Monday February 6, 2023

Today is Monday, February 6 and we are studying what the Bible says about covenant.

Come, abide with me, Lord Jesus. I pause to savor your loving presence and still the restless wanderings of my soul. Open the scriptures to me, speak into my life and teach me the meaning of covenant.

Pause and Pray

Holy Lord God, hear my prayer. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you are mine, and I am yours. So be it. Amen. (The Wesleyan Covenant Prayer, part 2)

I long to draw near to the heart of God and call to him with the words of Psalm 84.

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Psalm 84:1-3

Pause and Pray

Throughout the Bible, God makes covenants with his people to redeem them and restore the relationship lost during the Fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden. Covenants in the Old Testament were made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David. In the book of Leviticus, Moses recorded the laws God revealed to him. These laws placed a high priority on holiness. God wants us to live holy lives dedicated to loving him and others. God is a holy God. He wants to dwell with us, his beloved creation, yet we persist in disobedience and sin. The covenant between God and Israel promised blessings for those who obeyed God and predicted negative outcomes for the rebellious and disobedient.

I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. Leviticus 26:9-13

God’s promise of blessing for obedience to the laws of Leviticus is a beautiful image. I am ever aware of my sinful nature and how far I am from holiness. I am increasingly grateful for the grace God gives me through Jesus Christ. It is only through the shedding of Jesus’ blood that I am forgiven, redeemed and able to make progress in holiness. This holiness comes through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in me and not my own power. Because of Jesus, God looks on me with favor and keeps his covenant promises. God’s dwelling place is here on earth through his son Jesus. I am set free from slavery to sin. The yoke of death is broken through the cross and I walk with my head held high.

Ask: Am I able to attain obedience to God’s Law and live a holy life without Jesus Christ? What has the blood of Jesus done to enable me to receive God’s blessing?

Pause and Pray

Lord God, blessed is your name. You are holy, you are mighty, you are God. Through the grace of your son Jesus, I have confidence to approach your throne and request that you look upon me with favor. Fulfill the promise of your covenant. Bless my residence and come dwell in this place. Make your home with me and guide me to a life of holiness. Guide me and set me free from the things of the world that threaten to enslave me. I read the words from Leviticus again and listen for the message you have for me.

I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. Leviticus 26:9-13

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

The words of this text promise a beautiful blessing – God’s loving presence resides with his people and that includes me. God wants to bless me and my loved ones for generations to come. Whatever words stand out to me from this ancient text, I carry them with me throughout the day. How might God want me to keep covenant with him and realize the blessings he wants to provide? How might I be breaking covenant with him and missing out on the sweet blessings of his presence?

Pause and Pray

Lord God, thank you for loving me so much that you continue to honor your covenant and lead me toward a life of love and holiness. Help me live into the blessings you want to provide and steer me away from whatever detracts from life with you. Come and be my sanctuary in the day ahead. I am yours. Amen.

I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. Ezekiel 37:26-27

As I leave this time of prayer, I go to love God and others in all that I do.

Amen