Wednesday prior to Lent 2

 

[1]

Genesis 12:1-9—Faith in God’s promises – Faith obeys God’s command and accepts His promises

Faith accepts God’s promise of blessing. By faith, Abraham accepts the Lord’s promise and obeys his command. Around 2000 B.C. a man named Abraham lived in Haran. The Lord came to him and called him to leave his home and family to go to a strange, unknown land where he would become the father of a great nation. Abraham proved his faith in the Lord by trusting His Word of promises and obeying. He left all for a great adventure in faith. The Lord promised to bless him and to make him a blessing to all nations. Abraham maintained his faith by building an altar to worship wherever he went.

Abraham is the father of the faithful because of his faith. In Abraham, we see one who found adventure in faith. I was faith in the promise of God. This resulted in a daring, risky, venture into an unknown future, in an unknown land. His faith was expressed in his obedience to the Lord’s command to leave for a far country and depend on God completely to provide for and protect him.

The LORD promised to bless Abraham. The blessing is not for Abraham’s benefit or his well-being alone. It is not a selfish blessing. God does not bless that the blessed one will be better off than another will. With the blessing comes a responsibility to share the blessing. God blesses Abraham that all people will be blessed through him.

Collect for Lent 2: O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power, defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and rules with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.[2]

Collect for Wednesday of the week of Lent 1: Lord, look upon us and hear our prayer. By the good works you inspire, help us to discipline our bodies and to be renewed in Spirit. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen [3] 01 March 2023

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[1] The Crucifixion, Schnorr von Carolsfeld, woodcuts © WELS Permission to use these copyrighted items is limited to personal and congregational use.
[2] Collect for Lent 2, Lutheran Service Book. © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
[3] Collect for Wednesday of the week of Lent 1, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. III    © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY