Devotions

DO NOT BE AFRAID

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“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”         Genesis 15:1 NIV

 

To insist that life must maintain a steady, even keel at all costs, under every circumstance, is to thwart and miss the very purpose for which God sends difficulties into our lives. He only desires to create an atmosphere where he can manifest his glory. As Abram wrestles with his fears and doubts, there comes a sense of a presence with him. In his heart, he hears that mysterious word of the Lord. Sometimes the Lord spoke audibly to these Old Testament men, sometimes it was in the heart, with a quiet, deep conviction that God is speaking. Every Christian who has ever walked in fellowship with Jesus Christ for very long knows what I mean. We are not told how God spoke to Abram, but in the midst of his fear and doubt and loneliness there comes a sense of relief, and the word of the Lord says, ” Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” Of course, the Lord is the answer! If He be for us. who can be against us? If He is our shield, whom should we fear? I love that verse in Hebrews because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.” (Hebrews 13:5b-6 NIV). “I am thy shield.” That is what comforted Abram’s heart there in the darkness. It was all he needed to settle his worries about the return of Chedorlaomer and the loss of his fortune in Sodom. Have we learned to count on the invisible protection of God?

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, thank You that You have not given us a spirit of fear.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, may we hear Your Word to us, during our fears and doubts. “Do not be afraid.” Thank You that we can count on Your invisible protection, as You gave it to Abram. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 10:14-21

 

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FEAR

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“Do not be afraid, Abram.”            Genesis 15:1 NIV

 

The heart of Genesis 15 does not lie in its great phrases, however, but in its connection with the preceding events of Abram’s life. God appears to Abram in a vision, but when he comes, his first words are, “Fear not!” This reveals what is going on in Abram’s heart. He was having a sleepless night, and the trouble was that he was afraid. Coming, as this incident does, after Abram’s return from his battle with the four eastern kings and his encounter with the king of Sodom, we can see why he is so fearful. He is afraid of this man, Chedorlaomer, the great king whom he had conquered. Abram had publicly humiliated him by overthrowing his vast army with but a handful of men. Dictators do not take this kind of treatment lightly! We can easily understand the justified fear that Abram felt as he faced the possibility of Chedorlaomer’s return. Perhaps also there was fear because he had turned down the king of Sodom’s offer of a fortune. He did it, of course, in the strength of the fellowship he had enjoyed with Melchizedek. With his heart aflame with the love and grace of God, Abram had said to this king, “I want nothing of all that you have. I don’t want you saying that you made Abram rich.” Doubt begins to rise in his heart as to whether he did the right thing or not. Doubt is a form of fear! If all this sounds familiar to you, take comfort from the fact that it is a very natural reaction and all the great saints of God suffer from it.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, thank You for knowing that we are not alone when afraid.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Thank You Lord, that we are not alone when we have been afraid and filled with doubt, many saints have experienced this, and have been encouraged through Your Word. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 10:1-13

 

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LAW OF FIRST OCCURENCE

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“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.”          Genesis 15:1 NIV

 

The opening paragraph of Genesis 15 strikingly illustrates for us what is commonly called in Bible study, the law of first occurrence. By this is meant that the first time a word or phrase is used in the Bible, it is used in such a way or in such a context as to highlight the basic meaning of it throughout the rest of Scripture. Four such phrases appear in this paragraph for the first time in the Bible, though they are repeated many, many times afterward. See if you can recognize them. Did you see the first one, in the very first line, “the word of the Lord came”? The recurrence of this phrase many times afterward in Scripture emphasizes the God-breathed character of the Bible. The word of the Lord came to many people, just as it came to Abram, and they wrote as they were borne along by the Holy Spirit, and then actually sat down and studied their own writings to learn what God had said, (1 Peter 1:10-12). The second phrase is the word that came to Abram, “Fear not!” How often this is God’s word to us, throughout this book. The third phrase is, “I am your shield.” In a thousand wonderful variations, we find this thought repeated frequently: God is our refuge and our strength; God is a tower of refuge; God is an overshadowing rock; blessed is the one that hides under the shadow of the Almighty. This is the first intimation of this character of God in Scripture. Then there is that familiar word in the last verse, “And he believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, thank You for Your Word that reveals Your amazing character.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, thank You for Your Word spoken to Abram, that continues to speak to us through the centuries, revealing Your amazing character. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 9:19-33

 

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A SENSIBLE ATTITUDE

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“I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”            Genesis 14:24 NIV

 

What a sensible attitude Abram displayed toward the others who were involved with him. Take note Abram’s words to the king of Sodom. Abram, do you mean to say that it is right for these young men to have what is wrong for you to take? Is it possible to have a double standard of right – one for you and one for them? What a lesson there is here for us! These young men had not yet come to the stage of Christian living and maturity that Abram had achieved. Abram is content to let God deal with them directly in these borderline areas. He is not going to force others to walk in the light of his conscience. Somehow, Abram has learned the truth of Romans 14, that we are not to judge our brother in these matters, Verse 5b (NIV): ” Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.” It is a great lesson to learn that there are areas of our Christian life where we must walk alone before our Lord and cannot force our views on others. Life lies ahead of us with all its possibilities of peril and danger, both spiritual and physical. How we need to go on in the strength of our Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. Nothing that the world offers can fully meet our hearts’ need. We are in this world. We are expected to live in it. We are expected to use the world, but not to abuse it. We must not love it, nor demand anything from it. Like Abram, we must say, “I have sworn to the Lord my God, I will not touch anything that you have to offer.”

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, teach us to walk with the same attitude as Abram.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, life lies ahead of us with all its possibilities of peril and danger, both spiritual and physical. Thank You that we can go in Your strength. For nothing that the world offers can fully meet our hearts’ need. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 9:1-18

 

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ONLY THE LORD CAN SATISFY

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“And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.             Genesis 14:20 NIV

 

Here in this place, the King’s Valley, where centuries later a greater Melchizedek would sweat in bloody agony in a Garden, Abram enjoyed by faith the high priestly ministry of Christ. His heart ravished with the love of Christ, and refreshed and strengthened in spirit, he saw that God alone could satisfy his heart. Here he swore to the Lord his God he would not touch a single thing that Sodom could offer him, he rose up and went out to meet the fair and innocent-appearing trap. He was ready for it! Have you ever found yourself trapped by some subtle appeal that looked innocent enough on the surface and seemed to be the popular thing to do? Too late, you realized its true nature, when the damage had already been done, and all you could say was, “I didn’t realize…”, “I never dreamed…”! This happens to many of us, doesn’t it? Life is full of subtleties like this – little decisions, little problems, incidents that seem so innocent on the surface. We find it easy to rationalize and justify our choices. Why is it we fail? It is because we do not go to our Melchizedek! We give him no opportunity to minister to us and open our eyes. We do not come to the throne of grace, as we are encouraged to, to find grace to help in time of need. Abram would never have passed by this subtle trap unscathed had Melchizedek not met him. When the king of Sodom came, Abram could say, “I want no man to say that he has made Abram rich. If anyone makes Abram rich, it will be God.” What a victory!

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, in everything may we come to Your Throne of Grace.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, may we give You the opportunity to minister to us and open our eyes. By Your Holy Spirit may we come to Your throne of grace, as we are encouraged to, to find grace to help in time of need. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 8:31-39

 

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BREAD AND WINE

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“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine.”           Genesis 14:18 NIV

 

Going back to verse 18, we are told Melchizedek served Abram bread and wine. We need no interpreter for this. These are the symbols of love. They speak eloquently of strength and joy flowing out from the passion of self-giving love. All this is recorded in the Old Testament, yet as we read it, we can see in this historical incident a beautiful picture of the need of our own lives. There is nothing that has such power to motivate the Christian heart as to partake, with the people of the Lord, of these symbols of the suffering of our blessed Lord. He gave Himself in the fullness of His life, poured out all that He was, and as we feast by the Spirit upon the symbols of His life, we are strengthened, enabling us to meet all that comes our way. This is the only power sufficient to make us reject the world’s offer and maintain our independence as servants of Christ. The love of Christ constrains us! In the intimacy of this fellowship, under the ministry of Melchizedek, Abram worships his Lord. The record says he gave him a tenth of everything, that is, he gave him tithes of all he had. The tithe is not a debt paid to the Lord, it is rather a reminder that everything belongs to Him. Recognizing that all we are and have is to be given to the Lord in worship. The whole of our life is to be focused on the one aim of serving our Lord.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, everything we have, we offer to You in worship.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord thank you that the tithe is not a debt paid to You, it is rather a reminder that everything belongs to You. We recognize that all we are and have is to be given to You in worship. The whole of our lives is to be focused on the one aim of serving You. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 8:18-30

 

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HE BLESSED ABRAM

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And he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.”               Genesis 14:19 NIV

 

Here, then, Melchizedek, who is evidently a Gentile king. The original knowledge of God as the maker and possessor of the heavens and the earth, passed along by Adam to his descendants, has evidently come down to Melchizedek unchanged. He is a worshiper of the true God, and a priest to that true God. The record shows him in such a way that he becomes a type of our Lord Jesus who is our heavenly Melchizedek, ready to minister to us in our need. His specific ministry is to reveal El Elyon, the Most High God, the One who owns everything in heaven and on earth. He is the one perfectly adequate to meet any human need. This is what Paul declares to the Philippians 4:19 (NIV). Now we see why God led Abram back to his home by way of the King’s Valley. The king of Sodom is coming to meet him, but Abram knows nothing of his approach, nor of the subtle offer with which he plans to put Abram in his debt. Had he known of it, he would have seen nothing wrong with it, for Abram is not different from you and me. The peril is too subtle to detect; it looks too innocent and attractive. So, God sent Melchizedek to meet him! His first ministry to Abram was to remind him of the character of the God he served. Doubtless he warned Abram of the subtle trap awaiting him in the offer of Sodom’s wealth, and perhaps he said, “Abram, your God is the possessor of heaven and earth. He made it all. He owns it. He holds all its wealth in His hands. There is nothing that He cannot give you. This is the God to whom you belong.”

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, thank You that there is nothing You cannot give us.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, You are the possessor of heaven and earth. You made it all. You own it all. There is nothing that You cannot give us. Thank You for meeting our every need in Jesus Christ Your Son. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 8:1-17

 

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MELCHIZEDEK

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“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High.”        Genesis 14:18 NIV

 

Before the king of Sodom met Abram with his subtle offer, Abram had already met with another king, the mysterious Melchizedek. He steps suddenly out of the shadows, ministers to Abram, and just as suddenly disappears from the pages of Scripture, and we never hear another word about him until we come to the 110th Psalm, where David declares that the Messiah to come is made a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Then another thousand years roll by, and in the book of Hebrews we have another extended reference to this strange individual. Who was Melchizedek? The guesses range from Shem, the son of Noah, who, according to some chronologists, could have still been alive at this time, to an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ in human form. All we are positively told of him is that he is the king of Salem, which afterwards became Jerusalem, and that he is the priest of the Most High God. His own name means “king of righteousness.” He appears suddenly in the Scriptural record without any mention of his father or mother, no birth date, and no subsequent account of his death. These omissions from the record are seized upon by the writer of Hebrews to indicate that since we have no record of his genealogy, this man is a type of the eternal priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ who, in actuality, has no beginning nor ending of days, who forever lives to make intercession for all those who come unto the Lord by him. Thus, the Melchizedek priesthood is a ministry of help to those who face a time of trouble.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, thank You for always praying for us, not just in troubled times.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord Jesus, we praise You who has no beginning nor ending of days, but forever lives to make intercession for us who come unto the Father. Helping us who are facing a time of trouble. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 7:14-25

 

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THE TIMING OF TEMPTATION

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But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you.”                   Genesis 14:22,23 NIV

 

The timing of the temptation came when Abram might well have been off guard, enjoying the popularity of the hour. He had earned a few moments of relaxation after the strain of battle, and at this quiet moment in his life the subtle offer came. Satan has chosen that moment to attack. There is no doubt that the pressure on Abram to accept this gift is very great. I have found that many of us Christians, have been trapped by the fear of offending someone if we say, “No!” We are troubled about what they will think, and so often very little troubled about what God will think. We fail to realize if we cannot say “No” now, how can we ever say “No” after the offer has been accepted and we are indebted to some degree. The easiest time to say “No” is now! This is what the Apostle Paul means when he says, “I have the right to do anything—but I will not be mastered by anything.” (1 Corinthians 6:12b NIV). That is, the only one I wish to serve is Christ. The only power to which I will yield my life is His. Anything else that threatens to control me or limit me I reject! It may be lawful, it may even be in good standing all around, but if it makes any demand upon me that is not His demand, I do not want it! This is what Abram is so beautifully demonstrating in these verses. It is a bold and positive declaration. What a clear-cut victory! The subtle trap of the enemy has been uncovered.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, may our “No” be “No” even when it seems to be right to say “Yes”.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, open the eyes of our heart to see the timing of temptation, and let our “No” be “No” even when it seems to be right to say  ”Yes”. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 7:1-13

 

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THE SUBTLETY OF TEMPTATION

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The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”           Genesis 14:21 NIV

 

Here is the subtle temptation which suddenly came upon Abram. He was met by the king of Sodom, who had somehow escaped capture and was in the city when news came of the triumphant return of Abram with the spoils of war. On the surface, the king of Sodom’s offer seems a perfectly justifiable reward. Abram had fought his great battle, not, of course, on behalf of the King of Sodom, but for the sake of Lot and his family. Nevertheless, the effect of his victory was of great benefit to the whole of Sodom. For this reason. the king was there to meet him. The king simply asked for the return of the residents of the city; the goods and riches he gratefully offered to Abram. The wealth of Sodom was all to be Abram’s! Now notice the subtlety of this temptation. It appeared to be so right and proper! Abram could well have said. “This is certainly only what I deserve, and after all, it is the custom to do this. Everyone does it! There are no strings attached. I can take the wealth and go my way back to my tent and altar and never go near Sodom again.” Who of us, standing in Abram’s shoes, would not have thought like this? It is in the apparent freedom of the gift that the peril lay. To a man of Abram’s character, it is impossible to accept this kind of a gift without feeling an obligation to the giver. The gift was a threat to the independence of the man who took orders only from the Lord.

 

PRAYER THOUGHT

Lord, may we see the subtlety of temptation in what seems right.

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, through the gift of discernment, may we see the subtlety of temptation in what seems to be right and accepted ways of this world. AMEN

 

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)

Romans 6:15-23

 

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