Category Archives: Devotion

THE GOD WHO SEES

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She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”           Genesis 16:13 NIV

 

Hagar is alone, frightened and is sure that the Lord is nowhere around. Yet, in her trial, the Lord knew exactly where she was. He saw every move she made, and He came to her to offer comfort and hope. We often struggle to get away from the question “Why?” While I cannot tell you the answer to that question, I can tell you about the Lord who always sees. We cannot always define His purposes or explain His Person. The one thing that we can be sure of, He is well aware of all that is going on in our lives. When the Lord showed up in the middle of Hagar’s nightmare, she stood amazed in the profound truth that the Lord Almighty had His eye on her. She was amazed that the Lord cared about her. She was so amazed that she called His name “El-Roi” – “You are the God who sees me!” We all need to know that the same Lord who saw Hagar has His eye on us as well. He knows where we are. He sees what we are going through. May we grasp this wonderful truth that He sees us. He sees us, but it is not with disinterest. He sees us and He cares about us. It may be that the devil or others have been telling you that the Lord is not seeing what you are going through. The devil is a liar. Our Lord sees and He cares. Do you need to talk to Him about some things?

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, as You are fully aware of our lives, we thank You for Your care.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, what a blessed assurance, that whatever is happening in our lives, You see it and care for us, and we call You knowing You will answer. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Hosea 11:1-11

 

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THE RESULTS OF TROUBLE

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“He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”          Genesis 16:12 NIV

 

Ishmael is called a wild man. He would be difficult to handle and would be aggressive towards others. Ishmael represents the difficulties that arise when sin is allowed to divert us from the Lord’s path for our lives. Remember, sin brings its own club. Ishmael is a picture of this truth. As Ishmael grew, the tensions surrounding him grew as well. In other words, the sin of Abram and Sarai, even after many years, still brought heartache and trouble into the home! Our sins, no matter how small and insignificant we may think them to be, always affects us and those around us! They poison our spirit, they sabotage our family, and they hinder our walk with our Lord. The answer to sin is to drag it into the light, Proverbs 28:13. Sin cannot live when it is brought out of the darkness into the marvellous light of the glory of God, John 3:19-21. Even though this sin was accomplished by the will of Abram and Sarai, it was going to be used for the glory of God. Those involved could not see how things would play out in our day. Yet, much of the trouble the world is dealing with, is a direct result of Abram’s sin with Hagar. Nothing, even our sins, catches God by surprise. He can take the worst of our failures and use them for His glory. That is not an excuse for evil. When we have sinned, let us not run from it. Let us return to the Lord in repentance and experience His forgiveness. (1 John 1:9)

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, as we turn to You in repentance we experience Your forgiveness.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, thank You that when we sin, we do not need to run away, but to return to You and Your forgiveness and grace. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

 

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HAGAR IS FOUND

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“The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.”                   Genesis 16:7 NIV

 

The angel says four things to Hagar. First, “where do you come from and where are you going?” These are always arresting questions. Hagar answers the first, but she has nothing to say to the last. She does not know where she is going. Where can she go? The question draws her helplessness sharply to her attention. Then the angel says, “Return and submit.” This is the only way to experience the grace and blessing of the Lord. Had she gone on wandering into the wilderness, it would have been disastrous. Both she and the child in her womb would have died. When the Lord finds us wandering, this is always what He says, “Return and submit!” “Submit to the circumstances you dislike, and I will work it out. To do anything else is folly.” So, Hagar returns. With the command to return comes the promise of blessing. Blessing always follows obedience. “I will multiply your descendants so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” Then follows the prophecy of Ishmael’s nature. “He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every man and every man’s hand against him.” Have you found the Lord to be the One who lives and sees, the One who knows all about your life, and your circumstances? The One who knows the past and the future, and says to us as He said to Hagar, “Return and submit?” This is always difficult but it is the place of promised blessing.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, it’s always hard to return and submit, yet it leads to blessings.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, it’s always difficult to return and submit, yet obedience to Your Word always leads to blessings which we can see. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 19:13-30

 

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REACTIONS

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“Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.     Genesis 16:6 NIV

 

Notice reactions of Sarai and Hagar. She was miserable because of the pride and haughtiness of Hagar, so she tried to make everyone else around her miserable too. She tried to blame Abram for the problem. She tried to blame Hagar for the problem. She even dragged God into the problem. There are many who approach the problems of life with a similar attitude. If they are unhappy, they want everyone else around them to be unhappy as well. So, they get grouchy, mean-spirited, short-tempered and become hard to get along with. This is not a Christlike response to trouble and problems. He would have us learn to handle the problems of life without attacking others or attempting to make them as miserable as we are! Hagar reacted by being unavailable. She decided that the answer to her problems was flight. She just packed up and left to get away from the problem. This is the most common response of all! When problems arise at church, don’t seek a solution, seek a new church. When problems arise on the job, don’t fix it, find a new job. When problems crop up in the marriage, don’t work it out, just find yourself a new mate. God’s business isn’t to make us happy. He wants to make us holy! Forcing us to face our problems is one way of accomplishing that end!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, thank You that You don’t make us happy but holy.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Thank You Lord, that Your business isn’t to make us happy. You want to make us holy! Forcing us to face our problems is one way of accomplishing this end. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 19:1-12

 

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THE RESULTS

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“He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.”              Genesis 16:4 NIV

 

The results of taking matters into our own hands and allowing for a collapse of faith is disastrous. The results are malice, spite, insolence, reproach, scorn, and a haughty spirit. Hagar despised Sarai. She had been misused for Sarai’s own end, and Hagar despised her for it. But there was probably something else as well. When Hagar discovered that she was pregnant, she probably looked upon Sarai with scorn and reproach because Sarai was childless. Hagar must have walked around with a haughty and insulting spirit toward Sarai. Then came jealousy and blaming others: Sarai was now jealous of Hagar and Abram’s relationship. She blamed Abram for the affair (verse 5). Apparently, she felt that Abram was favouring Hagar for he had not stepped in to correct Hagar’s scorn of her. Abram had obviously chosen to favour Hagar because she was bearing the son for whom he had yearned so long. Sarai reacted by appealing to the Lord for help. She called for the Lord to help her, to judge between her and Abram (verse 5). Then there is the result of disturbed relationships, the relationships between Sarai and Hagar and between Sarai and Abram. These are the results of Abram and Sarai taking matters into their own hands. I am sure we can all identify with Abram and Sarai and seen the results when we have taken matters into our own hands experiencing a collapse of faith. The outcome having a huge effect on our personal lives, our family and others. Even in these times the Lord never abandons us.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, even when we have a collapse of faith, You do not abandon us.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, even when we experience a collapse of faith, taking matters into our own hands, You do not abandon us, though we have to live with the results. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 18:15-35

 

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A COLLAPSE OF FAITH

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“So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.”        Genesis 16:3 NIV

 

Abram had been walking with the Lord for a long time, for over ten years. Just a short while before this event, the Lord had given Abram a glorious vision of Himself and His promises. He had reassured Abram that he was to bear the promised seed and inherit the promised land (Genesis 15:1-21). But now, Abram was facing the test of his life. Why? Because the test was thrust upon him by his wife and her strong arguments. She must have argued that the Lord never mentioned her name in giving the promises; that the promises must not, therefore, include her. The promised seed must involve another woman. Moreover, she had never been able to have children; therefore, she could not be the Lord’s appointed mother to bear the promised seed. On and on Sarai must have argued. The test struck at the very heart and purpose for Abram being on earth. The very reason he had left Ur of the Chaldees and moved to Canaan. He wanted above all else to see the promise of God fulfilled, and he wanted to have a significant part in God’s glorious plan of salvation for the earth. The test appealed to the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh, to sex, the most intimate relationship existing between man and woman. Sarai won the argument and stirred Abram to question! Abram’s faith and patience collapsed. He felt he could wait no longer, so he took matters into his own hands. Oh, the results!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Whatever the test, Holy Spirit, we keep our eyes on our Lord.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Holy Spirit, whatever the trial or test, keep our eyes focussed on our Lord and the promises of His Word. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 18:1-14

 

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MISTAKEN THOUGHTS

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So she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”         Genesis 16:2 NIV

 

A lot of emotion was wrapped up in Sarai’s statement, years of pent-up emotion. She was expressing disappointment in the Lord and somewhat blaming Him for making her barren. She was expressing remorse, regret, sorrow, and a broken heart before Abram, feeling that she had failed him so miserably as a wife. She had just been unable to bear him a son, but she could not help it. The Lord had just closed her womb. Now this was a mistaken thought of Sarai. The promise of the Lord did cover and include her. True, the Lord had closed her womb temporarily, but not because she was not to be a part of His promise. It was because the time had not yet come for the promise to be fulfilled. It was not yet time for the Lord to give the promised seed to Abram and Sarai. The Lord’s timetable was not Sarai’s timetable. A mistaken thought often leads to impatience and wrong action. We face some problem or crisis and wonder why the Lord has not helped us or given us the answer. We may even question if the promises of our Lord apply to us, if the promises are even true for us today. Such thoughts are mistaken thoughts: our Lord has promised to help us in every crisis and problem of life. No problem is too small for the Lord’s concern. He is concerned about us and will help us through all the trials and temptations of life. Let us not become impatient and act on our own, running ahead of our Lord.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, through Your Holy Spirit, prevent us from running ahead of You.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord as we wait for Your promises to be fulfilled, we surrender our mistaken thoughts to You, knowing that You will meet our every need as You have promised. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Matthew 17:24-27

 

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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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