January 11, 2023
“His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite” (Genesis 25:9 NLT). Isaac and Ishmael buried their father, Abraham, in the same tomb he had bought to bury Sarah. These two sons became two great peoples. The Jewish nation came
January 9, 2023
“Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he worshiped the LORD, the Eternal God” (Genesis 21:33 NLT). As Abraham grew in his relationship with God, more and more was revealed to him concerning the nature and character of God. Often these revelations took the form of a new name of God. Two
January 5, 2023
‘The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you”‘ (Genesis 12:1 NLT). The Lord called a 75 year old man named Abram to leave his father’s house and go to a land that God would show him. And
January 19, 2022
EXPECT GREAT THINGS; ATTEMPT GREAT THINGS The Pharoah of Egypt had a troubling dream and his cupbearer remembered that a Hebrew slave named Joseph had rightly interpreted his dream two years earlier. So Pharoah summoned Joseph and asked whether he could interpret dreams. Joseph answered that it was beyond his power, but that God was
January 18, 2022
BETRAYED BY HIS BROTHERS Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother, Joseph. He was the favored son of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel, who had died giving birth to Benjamin, the youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons. Joseph had made things worse with his brothers by sharing his dreams of them someday bowing down to him.
January 16, 2022
IS YOUR FAITH, YOUR FAITH? As he entered the Promised Land, Jacob built an altar to God near Shechem, just as his grandfather Abraham had once done (Gen. 12:7). However, Jacob no longer referred to the Lord as the God of Abraham and Isaac. Here for the first time, Jacob referred to the Lord as
January 14, 2022
REMEMBER THE PILLAR MOMENTS YOU’VE HAD WITH GOD Jacob had arrived in Haran empty-handed, but now he had wives, many children and flocks of sheep, goats and camels. The Lord had made him wealthy. Yet, he was fearful for his life, for his father-in-law and his sons were jealous of Jacob and were beginning to
January 9, 2022
THE BIBLE IS PRIMARILY A BOOK ABOUT GOD At the new well that Abraham dug, at “Beersheba,” which means “Well of Seven,” he planted a Tamarisk tree and called on the LORD, the “Eternal God.” Two of the names of God revealed in the Bible are found in this verse. They are translated here as
January 6, 2022
CHASING AWAY DISTRACTIONS Abram had prepared the sacrifice as the Lord had commanded. Yet, as he waited on the Lord, vultures swooped down to eat it. Abram chased them away. He would not let them steal his offering, nor distract him from waiting on the Lord. He was focused on hearing from God. When
January 5, 2022
RETURN TO THE ALTAR After God rescued Abram from Pharaoh, having gone down to Egypt because of the famine, he returned to the old altar he had built near Bethel and Ai. There he once again called on the name of the Lord. Abram had a habit of going “down to Egypt” whenever famine