Category Archives: Devotion

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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THE PROMISE Part 3

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“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”            Genesis 12:3 NIV

 

Here is what the Lord says to each pilgrim in the life of faith: “If you will leave your country, your family, and your father’s house, I will make you into the kind of person, who will affect every life you touch for better or for worse. They will bless you, or they will curse you.” Surely this is what Paul means in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?” (NIV) This is our Lord’s design for us as His children. Our lives will be vital with that vitality that our Lord Himself possesses. Then all the families of earth will be blessed through us. Our Lord can take any of us and touch the world in some sense through us. This is a vast and marvellous promise, is it not? Perhaps now we can see that in these brief words to Abram of old, our Lord has encompassed truth about life that is written in the pages of Romans, Ephesians, Galatians, and Corinthians, in all the New Testament. It includes all that the Lord offers to do in us through Jesus Christ, in the power and ministry of His indwelling Holy Spirit. Abram was to do nothing except obey; the Lord would do everything else. If Abram would but set his face toward the land, leaving the old things behind, the Lord would do the rest. The same is true for us.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, as we obey You, use us to be a blessing to others.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, as Abraham obeyed You in leaving, trusting You to do the rest. Help us through Your indwelling Holy Spirit to do the same, and so be a blessing to others. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

2 Peter 1:3-8

 

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THE PROMISE Part 2

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“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”             Genesis 12:2 NIV

 

The Lord offers Abraham and us the choicest of all: “I will make you a blessing.” This is the privilege of being used to bless others, the joy of a fruitful life. There is nothing more wonderful than that. It has been my privilege on a few occasions to have our Lord use my life in a way that has opened and blessed the hearts of others, and I tell you there is no other joy like it on earth. It is the most thrilling experience to feel that our Lord has used us. The words we have spoken, the things we have said and done. This is what our Lord offers to us who believe in Him. But there is yet a third part: “I will bless those who bless you and him who curses you I will curse, for by you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This is about identification with the Lord. It is what every parent thinks of their children: “I will bless those who bless him, and those who curse him I will curse.” Our children are the apple of our eye, and whatever touches them touches us. John writes, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 NIV). We will be identified with Jesus Christ in the eyes of the world. Everywhere we go, we will be either a blessing or a curse, but no one will ignore us. When our lives are vitally in touch with Jesus, we will have the effect He has when He touches a human life.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord Jesus, touch the lives of others through our life with You.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord Jesus, as we are vitally connected with Your life through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, touch and bless the lives of others, as You have with our own lives. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Luke 6:27-31

 

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THE PROMISE Part 1

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“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you.”         Genesis 12:2 NIV

 

The first promise, that God would make of Abram a great nation, was literally fulfilled in Israel. But what does it symbolize spiritually, to us? What is a nation? In our modern times, a nation may be made up of a thousand strains from many different family groups, all living together in a heterogeneous society. In the Bible, every nation begins with a man; then there is the family, and as the family grows and expands, there is finally the nation. This promise comes to us in the abundant, eternal life offered by the Lord Jesus. The promise of the gospel. “The wages of sin is death,” that is the old country of Ur, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 6:23 RSV). What happens when we obey the command to leave? “I will give you the fullness of life, eternal life,” says the Lord. “I will make of you a great nation. I will make your life one of constant expansion and enlargement. Your life will take on universal proportions.” The second promise, “I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing,” meant several specific things to Abram. It meant he would have riches, he would find honour, and he would be a blessing to others. He would be influential and effective. This is exactly what our Lord is offering us today. He never commits Himself to make us wealthy, but He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:4) so we will be a blessing to others.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, as You blessed Abraham, You have blessed us in Christ Jesus.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, as You have blessed Abraham, You blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus, our Lord, so we can be a blessing to others. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

2 Samuel 9:1-7

 

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THE COMMAND Part 2

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The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”           Genesis 12:1 NIV

 

Abram heard the call of the Lord, which came as a command. When we hear the call of the Lord, it also comes as a command to leave our way of living. We may have grown tired of the land of Ur, for it is a land of darkness, of weariness of soul, of spiritual hunger and death. Yet when the call of the Lord comes to us, there is much that seems desirable in the old life. We hesitate to leave, feeling the pull of the old life is upon us. Undoubtedly, Abram felt this hesitancy. The land to which he was called was unknown. It could not be known until it was experienced. But he could not deny the reality of the call of the Lord, and he could not evade the clear command: “Go from your country and your family and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Have you heard this command of the Lord in your own life? Have you heard the Living Lord, the Lord of glory, say to you, “You must no longer depend upon what you have been depending on – the opinions, the attitudes, the philosophy in which you have been reared. You are called to learn to accept the truth reflected in the Word of God, though it cuts right across the philosophy of this world. Leave your father’s house, that is, dependence upon yourself.” It is a simple but vital decision. We cannot stay in Ur and go to the land at the same time.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, help us to let go of our old way of life and move to the new life You offer.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, as we hear Your call to leave our old way of living, help us to leave and move forward to the new life You offer us. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

2 Corinthians 9:1-7

 

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THE COMMAND Part 1

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The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”            Genesis 12:1 NIV

 

Abram was commanded to do three things; leave his country, his family, and his father’s house. This is exactly the command that comes to every person who hears the call of the gospel today. We are called to leave our country, the place where we have been living, our residence since birth. That is not, of course, our physical residence, but rather the old life with all its ambitions, its loyalties, its worship of money and fame and power, its imagined independence which is really slavery! All that we have been by nature since birth. Abram was also told to leave his relatives. In the spiritual sense these are the moral forces that shape our lives. The opinions of others, pressures from family and friends, the attitudes of our employers and others around us. When the Lord confronts us with His call, these are not to count any longer. We are not to consider what others think but rather be concerned about what the Lord thinks. The third thing Abram was to leave was his father’s house. Our father, in this sense, is Adam, the father of us all. What theologians call our “Adamic nature” is the father’s house in which we all live. We are called to leave this, no longer put any dependence upon our looks, talents, or any of our normal resources, but to begin to walk in dependence upon the Lord, who can do through us that which we cannot do ourselves.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, as Abraham obeyed Your command, help us to do the same.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord as Abraham obeyed Your command to leave, through the indwelling power and ministry of Your Holy Spirit, help us to do the same. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Colossians 1:3-12

 

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