Revelation of the Word

THEME: COVENANT

Mark 12:30-31

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

INSIGHT
-The covenant of love requires commitment in loving God & our neighbours as ourselves made possible by His grace. God loved the world & gave His Son for us making an everlasting covenant for our redemption from sins & burdens. God also loves each one of us so much & nothing can separate us from His love.

SUMMARY
-Covenant in Hebrew is written as berith & it means alliance, pact, treaty, confederate, convention & treaty. A covenant presupposes two or more parties who come together to make a contract, agreeing on promises, conditions, privileges & responsibilities.
There are different types of covenants, including: –
1. Biblical covenants between God & man e.g. Adamic (Gen 2:16-17) where Adam was warned against eating from the tree of knowledge of good & evil but disobeyed & the covenant was not sealed for man would never be saved from sin, Noahic (Gen 9:3-15) where God promised never to destroy mankind by floods again & the seal was a rainbow, Abrahamic (Gen 17:1-27) where Abraham was promised an everlasting inheritance & would be made a father of many nations. It was sealed by circumcision, Mosaic (Exo 20:1-24, 24:3-8) which was sealed by the law, Davidic (2 Sam 7:12-29) where David was promised an everlasting kingship & his son would built the temple. The covenant was sealed by praise. New covenant (Heb 8:7-13) where Jesus wrote the laws in our hearts & the coming of the Holy Spirit was the seal. Finally the Eternal covenant (Heb 13:20-21) where Jesus died for our sins on the cross that we may receive eternal life & His blood sealed the pact.
2. Biblical covenant between two or more men e.g. covenant between Abimelech & Abraham (Gen 21:22-33), Abimelech & Isaac (Gen 26:26-33), Jacob & Laban (Gen 31:44-49), king Solomon & king Hiram (1 Kings 5:12) all these were covenants of peace. God also warned the Israelites from making covenants with the inhabitants of Canaan who worshipped idols & would be a snare in their lives (Exodus 34:12-13). These evil covenants are still being practiced or were practiced by our forefathers that may cause certain challenges in our lives or blood lines; but through the blood of Jesus we have been made free.
3. Covenant application as the will of God in our daily lives – Covenant of peace (Rom 12:17-18) where we should always be vessels of peace, Obedience (Eph 6:1-3) where we should obey both our parents & God, Thanksgiving (1 Thes 5:18) where we should give thanks to God always, Stewardship (1 Cor 4:1-2) where we should serve God in our different capacities, Humility (Eph 4:10) where should always be humble & refrain from pride, Love (Mark 12:30-31) that we love God & our neighbours as ourselves, Confession of sins, change of mindless & witnessing Christ in our daily live (Acts 2:38-39, & Eph 1:13-14) etc.
-Our spiritual headlights must therefore remain on for the whole year despite the fog in form of shortcomings that come to blind us. In the realisation that fog is only temporary & disappears as soon as the sun shines, we submit our lives & cares to God. May we also let the light of Christ shine in our lives that we remain rooted in Him as we strive to achieve what we envisage & finally eternal inheritance according to the promise through Gods’ covenants & those we keep in our daily lives.

PRAYER
We thank You Father for Your everlasting love & mercy upon us. We appreciate the fact that nothing can separate us from Your love. By Your precious blood we break every chain that continues to hold us captive in various areas of our lives & blood lines. Draw us closer to You that we may be true witnesses of Your works on earth through the power of the Holy Spirit. May Your peace that surpasses all understanding guard our hearts & minds. We thank You & praise You Jesus in all things. Amen

Blessed Weekend

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