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January 7 - January 13, 2020
He referred to Abram—and him alone—as “my friend” (Isaiah 41:8; see also James 2:23).
“Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great” (Genesis 15:1).
the Lord “took” Abram outside.
active, almost forceful, as though He bodily picked up the man and set him in a clearing under the night sky. “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” (verse 5).
Why did God’s words settle the matter for Abram? Because no one can argue with the One who made the stars.
God declared Abram righteous (see Genesis 15:6).
Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only
way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!) So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. ROMANS 4:13-16
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.” GENESIS 15:12-16
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 15:17-21
At the peak of its power under King Solomon, Israel never claimed more than a third of the land area promised by God.
“Since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace
with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 5:1).
God, our Friend, calms our fears and understands our questions.
God, our Friend, knows
when to bless and when to delay.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones. PROVERBS 3:5-8
Our God is ageless and timeless and eternal and holy and pure.
“You are the God who sees me” (Genesis 16:13).
Depth of spiritual maturity does not come quickly; it must be built over time.
Holiness cannot be acquired at once; holiness takes time. Time to be still, and patience to accept the silence of God.
“he finally came to the end of himself.”
he merely “fell on his face” (Genesis 17:3, NASB) before his divine Friend.
It’s the first time the Bible uses this name for God.
While I am sometimes silent, I remain in control of your circumstances.
El-Shaddai commanded Abram, “Walk with Me as I call the cadence.”
“Keep your eyes fixed on Me, with your ear tuned to My voice and your mind alert to My direction. In the process, Abram, you will discover that you have risen above the shallow superficiality of the world around you.”
“I will make you exceedingly fruitful.” “I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.” “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring.” “I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan.” “I will be their God.”
Paul writes that “a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit” (Romans 2:29).
“I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants” (Genesis 17:16).
“No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant” (Genesis 17:19).
This story of Abraham, preserved by God for our instruction, is an
urgent call to slow down, take stock of what’s important, connect with the one true Creator, and then determine how we shall now live.
Your discernment will increase.
Grow deep in your relationship with God, and you will begin to discern people and, therefore, enjoy a depth in your relationships like never before.
More important, you will experience less anxiety because you have a divine Advocate looking out for your interests. Impossible odds shrink to nothing before our all-powerful Friend. When we grow deep with Him, we learn to think as He thinks and to make choices He delights in affirming. We release our white-knuckle grip on things that are temporal and fleeting, embracing only what brings true joy, and we learn to hold everything loosely.
That’s why I like to use it to look at beauty and enjoy each moment to the fullest.”
Let Him be your advocate. Let Him remove your anxiety as you lean on Him for everything. Surrender to Him control over every matter; you have little control over them anyway.
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (ESV).
“Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the LORD asked. “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have singled
him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.” GENESIS 18:17-19
God doesn’t need to go anywhere to gather information. Yet He chose to come down to earth from heaven, and He
elected to wear the skin of humanity.
The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham. Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will
you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” GENESIS 18:22-25
First, be aware that some people you encounter may be angels.
The New Testament states plainly, “Keep on loving
