Lent journey: COVENANT

"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is My body."  Then, He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."  Matthew 26:26-28

What does covenant mean?  

A covenant is a contract or agreement between two or more parties.  

Covenant is how God has chosen to communicate to us, to redeem us, and to guarantee us eternal life in Jesus.  These truths, revealed in the Bible, are the basis of Christianity.  The Bible is a covenant document.  The Old and New Testaments are really Old and New Covenants.  The word "testament" is Latin for Covenant.

As shared in Matt Slick's article Covenant.

Personal reflections:  At breakfast, I was thinking about the "word of the day" - covenant - and wondered how I would connect the word to a photograph in a regular life kind of way today.....  I was in the index of my Bible looking at the word covenant and the scriptural references.  I read some, but nothing was really clicking for me.  Then, I read Matthew 26 above.  I had heard that passage countless times - so familiar to me.  How was this particular passage going to enable me to take a photo of something and share during Lent right now?  

And then.... I looked down at my breakfast plate and juice and "gasped."  There it was.  Right in front of me.  And I discovered, anew, that God does show up in our ordinary, regular, routine lives and breaks through to reveal His active and living presence in our lives!  This revelation actually shocked me this morning.  I know that God is PRESENT with us, I know His Word is living and active - but there are times when something occurs (like this morning) that makes the hair stand up on your skin, you shiver all over, because you know - REALLY KNOW - that the Holy Spirit was PRESENT in that very moment sharing God's Truth with you.  Whoa.  He was there FOR ME this morning.  In the simplest acts - eating breakfast - God's Truth was revealed in a new way for me!  I am overwhelmed by His amazing love for me; His grace; His Truth; His desire to be actively working in and through my life.  His amazing gift - forgiveness of sins......

This morning ~ my mind is blown a bit and I will be meditating more upon this today....  The discovery that the word "testament" is Latin for Covenant.  The Bible is actually the Old and New Covenants.  For me, that gives all new meaning to reading my Bible and wanting to know more. 

One final thought to share - God doesn't just want to bless me with special moments like these, but He also wants to share them with you too!  He asks that we believe Jesus Christ is His son and accept Him as Savior.  He asks that we are open to Him; taking time to be still in our busy lives and open our hearts to receive that which He desires to give to each of us.  *Even this morning, I have wrestled with sleeping extra (as working outside and being involved with lambing with farmer friends left me a bit worn out this morning) and knowing that I should have already been showered and dressed to head over to do more blueberry weeding at a friend's u-pick blueberry patch.  Instead of rushing out the door, I made a decision to trust God, sit with Him and hear what He desired to share and believe that He will enable me to still accomplish what this day holds for me to do and will bless Jim and his blueberry patch with health and abundance.  It's not about what I can accomplish humanly, but knowing that WITH GOD, so much more is available for each of us (for He is able to do more than I could ever do on my own)!  God is good.  All the time.

Thank you, Lord, for this amazing revelation for me this morning.  I continually stand in awe of all You are and what you continue to reveal to me throughout my journey in this life. Please help me to know You more and make You known in and through my life.  May I be a vessel of Your amazing love and grace and be a light in this world.  Thank you for this new day, for life, for You.  In Jesus' precious and awesome name, Joanie