Hello!

Check out my new blog while overseas:

www.lifeonthatisland.wordpress.com

God’s Promise to Abraham

School is over. However, I’m still feeling its affects. With all the things I’ve learned and written still on my mind, I decided to share a little bit of the information I’ve recently explored. Here’s a little excerpt from a paper I recently wrote on the Abrahamic covenant.

—————————————

The Abrahamic covenant applied to directly to Abraham through his justification and to Israel through the promise of the land, but it also applies to the Church. In chapter 12 of Genesis the Lord says to Abraham “and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). This reference ultimately refers to Christ and to the blessing that He will bring through His atoning death on the cross which brings hope and salvation to all who believe in Him. This is the blessing in which the Church partakes. The Church is saved by the very same manner in which Abraham was saved. Through belief in God and His Son Jesus Christ an individual is saved. There is hope in the Church age because as 2 Corinthians 3:15-18 states, there is hope for transformation into the likeness of Christ which through the Spirit who was given after the resurrection and ascension of the Messiah (Acts 1:1-3; 2:2). The reality of the application this covenant brings to church doctrine makes it viable for use in every day life. There are many other ways in which the Abrahamic covenant can be applied to things of life that happen every day. 

There is hope in sad times and on dark days through what can be learned and applied from the Abrahamic covenant. The way that God interacts with His people and the goodness, mercy, kindness, and faithfulness He displays specifically toward Abraham in this covenant is an encouragement to the downtrodden soul. When hope seems lost for the Christian because of the circumstances life brings, Ephesians 1:11-12 along with Genesis 12, 13, 15, and 17 are of great encouragement. Because God has sovereignly ordained that difficulties come, 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 bring hope and comfort through trial. Yet while the hard pressed believer is waiting for the day when these promises will be fulfilled and comfort will finally come to fruition, the glorious fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham brings joy and peace. The faithfulness of God in His relationship with Abraham brings the hope the reader of the Old and New Testament needs to persevere through trials. The Abrahamic covenant both ultimately and primarily puts the glory of God on display, and this glory is what brings the spark that ignites the flame of hope, joy, and peace in the heart of the faithful believer. However, at this spark the application is not complete. The story of God’s relationship with Abraham brings joy elsewhere in the life of the Christian. 

Along with the hope of God’s faithfulness seen through His relationship with Abraham is the hope for the same kind of justification and peace with God. Romans 10:10-13 says 

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

There is no distinction between Jew and Greek because salvation comes to the Greek the same way it came to Abraham in Genesis 12. There is hope for a righteous standing before God because of the glory of the justification that was brought to Abraham, and that comes to Jews and Gentiles through belief in the great God and Saviour of the universe.  

Josh Garrels Music

joshgarrels.com
Where you can get his latest album for free.

Escuchar

Flood waters rise, but it won’t wash away.

Love never dies. It will hold on more fierce than graves.

-Josh Garrels

Philippians 1:21

Among other things, this band will be appearing in Spokane this coming February. There are a few advantages to living in I-90’s biggest city between Seattle and Minneapolis.

To live is CHRIST...

Gold and Silver Tears

I have two sources of light in my bedroom. Minus the light the switch turns on. These two sources of light, both coming from lamps, carry a 40 watt, 120 volt bulb. Both bulbs, one in a desk lamp and the other in a bedside lamp, have a different shape and size.

This evening I realized both bulbs were burnt out. What a strange thing I thought this was. I didn’t realize this was the case until I tried to turn each of them on. To make sure I wasn’t being fooled, I checked twice to make sure the problem was in the bulb. They were both plugged in, turned on, and screwed in correctly.

One I was able to change. There is light shining beside my bed tonight. The other has yet to be replaced. Those 40 watts are lighting this entire room.

In a couple weeks I’ll be on I-90 once again, trekking across the country in my trusty companion of an automobile. This will be her third time. I’ve lost count of my own travels across this country. I look forward to the trip. The end that awaits will be much more welcoming than it was last fall. This time it will be my house, with my room, and my bed. They will be my friends, my church, and my professors. There will be open arms, smiles just for me, and plenty of audible happiness. The missing will cease, and the distance will drop from 1,929 to 0.

There, there will be a different lamp beside my bed. But it will produce just as much light. And it will light up that entire room.

freelance whales — generator first floor

 

to say the least.

2011 brought change.

After a week of living in Spokane following my time at home for Christmas, I bought a little grey Casio watch. I wear it every day and rarely remove it from my left wrist (other than when it causes my skin to become quite dry and irritated). It tells me the day, date, and time. Military time, of course, is what it reads, so that I may not lose my European time-telling capabilities. Along with this watch came an alarm set for 6 o’clock (or before) in the morning, more reading that one ought to accomplish in a single semester, and Joshua.

Every once in a long while I will walk into the home in which I currently live and smell the scent my nose first witnessed when I arrived in Spokane. Since that first day, the Lord has been faithful to continually transform my mind. Things have changed. From the music to which I listen to the way I read my Bible. From the way I clothe myself to the things I say. From the things that make me laugh to the things that make me cry.

I have changed.

And yet I am still Amanda.

School rarely allows me to sit and read a good novel, or slowly sip a cup of tea, or do nothing but listen to music, but I look forward to the day when time will allow for these things to happen once again. I look forward to the smell of the home in which I lived for so very many years. I look forward to soft summer nights on my front porch. I look forward to well known smiles. I look forward to familiar sights and sounds.

There are things I have experienced here that I will not experience anywhere else. I am excited to continue life here in the fall. However, one of my favorite things to do is go home.

Just a few weeks or so, and I’ll be there.

Always gettin’ into trouble.

This semester’s work load is nearly ridiculous. Oh, how wonderful it is. I always have homework to do.

There are few things I enjoy more than learning. The people I learn with may be one of those few things.

So far, this semester has been the most difficult, enjoyable, memorable, delighted in semester I have ever had.

My emotions have ridden a number of roller coasters.

My mind has learned more than it can recall.

I have dear friends and wonderful professors.

I have no more time to write.

 

Until soon…

LORD, please save me from food.

I have often said to my fellow Moody students while getting them something to eat, or handing them something I made for them to eat that “food is my love language.” The point that I’m trying to get across to them is that I enjoy filling people’s stomachs with something my hands have made. Like how a musician likes it when other people enjoy his music, or an artist likes it when other people enjoy his painting, this is how I feel about food.

I’ve heard 1 Corinthians 10:31 quoted many times by authors, preachers, and friends. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Of course, they many other things than food on their mind when referencing the verse, but nevertheless the words it “eat” and “drink” are used for a reason.

The Bible says a lot more on the topic of food than I realize it does. As I’ve been writing a research paper on the importance of food in scripture, the way I think about and approach food has changed. That is, the way I eat has changed. Prayer before meals is a priority. Even when I’m eating alone. How much I eat has been revealed to me as gluttony. Not because I always eat too much, but rather because I eat to be happy even when I’m not hungry. I’m just looking for satisfaction. I wish I could say that the way I view myself in the mirror has changed, but the Holy Spirit is still at work in that area.

I try to eat healthy. I try to put things into my body that will benefit me. This is hard to do! I’m in college. Most of my grocery bills add up to more than those of the girls with whom I live. Still, my prayers include the confession of gluttony. They should also include the confession of the idolization of my body.

Jesus saves me from both gluttony and anorexia. The Gospel is what controls my fork, and keeps me from shoving my finger down my throat. It may sound silly or dramatic, but it’s the truth. We live in a consumer culture, and we as Christians have taken part in this consumerism in the way we approach food. Does the relationship I have with food have anything to do with my relationship with Jesus?!

OF COURSE!

He is, after all, the Bread of Life.