Second Wednesday of Advent

Scripture Reading for Today:

Genesis 15:1-18, Psalm 21, Matthew 12:33-37

Genesis 15:1-18

15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” 8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—

Psalm 21

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give! 2 You have granted him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. 3 You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head. 4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, for ever and ever. 5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty. 6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence. 7 For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken. 8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes. 9 When you appear for battle, you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and his fire will consume them. 10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind. 11 Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed. 12 You will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow. 13 Be exalted in your strength, Lord; we will sing and praise your might.

Matthew 12:33-37

33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Do You Believe

by Christina MacBean

Author

Christina MacBean loves to inspire people to explore nature, faith, and the arts. In addition to being an ordained and licensed worker with The Alliance, she is a professional artist, having exhibited paintings and prints locally, Nationally, and Internationally. She has longed to create a place where people who have been through a crisis can go, to rest and begin to heal, with support. Through her own experiences, education, and training, as well as her love of the outdoors, it all comes together under the umbrella she calls Butterfly Way. She has been leading this New Venture with her family and with the support of friends throughout The Central Canadian District.

Recently, the realities of living in the unknown and starting something new have just felt a bit heavy. Thankfully, a friend of mine reminded me of some things I had forgotten and a few truths I simply didn’t know how to apply in this new environment in this new land I inhabit. I said to him that “someone should write this stuff down and put a warning label on it, haha.” That pretty much describes the Bible, doesn’t it?

One of the best and most well-known stories in the Bible about heading out into the unknown and being a stranger in a foreign land is, of course, the story of Abram, which begins in Genesis 12.

I have wondered what it was that truly inspired Abram to go as God said. Was he raised in a God-fearing family? It doesn’t sound like it. We read in Joshua 24:2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, from ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods.”

From what I can tell, Abram heard the audible voice of God. He then had a decision to make, he could conclude that he had completely lost his mind, or he could believe that he had in fact heard the voice of God. Fast forward to Genesis 15:6 and we’re given the answer: “Abram believed the Lord…”

If you read the chapters between Genesis 12 and 15, a lot happens to Abram and his family along the way. I wondered, if Abram had had some warning, would he still have gone as the Lord told him? He was a stranger in a foreign land, lived through famine, lied and said his wife Sarai was his sister; Pharaoh took Sarai as his wife, was punished by God for it, so he returned her and sent them on their way again. Conflict separated Abram and his nephew Lot, then Lot was kidnapped and needed to be rescued by his uncle. At 99 years old, Abram became Abraham, was circumcised, and became a father for the first time.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

What was it that kept Abram going even though his journey was fraught with turmoil and unknowns? He was given no guarantees or reward points, and the one real glimpse he had into the future was a dream in which his descendants would be in this wilderness, enslaved and mistreated for 400 years. What kept him going?

In Hebrew, the word “believe” is a verb, literally translated “to be firm or sure.” The same word, “aman,” is used to describe securing one’s tent in a firm place. On one hand, aman/believe is a verb, a call to action, but on the other, it places a tent peg firmly in the ground. I suddenly hear The Clash singing, "Should I stay or should I go?" in my head.

A couple of years ago, sometime in June 2020, I was having a bad day and simply gave into it and went out to the backyard to float around in my pool. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself, mostly just letting my mind wander, thinking about this vision, this call to action, that I had sensed from God, but feeling stuck, unable to imagine how in the world I was going to be able to move forward with it, especially in the middle of a pandemic. I found myself saying to God, “In order for this thing to materialize, a million dollars is going to have to fall from the sky." I wasn’t really expecting an answer, but I got one.

He said to me, “If you want this to happen, you’re going to have to make some real changes.” Rolling my eyes, I said, “I’m open to suggestions.” In His grace, He said back to me, “You need to look north.”

So we did.

Just in case you’re wondering, a million dollars didn’t fall from the sky, nor did we find it up north, but a whirlwind of happenings took place in a very short amount of time. We found the perfect place to begin Butterfly Way. We then sold our house. It was a sealed deal.

But then our financing fell through. I’m not going to lie; I freaked out. We were going to be homeless and bankrupt. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, and I was terrified! What had I done? What were we going to do?

That was a legitimately scary circumstance, but it’s also telling. When God told me to look north, I believed Him. When He brought us to the property in Utterson and showed me where the cabins would be one day, with people gathering around the fire pit, and the little hummingbird who stopped right in front of my face, as though he were welcoming me home, I believed the Lord.

We’re always believing in something. In this crisis moment, I believed it was up to me to secure financing. I believed our move hinged on the bank, our mortgage broker, and the lawyers. One might say my “tent peg” was not in a firm place. Yet, even in my unbelief, the Lord showed up, and I’m now writing to you from my home in Utterson, just as God said.

If we look at Abram’s journey from a different perspective, what we see is that he increasingly believed the Lord. The moment he decided he had actually heard the audible voice of God, he chose to believe. Not only did he believe he could hear God’s voice, but also God’s promise to bless him. His belief was the size of a tiny mustard seed and by acting on his belief, it grew. Every step Abram took forward increased his belief.

Belief is proven through action. Faced with long distances, famine, conflict, and old age, he continued to believe that the Lord would come through. “Abram believed the Lord, and God credited it to him as righteousness.” Belief without action isn’t real belief. Aman, believe, is a verb AND requires us to place our tent pegs on the firm ground of the Lord.

In this season of Advent, we wait with anticipation for the birth of Christ. We believe God humbled Himself and became a vulnerable human baby. We believe the presence of Jesus “will cause great joy for all people!” He came here to show us how it’s done, and He died and rose again to make it possible. Our belief in Jesus ought to change everything!

So, now that you believe, what are you going to DO?

Thank you for reading the New Leaf Advent Reader, a collection of reflections from writers across Canada. If you are enjoying the reader, sign up to receive the readings in your inbox each day here: SIGN UP

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