Happy Mondays with Paul!

Wow!! What a weekend Girlies!! I have to say that I am super unorganized right now and I am going to blame that on my Roy...since he came home I have wanted to do nothing but spend time with him! I have let so many important housewifey things go that this week I will be one busy Momma! Anyway..I am praying that you all are more organized than your sister! So, I am oober excited to start on our new devotional on Paul! Let's get started shall we?

Genesis 17:1-11

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said," I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,"As for Me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between you and Me."

Reflection:
You may or may not come from a family line of Christian belief. But what value do you place on religious heritage? What do we give up by living only in the present?

What role do ceremony and tradition play in your family's life, especially your life of faith? How have you been blessed by keeping these spiritual markers over the years?

Pauls journey of faith:

Paul grew up in an orthodox Jewish home in a Gentile City. The Bible gives us only a few pieces of info about his upbringing, but based on these tidbits, we may draw a number of conclusions.

I like to imagine Paul as a little newborn baby boy...(drawing from Scripture and Jewish code of law)
Eight days had passed since his birth. Today would be his Berit Milah, an infant boys first initiation into Judaism. There is a small house full of people, the father, a Pharisee and Roman Citizen, was an impressive man. He was one of the few men in the community who seemed to command a certain amount of respect from both Jew and Gentile. When the family all arrives the ceremony begins. The father leans over the sandek (the Jewish Godfather) to oversee the circumcision of his beloved son. He then hands the knife to the mohel (the most expert circumcisor in Tarsus). Circumcision. The father could not help but smile as he competed with his wailing son for the attention of the quorum as the spoke the benediction, "Who hath sanctified us by His commandments and hath commanded us to bring him into the covenant of our father Abraham." With the exception of the sandek, all who gathered stood for the ceremony and responded to this benediction with the words,"Just as he has been initiated into the covenant, so may he be initiated in to the study of the Torah, to his nuptial (marriage)canopy, and to the performance of good deeds." The child laying on the sandek's lap was yet another piece of tangible evidence that God was faithful to a thousand generations. He cradled the child with a moments comfort and then handed him to his father, who's voice resonated throughout the candlelit home, "His name is Saul!!"

Girls...girls...girls...need I say more? This was such a powerful devotional for me...this little baby boy, a mere 8 days old...think of what he would do in his lifetime...


I love you girls! Happy, Happy Monday!

I praise God for you all today!

In Him I Remain,
Shana