Week 2; Day 3

Genesis 17-19
If it’s possible, today is even more eventful than yesterday. God reiterates His covenant with Abram, changes His name and calls for a sign of the covenant with His set apart people. The promise of a son through Sarah is given. Sarah laughs at the impossibility. Abraham bargains with God on behalf of his nephew. Sodom is destroyed. Lot’s wife turns into a pillar of salt. Finally, we end with a disgraceful act by the daughters of Lot that leaves us wondering why God spared them. However, my thoughts today are going to focus on one verse; “I Am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be blameless.” As we continue our reading through God’s Word this year, we will not only see how Israel failed to follow this calling, but we will also see that it is our same call today. While much of the Old Testament cannot be directly applied to us, such as the Laws, there are principles that are restated in the New Testament, which are directly applicable to us. This verse is an example of such. “I Am God Almighty” is the same God we serve today. “Live in My presence” may be accomplished differently today, but it is our same call. Live, in the original language, means to continually  walk/follow. Galatians 5:25 states, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” The NLT says it this way, “If we are now living by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” As new testament believers, we are to live in the presence of God Almighty; we are to walk continually in His Spirit. The word blameless, in its original form, means to be without blemish or spot, undefiled, upright. James states that, “Pure and undefiled religion before God our Father is this, to care for the widows and orphans in their time of need, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” There it is; unspotted. We, just as God told Abraham, are to be blameless; to keep the ideas and actions of the world from influencing our lives. This begs the question, How much of my thinking and doing is of the world?  The purpose of the covenant was for Israel to live as God’s set apart people. Our purpose is the same. He Is God Almighty and He has given me the privilege and ability to live in His presence and be blameless. When we accept Christ’s payment for our sins, we are entering a covenant relationship with God to live in His presence and be blameless. May we never reduce our salvation to simply being an escape from hell. Our purpose begins at the moment we are redeemed; to be His set apart people that His glory may be revealed to the lost. My prayer is that God will ground this verse deeply in our hearts and minds, “I Am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be blameless.”