Focus

Pay attention to the tension in your body. Let go of it and any expectations to do anything other than God’s will today. Prepare yourself to hear God’s word.

Read

Genesis 17:1-7 (NRSV)

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

Reflect

If you watch much television, you have seen stories and commercials about DNA testing that allows people to trace their heritage, ethnicity, and ancestry. One man always assumed he was mostly of Germanic heritage only to discover that he was Scotch-Irish. A woman believed her ancestors had come from a certain African nation, but found out through the advertised process that she was from an entirely different country. Another woman says in the commercial, “I thought I married an Italian,” only to find out through this kind of help that he had a completely different heritage.

Many people have used the advertised services to trace their ancestry and heritage, and often what they find brings surprises and even tears when discoveries are made about some of those who preceded them in the family chain. The whole process sounds like fun and is no doubt an adventure into new revelations about one’s background.

In Genesis 17:1-7 God made a promise to Abram who becomes Abraham: “I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.” God made a covenant with Abraham that permeates the Old Testament and overflows into the New Testament, continuing to the present age, and we are part of the resulting “family tree.”

Do you sometimes feel like you do not belong? Or do you begin to think little of yourself? Remember, you and I claim Abraham as our ancestor. Go out and meet some of your family members today!

Pray

Dear Lord, teach us to turn to you in appreciation of the heritage that we enjoy all the way back to Abraham. Amen.

Go with God.