Category Archives: Devotion

A PRICE TO PAY

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“He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.”           Genesis 12:16 NIV

 

Abram was made very rich. You say, “What’s wrong with that? This is not an evil, but a blessing.” It was Jesus himself who used the phrase, ” the deceitfulness of wealth” (Mark 4:19 NIV), referring to one of the things which could choke the Word in a person. In Egypt, Abram was given sheep, oxen, he-asses, menservants, maidservants, she-asses, and camels. This is the wealth of the oriental world. But when he comes back into the land, the first thing we hear of is strife between his herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen over the riches they got in Egypt. Furthermore, we are told he was given maidservants, one of whom was named Hagar, with whom Abram later conceived the child, Ishmael, the father of the Arab nations, who have been ever since a thorn in the side of Israel. The price of living in Egypt is a fearsome price to pay. But this is not all: Abram was called to be a blessing, but when he got into Egypt, he became a curse instead! A Christian out of fellowship with Christ is of no help to the lost people around him. Instead, they are a hindrance. Their life of hypocrisy and weakness is a stumbling block and a plague upon the hearts of those who are watching them. If we are not walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, let us not attempt to witness to anyone about Christ! We may not be a blessing to them!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Holy Spirit, make us aware of the price we pay in not walking with You.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Holy Spirit, make us aware of the price we pay when we do not walk in fellowship with You, and how it effects our sharing Jesus with others. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Isaiah 11:11-16

 

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OUT OF FELLOWSHIP

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“When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.”              Genesis 12:14 NIV

 

The result of Abram moving out of Canaan, is the same as being out of fellowship with Christ. Out of the land, away from the tent and the altar, means our old self comes to the fore and assumes control. The immediate manifestation is hypocrisy and deceit. Have you found that to be true? The minute we begin to move away from the control of our Lord, our old self, with its defensive mechanism against being hurt, comes to the surface and we stoop to falsehood, hypocrisy, and deceit. The outcome of the lie was that Sarai was put into a place of real danger. The king claimed her for his harem, and the lie Abram told opened the door for him to take her. The danger he thought existed had no power to harm her until he made it possible by his lie! Abram was trying to protect himself, but in protecting himself he exposed Sarai to danger. This is the trouble with Egypt. It is true the pressure we fear is relieved there, but, when we try to live on the resources of the world, we lose our own strength and endanger those who look to us for help. Not only was Sarai endangered, but Lot also. Lot went down to Egypt with him. When the enticements of Sodom and Gomorrah cast their spell over Lot, we are told that he saw the land as though it were the plain of Egypt and the lust for comforts of this world were born during the stay in Egypt. Remember, when we flee to Egypt, our loved ones are being hurt, as well as ourselves.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Holy Spirit, make us aware of what can lead us away from the Lord.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Holy Spirit, open the eyes and understanding of our hearts to see that which can lead us to being out of fellowship with our Lord, for the effects touch not only our lives, but the lives of our loved ones. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Isaiah 11:1-10

 

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THE LIE

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“Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”            Genesis 12:13 NIV

 

What else happened in Egypt? It is most evident that when Abram lost his faith, he also lost his courage! Even before he got into Egypt, he grew afraid and descended to cowardliness and falsehood. He told a little white lie; that is what we would call it today. But a lie is a lie! He said to his wife, “Look, dear, I know these Egyptians. I read about them in the library in Ur. They are all wolves, and you are a beautiful woman. I know what will happen when we get down there. They will want to take you, and if they know you are my wife, they will kill me. Let’s play it smart with a little strategy. You tell them you are my sister.” This was not wholly a lie. Sarai was Abram’s half-sister. She was the daughter of a woman who married Abram’s father after Abram was born. So, this was a half-truth. But a half-truth is also a half-lie, and a lie in any proportion is intended to deceive. The nearer it is to the truth, the more perfectly deceitful it is. Abram’s intent was clearly to deceive. Doubtless he justified it on the grounds that it was needed to protect his beautiful wife. Perhaps this is the most startling thing about this story. Sarai was sixty-five years old at the time, yet so remarkable is her beauty that Abram is afraid he may lose her. Abram depends on his own resources to defend her, and his only recourse is to lie. The ramifications for Abram were huge, as they are for us, when we lie.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, You have always said that the Truth will set us free.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, a lie is a lie, even if it is a “white” lie, and You have always told us that the Truth will set us free. Nothing else! AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Isaiah 10:1-4

 

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ADOPTING ATTITUDES

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As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.”            Genesis 12:11-12 NIV

 

Abram’s flight into Egypt is not a warning to us that we should have nothing to do with worldly people. We are expected to live our lives in the world and its ways but not compromising our faith and commitment to our Lord and His ways. Going down to Egypt means adopting the attitudes, the expectations, and resources of this world. Abram’s experience here is given to teach us the unutterable folly of Egypt. When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful to behold; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account.” When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh saw her; they praised her to Pharaoh. The woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. For her sake he dealt well with Abram. But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. The implication of self-preservation has a huge ripple effect on not only our own lives, but everyone around us. Whatever decision we see to make, let us first seek the Lord in prayer.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, teach us to seek You in prayer before we decide on anything.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, we know the implications of self-preservation have a huge ripple effect on not only our own lives, but everyone around us. Help us to come to You in prayer before we decide upon anything. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Isaiah 9:1-7

 

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A FAMINE

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“Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.”          Genesis 12:10 NIV

 

Abram was a man with flocks and herds, and when the rains failed these were severely threatened. He saw his immediate source of sustenance endangered, and it must have seemed increasingly impossible to remain where he was. As the scarcity of food grew, he felt driven to leave, even though God had called him to be there. There is not a word here about asking God’s permission to go down to Egypt. Abram took counsel, not from God, but from his fears alone. To use a contemporary expression, he “pushed the panic button,” and down to Egypt he went. It was fear that drove him. If the land is a symbol for us of the life of fellowship with a living Christ, then a famine in the land is any circumstance that threatens our dependence upon Him. It is any circumstance that makes faith difficult to maintain. Have you ever experienced such a famine? Have you been living in the full joy of fellowship with Christ, and the strength of God is your portion, and suddenly some circumstance beyond your control makes it difficult to maintain that fellowship, and there is a famine in the land? When this occurs, the temptation is to flee rather than to stick it out. We do not enjoy trials like this, and we try to get away, and at times, physically, if we can. If we simply cannot flee physically, we try to run away mentally. We escape the unpleasant reality by a flight into unreality. There is so much of this being done today. Some retreat into a mental Egypt where life seems much more pleasant than it is in reality.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, help us not to flee in fear in those times of famine in our lives.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, help us not to flee in fear in those times of famine in our lives, but to seek You in prayer before we do anything that may harm our lives or that of others. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Isaiah 6:1-13

 

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UNENDING CHOICE

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“From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.”         Genesis 12:8 NIV

 

Abram’s life and our life is a life of unending choice. Abram pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai. Bethel means “the house of God,” Ai means “ruin.” This is where we must live in our walk with Jesus, ever looking either to the things of our lord, or to the ruin of our way of life. We can choose to go to Bethel or to Ai, to Christ or self. It can never be both. We are either pleasing ourselves or pleasing Him. We are either at Bethel, the house of the lord, or at Ai, the place of ruin. We must continually choose. Abram journeyed on. He was a pilgrim in the land. All through the New Testament we are encouraged to walk in the Spirit. Walk, walk, walk! When we have learned a lesson from our Lord, that is not the end. It is just another step. Tomorrow there is another step to be taken. How our old human nature resents this. We are always delighted when the Spirit of God leads us to the place where we achieve some victory, overcome some habit, take some needed step. Then we want to settle down. But He will not let us stop. Life in the land is a life of continual progress, a never-ending journey. Everyone is living in one of three places – Ur, Harran, or Canaan. Where do you live? Ur, the land of death and darkness. Harran the half-way house. Canaan the land of power and blessing, the place of the Spirit’s fullness. Have you entered the land?

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Holy Spirit, lead us on a journey of transforming change.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Holy Spirit, lead us to make the right decisions of faith that will keep us on a life transforming journey of change. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Isaiah 5:1-7

 

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AN ALTAR

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The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.          Genesis 12:7 NIV

 

“So, Abram built there an altar to the Lord.” We think of an altar as a symbol of worship, which it is, but that is not the essence of its meaning. The altar had at least seven purposes for Abram: To offer sacrifices to the Lord, asking forgiveness for unbelief and sins. To make a rededication to the Lord, renewing his commitment to the Lord. To seek the Lord’s continued presence and guidance. To worship the Lord: to worship the very Person who had met his need. To acknowledge the Lord, that the Lord alone could fulfil so great a promise, that he was totally dependent upon the Lord. To praise the Lord, to praise Him for giving so wonderful a promise. To testify to the Lord, to bear witness to the Lord’s glorious goodness in meeting his need and in giving so great a promise. The same is true for us as followers of Jesus. An altar for us is a place of renewal, repentance and refocussing, which provides the basis for worship. The reason for a daily altar is the urgent need for cleansing in our lives. So many Christians seem to feel they need the cross only at the beginning of their Christian life, but we need it every day, for it is the Word of the Cross which is the power of God in our daily lives. The life of the Holy Spirit’s fullness is repentant lifestyle, leading to refreshing and a refocussed life.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Holy Spirit, thank You for leading me in daily repentance and renewal.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Thank You Holy Spirit for leading us in a life of daily repentance, renewal and the refocussing of our hearts upon Jesus, at our personal altars. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Isaiah 4:2-6

 

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CONFLICT

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“Abram travelled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.”        Genesis 12:6 NIV

 

Life in the land is to be a life of constant conflict. We read, “At that time the Canaanites were in the land.” Abram was in the land, but he could not yet possess it. Opposition and strong forces stood toe to toe against his claim to the promised land. What was he to do? Should he return? Should he give up his faith, turn around and go back home to Harran or to Ur of the Chaldees? Should he continue to believe the Lord, following the Lord’s promises, continue to claim the promises of the Lord despite the opposition and the impossible situation that confronted him? Abram knew something, something that would be obvious to any thinking person. Before he could ever inherit the promised land, the godless foes of the land would have to be removed. He knew another fact as well. He himself could not remove them. He did not have the power nor the right to remove them. Therefore, if these godless enemies were to be removed, only the Lord Himself would have to remove them. Abram had a decision to make, a life-changing decision. Was he to live as one who believed and followed the Lord and His promises or not? We, too, will face enemies, trials and tribulations as disciples of Jesus, just as the early church did. Are we going to live as those who believe that Jesus has empowered us with His Holy Spirit, to face these enemies, trials and tribulations or not? This is a life changing decision!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Holy Spirit, thank You for empowering us to face our conflicts.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord Jesus, thank You that we can live with the empowering of Your Holy Spirit as we face the conflicts that arise from being Your disciples. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Isaiah 3:1-15

 

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ABRAM WENT

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“He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.”            Genesis 12:5 NIV

 

Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Harran. Abram travelled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. (Genesis. 12:6-9 NIV) This is more than just a record of what happened to Abram when he first entered the land. It is also a very accurate picture of the conditions of a Spirit-filled life. The first thing we are told is that Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. These names are most revealing. Shechem means “shoulder,” and the shoulder is to the Hebrew a symbol of strength. The name Moreh means “instruction” and when we combine these two words, we get our first glimpse of what it is like in the land. Only as we are taught the Word of God by the Spirit of God do we find strength to live the life our Lord has called us to.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Holy Spirit, thank You for giving us strength through God’s Word.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, as we obey Your call, thank You for the strength You give us through the leading of Your Holy Spirit and Your Word. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Isaiah 2:6-18

 

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HALF-WAY

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“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.”        Genesis 12:4 NIV

 

What is the land then? It is simply life in Christ. It is what the New Testament calls the fullness of the Spirit. It is life controlled by the Holy Spirit, reflecting the glory of Christ. We enter it by conversion, but we do not experience the fullness of its blessing until we learn, like Abram, to adjust ourselves to its peculiar demands. But it is the land of promise, the land of fulfilment, the land of the Lord’s blessing and power. This is where the Lord called Abram to go. We are told that Abram obeyed God and started out for the land, but he stopped along the way. The record of those wasted years at Harran is found in Genesis 11:31-32: Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Harran, they settled there. As far as we know, Terah never heard the call that Abram heard. He left simply to get away from Ur. Terah went out, but only as far as the land of Harran, half-way to Canaan. Terah symbolizes those who attempt to gain the promise of the gospel by leaving Ur – the world and its ways- but never enter Canaan. The word Harran means “parched,” and it is indeed a parched and barren place to live. Many have left the world and its ways, joined a church, go through the outward motions of faith. But never go farther than Harran. What a parched experience that is!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, may we never get stuck half-way in following You.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, as we hear Your call to leave, like Abraham, help us not to get stuck half-way, in our journey of following Your Call. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Isaiah 1:10-20

 

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