Week 3: Day 2
Genesis 15
Key Text
“And he brought him outside and said, ‘Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:5-6
Abrahamic Covenant: A People and a Place Sworn by Oath
We tend to envision our lives happening the way we want, and when they don’t, we are miserable. God made a promise to give Abram land and a seed. All people would be blessed through him (Gen 12:27). Abram only saw that he was childless and did not have an heir (Gen 15:3). What was Abram doing here? Instead of seeing God’s promises he was complaining about what God hadn’t done. This is where we live our lives—constantly looking at what God is supposed to do instead of delighting in what he has already done on our behalf. We think we deserve more than what God is providing, and we get frustrated when he doesn’t give us everything that we want. God showed Abram a sky full of stars that couldn’t be numbered as a physical symbol of the great multitude of his future offspring. He believed the Lord and it was counted to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6). Faith is believing that God will do what only he can do. Abram was full of flaws, but his faith gave him the righteousness he needed. It’s the same with us. The faith that saves you is the faith that transforms you! Knowing that God loves you and accepts you drives you to obedience. How do we know? A bloody cross seals the deal.
Jeremy Haskins, “The Promise,” Preached 11/4/2014, Ashland in MC Website, Accessed 3 December 2015, Available from http://www.ashlandmc.org/podcast/the-promise/.
Connection with Newer Testament
Romans 4
For the Kids:
Let your children take turns guessing how many stars are in the sky. Teach them that God’s promises are as innumerable as all those stars and sometimes just as hard to imagine. His plans for us are always better and often very different than what we can imagine. Encourage them to trust the Lord that his plans for them are best.
Prayer Prompts
1. Consider the areas in your life where you think God is failing to give you what you “deserve.” Ask God to break your entitled heart and forgive you for not trusting his promises daily.
2. Are you trying to live the Christian life by performing good works like Bible study, holy living, and evangelism, instead of trusting in God’s gift of grace secured in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Pray for God to cause you to live by faith in Christ in all aspects of life.