All Things New: Signs [How Do We KNOW We've Changed?]

During this month we've studied how TO change and what enables us TO change. We've discussed that Jesus paid our debt on the cross and that we owe Him our lives and sacrifice to fulfill our end of the covenant.

One thing I left out of last week's post is that is up to YOU to find out what Christ's standard for your life is. If you don't know where to start searching, Matthew Chapters 5-7 creates a fantastic overview of His standard.

But HOW are you supposed to know that YOU HAVE changed?

What are the SIGNS!?

Is there anything we can use as an indication that we have really become that new creation?

"You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." (Matthew 7:16-20 NLT)

Jesus explains in the above verse that you will know true Christians by the fruits they produce. So what fruits should a Christian be producing?

But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]. (Galatians 5:22, 23 AMP)

So let's focus on a these fruits individually...

The bible is clear the LOVE should be the center of the Christian life.

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7, 8 NLT)

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT)

The GREATEST of these is LOVE.

This means that our every action should be motivated by LOVE. This will branch out into all the other fruits. For if God is love and Jesus is the vine, all other fruits must be born of love.

When it comes to harvesting crops, you cannot expect to get something different that what you planted. Jesus illustrated that in one of the above passages. A farmer can't plant corn and grow potatoes. A Christian can't plant hate and receive love.

The rest of the fruits should reflect this love. When you share love you will receive joy and continue to share joy with others. NOTHING should be able to take your joy away. You should have something in you that makes other people wonder why you are always happy, even when things seem bad. Joy!

The Christian life should be FULL of peace. Even in the midst of trials you should have no fear of the outcome because of your faith that God will have your back. God IS love and as John writes, "perfect love expels all fear." Although I'm aware that his context was of fear or punishment I believe that this relates to understanding our peace in Christ as well.

Patience. John 16:33 guarantees that we will have struggles and Romans 8:17 states that if we are to share in Christ's glory we must also share in His sufferings. It is clear that we will have trouble and making it through this world will require patience. We have to be understanding with others as God is understanding with us as Christ tells us in Matthew 7:2, "For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged." Being patient with others is a quality of love and a fruit of His Spirit.

This quality extends to kindness which Christ teaches us simply by the golden rule. "Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:31 NIV)

Goodness or benevolence is simply an extension of kindness in acting to care for others who can't care for themselves. This is the only acceptable form of "religion" in God's eyes. "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." (James 1:27 NLT)

Faithfulness -- Faithfulness is in a sense another term for obedience. As I have explained before, we don't obey God out of fear of punishment or to avoid hell, but we obey Him because we have FAITH that His word and rule is for our best interest and we believe that His ways are better than our own. If you obey His laws out of faith, you are bearing this fruit.

Gentleness, meekness, and humility is simply the opposite of being proud or boastful. It's okay to acknowledge the gifts God has given you as long as you don't seek the praise for yourself. In all things seek the glory of God.

Lastly, self-control. Following Christ means practicing restraint from the sins that used to control you. If you say you belong to Christ, but keep turning back to the sins that separated you from God in the first place, your fruit isn't matching the Vine.

If we back up a few verses in Galatians, we can also see the type of fruit that comes from the flesh. These are the things that should not be seen in the life of a Christian.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21 NLT)

It is clear that the Spirit breed LOVE and selflessness into us while our flesh breeds only pride and selfishness. Love is the fruit we strive for. In the coming month we are diving further into the topic of love, so for now let me leave you with a scripture that describes how important love truly is...

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. (1 Corinthians 13:1-7 MSG)

Pray on these things this week and ask God daily to allow you to bear the fruits of the spirit. God bless you until next week...

All Things New: How Can We Change? [Part Two: Our Process]

Last week I talked with you about how Christ paid our debt with His sacrifice, but what is our process in this? What is our part in making all things new?

Christ was our substitution, so what does that mean for us?

If He paid it ALL, do we have to sacrifice anything of ourselves?

We know what Christ accomplished on the cross, but is there anything WE need to accomplish?...



Yes!

To illustrate this point, I will quote an early post from this blog that I wrote over two years ago...

Throughout scripture there seems to be several verses that imply the fact that we can receive salvation by merely believing, or having faith in God. This ideology has brought forth newly popularized claims about heaven, hell, and even life on earth. The claim gaining the most popularity amongst my generation is the claim of Universal Reconciliation, or in simpler terms, the theory that EVERYONE will get into heaven.

Is this true?

Universalists claim that in scripture there are over six-hundred verses that support their claim. Let's take a look at a few, starting with justification by faith.

First, what is justification by faith? To be justified with something or someone means to be made right with said object. So if you kill someone out of self defense you are legally justified by the fact that they were trying to harm you. Justification by faith simply means we are made right with God by believing in Jesus' death and resurrection being the only means of our salvation. The Apostle Paul speaks of this justification in many of his writings, but especially in Romans.

If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God's way. For the Scriptures tell us, "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith."
When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. (Romans 4:2-5 NLT)

So we shouldn't work for, toward, or on our salvation? We just have to believe? Hmmm...

Now, notice how James speaks of the same man that the Apostle Paul spoke of in the above verses and even quotes the same ancient scriptures.

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
Don't you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. (James 2:19-24 NLT)

I do believe that we are justified by our faith and doing good works can't earn us grace, but I also believe that we cannot be justified by something that is dead.

Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. (James 2:26 NLT)

The point that this makes is that our works are OUR portion of the blood covenant we join into with God. As we discussed before, to enter a blood covenant there must be bloodshed on both sides. In the Old Covenant, God's blood was represented by the sinless blood of a slain animal while man's blood was shed at circumcision. So what is our process in this? What is it that we have to do to fulfill our sacrificial end of the NEW blood covenant with God?

Our faith and our works are a large part of it. I'll step back to the post on justification by faith and quote my old friend, Joe Lanza. "He said your faith has made you well, go and sin no more. How much more clear could He have been? First your faith (in Christ) will make you well. Repentance is a part of that, we can't 'just believe' and think everything is ok. Because, then He said go and sin no more. That is were we need to continue to try and live right and repent. If I get saved and right away go back to my own ways I have not done what He asked."

It all boils down to obedience.

If you really trust someone, you will do what they ask of you. Your actions will prove your faith in them. If you fail to act on your faith, then you prove that you don't actually have any. THIS is why faith without works is dead.

We also have to learn that Christ's crucifixion actually mirrors OUR process in an amazing way. In Luke He states...

“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? (Luke 9:22-25 NIV excerpt)

The best I've ever heard this used as an analogy was in a brief message by Mattie Montgomery titled "The Death Process."

Basically, the crucifixion acts not only as our penal substitution, but as a guide to the death process we must put ourselves through SPIRITUALLY if we desire to enter into the covenant with God.

That is our bloodshed...

That is OUR PROCESS.

All Things New: How Can we Change? [Part One: Christ's Substitution]

It's safe to say that one of the first parts of making ALL THINGS NEW is simply asking God and those who He has placed as authorities in your life where to start or how it works. So in this lesson I aimed to answer one part of those questions, starting with a game.

While talking with one of our leaders and trying to figure out a game with an adequate message, we developed Musical Chairs with a "Twistery" (mystery+twist=twistery, cheesy... we know).

This version of the classic game has a hidden catch to convey penal substitution. If the game goes as usual, then all the students lose, but if at any time one student offers their seat to another student and takes the penalty (being out) for them, the game is over and EVERYONE wins.

..but more on that later.

What do you think enables us to change? Don't just skip ahead and read the answer. Take a few minutes and really think about this. What is it that enables us to become that new creation?




...




He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:15-21 NLT)

Let me ask you that again. What enables us to change?

The answer is one thing and one thing alone. The answer is the CROSS.

Now take some time and think about what happened on the cross. What is the first thing you think of when I ask you, "What happened on the cross?"

To help you understand I'll refer back to the game of Musical Chairs. As the students who came walked around a circle of chairs, the music played and they waited for it to stop so they could frantically pounce after the chairs in attempt to avoid the penalty of being separated from the group. What they didn't know at the time was that the object of the game wasn't to be the last one standing and there was no way to earn victory by fighting against the other students. The only way that everyone eventually won was when a student figured out that they had to make the sacrifice for the good of the entire class. That one student took the punishment for someone who could not find their place. That one student left their seat and instead accepted a loss. That one student became the outcast, even though they had not made an error. That one student helped me create the perfect analogy for what Christ did for us on the cross. JESUS took the place of ALL of us who had no chance to overcome death on our own. JESUS left HIS SEAT at the right hand of God and traded it for earthly pain and suffering. JESUS paid our debt and was outcasted even though He had done NO WRONG. His death was a substitute for our punishment. He took the death that WE deserved. And just as the one student's sacrifice covered the entire group and allowed EVERYONE to win, Christ's sacrifice allows everyone on this earth an opportunity to win the race and live eternally with Christ in heaven.

Now even though Christ's death paid our penalty, His LIFE and PERFECTION is what saves us, but we'll touch on that in a minute.

Another hard-hitting question that a lot of teens (and honestly, adults) ask is, "Is God sending his son to a torturous death by the hands of men really a story of LOVE?"

I figured, rather than allowing you to be caught off guard with this question from kids at school or people you work with, I have to equip you to answer it by asking you, myself.

Is this a story of LOVE? Take another few minutes and try to answer that for yourself. Think about how you would answer that friend or co-worker who asked you that question...




...





This is MY answer -- the BIBLE's answer. God is love, but He is also justice. He is all knowing and we as humans cannot dare to deny that only He could judge the true penalty for the consequence of sin. Whether we LIKE it or not, that consequence is death. But His mercy towards us, who had betrayed Him and His laws, shows us that this IS a story of love!

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. (Romans 5:8-10 NLT)

we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.

Like I said above, it was His perfection in life that saves us; the fact that he was a spotless man without sin or blemish to his record. The only sacrifice that God ever deemed worthy under the Old Covenant was the sacrifice of an animal without spot or blemish. And we already covered in a previous post that the cross entered us into a New Blood Covenant with God.

So the next step in this process is to find out what WE have to do to make this change happen. What covenant terms do WE have to uphold?

More on that next week...

All Things New: the Change [Vision Week]

A little late, but HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

With the new year and countless resolutions at hand, we will be taking this month to study a four-part re\\VAMP SERIES titled, "All Things New." My prayer is that every time someone mentions the new year or a resolution of any sort, you will be reminded of the lessons you are (or your teenager is) learning!

I want to take this time to let you know that in this new year we will be bringing forth a new (or rather a revived) vision for re\\VAMP along with a Wednesday service that we have already launched on 1/8/14.

During this launch week I restated the original concept as to how this ministry will function and the three pillars of ministry we at re\\VAMP encompass...

• The Three Pillars of re\\VAMP
[re\\VIVE, re\\VEAL, and re\\VOLVE]

re\\VIVE WORSHIP: (Psalm 150:3-6) We're called to revival! We're called to be the generation who dances with joy for God and it's hard to dance without good music. So we've dedicated a team who can provide the music and mentor young musicians to make a joyful noise for God.

This is our worship team, led by Clinton Davies. Our vision for music ministry is not just to make music, but to utilize it as a tool to worship and grow students up into mighty worshipers and future worship leaders. Their generation needs it! If you are a high school student (or know a high schooler) who is interested in music, ask one of our leaders for an application for the team.

re\\VEAL WORD AND DRAMA: (1 Corinthians 2:10) God has revealed Himself to us by His Spirit, so that we can use our gifts of spoken word, drama, technology, and analogy to reveal Him to others. That is what this ministry is about.

Currently, my wife and I run this segment of the ministry and it is limited to games (used as analogies, of course) and teaching of the Word. If you want to get involved or know anyone who could run a drama team, please direct the interest to me.

re\\VOLVE LEADERSHIP & DISCIPLESHIP: (Hebrews 13:17) This is our leadership team and it comes by three steps. Christ e\\VOLVES your life, your heart, and saves you. Then you get in\\VOLVED in the Kingdom and fellowship with others who love God and start discovering who God is. When you're in\\VOVLED, you will learn what it means to re\\VOLVE around Christ.

e\\VOLVE, in\\VOLVE... re\\VOLVE.

These three pillars are the basis of how we feel God is leading us to run this ministry. But what is the goal and why the name re\\VAMP?

Well, the goal and the name go right along with this month's topic...

ALL THINGS NEW.

As I've stated in a previous post, to re\\VAMP simply means to CHANGE and that is reflected by our mission verse, 2 Corinthians 5:17.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)

But HOW can we achieve this change?

I'll answer that question in the upcoming weeks' studies. Stay tuned.

Resolutions

On Saturday, 12/28/2013, we discussed the topic of New Years' Resolutions at re\\VAMP. I asked the students what some of their resolutions were and got some typical replies...

• Get Better Grades
• Lose Some Weight
• Eat Healthier
• Have a Better Attitude

...then one of my students said something profound.

"I just want to continue making the progress I'm making right now."

This had me asking a new question. Is the concept of a New Years' Resolution even remotely biblical?

To answer that, I think of the scripture in James that ACTUALLY states that procrastination is a SIN.

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. (James 4:13-17 NLT)

"It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."

The bottom line is that this is a simple lesson to learn. If you feel something in your life needs to change or if God is pressing you to change an aspect of your life, don't wait for some date to change it. Don't procrastinate until the new year to make a resolution.

When God asks you to move, don't wait. Act now, because you may never see tomorrow.

I think to make this post any longer would over complicate a simple truth so in closing, resolutions are fine, but don't procrastinate your growth by waiting around on a special date to start.

Deal or No Deal: Christmas and the Blood Covenant (Part II)

First off, I'm sorry for the delay of this post. It's no excuse, but the holidays were crazy, so to catch you all up, in the next week I will be posting everything I've failed to get up until the current message. Try and keep up with me, because it's going to move quickly...

(like, "three posts today" quickly.)

This post is the answer to the cliffhanging question that I left off on in my previous article. If you have not read Part I, you can catch up HERE.

To understand fully what Jesus did for us and WHY we even celebrate His birth we have to understand that Jesus is the entire point of the bible. Every book of the bible has at least some reference to Christ. This is a concept I learned through my pastoral training in a lesson taught by Reverend Tony Cooke, which I will paraphrase.

The Old Testament is Preparation for Jesus.

Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24:25-27, 32, 44, 45 NLT)

The Gospels are the Manifestation (birth and acts) of Jesus.

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. (John 1:1-5, 14 NLT)

The Book of Acts Shows the Application of Christ's Message Through the Works of the Apostles, by the Holy Spirit.

In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:1, 2 NLT)

The Epistles are an Explanation of Who Jesus is and What He Accomplished.

The Gospels documented the history and facts of Jesus' life. The Epistles document how the history and facts relate to us, the believer, now.

Lastly, the Book of Revelation Explains the Future Return of Christ and His Kingdom's Reign.

So now that it is evident that every single part of our faith revolves around CHRIST. Genesis to Revelation -- it is ALL about CHRIST! Understanding this is the key to understanding how the Abrahamic Blood Covenant relates to Christmas.

I asked before how the story of Abraham and Isaac related to the Christmas story. The answer is actually quite simple.

And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:18 NLT)

That promise... The one in italics above... The one that God made to Abraham regarding his future descendants who would bless ALL NATIONS OF THE EARTH...

JESUS!

That promise was fulfilled the day that CHRIST was born, a descendant of Abraham. That day we all celebrate as Christmas was the fulfillment of the BLOOD COVENANT that GOD cut with Abraham and the BEGINNING of the BLOOD COVENANT that He would cut with us.

To sum it all up, JESUS was the One Who was born of sinless blood (science proves that your blood comes from your father and His Father is the sinless God). Not just that, He took our sin upon Him to pay OUR DEBT. But not even only that... His blood was shed to enter us into a NEW BLOOD COVENANT! Every step He took throughout His crucifixion fulfilled each one of the nine steps taken to achieve the Hebrew Blood Covenant so that WE could enter into a NEW contact with God!

How awesome is our God?

In later posts I will try to explain what all this means for us believers.

Deal or No Deal: Christmas and the Blood Covenant (Part I)

For the past two weeks, the students at re\\VAMP have been learning about the promises God made to us and our responsibilities to Him. For this lesson, I used a game of Deal or no Deal to illustrate the idea of a covenant...

So I constructed our own edition of Deal or No Deal, replacing cases with cards, the money values with gift cards and action based risks, and hilarity ensued (things got funny).

Twice I took pie to the face and for the record, ready whip smells like putrid vomit when it's stuck in your beard for a couple hours. But it's all worth it if this message sticks with you like the cream stuck with my beard.

All pie-bearding aside, the point that I wanted to drive home is the purpose of a deal. Making a deal with someone generally ensures that BOTH parties benefit from it. A covenant is like a hyper-advanced-uber-deal. And a BLOOD covenant is even stronger, still.

First, what exactly is a Blood Covenant?

A Blood Covenant is a ritual in which two people mix blood and make a lifelong deal to share EVERYTHING they own. This deal would ensure that BOTH parties would benefit and BOTH would actively participate (even sacrifice if they had to).

A good example is that of a farmer and a war general. If the farmer enters into a covenant with the general, he has to offer his land, crops, and shelter to the general's troops if need ever arises. This is to the benefit of the general. BUT if anyone ever tries to steal from the farmer or hurt him in any way, the general's entire army would be obligated to take up sword and protect the farm. This is to the benefit of the farmer. Both parties give and both receive. There are nine steps that you need to know so you can see when a covenant is cut in the bible...

Hebrew ritual steps:
1 Exchange Coats
2 Exchange Belts
3 Cut the Covenant
4 Mix Blood
5 Exchange Names
6 Make a Scar
7 Give Covenant Terms
8 Eat Memorial Meal
9 Plant a Memorial

Understand that you won't find all of these steps recorded in scripture because in the biblical days, everyone was familiar with the Hebrew culture so they didn't record all of the details, but learning these steps will make it easier for you to see covenants in the bible, even if only one step is mentioned.

So, is this why they sacrificed animals in the Old Testament?

Partially, yes. A blood covenant required the shedding of blood from both parties. In order to achieve the blood covenant with God under the Old Covenant, sinless blood needed to be shed, which is why animal sacrifice took place.

An example of God cutting a Blood Covenant can be seen in the story of Abraham (Abram) and Isaac...

Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.” Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.” But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?” The Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half. Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away. As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River— the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:1-21 NLT)

Then Abram acted in doubt and had his first son with a servant, but later was given another chance and a promise from God.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.” At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them! “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.” Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.” (Genesis 17:1-14 NLT)

We can see that God's bloodshed came from the sacrifice of animals and Abraham's bloodshed came
From the act of circumcision. Both parties shed blood as the blood covenant ritual required. Then God tested Abraham's obedience.

Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:1-18 NLT)

Because Abraham obeyed God and had faith that God would keep his covenant with him, God spared the life of Isaac and sent a ram to be offered as a sacrifice instead.

But what does this all have to do with Jesus and Christmas?

I'll explain this in Part II later this week.