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The Bible shows us that God wants a dialogue with us as his people; he wants us to talk to him, and he wants us to listen to what he says in his word.
As we continue our journey through Lent, we enter into that spirit of back and forth, that spirit of dialogue.
Last week we looked at our response to God’s initiative of good news in Jesus Christ, a response that involves our worship of God. This week, we return to receiving from God as Mark Woods, Head of Communications at Bible Society, leads us through the wonderful promises the Bible contains for us.
Read today's devotional. Or click the play button to listen.
At the heart of the story of God’s people is the idea of ‘covenant’. Britannica.com defines a covenant as ‘a binding promise of far-reaching importance in the relations between individuals, groups, and nations’. It comes from two Latin words, con and venire, meaning ‘to come together’.
In the Bible, the covenant between God and his people is key to understanding what’s going on. God called a particular nation to be his witnesses to the world. He calls people today to be part of a new community, a colony of heaven, united in a Spirit-filled body through faith in Jesus. This new community fulfils the prophecy of Jeremiah, to whom God said regarding Israel, ‘I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts’ (31.33, GNB).
In Luke 22, at the Last Supper, Jesus describes the wine he shared with his disciples as ‘God’s new covenant sealed with my blood, which is poured out for you’ (verse 20). A covenant is a serious business. It means that both sides make promises. They’re bound together in a union that lasts.
That God keeps his promises is a wonderful thought. He showed his love for us by offering up his son Jesus while we were still sinners (Romans 5.8). And when we share communion together, we’re reaffirming our promises to him. So, as Paul writes, ‘there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 8.39).
This reflection was written by Mark Woods, Head of Communications at Bible Society.
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