Daily Devotion, June 7, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 12:1-8.

  The story of our relationship with God begins back at the beginning of the Bible. God creates us humans and initiates relationship with us. And while there is mutual trust in the story of Noah, the story of our journey with God takes a dramatic turn at this point. God initiates a relationship of covenant with one man in order to create a people through whom God can reach and bless all the people of the earth.

  That story reaches its climax in the life, death and resurrection of One who was a descendant of Abraham. Through Jesus Christ, every person is invited into a covenant relationship of trust. Sometimes, the path laid out before us or the assignment we are given is not always clear. We are not always given all the details of the destination or the outcome of what we will be doing. But we keep moving out into that future to which God calls us, continuing a journey that was started thousands of years ago and traveled by millions since then. And the same God who invited Abraham to begin that journey continues to invite and lead us. Thanks be to God! Personal Worship Option: Reflect on your own journey of faith with God. Think about when and how it started for you, but also the times when you had to renew that trust in order to continue the journey. Give thanks to God for guiding and providing all along the way.

Daily Devotion, June 6, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 22:1-18.

  For many years, this story troubled me deeply. Would God really put Abraham through this ordeal? Would God put Isaac through this? Especially when I looked through the lense of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, this story does not seem to fit.

   However, there is a depth to this scene that is inspiring and instructive. God is still developing a relationship with Abraham. At the beginning, Abraham was willing to trust this God enough to take all his family and possessions and strike out on a journey to wherever this God would take him. There is much riding on this journey for God, and God needs to know if Abraham can be trusted as they move forward. Abraham’s trust in God had been strengthened when God provided this promised son. Now comes another test of that trust. And just like at the beginning, Abraham again completely trusts God, though the future suddenly looks grim.

  Maybe the most fascinating part of this whole story is God admitting not knowing something. Only when Abraham is obviously about to go through with the sacrifice of his son does God know of Abraham’s complete trust (vs. 12 - “Now I know….”) God knows that this relationship with Abraham is solid for this journey into the future, for the blessing of the whole earth.

  

  Our relationship with God is to be an ever-deepening trust. I am reminded of the chorus of one of my all-time favorite songs of the Church (written by Louisa Stead in 1882): “Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him! How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er! Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust him more!” Personal Worship Option: Pray for the courage to trust God more and more each day, no matter what happens or what you are called to do.

Daily Devotion, June 5, 2020

Devotion:

Read Genesis 18:22-33.

Abraham negotiates with God for mercy on Sodom. Abraham’s first concern was for his nephew Lot, but he had compassion on all the people of Sodom.  Abraham appealed to God’s justice. A just and holy God could not destroy righteous believers with the wicked unbelievers. Abraham presented his case in a truly humble manner. He didn’t argue or demand but came humbly to God to save his family and the city. Abraham was sure that there were at least ten believers in the city.

Never underestimate the importance of even a small number of believers. As few as ten people would have saved the entire population from destruction. If Lot had won only his own family to faith in God, judgment would have been averted. Your personal witness is important to God, no matter how insignificant you may feel. Personal Worship Option:

You can make a difference! Do you need to make a stand against evil or be a voice for righteousness? Brainstorm with a friend how you can make a difference.

Daily Devotion, June 4, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 17:1-8.

During the tornado power outage and even now when I get 5 minutes I often will grab a book to read, a Sudoku puzzle, or a word search. As I was thinking about today’s scripture, I came across a word search that was on Abraham!!! Here were the words to find: Abram, believed, Canaan, covenant, Abraham, father, great, Sarah, offering, and nations. That pretty well tells the story of this scripture.

In Genesis, God made many promises to Abraham and Abraham believed God and trusted his promises. God changed Abram’s name from Abram (father of many) to Abraham (father of many nations). Although the many nations wasn’t something Abraham saw in his lifetime, two nations were formed during Abraham’s life. The Jewish nation from his son Isaac and the Muslim nation from Ishmael. God also promised Abraham and his descendants the land of Israel. Not just the little nation we know as Israel today but the entire land from the Euphrates River south to the land of Egypt. It was east to west from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan.

The prospects of him becoming a father at age 99, with many descendants, seemed to be a dim possibility. God’s covenant promise was an everlasting covenant and a guarantee of a life that would be filled with descendants. God’s purpose was that Abraham and his descendants would become channels of blessing through whom God’s redeeming work would be done throughout the whole world. Personal Worship Option: God, help us be faithful in proclaiming and spreading your blessings in the world around us and sharing your love through our actions.

Daily Devotion, June 3, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 15:1-6.

When telling the stories of the great-grandparents from photo albums, we perhaps overlook the turning points in their lives which made all the difference for the generations who follow.

The scriptures give us pictures in our “Family of Faith” Album. Out of God’s promise to him, Abram (later to be named Abraham) is often referred to as the father of many nations.

Genesis 15 gives us the picture of this wonderful turning point which made all the difference in Abram’s life.  The commentaries speak of this experience as a “theophany”. Dr. Terence E. Freitheim says, “The expression, ‘the word of the Lord came’, so common in the Prophets’ scriptures, occurs only here in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) As a vision, theophanies share similar formal features: the divine self-identification, the reassuring word not to fear, and the promise.“

When God is present, we are given “the reassuring word not to fear”, and we can speak from our hearts our wondering questions. This beautiful conversation is evidence of a close relationship between God and Abram.

Abram is not afraid to ask questions.  

After the tornado, neighbors of several members shared the story of their five-year-old son who asked as he heard the strong wind, “Is that God coming?” And the father wisely answered, “No son, when God comes, we won’t be afraid, because God loves us.”

God gives Abram “the promise”. The turning point given to us in this picture story is that “Abram believed the Lord.” “Believe” originally was understood in a deeper way than just the way we think, it was understood to speak of the way we live. And in this covenant relationship with God , the NRSV translation says, “The Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

Through the years, sustaining belief in the Lord and the Lord’s promise probably became difficult for Abram as he was 86 when Ishmael was born and he was 99 when he and Sara had their first son, Isaac. Abram never, though, stopped believing in God and God’s promise to him. Personal Worship Option:

In your own faith journey, what have been the turning points of belief? This story reminds us that God understands our doubts and our questions. We can be honest with God. God is faithful unto us and we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to remain faithful unto God.

Daily Devotion, June 2, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 13:1-18.

Abram and Lot had both become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, and cattle. But the land could not support both Abram and Lot. Abram's and Lot's servants were involved in arguments over grazing areas for their large herds of livestock.

Now both Lot and Abram's tribes were in hostile territory. They could have pulled together but they let petty jealousy tear them apart. Two Godly groups bickered - imagine that! Abram knew he was facing conflict with his nephew, so Abram took the initiative in settling the dispute. In what is a "wisdom of Solomon" method of decision making - He gave Lot first choice, even though Abram, as the elder, could have had first choice. Abraham and Lot agreed to part ways. Lot chose the land of the plain of Jordan, near Sodom and Gomorrah, because of the rich pasture land there. Abraham settled near Hebron. After Lot left for his land, God spoke to Abram. “Look as far as you can see in every direction. I am giving all this land as a permanent possession.” As promised, God blessed Abram for his faithfulness, and Abram built an altar to God. Jesus Christ taught that being a peacemaker is an essential characteristic of a true Christian. We are to pursue peace with all people and demonstrate gentleness and patience when dealing with other people. Abram models how to be a peacemaker.
Personal Worship Option: Meditate today on being a peacemaker like Abram. “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”

Daily Devotion, June 1, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 12:10-20.

In the opening nine verses of Chapter 12, Abram responded in faith to God’s call, packed his family and possessions, and headed out for a land God would show him. New Testament writers and modern day preachers cite Abram’s obedience to God as the ultimate act of faith. But just when we might start to think of Abram as an example of perfect humanity, we have this jolting passage that shows our hero behaving in a shameful manner. Entering Egypt, Abram worried that an Egyptian would want his beautiful wife Sarai for himself and kill Abram in order to have her. So, to save himself, Abram decided to pass Sarai off as his sister. Doing this ensured Abram that he would be treated well, but it made Sarai even more vulnerable to be taken as some Egyptian’s wife, as she was!

Bible scholars have struggled to defend Abram here. When Abram uses the same ploy in another situation in Chapter 20, we learn that Sarai indeed was his half sister. OK, so Abram didn’t totally fabricate the sister story, but his actions were deceitful and completely selfish. God did not take away Abram’s blessing; in fact, Abram would leave Egypt with beautiful Sarai and new wealth. Abram’s journey of faith had some detours, as do ours, but God is full of grace! Personal Worship Option: When we read this story of Abram’s self-centered actions, we are nudged to think of times when we have acted selfishly or even deceitfully. Reflect on such times. Lift those to God and ask for forgiveness. Accept God’s forgiveness, knowing God loves us even when we take detours and wrong turns on our faith journeys.