Day One: One in a Long Line

(Mommy and Me)

Before You Begin: Read Genesis 17:1-11

The Covenant of Circumcision

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; I will be their God.”

Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.”

Stop and Consider: “This is my covenant, with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.”

Questions Asked of Me: You may or may not come from a family line of Christian belief. But what value do you place on religious heritage? What do we give up by living only in the present?

Sadly…I did come from a family of Christian belief but at the first opportunity to turn from that belief. I did. I recognized my upbringing only as religion and something I was made to do. I never realized that having a relationship with Jesus was an option or especially available to me. After a certain point; doing all of the things I did in my past and hurting those I love….children and parents; I thought I was too far past that opportunity to ever seek Him out. Living in the present was never something I was very good at it. I have always wore my past as a plague and something I was never meant to be forgiven for….until Jesus came along. I am grateful every day for Him and for my parents never giving up on me and teaching me that you can be forgiven for your past if you repent and don’t repeat it. Lately…I am not thinking about my past as much as I am worried about the future. I was obedient in moving to Nineveh…but now what? If Jesus has a purpose for me by moving here, when will I get to know what it is? I know that by living only in the present I will give up that worry and concern. I know that by living for Him just for today, every day, will prove better for me. BUT… knowing what I gain by living only in the present and actually living it are two entirely different things. Hence my search for renewed and consistent faith and not just when things appear to be going the way that I THINK they should go.

What role do ceremony and tradition play in your and your family’s life, especially your life of faith? How have you been blessed by keeping these spiritual markers over the years?

I am embarrassed to say that my biggest spiritual marker of faith is our prayer vase which I just recently was excited to blog about; taking out each slip of paper with a different worry to give to Jesus and not be concerned about for ourselves. Most of the worries were no longer relevant; Him taking care of them all….a permanent job for Robbe being a biggie; hence the reason we moved to Nineveh…I think. I know that each piece of paper that gets folded up is a blessing to be asked for and given. I know that each time I have trusted and followed Jesus; He has never let me down. But again; knowing and living a life of renewed and consistent faith are two different things.

I learned about faith; finding and believing in it for every circumstance, from Paul about a year ago. I find myself on this part of my journey now because I want it back and I know it is possible…because anything is possible when we have a relationship with Jesus. So, here we are.

Detour: Beth Moore goes on to give a bit of history about Paul; his history, his lineage, and the life before him. It wasn’t always to follow Christ but he was raised to be special, revered, and important. I am certain his family had no idea to what extent. I was raised in a home with love and promise. I was given every tool for success and yet, decided that living in a small town or going to a small college was not for me. I knew better for my life and at 17 went out into the world to prove it. My detour lasted until I was 40; three marriages and three kids later….and yet my parents and Jesus were still around when I FINALLY got back on track, to no credit of my own. Beth writes “In a society where a child could be discarded as rubbish, nothing was more important to the Jew than offspring.” Paul was born “Saul”, a Hebrew from the tribe of Benjamin, named for the first king of the chosen nation of Israel. I was born “Heidi” to a 15 year old girl in the sixties, that no matter how hard the decision or circumstance…made the decision to keep me; no abortion, no adoption. Since becoming a Christian, there has been no greater thought in my mind of what my mom did for me. I am certain that when she made that decision she never imagined the hard times I would bring to our family just as I am certain this moment of Paul’s birth did not give a hint to the life that lay before him or his family.

The one thing I have learned on this journey is that…it is never too late. Being a Christian doesn’t mean I don’t make mistakes. Having a relationship with Jesus doesn’t mean that I don’t still doubt things I know are from Him; ahem, moving to Nineveh. THAT is why I am honestly seeking to know Paul all over again and get help from Him in renewing my faith with fervor and consistency, getting the fire to replace the doubt and have faith: real, consistent, continued faith.

Praying God’s Word Today: This means more to me than anything else, Lord – that You have chosen us for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. You called us to this through the gospel, so that we might obtain glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, may we stand firm and hold to the traditions we were taught (2Thessalonians 2:13-15), taking what You have begun in our hearts and living it out with faithfulness and boldness.

Stand Firm

“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teaching we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” 2Thessalonians 2:13-15

Dear Jesus:

I want to live faithfully and boldly. I may not have known what to do with things I picked up from my churches or parents growing up, but I am eager to learn and appreciate them now. I am seeking answers in how to be more consistently faithful. I want to be a better spokesperson for you and hope that I can be bolder than ever for you here in Nineveh. You know me better than anyone and know that patience is not something I am very good at it. Teach me to be patient. Help me to be a better example and worthy of being the firstfruit to my parents. You chose my mom to go through what she did and in turn chose me to go through what I did…for a reason; so that WE might share in the glory of YOU. I am hitting the reset button and getting back which I thought was lost in losing my faith for even the slightest of moments.

Love,

Me