DAY 1– January 11, 2010
TITLE: “GOD STILL SPEAKS ”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Genesis 12:1
God is a God who speaks. In scripture, God spoke through a burning bush, prophets, scriptures, a donkey, clouds, teachers, His Spirit, and a variety of other ways. The God of yesterday is still God today. The God who spoke yesterday, still speaks today. The God who spoke to Abraham so many years ago, still speaks to those who have ears to hear and hearts to listen to what He is saying. God gave instructions to Abraham and He still gives instructions to His people today.
God still speaks today, because He still loves His people. He wants what is best for us. God still speaks today, because we still need His guidance and His direction. He has plans for us that we can only fulfill as we listen and apply His word to our hearts. God still speaks today, for He is still involved in the lives of His people. God still speaks today, because He wants us to know Him in personal and meaningful ways.
There is a somewhat humorous story told about Franklin Roosevelt when he was president. It seems that he did not enjoy and often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained about the long receiving lines, but no one really paid any attention to what was said. It seems they were just a formality and no one really listened to the comments that were being made. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who came down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” The guests responded with phrases like, “Marvelous,” “Keep up the good work,” “We are proud of you,” “God bless you, sir.”
It was not till the end of the line, while greeting the
ambassador from
How many times does God have to speak to us before we listen? In busy days, it is far too easy to go through the motions of the day and not really hear what God wants to say to us. I wonder if there are many days in our lives when God wants us to slow down and take some time to really listen to what God is saying. God speaks, our privilege and responsibility is to take the time to listen and respond. What is God saying to you today?
“Take time to be holy, the world
rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.” William D. Longstaff
DAY 2– January 12, 2010
TITLE: “LEAVE IT BEHIND”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Genesis 12:1
One person once said, “There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world, it’s the beginning of a new life.” It was only in letting go of the things the Lord asked him to let go of that Abram would be free to experience what God had for him in the future.
God’s calls to Abram involved a decisive separation from his past. He had to leave behind his country. This must not have been easy for him to leave behind the land he had developed and knew. It was no small thing to leave his country, but this is what God called him to do. Leaving his people would not have been easy either. There was a security in being with his own people, but God called him to leave them behind. Leaving his father’s household would have also been hard, yet God called him to leave.
He had to leave so he could become what God called him to be. Leaving some of the things God calls us to leave behind may not always be easy, but it is a necessary part of the journey to become what God wants us to be. Luke 9:23 says, “…If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Following Jesus often means leaving things behind.
Kim Linehan was a swimmer who for many years held the world record in the women’s 1500-meter freestyle. According to her coach, Paul Bergen, when she was young and competing, she did endless exercises and swam 7 to 12 miles a day. When asked what the hardest part of her regimen was she answered, “Getting in the water.”
Taking the first step is the key to a life of obedience to the word of God. Sometimes taking the first step can be the hardest step in making changes in our lives. Are there some first steps that God wants you to take today? Ask God to show you the steps He wants you to take today. Depend upon Him to help you to take the first step and every step as you leave behind the things that get in the way of becoming what God wants you to become.
“Oh God, You are my
God And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God And I will ever
praise You
I will seek You in the morning And I
will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me And I
will follow You all of my days.” Rich Mullins
DAY 3– January 13, 2010
TITLE: “I WILL SHOW YOU”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 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 12:1-2
I will, I will, I will, I will, I will, I will. Six times the words, “I will,” are used in these 3 verses. The focus is clearly on what God will do. Abraham was not on his own. God promised Abram that He would be His source of direction and blessing. Abraham did not have to figure out what to do on his own. God Himself, promised to show him the land he was to go to. Abram did not have to find his own way. God promised to be his guide and give him divine direction.
If you were going over to someone’s house and you needed directions, for you had never been there before, who would you ask? Someone that has never been there before, someone that thought they might know where it is, someone who had been there once years ago, or someone who lived there and traveled there daily? God is the one who knows the way. He alone is all knowing. We can trust Him to show us the way. God alone can show us what He wants us to do.
It takes humility to surrender our plans and follow the Lord’s. Pride always gets in the way of God’s guidance. The Psalmist said, “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” Psalm 25:9
God desires to be our permanent Guide. He does not want to just guide us for a season. He promises to be there every day of every tomorrow to show you the way. The Psalmist said, “For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.” Psalm 48:14
God is the God who can lead us along paths that are unfamiliar. God is capable of taking us into places that we have never been before. The prophet said, “I will lead the blind by ways that have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16. God is able to make a way and show us the way. All you and I have to do is follow His guidance.
“My Lord knows the way
through the wilderness. All I have to do is follow.
My Lord knows the way
through the wilderness. All I have to do is follow.
Strength for today is
mine all the way, and all I need for tomorrow.
My Lord knows the way
through the wilderness. All I have to do is follow.”
© Sidney Cox, 1951.
DAY 4 – January 14, 2010
TITLE: “BLESSED, SO WE MAY BE A BLESSING”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “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
God promised to bless Abram. The Old Testament word for blessing generally indicates a bestowal of good. Most often this is good in the sense of something material. The word carries the concept that when a person is blessed they are in a state of happiness. Often times as in the text today, it is contrasted with the curse.
The blessing that Abram received was not of his own making. It was the result of God’s working in his life. God is the source of true blessing. God promised to bless him as he obeyed the Lord. Blessing comes from the Lord, as we live in a right relationship with Him. The Psalmist said, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2. God is a God who blesses His people in many ways. Take a moment to reflect on these words.
“There shall be
showers of blessing: This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing, Sent from the Savior above.
Refrain: Showers of blessing, Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling, But for the showers we plead.
There shall be showers of blessing, Precious
reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys, Sound of abundance of rain.
There shall be showers of blessing; Send
them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing, Come, and now honor Thy Word.
There shall be showers of blessing: Oh, that
today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing, Now as on Jesus we call!
There shall be showers of blessing, If we
but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing, If we let God have His way.” Daniel Whittle
Abram was blessed so he could be a blessing to others. As you take a few moments to reflect upon the blessings God has poured out on your life, ask God to show you how you might be a blessing to others. Let’s not keep the blessings from God to ourselves. Be a blessing to others today through your words and actions.
DAY 5– January 15, 2010
TITLE: “SO ABRAM LEFT.”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “So Abram
left, as the Lord had told him; and
Verse four begins with the words, “So Abram left.” These words do more than give us information about what Abram did. They are words that speak of Abram’s obedience to the Lord. Simply put, God told Abram what to do and Abram did it. The words, “So Abram left,” indicate that the bottom line for Abram was obedience.
Abram had to leave his excuses behind. I am sure he could
have offered many excuses. However, like Abram we cannot offer excuses and
obedience at the same time. Obedience carries the concept of hearing the Lord and
responding. To obey is to yield and submit to the authority of God. Abram did not allow what he was leaving
behind to hold him back. He did not allow his circumstances or age to hinder him
from setting out from
One pastor told the story of a young son of a missionary
couple in
As the youngster turned to look at the tree by which he had been playing, he saw a large deadly snake hanging from one of the branches! At the first command of his father, Philip could have hesitated and asked, "Why do you want me to do that?" Or he could have casually replied, "In a minute." But his instant obedience without questioning kept him safe. Abram did not put off his obedience. He obeyed completely without hesitation. Oswald Chamber’s spoke of the same concept of immediate obedience when he wrote, "Delayed obedience is disobedience."
Are there some things in your life that God has asked you to do, but you have been putting it off? Perhaps you have offered God reasons you can’t or excuses instead of obedience. Surrender your excuses to the Lord. Offer God more than enthusiasm or good intentions, give Him your obedience. Will you take the step of obedience in your life today? Whether it is something you need to leave behind or something you need to do, there is no better time for obedience than now.