Genesis Ch.12 & 13

Holy Spirit, we welcome Your presence to dwell in our homes and as we read this Word may You open up the eyes of our understanding in the name of Jesus, Amen. Thank you LORD

Today's Word is from Genesis 12:1-3 (NKJV)

"1.Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you.

2.I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.

3.I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

AMEN. Thank you LORD.

Genesis 12 starts off with Abram physically departing from the land of Haran where he had dwelt with his father. Prior, to moving to Haran, Acts 7:2-3 clearly tells us that the LORD had already appeared to Abram and instructed him to leave his country, family and father's house. After the death of his father, he was now able to depart to the land that the LORD would show him. However, Abram still had the company of his nephew Lot which meant partial obedience to God's instruction.

In Genesis 13, when the LORD had blessed both Abram and Lot with wealth, they were finally able to separate as the land they shared was no longer able to support their livestock and herdsmen. In Genesis 13:7-8 NKJV "And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land. So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren."

Lot ended up choosing the plain of Jordan that was well watered everywhere (Genesis 13:10-11). On the other hand, Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan (Genesis 13:12). As much as the plain of Jordan was beautiful to the eyes, it was the land of Sodom and Gomorrah that was filled with men who did wicked and sinful acts against the LORD (Genesis 13:13). As much as the land was beautiful in a physical sense, it was far from the ways of God which eventually impacted Lot's life.

On the other hand, Abram is blessed of the LORD which meant God's blessing would be with him regardless of where he decided to move. Fortunately for Abram, Lot's departure meant that he was in now in full obedience to God's instruction and in Genesis 13:14-15, the LORD God made an everlasting covenant to Abram and his descendants which includes you and I. The LORD said, "And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot separated from him:"Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are - northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever." In addition, the LORD also promised Abram descendants that could never be numbered (Genesis 13:16). Abraham was a man of faith and we see that Abram believed God even when there was no physical manifestation which I will share as we go along. When the LORD God was telling him to lift his eyes and look from the place that he was, the LORD was telling him to build align his inner vision with what God had given him and his descendants. In fact, in Acts 7:5, we see that Abraham dwelt in tents and never fully 'physically' possessed the land but in his vision and imagination, he possessed it all on behalf of his descendants (keeping in mind, his wife was barren). Based on this, God found him faithful.

Galatians 3:29 remind us that all of God's children are descendants of Abram. It says, "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

This in turn means that the blessings that the LORD gave to Abram, you also have access to them. For example, Abraham was man of faith which means God's children also have an inheritance and measure of his faith. Also, as seen in today's lead Scripture, the LORD told Abram that He would bless those who blessed him and in him all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). As a child of God, the life of God in Christ Jesus dwells in you which gives you access to these blessings as well.

Invitation to salvation: Today, God's grace is still available and welcomes all who desire to know His heart of redemption through His one and only Son Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus Christ, every evil imagination of heart and all sins has been conquered on the cross and washed away by His precious blood. If this is you - I invite you to make this confession:

"I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that; Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins so that I could have a new life where I am dead to sin and alive to God. I repent of my past sins and enter the Kingdom of light where I choose relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and with God as my loving Father today and forever." AMEN.

I'll end with this Word in Romans 4:16-22 (NKJV)

16."Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

17.(as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed - God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

18.who contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be."

19.And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb.

20.He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,

21.and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

22.And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."

AMEN. Thank you LORD GOD.