I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
-God’s Promise to Abraham, – Genesis 12:2 (NRSV)
He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
-God’s Promise to Abraham, – Genesis 15:5 (NRSV)
I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and will give to your offspring all these lands; and all the nations of the earth shall gain blessing for themselves through your offspring, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
-God’s Promise to Isaac, – Genesis 26:3-5 (NRSV)
I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring.
-God’s Promise to Jacob, – Genesis 28:13-14 (NRSV)
This week, we at Wesley Church will hold our annual “We Got Your Back” backpack festival, providing a tangible and practical expression of God’s love to families in our community. Obviously, Backpack (like everything else) will look a little different in this season of covid-tide. (The event will look more like a drive-through curbside pickup service than our typical throw-open-the-doors festival.) However, the core of the event, and the care and concern it demonstrates, will continue despite COVID-19.
As we count down to the day when we distribute filled backpacks to children in our community, I thought it could be meaningful to write devotionals inspired by the items in my “backpack” — the work bag I bring with me each time I go to the church. With just 2 days to go til Backpack, today’s devotional is inspired by something that fills my work bag and covers my work space: a stack of post-it notes.
I think I pretty much single-handedly keep the Post-It Note company in business. I love post-it notes. I use them all the time. My workspace is usually covered with little reminders scribbled on post-it notes: lists of announcements I want to make in worship, lists of cards I want to send or calls I want to make, lists of important dates or phone numbers or email addresses, lists of sermon series ideas, to-do lists. They’re all there, all over my desk, a veritable rainbow of sticky-backed post-it reminders.
It’s not that I can’t remember things. I have a keen enough memory. Yet still, I cling to my post-it notes. I like the reassurance they give me, the reassurance that I won’t forget. I like the reminder.
Reminders are good. Repeated reminders are good. In today’s scripture readings, we find a whole series of repeated reminders, all speaking of the same promise: land and descendants. It’s the promise God makes to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, a promise God repeats over and over and over, a promise God repeats from generation to generation.
I think those ancient patriarchs needed those repeated reminders. I think God’s people Israel, even centuries later, needed those repeated reminders. And I think we still need those repeated reminders: God’s promises endure, even when things in real time look pretty bleak.
As I read these repeated promises, I’m mindful of how important it is to remind ourselves that God is faithful, to reassure ourselves that God is trustworthy, to remember who God is for us and for all. These repeated promises are a holy post-it note, if you will — a holy post-it note of God’s most enduring promises.
So, friends… remember the promises God has made to us in Christ — promises of unfailing presence and enduring love. Remember that when God makes promises, God is faithful and trustworthy. And if you have trouble remembering… try writing it on a post-it note.
Pastor Candy
Remember that, friends, and remember this too:
Our God is bigger than coronavirus.
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too.
We are people blessing people.
We are Wesley Church.
Want to know more?
- Learn about our church and its ministries: https://wesleychurch.com/
- Make a gift to support our mission: https://wesleychurch.com/giving-2/
- View our recent messages: https://wesleychurch.com/sermon-message-on-video/
- View previous devotionals: https://wesleychurch.com/pastor-candys-devotionals-2/
