Category Archives: Devotion

BAGGAGE AND DOUBT

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“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar.”          Genesis 16:1 NIV

 

The Bible tells us that Hagar was an Egyptian. She is part of the possessions or baggage that Abram brought back with him from his sinful journey into Egypt, Genesis 12:10-20. Had he never journeyed to that country, there would have been no Hagar to marry! He is still reaping the harvest he sowed in Egypt! We never go into sin and come out clean! There is always some reminder, some evidence that we were there! That is the Law of Sowing and Reaping (Galatians 6:7-8.) Genesis 15:1-6 told us the story of the Lord’s great promise to Abram. When the promise was given, Abram reacted in faith, but as time has gone by, Abram has begun to doubt. He, along with Sarai, decided that the Lord needed help in fulfilling His promise. After all, the Lord only said that Abram would father a son; He didn’t say by whom he would father that son! It is my conviction that doubt towards the Word and promises of the Lord accounts for more of our troubles than any other single thing. We can read what He has promised us, but when the promise isn’t fulfilled immediately, we begin to doubt and try to find a way to make it happen ourselves. When will we ever learn that our Lord always keeps His Word, Hebrews 6:18; Romans 4:21; Psalm 119:89. Our Lord is a Lord of order, and He doesn’t run on our schedule. We needed a Saviour for 4,000 years before He came, but God sent Him “in the fulness of time”, Galatians 4:4 and our Lord doesn’t need our help to accomplish His will, Psalm 50:12.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, lead us to surrender our baggage and doubts to You.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, we surrender our baggage and doubts to You, so that we will not run ahead of Your plans for our lives and end up in a place where You did not want us to be. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 17:14-23

 

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THE DESIRE FOR ACCEPTANCE

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“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar.”       Genesis 16:1 NIV

 

In that society, it was considered a disgrace for a couple to be childless. In our day, many couples choose that lifestyle for themselves and that is okay. Others have that choice forced on them by physical reasons. In Abram’s day, regardless of the reasons behind it, if a couple had no children, they were mocked, looked down on and largely were not accepted in society. This was a society that also thought nothing of multiple marriages. If a man like Abram were to take Hagar as a concubine, or secondary wife, no one around them would think a thing of it. If that concubine were to bear a child, it would be considered to be the child of the first, or primary wife. In this way, Sarai could get the child she desired and be accepted in the community. As followers of Jesus, we are often guilty of lowering our standards to those of the community around us in order to fit in better. It is better to please our Lord and be rejected by others than it is to please others and be rejected by our Lord! There MUST be a clear line of demarcation between the people of the Lord and the world around them. Let us be reminded of Paul’s words as he addressed the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 6:17, “Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate’, says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’” Seeking to be accepted can lead to our downfall!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, we repent of seeking to be accepted by others instead of You.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, we confess that we have so easily desired to be accepted by the world instead of being accepted by You, and that has led to our downfall. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 17:1-13

 

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TROUBLE WITH HAGAR

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“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar.”        Genesis 16:1 NIV

 

It is amazing the depths to which we, as those who have responded to the call of the Lord can sink. Here is Abram, a man who is following the Lord by faith. He has believed the Lord enough to leave his homeland and his family behind. He has trusted the Lord through battles and trials that would have made many turn around in defeat and return home. Yet, for all his faith and his good deeds, Abram is still a human. He is still made of sinful flesh and there is still within him a pull towards the world and all its allurements. We all know what this passage is about. Sarai and Abram trying to help the Lord give them a son by having Abram take Sarai’s maidservant Hagar as his wife. Of course, this was never the Lord’s will for their lives, but, as with us, this did not stop them from rushing headlong into it anyway. Their decision brought with-it far-reaching consequences for them and for our world today. It’s a real lesson in impatience. What is impatience? It is the emotion that gets tired of waiting; that gets fed up with something that delays us; that arouses us to act or react before we should. Waiting and delay are the key words: we just get tired of waiting, of being delayed, and want to move on and act or react. All too often we do, and we cause all kinds of problems for ourselves and for others, often painful and catastrophic problems. When has impatience lead you down a path that our Lord did not want you to take?

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, we repent of the sin of impatience which led us away from You.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, we come in repentance of the sin of impatience, just like Abram and Sarai, we rushed ahead without consulting You, which lead down a path that was not what You desired for us. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 16:1-20

 

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HOW IS YOUR FAITH?

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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”       Genesis 15:18 NLT

 

How is your faith? Maybe like Abram you are sitting looking at your life and wondering “How?“; “Why?“; “What?“; “When?“. Listen, our Lord is not afraid of our questions. He is not opposed to us asking them. All He is looking for is that person who will come before Him in faith. He is looking for that person who will simply take Him at His Word and believe Him, regardless of how things look or how they may personally feel about the matter. He is looking for those that He can mature into His own likeness and for His Own glory. Are you that person? Do you want all that the Lord has for you? Letting Him move you toward maturity. It all begins with us taking that first step of faith. Asking Him to begin working in our lives. This is the way forward to overcome the fears and disappointments of life. Hearing and believing God’s Word, His wonderful promise to give us the promised land, to give us heaven itself. This is the very reason God saves us, to give us the promised land of heaven, the glorious hope of living together in fellowship with Him forever and ever. This hope, the hope of heaven, helps to erase fear and disappointment. For we know that whatever happens to us, even if someone kills our bodies, our souls will live on and on forever with our Risen, Ascended, Lord Jesus Christ.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, we open our lives to the journey of faith with You leading us.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, we accept Your offer to embark on the journey of faith with You, as You lead us into becoming more like You to the glory of Your name. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 15:21-39

 

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ONE SIDED!

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On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates”                 Genesis 15:18 NKJV

 

As mentioned before this ceremony was part of an ancient covenant ceremony. Here, the Lord comes down in His glory, the first time it has been seen on earth since Adam and Eve sinned in Eden, and He passes between the sacrifice. He is confirming His covenant with Abram. Usually both parties had to pass through together. However, this covenant is one sided. Irregardless of what Abram, or his descendants do, this covenant is as good as the Name of the Lord. It will be fulfilled! Let us take note of the change from “I will”, Genesis 12:1; 12:7; 13:15; 13:17; to “I have”, Genesis 15:18. This is a done deal, and it cannot be changed! This covenant cemented the faith of Abram in place and gave him a sure promise to hold on to. Thank the Lord for His promises that make faith possible! Many of His promises are “If you will then I will” in nature, Romans 10:13; Acts 16:31; Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19. However, His greatest promises are cut in stone, and they are one sided. Regardless of what we may do, His promises still stand and will stand, Hebrews 13:15; Acts 1:8; John 10:28; John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 etc. The promises and covenants of the Lord are given to encourage and confirm our faith in Him. As we accept Him at His word and order our lives after His will, we mature in His image!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, thank You for Your promises that confirm our faith in You.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Thank You, Lord, that Your promises and covenants are given to encourage and confirm our faith in You. As we accept You at Your word and order our lives after Your will, we mature in Your image. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 15:1-20

 

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FIREPOT AND BLAZING TORCH!

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“When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.”        Genesis 15:17 NIV

 

Now the Lord appeared to Abram and completed the covenant ceremony. He had delayed His arrival so He could give Abram the dream foretelling the history of the promised seed and the promised land. The Lord’s presence appeared to Abram in a smoking firepot with a blazing torch. The Lord has often symbolized His presence by using fire. He appeared to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-6). He appeared to Israel in a pillar of fire throughout the wilderness wanderings (Exodus 13:21). He appeared as a consuming fire to Israel on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:16f). He appeared in the person of the Holy Spirit, coming upon the disciples as tongues of fire at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). The firepot with the blazing torch passed down the path between the pieces of sacrificed animals. The Lord is completing the covenant. Notice Abram had no part. The Lord alone passed between the parts of the sacrificed animals. He alone was making promises to Abram and assuring the covenant with Abram. Abram was not making promises to God nor making a covenant with the Lord. Abram just like all of us, fail in keeping our promises to the Lord. If the covenant of the promised seed and the promised land was to ever be established and fulfilled, it had to be established by the Lord and by the Lord alone. The covenant had to be by grace and by grace alone. The covenant of the promised seed and the promised land was by grace and by grace alone. We have come to know this grace in Jesus Christ.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, we celebrate Your grace, in that You always keep Your promises.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, we know that we don’t always keep our promises to You, but we praise You that You always keep Your promises to us, because of Your amazing grace. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 14:22-36

 

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DETAILS

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Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.”              Genesis 15:13 NIV

 

What are the details? It was a prophecy foretelling the triumphant future of the promised seed of Abram. The outline of the Scripture covers the prophecy well. The promised seed shall enter a foreign land to be oppressed and enslaved for a period of 400 years (verse 13). This was a prophecy of the Egyptian enslavement (read Genesis Chapters 46–50 and Exodus Chapters 1–2). The promised seed shall be delivered from the oppressing nation (Egypt), and when they are delivered, they will have great possessions (verse14; read Exodus Chapters 3–12.) Abram will join his fathers in peace (verse 15). At that time Abram would have peace, but that day was not to come until he reached a good old age. The promised seed shall return to the promised land after 400 years (verse 16). Why 400 years? The Lord sought to demonstrate His love, mercy, and above all His patience with sinful humanity. Rather than immediately wipe out the Amorites, He chose to wait for over four hundred years to bring judgment upon them. The enemies of the Lord would be displaced as He settled His chosen people in the land He had promised them. Yet the Lord’s enemies did not need to remain enemies. They were given ample time to turn from their wickedness, repent and be forgiven. The Amorites had a chance to repent and be saved, just as the Assyrians in Nineveh did during the time of Jonah. Praise the Lord for His patience!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, thank You for Your plans which are filled with love and mercy.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord thank You for Your plans for our lives, which are always filled with Your grace, mercy and patience. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 14:13-21

 

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DARKNESS

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“As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.”         Genesis 15:12 NIV

 

When the Lord did finally appear, Abram was enveloped in a great darkness. Part of the darkness was due to the time of day. The rest was due to the work of the Lord in his life. The Lord brought Abram into a dark time so that He might increase and mature his faith. The Lord still does this in the lives of His people. He allows us into the dark times of life so that we might learn to trust Him more. He allows our faith to be matured in the darkness. The disciples, Daniel, Noah, and many others, all had to face their darkness to learn that the Lord could handle their situation. Let us not fear our darknesses. The Lord is working out His perfect will in our lives and He is growing us into maturity. No one said it would be fun, but it sure is beneficial! During this time of Darkness, the Lord comes to Abram to tell him of His plans for his descendants, who have yet to be born. He goes into great detail to let Abram know that which He was about to do. Our Lord doesn’t usually come with all the details of what He is doing. He wants us to learn to walk by faith and not by sight. We are reminded of this truth 4 times in the Bible, Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38. When He tells us the same thing four times it means that He wants us to fully grasp it! We are to walk by faith not by sight!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, as You share Your plans for us, we are to walk by faith not sight.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Thank You Lord, that Your plans for us are good, pleasing and perfect, but You still call us to walk by faith and not sight as You show us Your ways. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 14:1-12

 

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PREPARED AND WAITING

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“Abram brought all these to Him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.”       Genesis 15:10-11 NIV

 

As Abram waited for the Lord to come by and meet with him the birds of prey began to descend on the animal carcasses. Abram had to chase them away to protect the sacrifice from being devoured. When the Lord begins to move in our faith life, we can count on the fact that every vulture in the world will come against us to devour what the Lord is trying to do in our lives. If we allow them, many vultures will try to take away our time, our concentration, or commitment to the Lord and His work. We need to be on guard to protect what the Lord wants to do in our lives and allow nothing to hinder it or prevent us from seeing it come to pass. Protecting the sacrifice took Abram most of the day. Abram is in a holding pattern. He has the sacrifice ready, he is guarding it and the Lord doesn’t show up until after darkness has fallen. It was a time that required patience on the part of Abraham. The Lord never runs on our schedule! We seek to get ready for Him and line up with what He is doing in our lives. We wait and we wait for Him to show up and move in us and through us. He will, but only when He is ready! Therefore, if the Lord is working in your life, be patient and wait on His timing. Don’t rush in as we have a tendency to do, just wait patiently on Him and He will bring it to pass, read Isaiah 40:31. God knows the timing, we do not!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, teach us to wait on Your timing, which is perfect.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, teach us to wait on You, for Your timing is perfect. Stop us when we want to rush ahead instead of waiting on You. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 13:53-58

 

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THE LORD’S STRANGE DEMAND

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So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”        Genesis 15:9 NIV

 

In response to Abram’s question, the Lord makes a strange demand. This demand served as a challenge to Abram’s faith. Let us be reminded that faith that isn’t tested isn’t really faith at all! The Lord’s request is for Abram to prepare a sacrifice. This whole event was how men in ancient times made a covenant with one another. They would cut animals in half and arrange the pieces several feet apart and walk between the pieces together. It symbolized the sacredness of a man’s word. It said, “May I be like one of these animals if I break my part of the covenant.” For Abram, it took a lot of costly, hard, bloody work to prepare these animals as the Lord wanted them to be. We need to remember that when the Lord makes a requirement of our lives, it will often require us to commit to some hard work on our part. The great things of the Lord do not come easy, they do not come cheap, nor do they come to the lazy. The Lord’s best is reserved for those who are willing to pay the price. What is that price? Prayer, holiness, separation, obedience, etc. Let us be reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 3:12-13, “If anyone builds on this foundation (Jesus Christ) using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.” May our relationship with the Lord be built on that which will last for eternity.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, Your sacrifice to us calls for us to be totally committed to You.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, You sacrificed Your only begotten Son, for our salvation, may we be just as committed to Your call upon our lives. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Jonah 2:1-6

 

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