Hi how are you all? I am well and loving the cooler weather as I get to wear my jeans. It is too hot in summer to wear them. Today in my country we are honouring those men that went to war for my freedom. They sacrificed their lives so I could be free. That is a noble cause and one for which I am grateful.
We have covered four steps of faith and last week we looked at what happens when we take matters into our own hands, instead of relying on God. The next step in our story occurs approximately 13 years later. In our own journey on faith, sometimes these steps are short and sometimes they are long. But the most important thing is do not give up on the promise that God gave you.
Our story begins in Genesis 17:1. As stated before this is about thirteen years later when God appears again to Abram. God tells Abram again Who God is then tells Abram what to do. We must remember at all times in our lives Who God is. If we forget Who God is, we will forget His character. God is good, merciful, almighty, promise keeper etc.
Next the responsibility is for us as verse 1 says. God told Abram to walk before Him and be blameless. This is what we need to do. Then God told Abram that He will make covenant and multiply him. God never forgot the promise He made to Abram (even though it was about thirteen years) and He never forgets the promise He has made to us.
In verse five is where we see the next step. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham. Abraham means the father of many nations and was the promise God gave to Abram. A little while after that Isaac was born.
What is so significant about a name change? It is all tied up in identity. Identity in the Oxford Dictionary is “the fact of being who or what a person or thing is”. It is who we are and how we see ourself. If we see ourself as unworthy we won’t receive any of the promises of God as we believe that they are not for us. But if we realise that our identity is now in Jesus and that everything that He died and rose again to give us is ours, then we will walk knowing that we are a child of God and it belongs to us.
When we know our identity, it changes everything. If I was married to a rich man then all he has will be mine and I am free to use his money to buy what I want. It is not because of anything other than my identity as his wife.
This is the same with Jesus. Once we give our lives to Him, our identity is not in who we once were but we are a new creation and our identity is now tied to Him. So all the benefits are mine as Psalm 103 states. They include forgiveness of sins, healing, loving kindness, tender mercies, redemption and renewal.
So this week remember Whose you are and walk with your head held high. You are a son or daughter of the King and all the promises in Him are yes and amen ( all are yours).
Have an amazing week and keep living the life God intended for you.
Bless you heaps
Karen
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