Covenant of Promise
Dearest Father, Thank You for this covenant of promise You made with Abraham and now, in Christ, you made with me. As written in the First Reading today.
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But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in Him, you may have life (John 20:31 GNBDK) - the rich and satisfying life in Christ. (John 10:10 NLT)
Today's Readings
First Reading: Genesis 15: 1-12, 17-18
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 105: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9
Alleluia: John 15: 4a, 5b
Gospel: Matthew 7: 15-20
Reading I
[1] After this, Abram had a vision and heard the LORD say to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I will shield you from danger and give you a great reward.”
[2] But Abram answered, “Sovereign LORD, what good will your reward do me, since I have no children? My only heir is Eliezer of Damascus.
[3] You have given me no children, and one of my slaves will inherit my property.”
[4] Then he heard the LORD speaking to him again: “This slave Eliezer will not inherit your property; your own son will be your heir.”
[5] The LORD took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and try to count the stars; you will have as many descendants as that.”
[6] Abram put his trust in the LORD, and because of this the LORD was pleased with him and accepted him.
[7] Then the LORD said to him, “I am the LORD, who led you out of Ur in Babylonia, to give you this land as your own.”
[8] But Abram asked, “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that it will be mine?”
[9] He answered, “Bring me a cow, a goat, and a ram, each of them three years old, and a dove and a pigeon.”
[10] Abram brought the animals to God, cut them in half, and placed the halves opposite each other in two rows; but he did not cut up the birds.
[11] Vultures came down on the bodies, but Abram drove them off.
[12] When the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and fear and terror came over him.
[17] When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch suddenly appeared and passed between the pieces of the animals.
[18] Then and there the LORD made a covenant with Abram. He said, “I promise to give your descendants all this land from the border of Egypt to the River Euphrates,
[19] including the lands of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
[20] the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
[21] the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Responsorial Psalm
R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations—
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord;
whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
[15] “Be on your guard against false prophets; they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are really like wild wolves.
[16] You will know them by what they do. Thorn bushes do not bear grapes, and briars do not bear figs.
[17] A healthy tree bears good fruit, but a poor tree bears bad fruit.
[18] A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a poor tree cannot bear good fruit.
[19] And any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown in the fire.
[20] So then, you will know the false prophets by what they do.
Dearest Father,
Thank You for this covenant of promise You made with Abraham and now, in Christ, you made with me. As written in the First Reading today.
Genesis 15:18 GNBDK
[18] Then and there the LORD made a covenant with Abram. He said, “I promise to give your descendants all this land from the border of Egypt to the River Euphrates.
Thank You for Your covenant of promise to me: descendants so many and land so huge. As written in the First Reading today.
I was reading the First Reading in the Blessed Sacrament, especially this part:
Genesis 15:2-3 GNBDK
[2] But Abram answered, “Sovereign LORD, what good will your reward do me, since I have no children? My only heir is Eliezer of Damascus. [3] You have given me no children, and one of my slaves will inherit my property.”
This was Abraham conversing with the Lord regarding his deepest desire - to be a father and have children.
I marveled that Abraham had that kind of relationship with the Lord, the God of the universe, where he could safely and confidently say, “What good will your reward do to me? I don't have children since You didn't give me any and no one will inherit any good that You give me, except my servant.”
He sounds like a child complaining to his father. Which he is.
As I was reading this, I told the Lord, “I don't even have a property for anyone to inherit, Lord.”
And then it came to me: God's covenant of promise to Abraham is mine too.
I've always longed to have a family of my own but only with the man God chooses for me. So I never set out to make things happen for me in that area.
I figured that God promised me descendants and I'm a woman (call me old-fashioned, but I believe that it is not the woman's place to look for a man,) so God will surely bring me the man of His choice for me.
I've never cared much for land before. But now that I have a desire to establish an Eden Garden Retreat Resort and an integrated organic farm where I can also have a bakeshop to bake goodies in and share with others, I want a huge land.
A huge land right in the middle of our city where people can easily go to spend time with family and friends, experiencing Your goodness in the midst of nature and enjoying the produce of the land.
Now I have a covenant with God, in Christ, and believe in faith that I already have the fulfillment of this covenant of promise from God, much like Abraham's.
I have my own many flesh and blood descendants and huge land claimed for me by God's covenant of promise in the Spirit realm and soon I'll receive them in the physical realm.
How am I sure of that?
Because the Responsorial Psalm said so:
The Lord remembers His covenant forever. Psalm 105
He made a covenant with Abraham by passing through the carcasses laid out by Abraham, as instructed by God, in the form of a flaming torch.
Genesis 15
[9] He answered, “Bring me a cow, a goat, and a ram, each of them three years old, and a dove and a pigeon.”
[10] Abram brought the animals to God, cut them in half, and placed the halves opposite each other in two rows; but he did not cut up the birds.
[17] When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch suddenly appeared and passed between the pieces of the animals.
[18] Then and there the LORD made a covenant with Abram. He said, “I promise to give your descendants all this land from the border of Egypt to the River Euphrates,
Now He has sealed that covenant as binding forever with the Body and Blood of Christ.
In Christ, I have His covenant of promise.
Now I need only to remain in Him and let God's words remain in me, faithful to our covenant for my part, trusting that God will fulfill His covenant of promise in His perfect time and in his perfect way.
Just as Abraham trusted God.
Genesis 15:6 GNBDK
[6] Abram put his trust in the LORD, and because of this the LORD was pleased with him and accepted him.
If you want to have a covenant of promise with God Who made heaven and earth, live in Christ. Join me in our SpeakChrist RichLife Club. We'll do it together. St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
Live the RichLife in Christ today 🤟
The Lord remembers His covenant forever.
His covenant of promise.
The promise He made to Abraham and His descendants forever.
Free 🎁 for you.
God's Covenant of promise
Is yours and mine today
In Christ, His covenant of promise is always ours to stay.
Say Amen! 🙏
Genesis 15:18 GNBDK
[18] Then and there the LORD made a covenant with Abram. He said, “I promise to give your descendants all this land from the border of Egypt to the River Euphrates.
Now Your Turn
(Questions to ask yourself when scripture journaling)
What verses spoke to me strongly and powerfully from the scripture readings?
What is God saying to me in these verse or verses?
What does God want me to do today?
Journal prompts of the day
What is God's covenant of promise with you?
Do you put your trust in God and His covenant of promise?
Will you live in Christ until God's covenant of promise come true for you?
Vivo dives vitae in Christo. Live the RichLife in Christ.
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