Hello, Beloved Reader! I’m Faith. Thanks for visiting me today.
“And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering up on one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” — Genesis 22:2
Now, let me relay some of Abram’s story to you. Abram lived for a bit with his family and took himself a wife by the name of Sarai. God tells Abram to leave his country and his kindred and go to a land He would show him. So, Abram did. He travels. Many things happened, but one thing in particular that didn’t happen was the lack of child bearing by his wife.
Now, God had made a covenant with Abram, telling him his seed would be like the stars in the sky. But, Abram had no son, and his wife told him the Lord had restrained her from bearing. To give Abram an heir, Sarai gave her Egyptian maid, Hagar, to Abram to be his wife. Hagar bore Abram a son. And a little bit after, Abram died.
“Faith,” you might say, “You know the story doesn’t end there. He doesn’t die. He has Issac and lives to be really old and stuff.”
No, Abram died, and so did Sarai.
God comes to that man and says, “Your name is now Abraham. Your wife’s name is now Sarah.”
A little later down the road, Abraham has Issac and God comes to him, telling him to take his only son Issac and offer him. Brother Anthony touched on this in one of his messages.
“But God,” Abraham could have said, “He’s not my only son.”
“Abraham! Take thine only son, Isaac,” God replies.
“But God, I have two sons, Issac and Ishmael.”
“No, Abraham!” God says, “Ismael’s not your boy. He’s Abram’s boy. Isaac is Abraham’s boy. I changed your name. I made you a new person.”
When God changes a person, He starts over. It’s a clean slate. It’s new. You’re not the same as you were before, and you aren’t tied to your past. Your past is gone and your life is beginning again. Hence being born again. Isn’t that absolutely wonderful?
Our past is no more. Why do we constantly beat ourselves up over it? Live and thrive, no matter your past. God picked you up and turned you around. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus, and don’t you forget it!
—Faith Cross
