Blessed to be a Blessing

Blessed to be a Blessing
Words of Faith 3-7-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL    
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 12
    The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
    [2] "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;
    I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth
 will be blessed through you."  
    [4] So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. [5] He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

         What do you do when God talks to you? Well, listen carefully and then do what He says. Chapter 12 of Genesis begins the account of God's solution to the mess that had become of humanity. We call it the story of redemption.
         Ever since the Fall in the Garden, humanity had been racked with sin. Violence, arrogance, and rebellion had marked human history. Even wiping out humanity and starting over again had not helped. A new sin had slowly crept in as well. Joshua 24:2 tells us that Terah, the father of Abram was an idolater. Man was lost and looking for hope in all the wrong places!
         But God had a plan. The plan started with a couple, Abram and Sarai. From this "new start" the Lord God would make a chosen people and from that people, He would bring a Messiah. That was the solution. The call of God must have been a frightening proposition.
          "Leave everything that gives security to you-- country, home, and family-- and go somewhere."    
          Where?
          "Where I show you."  
          I don't know about you, but I like to know where I am going! But the more important thing here was not "where" they were going, but "what they were called to do."  
         "What" this was about was huge. Enormous! God was calling Abram and Sarai to found a great nation. God was choosing to bless Abram and Sarai and their offspring. God chose to favor them in a unique and special way for a very specific purpose.
          Critical to this plan was that God would bless this one nation that comes from Abram and Sarai. This was not some sort of partisan favoritism. God did not choose from among all the existing nations of the earth. God, instead, was calling for a nation that would be completely different from all the others.
         The blessing on this nation was for a specific purpose, that they would BE a blessing. This nation was not favored just for fun. All peoples on earth would be blessed through this one nation! There would be a unique protection for this people-- Those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed. This was a divine endeavor, and it was divinely protected.
         This is the beginning of the "people of God."  Later they will be called "Israel" and later the "Hebrews" and much later the "Jews."  But the key is that these are the people through whom God will give His Law and bring His grace. From this endeavor will come the Messiah of God and the outpouring of His Holy Spirit.
          Where does it all start? One man, the son of an idolater, listening to God instead of His culture. One woman, listening to her husband. Together trusting and obeying.
         God still works this way. Our calling may not seem as enormous, but world changing impact still works by calling us one man and one woman at a time, together trusting and obeying. God calls us out of our worldly culture to turn away from the idolatry of the age and follow Him.

          Lord, thank You for Your plan. Thank You for Your blessing. Help me to remember that Your blessing always comes with responsibility. Help me to remember that as You bless me, I am to be a blessing to others. Thank You for this day. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.