Daily Devotion for February 5, 2024

 

Devotion:

For an audio version of this devotion, click here.

Read Genesis 28:10-14.

It is interesting sometimes, as we read Scripture, to see something repeated in almost the same words that we have read before. In today’s reading, God’s promise to Jacob in verse 14 is almost exactly the same as God’s promise to his grandfather Abraham. As we read the Hebrew scriptures that we call the Old Testament, we cannot help but see the special relationship the Children of Israel enjoyed with God. But they understood a very important aspect of their special relationship…they were “blessed to be a blessing.” God would use them in order to reach all people of the world.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we too have a very special relationship with God through the grace that comes with faith in Christ. But like the Children of Israel, we have a special task to bless other people. Instead of spending our time debating whether people who do not know about Jesus Christ will go to heaven or hell, we are to share the Good News with them. The church is not something we hang onto for ourselves and a few people like us. Our focus is to be on those who are not yet in the church, passing along to them the joy of living the way of Jesus Christ and inviting them to follow him.

Personal Worship Option:

Pray with me, “Almighty God, point me today to someone who does not yet know you through Christ. Give me the words to say that will help them seek you and open their heart to you. Then let me get out of the way. Amen!”