Devotion – The covenantal God

I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances (Isaiah 49:8b).

God seems to like covenants. Covenants are agreements between parties; typically, they involve an exchange, a transaction. The Old Covenant, typified by the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments, was an example of such a covenant. If Israel would keep the Lord’s commands, he would protect them and prosper them. And yet, we all know what happened. Time and time again, the people of Israel failed to keep their part of the covenant, and yet time and time again, God forgave them and despite that stuck with them.

In Jesus though, the New Covenant is not so much based on a transaction as it is on a relationship. We, God’s people, are brought right into the intimacy of family; we enter into a relational covenant with the Father.

But more than that, just as Israel was to be a blessing for all nations, we are now God’s emissaries to a world in need of good news. We, God’s people, not through the law but through faith, are called on to shine God’s love, justice and peace into the world, to illuminate the world not through threats but through the invitation into the royal family. This covenant is formed, not through a transaction, but through the life-giving invitation to be part of the family, and so to share the benefits of our royal inheritance with whomever God might lead into our path.

Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us into the family through Jesus. Help us to allow your light to shine through us into this world of yours. Amen.

Prayer Points

We give thanks for the opportunity to run our swim program and for the wonderful learning that has occurred during the program

We pray that we may have a restful, refreshing and safe holiday on Monday

We pray for the Cohlung, Galea-Dexter and Gonzales families

Micah Award

To Edward for showing love and service to his classmates!

To Bawi for showing compassion and service to his classmates!