And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” 9So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Are you discouraged because a breakthrough that you have been praying for has yet to manifest? Maybe it has been days or even weeks and you are asking, “How will I know that I will get it?” Abraham faced the same situation and asked God the same question. And God answered, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” What a strange answer!
But if you read on (Genesis 15:10–21), you will realize that God took Abraham’s question very seriously, and went on to show him just how serious He was about being his provider, protector and prosperity-giver. God was so serious that He was willing to bind Himself to a covenant.
What is a covenant? It is like a contract. Yet, it is more than a contract. A contract is binding only for a period of time, like five years or seven years, or until certain terms are fulfilled. But a covenant is perpetual. It is permanent. The only way out is through death. That is why marriage is a covenant, not a contract. It is permanent — “Till death do us part”.
In Bible times, when you cut a covenant with someone, you bring an animal, usually a ram or goat, and kill it by cutting it in two. Next, you will face your covenant partner and walk toward each other between the two pieces of the animal, passing each other in the center.
What all this means is that both parties are obligated to protect and provide for each other. Whatever belongs to you is your partner’s and whatever belongs to your partner is yours. Of course, the one who benefits is the lesser or poorer party.
Today, God is in covenant with us. We are the lesser, poorer party. We have nothing to offer God. But God, the richest and most powerful being in the universe, has everything to offer us!
My friend, God has bound Himself to a covenant, an iron-clad guarantee of His blessings and provision in your life, and it is all for your benefit. The breakthrough you are waiting for is guaranteed by covenant!
Source
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Amy Grant, Vince Gill carry their holiday joy to Grand Rapids on tour Thursday
• MasterChef Goes Large, BBC Lifestyle, 6pm: Amateur chefs attempt tough gastronomic challenges in the hope of impressing judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode to win the title of MasterChef.
• TGL Epic: Planetshakers Holiday Edition, One Gospel, 7pm: Join Xylon, Selae and Carly as they go on location to interview the Planetshakers. The Planetshakers are one of Australia's most popular worship bands, named after the Planetshakers youth conference at which they began and in which they remain an integral part.
• Dexter The Dark Defender, M-Net Action, 8pm: Dexter is a drama series about an orphaned 4-year-old who grows up with homicidal tendencies and is guided by his adoptive father to channel his gruesome passion for human vivisection in a constructive way - by killing those heinous perpetrators who have slipped through the cracks of justice. Tonight, Dexter finds out that the man who killed his mother, right in front of him, is still alive.
• Special Forbes Top 20 Celebrity Cash Couples: Crazy Double Incomes, E! Entertainment, 9.50pm: From real estate, to private jets, jewels, cars and luxury vacations, in this one-hour special we'll coun down the 20 hottest Hollywood power couples.
Christian Music News Source
• TGL Epic: Planetshakers Holiday Edition, One Gospel, 7pm: Join Xylon, Selae and Carly as they go on location to interview the Planetshakers. The Planetshakers are one of Australia's most popular worship bands, named after the Planetshakers youth conference at which they began and in which they remain an integral part.
• Dexter The Dark Defender, M-Net Action, 8pm: Dexter is a drama series about an orphaned 4-year-old who grows up with homicidal tendencies and is guided by his adoptive father to channel his gruesome passion for human vivisection in a constructive way - by killing those heinous perpetrators who have slipped through the cracks of justice. Tonight, Dexter finds out that the man who killed his mother, right in front of him, is still alive.
• Special Forbes Top 20 Celebrity Cash Couples: Crazy Double Incomes, E! Entertainment, 9.50pm: From real estate, to private jets, jewels, cars and luxury vacations, in this one-hour special we'll coun down the 20 hottest Hollywood power couples.
Christian Music News Source
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The commerce of church - when do we cross the line?
In a post yesterday about former Planetshaker's Michael Guglielmucci (who wrote many of the band's songs) and his admission that he had been lying for two years about having cancer to cover his addiction to porn, I threw out this question: "Are we bowing at the altar of the megachurch, rather than the foot of the cross, because it's 'culturally relevant?'"
Someone commented that Guglielmucci's deception wasn't necessarily an indictment on his church, and he was right. That question shouldn't have necessarily been part of that post. It's just that those two questions seem intricately linked in my mind.
So today, let me separate the question from the Michael Guglielmucci issue and open that up for discussion.
Are we bowing at the altar of the megachurch, rather than the foot of the cross, because it's "culturally relevant?" Where is the line between church and commercial product?
I went to a big church in my city recently. I had visited once before, on the first weekend they were having services in their new, state of the art building. The building seats 1,200 people (and they have two services each weekend), and has more technological equipment than the Starship Enterprise. Three large screens, full lights and sound, stadium seating. I felt like someone should have taken my concert ticket at the door instead of handing me a program.
Source
Someone commented that Guglielmucci's deception wasn't necessarily an indictment on his church, and he was right. That question shouldn't have necessarily been part of that post. It's just that those two questions seem intricately linked in my mind.
So today, let me separate the question from the Michael Guglielmucci issue and open that up for discussion.
Are we bowing at the altar of the megachurch, rather than the foot of the cross, because it's "culturally relevant?" Where is the line between church and commercial product?
I went to a big church in my city recently. I had visited once before, on the first weekend they were having services in their new, state of the art building. The building seats 1,200 people (and they have two services each weekend), and has more technological equipment than the Starship Enterprise. Three large screens, full lights and sound, stadium seating. I felt like someone should have taken my concert ticket at the door instead of handing me a program.
Source
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
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