Ancestor to a Multitude of Nations

FAITH IN ACTION:
LIVING AS FAITHFUL PEOPLE
God's Redemption
Heirs to the Promise

Genesis 17:1-8

The Message

 ^1-2 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God showed up and said to him, "I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I'll make a covenant between us and I'll give you a huge family." ^3-8 Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face.
   Then God said to him, "This is my covenant with you: You'll be the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that 'I'm making you the father of many nations.' I'll make you a father of fathers—I'll make nations from you, kings will issue from you. I'm establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of your descendants. And I'm giving you and your descendants this land where you're now just camping, this whole country of Canaan, to own forever. And I'll be their God."

For Reflection
 Abraham had a transformational moment.  He moved from Abram, the patriarch of a troubled family to Abraham, the father of a great nation of Jews.  Beyond that, the transformation gave us all a singular path to God.  Through Abraham, God extends his promise to all people.  From that moment on, God's faith in human-kind extended His promise to Abraham so that all may be invited to participate in The Kingdom of God.

Our transformational moment begins when we accept the grace of God's promise.  We are transformed by our faith in God and God's faith in us.  While our faith in God may fluctuate, God's faith in us never varies.

Pray
that you will always remember that God's promise is yours to accept.  Pray that, when your faith is challenged, you will return to the scriptures and to confidence in God's promise.