An Everlasting Covenant

Psalms 105:8-10

“He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant.”

We serve a covenant keeping God. The Bible says it is “His covenant.” God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, who holds all things together by His word, is the one who makes His covenant with us. Thus, He is bound by His word to keep it for us. The writer of Hebrews shows how powerful this covenant is that God made not only for Abraham but for those of us who believe. Hebrews 6:13-18 says, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. …Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise (that is you and me) the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.”

The King of kings and Lord of all the earth, El-Shaddai the Lord All-sufficient, Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord our Provider, the Great I AM of our past, present and future has made a covenant with you. It is “an everlasting covenant” that has no expiration date. His covenant to us came into existence at “the word he commanded,” the same command that said “Let there be light” and there was light”, and we have had light every day since the creation of the world. It never changes! God’s covenant with you and with me is even more certain than creation because God said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will never pass away.” His covenant cannot fail because it is based on “two immutable things” God’s character and His word.

“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” (2 Corinthians 1:20) The promise is made by God, and in Christ they are Yes and Amen. But the promise is fulfilled through those of us in Christ Jesus for the glory of God. 2 Peter 1:4 says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.” Just as with Abraham, God has made a covenant with you that you may show forth His glory and be a blessing to your family, your church, your neighbors and the nations.

I want to encourage you today that God is a covenant-keeping God. Take time to review the covenants in His Word. Pray and allow these to become alive to your situation. Do not let doubt or disobedience hinder you from pressing into those promises. Remind God of His promises and be willing to step out in faith and maybe do something that you have never done before. Step out of the box of your routine and ability into the vastness of God’s greatness, and see Him work on your behalf.

May God by His Spirit and Word encourage you today.

Andy Clark

Favored One

Luke 1:26-38

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her,"Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"  

“But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

The favor of God is an amazing and wonderful thing. In the Scripture portion above the angel declares to Mary, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" Mary was troubled and wondered about the unusual greeting. The angel did not ask how she was doing, what she was doing, or about her family or job. The greeting was not dependent upon her education, wisdom, performance or circumstances.

The wonderful thing about God is that His favor on us is not based upon who we are or our performance. God’s favor is based upon His character and His love that He wishes to lavish upon us, despite what we have done. His favor is founded on the character and sacrifice of His son for us. Though Mary’s outward circumstances had not changed, God raised her from the ordinary to the extraordinary in his kingdom. God pulled Mary from her world into His world and a divine plan for mankind. In the midst of her simplicity God granted her dignity and purpose that would sustain her through the tremendously harsh experience of seeing her son falsely accused, beaten beyond recognition, and sentenced to one of the most cruel forms of capital punishment.

Sometimes we fail to understand the magnitude of God’s favor on us because we measure favor by worldly standards as something we have earned, and in turn we expect natural results of promotion, financial reward or praise of men. However, God’s favor is much greater than the favor of men. God’s favor brings us into relationship with Himself where our identity and fulfillment comes from Him and not our achievement or circumstances.        1 John 3:2-3 says, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

No matter what your situation is today, may you have a sense of God’s favor, not because of what you have done, but because of God’s great love and grace toward us. “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you.”

Andy

Living on the Edge

Matthew 10:37-39

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Through the annals of history God has called men and women to live on the edge. He called Noah to build an ark for the saving of his family, Abraham to leave his home for a country he knew not, Moses to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, Elisha to burn his plow, sacrifice his oxen and pursue Elijah for the double anointing, Esther to risk her life going to the king to save her people, Jeremiah at great personal risk and sacrifice to warn his people of God’s judgment, Peter James and John to give up the family business to follow Christ and become the founders of the church, and Christ who gave up His rights as God, made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, humbled Himself and became obedient to the death of the cross for our salvation.

I just returned from Niger where I encountered men and women living on the edge to see the kingdom come to this barren land. I was especially struck by a Brazilian lady whose husband was back in Brazil for three months for surgery, leaving her to run the ministry on her own. They lived in one room of a three-bedroom concrete house. One bedroom served as a food pantry, while volunteers lived in the other room. Their kitchen, dining room, and living room is a center where they prepare meals daily and bring hope to 200 children. They have no privacy, live on the edge financially, and are threatened by bearded men who sometimes sit outside their home in an attempt to intimidate them from sharing the love and hope of Christ to these children.

Living on the edge looks different for each one of us, but every one of us is being called and drawn to that place by the Holy Spirit. Living on the edge is outside of our comfort zone and place of security, it is the tug of the Spirit to involve ourselves in something beyond us, our capacity, and ability. Living on the edge is that place where the natural meets the supernatural, the temporal meets the eternal, and light encounters darkness. Living on the edge is the cry of every one of our hearts because it is where we encounter the face of God.

Break out of the mundane, take a risk, respond to God’s Word and the tug of His Spirit and live on the edge for God.

Andy Clark