Daily Bible Readings:
Monday, June 12. Read Genesis 3:1-11. 1) What did
Adam and Eve do in the beginning of this text? 2) What did it cause them to do as a result? 3) What encounter did they have with God?
Tuesday, June 13. Read Genesis 12:1-9. 1) What happened to Abram in Haran? 2) What was promised to Abram. 3) Who was Lot, and why was Lot with Abram’s family?
Wednesday, June 14. Read Genesis 16:1-14. 1) How did Sarai view Hagar after the birth of Hagar’s son? 2) What happened as a result? 3) Why was Hagar at the spring of water in the wilderness? Who did she encounter?
Thursday, June 15. Read Genesis 32:22-32. 1) This is an encounter text? Who do you think met Jacob by the Jabbock River? 2) What happened? 3) What do you think Jacob learned from this enounter?
Friday, June 16. Read Romans 4:16-25. 1) In this text, what depends on faith? 2) Who, for Paul, is the archetype of faith? 3) Why would it have been difficult to believe the promise God made to Abraham?
Saturday, June 17. Read Genesis 18:1-15. This is Sunday’s sermon text.
Prayer for the Week:
God of our father Abraham. Please help us to grasp the depth of both his commitment to you, but more than that, your undying commitment to him and all of us who follow him. May be remember the covenant that you sealed at Calvary with the victorious death of your son. May we not sleep in, take a breather, or otherwise retire from our determination to be your people and live as you called us to live. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hymn of the Week:
How Firm a Foundation
by George Keith, 1787
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in God’s excellent Word!
What more can be said than to you God hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be near thee, thy troubles to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake.”
Devotional Article of the Week:
The Promises of God
by Chuck Swindoll
IN THE BOOK of Hebrews, Abraham is praised for believing God’s promises.
God called Abraham to move to a place where he didn’t know a soul. He had no permanent place to live, no community to rely upon for support, and no one to call in times of trouble. When he left Ur, he left the security of a permanent place of residence. He was able to live apart from established and secure human communities only because he “was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations” (Hebrews 11:10).
He was also sustained by God’s promise of a son. Many years after Abraham, Paul commented on Abraham’s ability to endure difficult circumstances and to remain obedient through years of waiting: “Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19).
Whether living in a tent on foreign land or defying the odds of having a child, Abraham believed the promise. He took the Lord at His word.
Do you believe God? If He says something in His Book, do you look for ways to dodge the issue and rationalize your way around it, or do you see His commands as a personal opportunity to live by faith? Guard against letting the difficulty of a choice keep you from accepting the challenge of doing what He asks. Don’t let the odds of any situation keep you from trusting God. The odds will often be stacked against you, or truth be told, you might find yourself blindsided by overwhelming odds. People who live by faith don’t focus on actuaries and statistics. When God says, “Go!” people of faith don’t waste time calculating the odds. They obey God’s instructions and refuse to live on the edge of fear.