Genesis 12:1-3
The LORD said to Abram: God out from your land, your relatives, and your father's house
to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you,
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,
I will curse those who treat you with contempt,
and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you,
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,
I will curse those who treat you with contempt,
and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
As you read the Bible and look throughout history, you will find the truths of these verses evident. God blessed Abram"s (would soon become Abraham) faithfulness to leave the land of his relatives and countrymen for a land that God would direct him to. God indeed caused Abraham and his descendants to become a great nation - Israel. Over and over again we see the result of God's blessings upon those who bless Israel and God's wrath upon those who treat Israel with contempt. Yes, these truths in Scripture lead up to the greatest truth of all contained in these verses.
Praise be to God for Jesus who indeed is the ultimate fulfillment of the promise made in these verses that "all the peoples on earth will be blessed". Jesus brought glory to God throughout His life of ministry and when He sacrificially laid His own life down for undeserving man. It is through that sacrifice on the cross, the shedding of His blood, and the resurrection from the dead that people today have the opportunity for salvation.
Now it is our turn to make Him known throughout the nations. It is still staggering to me the number of people that have not even heard the gospel that leads to salvation in Jesus. Even more alarming is that too many of us are so caught up in our little part of the world, so caught up in our problems, so caught up in our comfort; that we don't even notice (or even more alarming - don't care) those who dying without Christ.
Today, we give God praise for the salvation He has given us through Jesus. Today, we pray for God to make Himself known throughout the nations. Today, we seek to make Him known through our words & deeds - for He is the blessing for all peoples.
Prayer for:
(1) the community of Pine Harbor (Lake O' the Pines)
(2) the state of West Virginia
(3) the nation of Vietnam
(4) the continent of Australia
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