relationship with Him through Jesus, let's not live like we're still crippled on the floor!  

Let's live today with the hopeful attitude and radiant gratitude of one who belongs at the King's table!

See the first Covenant Study posts here:
Intro - Never Again
Covenant #1 - Knowing the Covenant Maker
Covenant #2 - Put on Your Robe

If you know someone who would be encouraged by knowing that they don't have to stay "on the floor" in fear, I hope you'll send them the link for today's post and let God use His Word to bring them to the table.

Covenant #2 - Put on Your Robe!

A promising runner joined Jo's cross country team, but she didn't have what she needed to move from a team member to a champion. She needed special spiked shoes for competition courses and knew she would have to do her best without them. But the coach saw her promise, and because she is one of his own, he found a way to equip her with what she needs. 

When we're in covenant, we benefit from being identified with each other. We take on the identity of our covenant partner, so we share each other's joys and hardships. We are never alone again.


When the son of the King and the son of a servant met after the slaying of Goliath, something amazing happened. "The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself ... Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself" (1 Sam. 18:1-5). As a symbol of the relationship, Jonathan took off his kingly robe and armor and placed them on the once-servant David, transferring his identity to his friend. It was an act of love, coming with benefits and responsibilities.

As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

If we enter into covenant relationship with God, we clothe ourselves in Christ's robes (Gal. 3:26-27). We lay aside/take off the old identity and put on the new robe (Rom. 13:11-14).  How foolish if we were to try and put on a new robe, without taking off the old one first. (Col. 3:1-10, Eph. 4:20-24).


To welcome us into a covenant relationship with Him, Jesus put on our dirty robes and allowed us, the undeserving servant, to identify with him. He took on flesh and humbled Himself to do it, because He loves us as Himself (Phil. 2:5-8). David must've been overwhelmed at being loved and chosen, and we should be too! When Christ willingly united with us, He became our Protector, our Defender, our Deliverer, our Provider. What confidence that gives me!  Just like Jonathan gave David his armor, Christ has given us His armor to protect and defend us and help us stand firm: 

Full Armor =

• Belt of truth
• Breastplate of righteousness
• Gospel of peace for our feet
• Shield of faith
• Helmet of salvation
• Sword of the Spirit. (Eph. 6:10-17) 

Our covenant God has equipped us with all we need for living in covenant with Him.  This love gift helps us to live like the daughter of the King, instead of the unknown servant we once were. Because we are His, He'll make sure we have what we need, that we are protected, and that we're never alone again.It makes me want to live to reflect my covenant God, to display the "robe" He has put on me.


How does your life display your new identity given to you by Christ? 
What have you taken off to become a new creation in covenant with God?

Covenant # 1 - Knowing the covenant Maker

This week we captured a sweeping overview of God's covenants, the "solemn, binding agreements" He initiates with man. Our group couldn't help but see the pattern of restoration in God's covenants, noticing how each agreement is linked to the original plan for man to have a relationship with his Maker. This week we looked at 4 covenants. There's SO much to share about God's wonderful picture of covenant, but let me give you some highlights:

Old Testament Covenants have a LOT to do with us today!

Genesis6, 9, 17 ~ The Noahic Covenant ... God promised salvation. He preserved Noah's family in an ark of safety, because Noah walked with Him and was righteous, though he lived in corrupt times. God gave a rainbow as a sign to promise He would never destroy the earth by a worldwide flood again.  This shows me God is a SAVING God.

Gensis15, 17 ~ The Abramaic Covenant ... God promised descendants to the 99 yr old Abraham, saying he would father many nations and bless the world through him. Circumcision served as a sign of Abraham's (and all of his descendants') identity with God. Covenant means we identify with each other. Abraham received a new name with his new identity (love that idea!). God wants to know and be known by the creation which bears His image = man.  This shows me God is a LOVING God.

Exodus 2,6, 19, 24 ~ The Covenant with Israel ... God promised possession, that He would be Israel's God, and they would be His people. This covenant was conditional, though, based on the obedience of the people. The disobedience of Israel, which we can all relate to, made their "journey" to the land God promised quite a ride ... a 40 yr ride. He gave them the 10 Commandments, the words of the covenant, as another sign of the agreement. The years in the desert were punctuated by regular signs of God's actions to draw His people to Himself. Because of His covenant agreement with Israel, God released the people from Egyptian slavery. God is not able to "NOT" follow through with His promises.  Aren't you glad?  This shows me God is a FAITHFUL God.

Malachi 3:1, Matt. 26:26-29 ~ The New Covenant (Just a glimpse)  This covenant provides once and for all what the others could not:   forgiveness of sins.  It provides a way of restoring our relationship to God in a way that had not been done before. God the Father is still the initiator, but in Matthew 26 we see Jesus the Son of God extending the invitation to join in the New Covenant.  He offered His own self, His own flesh, His own blood, as the covenant sacrifice. This shows me God is a SACRIFICIAL God.

Old Testament Covenants have a lot to do with us today. From the promises made and the signs given, a picture emerges of who my God is and what He's like. He is saving, loving, faithful, and sacrificial. 

Each covenant involved pain and the shedding of blood. A covenant comes with a cost, yet God willingly pays it for us, and He loves us enough to ask us to join in covenant with Him.



I can't help but see how the covenants are all meant to show what God is like to the world. Each reveals the character of our holy, loving, amazing God. Being in covenant with Him means I promise to show Him to the world ... today, tomorrow, and until He comes and every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord.

We're in good company with Noah, Abraham, and Israel as the reflection of our covenant making God to the watching world!

Use this chart to reflect on what your specific life challenges are and the action steps you can take to have  godly, "covenant behavior" to show God to our world.

A challenge for me this morning …	I will show my covenant God to the world by …
A challenge for me the rest of today …	I will show my covenant God to the world by …
A challenge for me this weekend …	I will show my covenant God to the world by …

This coming week we'll be looking at the customs of making a covenant and how they're LOADED with meaning for us. I'm excited ... maybe I'll even change my name! ;)

"Never again" - Covenant Intro

Today we start our first Friday reflection on God's Covenants. If you haven't subscribed to posts via email yet, subscribe at the blog header so you don't miss out. 

AP Photo

Jeff grew up in the flooded area of the Northeastern US. We went there for seminary. I taught 1st grade there. We had JoHanna there. We've both been there for ministry, and we go back there for things like Christmas. Two tropical systems in a short time dumped massive amounts of water, causing catastrophic damage. Today will be a day of fear, confusion, and grief for many as they fight the floods.
 

The first mention of "Covenant" in God's word is found in Genesis 6, just after God told Noah, a "righteous man, blameless in his time" (v.9) that He was bringing "the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish" (vs.18). God was not throwing a tantrum or changing His mind. The worldwide flood was in response to the continual evil and wickedness of mankind, filling earth with corruption. After revealing the awful events to come, God spoke a "But."

"But I will establish My covenant with you..." (v.18).  

God initiated a contract, a pledge, an agreement between Himself and Noah. Noah was to build an ark God described, bring his family into it, gather 2 of every animal into it, and be saved. Verse 22 tells us Noah did it all. After watching the world perish and waiting for God to expose land for his family to leave the ark, the Noah family must've panicked the next time they felt raindrops .... away from the ark! 


In Genesis 9 God builds on the first part of the Noahic Covenant. This time, it didn't hinge on anything man had to do. God just promised:   "I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy all the earth" (v.11).


While there may be localized flooding like that in the NE United States right now, we can be certain the whole earth won't ever again for covered by a destructive flood ... because God promised. And because He knows us, our frailty, our fears, our forgetfulness, He gave the Noahs and every man born them after a sign of the covenant:  a rainbow.  He said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth" (v.13).  A rainbow.

Look closely ... do you see 2?

God keeps His promises. It's Who He is. He can't go against His word. While we may feel like a flood is sweeping the whole earth, we can KNOW that it never will again, because God made a covenant.




God has the heart of a Savior. Not just in the New Testament with Jesus, but even in the Old Testament, (another word for covenant) we see God's passion to save man and restore the fellowship with God we were created for. Just as He made a way to rescue Noah's family from the consequence of corruption, He made a way for all of mankind, too. 


We'll see that in the weeks ahead, as we look as God's covenants each Friday for the next couple of months.
If you want to study along with us, we're using this book.

The next time you see a rainbow, celebrate God's covenant heart to SAVE!