“Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram.”          Genesis 14:13 NIV

If we desire courageous faith, wise preparation is what is needed. The Lord made rare promises to Abram and Abram believed Him, even against all odds. Abram knew the odds, and he had anticipated the dangers that lay ahead of him as he laid hold of the promises of the Lord concerning the promised land. No one lays claim to a land that is occupied by others without facing opposition. Struggle after struggle was to confront Abram. But Abram had prepared ahead of time. He had joined hands with others, made a covenant-a treaty-for mutual protection. The treaty was with the Amorite, Mamre, and his two brothers, Eshcol and Aner. The valley where Abram and Mamre were living was named after Mamre. It was here that Abram built an altar, marking it as a place of communion with God. What a lesson for us! As we journey through life laying hold of the promises of God, we are confronted with struggle after struggle. Our only hope is to join hands with other believers for mutual protection. But we must prepare ahead, developing Christian fellowship and ministry. Then when the struggles come, we will know others who can stand with us, know them well enough that we can call upon them. This takes preparation, preparation ahead of time. Preparation through worship and preparation through fellowship. May we not forget the words of Hebrews 10:25 “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”

PRAYER THOUGHT

Thank You Lord, in worship and fellowship, comes courageous faith.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, thank You for giving us courageous faith as we spend time in worshipping You and in fellowship with fellow believers. AMEN

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

John 10:1-21

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“A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew.”          Genesis 14:13 NIV

Some person escaped the invading army. He was probably from Sodom, for he knew Lot, and he knew that Abram and Lot were relatives. As quickly as he could after his escape, he made his way to Abram and told him about Lot. The escaped fugitive could have easily made his way to some other sheik out in the country area, and he probably knew some other sheik who also had relatives taken as prisoners of war. But he did not seek them; he sought Abram. Why? Most likely there were two reasons. The fugitive knew that Abram offered the greatest hope for his own personal safety and help for going after the murderous invaders, saving the captives and restoring their stolen goods.

The point is this: Abram was sought in the moment of crisis. Abram was known to be a man of faith and courage, and that was exactly what was now needed: great faith and great courage. A crisis often stirs people to seek persons of courage and faith. Most people seek help during a crisis, and they especially want the help of those who possess courage and faith, people who have a courageous faith. As believers we are called to be strong in faith and courage. Alert to the crises that arise in the lives of others. Alert to the opportunity to help. Ready to help, encourage, and lead the person to trust the delivering power of Jesus Christ.

PRAYER THOUGHT

Holy Spirit, give us the ears to listen for the call to courageous faith.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, You have called us to be strong in faith and courage, through the power of Your Word and Holy Spirit. Help us to be alert to the crises that arise in the lives of others. Ready to help, encourage, and lead the person to trust the delivering power of Jesus Christ. AMEN

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 18:1-8

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“All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley). For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.”       Genesis 14:3,4 NIV

There are earlier references and pictures of ancient men fighting in battle long before Abram’s day, but this war is the first written description of an actual battle between opposing kings and nations. Chedorlaomer is the chief of the invading kings. Historically, he is identified as the Elamite dictator, from the land east of Persia, which is now known as West Pakistan. He came with his satellite kings against the confederacy of five kings from the cities of the plain. His coming represents one side of the world in which we live. A power to harass and enslave, and to remove all freedom. The other is Sodom, a picture of the world in its lust for sensual pleasures. These forces are often found opposed in history. They arise out of the fallen nature of humanity. One is a desire for material gain, economic advancement, luxury, ease, and sensual pleasure. The other is sheer naked tyranny, threatening the very physical existence of others. This is exactly what confronted the cities of the plain, and Lot especially as he now dwelt in Sodom. Lot is enmeshed in the blind commercialism of Sodom. Now he is threatened by a circumstance that would deprive him of his basic freedom. However, the purpose of this account is not to record the facts of a particular war for history. The purpose is to show the courage of Abram and his faith, as he responded to this situation.

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, give us courageous faith as we face the battles of life.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, as we face the battles of life, thank You that You have not given us a spirit of fear, but the power of Your Holy Spirit, Your love in our hearts and a sound mind. AMEN

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 12:35-48

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“At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).”         Genesis 14:1,2 NIV

To many, the Christian life appears dull, uneventful. It is anything but that! If it appears to be so, it is almost certainly a life out of focus with true spirituality. We have seen whenever Abram is found with a tent and an altar in the land of Canaan, he is a wonderful picture of a Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit and enjoying the pilgrim life, in this world but not of it, daily judging self by the cleansing of the cross. Lot, on the other hand, is a picture for us of the Christian not living a Holy Spirit empowered life but living for self. They have forsaken the place of fellowship with Christ. Lot left Abram up on the hillside and moved down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of the plain. Drawn by the allurements of the world, living for himself and for the pleasures of life. Suddenly, a shattering experience breaks into Abram’s quiet, pleasant existence. Life in the Spirit is like that. We are never permitted to rest beside the still waters very long, nor would we want to, for life there soon grows dull and uninteresting. In Genesis 14, we are introduced to the first war ever recorded in Scripture. It is a stirring account, vividly contrasting the blustering armies of earth with the quiet, overcoming power of faith.

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, may we never be complacent in our walk with You.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, in our daily pilgrimage with You, may we never become complacent but be aware that we are in a spiritual battle. AMEN

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 15:1-10

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“So, Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.”           Genesis 13:18 NIV

Abram does again that which has become his trademark. He builds an altar for the worship of the Lord. A life that is lived in communion with the Lord is a life that our Lord can bless! He desires that every one of us be in a place where we love Him more than anything else in this world. He wants us to acknowledge Him. He wants us to exalt Him. He wants us to love Him. He desires our worship, read John 4:23-24! The Lord is absolutely self-sufficient. Psalm 50:10-15 reminds us of this. He needs nothing! He does not need us. But He wants us! That is precious and we should all determine that we will live our lives for His glory, considering the fact that Jesus gave His life for our salvation. Where are you in your relationship and walk with our Lord? Are you as close as you should be? Are you growing deeper each day in the things of the Lord? When He speaks, do you move? Are you concerned with strengthening your fellowship with Him day by day? Is His worship the number one priority in your life? Those are hard questions to hear and face, but they reveal a lot about the condition of our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. May we determine that, like Abram, our life will be characterized by our altars and by our obedience to the voice of God

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord may our lives be filled with worship and obedience to You.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, we determine through the power and ministry of Your Holy Spirit, like Abram, our lives will be characterized by our altars and by our obedience to Your voice. AMEN

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 10:25-37

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“So, Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.”           Genesis 13:18 NIV

Abram moved his tent and came down to the oaks of Mamre. Mamre means “fatness,” the place where the soul is made fat with the fullness of supply. Hebron, which means “fellowship.” Abram built an altar to the Lord. In the place of fatness and fellowship, Abram confessed again by the building of an altar that he was nothing but a fallible human being, without strength in himself, needing that constant supply of the cleansing of the Lord. It is a wonderful picture, isn’t it? All of us dwell in a world exactly like that of Abram and Lot. A world in which material values constantly clamour for us to make a choice. We have only so much time to invest, so much life to spend, and we are pressured to try to grab the best for ourselves while we can. We can say with Lot, “I want what the world can offer me now, I want the cities of the plain.” Or we may wait with Abram, content with our “tent” and “altar”, enjoying the blessings of the land by faith now, and waiting for the Lord’s fulfilment of all His promises in that wonderful age yet to come. The Christian who is content to let the Lord make their choices finds it easy to fulfil the New Testament word: “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV).

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, help us to be totally content in what You desire for us.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, You desire nothing but the best for our lives, even in a world that seeks to distract from what You want for us. May we be content in all that You desire for us. AMEN

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 16:1-13

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“Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”           Genesis 13:17 NIV

Lot would never know! Nor will we, if we make our choices on the basis of what we see, relating to the materialistic, commercial standards of those about us. But if, like Abram, we are content to have what the Lord gives us in life, all the fullness of Christ will be ours. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:21b-23 (NIV): ” All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. God said to Abram, “Not only do I give this land to you, but I will fill the land with your descendants.” That is, “I will make you fruitful beyond belief. I will make your life one of such blessing that after you are gone there will be those who will stand up and say, ‘I received my spiritual life through that man/woman; there came to me strength for my journey through them; they have been a great blessing to my heart and life.'” Then He said to Abram, “Arise, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” The land is all that Christ will be to us through the eternal ages to come. Our Lord is saying to us, “Don’t wait for it. You don’t have to wait until you die to enjoy this. You can have it now, if you will possess it in Christ. For you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus.”

PRAYER THOUGHT

Father, help us to grasp the spiritual blessings we have in Jesus Christ.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, help us to grasp every spiritual blessing we have in Christ Jesus, Your Son, so we live life in the fullness of Your Holy Spirit, now. AMEN

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

2 Samuel 12:1-10

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“The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west.”            Genesis 13:14 NIV

What happened to old Abram? How did it go with the man who was willing to let the Lord make the choices for him? The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Look around….” So, Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord. (Genesis 13:14-18 NIV) Lot had lifted up his eyes and chosen for himself; now the Lord says to the man of faith, living in his tent on the hillside, “Abram, look around from where you are.” Where? Everywhere – to the north, the south, the east, even the portion Lot chose, and the west. All the land is his! This land is consistently the symbol for us of the fullness of life in the Holy Spirit. The life of joy, power, love in the Holy Spirit, The life of refreshing ministry to others. Surely this is what Paul longs for us when he prays, ” And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV). This is all ours, if we are willing to let our Lord make the choices of life for us. Are you willing to make that choice today?

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, thank You for the fullness of life You offer to all who trust You.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Thank You, Lord, as we choose to accept Your choice for our lives, we encounter the fullness of life through the power and ministry of Your indwelling Holy Spirit. AMEN

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Zechariah 11:4-17

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“Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.”            Genesis 13:12 NIV

Lot saw the prosperity and the beauty, but he did not see that this was a place marked out for judgment; it was all to be swept away forever. You may say there was no way for Lot to know these things. This is true. Neither Lot nor Abram could foresee the death, the rottenness, the judgment that life in Sodom would bring. But the whole point of the story lies right here. Lot, presuming to run his own life, “chose for himself,” and, deceived by what he saw, stumbled blindly into heartache and judgment. Abram, on the other hand, was content to let the Lord choose for him, though it meant apparent second-best. Long before the true nature of Sodom became apparent to Lot, Abram saw it in its true light. When will we learn that the inner nature of things as they really are is only revealed to the person who lives at the foot of the Cross? It is only as we take the pilgrim character and remember we are not to have our final dwelling place here on this earth, and we hold lightly the things of earth, that the Word of God begins to unfold to us and we see something of the judgment, the moral corruptness, the deadly character of what otherwise looks so attractive and is highly regarded on every side. “Lot chose for himself.” What a descriptive term that is! As he looked out, Self said, “Ah, this will advance you, this will make you prosperous, this will give you status and position.” He chose for himself, pitched his tent toward Sodom. That is, every time he moved his tent, he moved it constantly nearer Sodom.

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, it’s at the foot of Your Cross that we see everything with clarity.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord may we be kept at the foot of your Cross so we will see our lives and this world from Your perspective. AMEN

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Hosea 3:1-5

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“Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)”        Genesis 13:10 NIV

Evidently Lot and Abram went out on a ledge overlooking the valley and Lot lifted his eyes. What did he see? It is obvious he only looked in one direction. He had been out looking around before! Without hesitation now, he looked to the east and saw the well-watered plain below like the garden of the Lord in the midst of the desert. He saw the Jordan River cutting through its great gorge, the deepest point on the face of the earth. On either side of the Jordan, the lush green grass was growing, and the variety of palm trees made the whole place a veritable garden, and he was greatly attracted to it. Then he saw the cities of the plain. They were like Egypt! Lot remembered Egypt well as a place where one could get rich quick, with its vast commercial enterprises and its blind materialism. This is what Lot saw as he looked across the valley. The Jordan valley was there before his eyes. He did not see the river descending out of the living waters of Galilee, dropping far below sea level into the Dead Sea, from which there is no outlet. Outwardly it was fair to look upon, spiritually it meant the place of death. All Lot saw was the profitableness of these cities, but he did not see their moral corruption. Moral corruptness has permeated our social life and is one of the consequences we must take into consideration as we face the choices of life. This Lot failed to do.

PRAYER THOUGHT

Open our eyes Lord, to the implications of the choices we make.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, as we face the many choices we have each day of our lives, open our eyes, through Your Holy Spirit to the implications of our choices. AMEN

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Ezekiel 12:1-7

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