Today's Reading:
Genesis 26:17-27:46
Luke 6:12-38
Psalm 9:13-20
Click on Text Link to Read Online
Focus Verses:
Genesis 26:23
23
The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples
from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than
the other, and the older will serve the younger."
Insight:
God
promised Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation.
God didn't choose a nation, he chose to make a nation. He started with
an old man, Abraham, and his old barren wife, Sarah. Eventually they
had a son, Isaac, who's wife, Rebekah, was also unable to have
children. It's as if God were making it absolutely clear that the
promised nation would only exist by his provision.
God
answered Isaac's prayers, and Rebekah became pregnant with twin sons.
With the birth of Esau and Jacob, the story then turns to the push
and pull of which son would become the heir to God's promise Abraham.
Jacob was a scrambler and a schemer who wanted more than his
birthright. Esau was a outdoorsman who didn't really care or value his
birthright.
The story of God's promise and God's
people begins in the story of two little boys who become two very
different men with very different futures. Who they become and what
results in their lives is very much rooted in the attitudes they have
toward God, toward God's promises, and toward each other.
Response and Action:
The
future of two nations began in the nursery of twin brothers. I need
the wisdom to see how my future is rooted in the small things in my
life today. How will my attitudes and actions today impact the future
of God's promise and plan for me? How will the beliefs and choices I
have right now going to impact my family, my church, my community, and
my world. A faith and awareness of God's promises, and a commitment to
pursue and value those promises, will make all the difference.
O
Lord, help me to see the potential and promise you have for me. Help
me to value and treasure the birthright you have given to me in
Christ. Help me to trust you and follow you with all my heart. Give me
a strong faith and grant me the wisdom to choose and act in
accordance with my faith. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: Philippians 3:12-14
12
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made
perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus
took hold of me. 13
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But
one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is
ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Resources:
Courage and Calling: Embracing Your God-Given Potential
by Gordon T. Smith
No comments:
Post a Comment