Date: 01-10-2021

Title: Deception

(S) cripture:
    Genesis 29:16-30 (NLT2) Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. 17 There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. 18 Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.” 19 “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.” 20 So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. 21 Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can marry her.” 22 So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. 23 But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. 24 (Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.) 25 But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?” 26 “It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. 27 “But wait until the bridal week is over, then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you promise to work another seven years for me.” 28 So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too. 29 (Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) 30 So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years.

(O) bservation:
    Jacob, remember he deceived Esau and his father, has arrived in Paddan-Aram. There he finds Laban and his family. Jacob asks to marry Rachel and works seven years for Laban to do so. At the wedding Laban switches his older daughter, Leah, for Rachel and Jacob sleeps with her. Jacob is angered at Laban’s deception and works another seven years to marry Rachel.

(A) pplication:
    Deception seems to always find a way to come back around to the deceiver. It is easy at times to be deceptive to get what you want but often the consequences severe. We are called to be honest and truthful as followers of Jesus. Deception should have no place in our lives. I will seek to live a life of integrity and truth.

(P) rayer:
    Father thank you for forgiving my sinfulness. Make me aware of times I want to be deceptive and let me choose integrity. Let me live a life that is honoring to you. amen

Date: 01-09-2021

Title: Desperation

(S) cripture:
    Genesis 27:34-36 (NLT2) When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry. “Oh my father, what about me? Bless me, too!” he begged. 35 But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”

(O) bservation:
    Earlier Esau traded his birthright for a bowl of soup and now Jacob has taken his blessing. In the first he gave away his rights as the firstborn and now his blessing is gone. He cries in desperation for a blessing from his father, Isaac.

(A) pplication:
    Desperation causes us to make some poor decisions that impact our whole lives. In desperation for a meal Esau gave away his place in the family. Desperation is a sign of not trusting the Lord. When I am desperate, I make selfish choices because I am not trusting in God’s promise, presence or provision for me. Today I will again focus my thoughts on the Lord and his provision. I am reminded of Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT2) 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Today I will trust and not be desperate because I, too, can live in any circumstance by the power of Christ.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, thank you for your promise to provide in every circumstance. Remind me of your promise when I feel desperation coming on. I want to be content in you and to be used by you. Let me live in such a way that others will follow you too.

Date: 01-08-2021

Title: Genealogy

(S) cripture:
    Genesis 25:12-26 (NLT2) This is the account of the family of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant. 13 Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael’s descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes named after them, listed according to the places they settled and camped. 17 Ishmael lived for 137 years. Then he breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. 18 Ishmael’s descendants occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. There they lived in open hostility toward all their relatives. 19 This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. 20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. 22 But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. 23 And the LORD told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.” 24 And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! 25 The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. 26 Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

(O) bservation:
    Today was mostly a reading of genealogies and that is not very exciting. I chose the passage above because it gives the genealogy of Abraham’s sons, Ishmael and Isaac. It is interesting that they did come together to bury their father with his wife Sarah.

(A) pplication:
    Today was tough in making application to my life. The more I thought, though, it is important to know where you came from. It is important that I know about my roots in the McClure and Robinson families and the Wood and Crouch families. I am so fortunate because in these four families all have been people of faith. That faith has been passed down from generation to generation and now that faith is being passed to our children and to their children. I was honored to baptize my grandson, Jase this past Sunday. He now knows the power of a heritage of faith.

(P) rayer:
    Father, thank you for the family you placed me into. Their faith has helped me shape and form my own. Thank you for allowing Becky and me to pass that faith on to our daughters and now on to our grandchildren. Amen

Date: 01-07-2021

Title: Abraham’s Obedience

(S) cripture:
    Genesis 22:4-14 (NLT2) On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” 6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” 12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

(O) bservation:
    Abraham’s faith and obedience is tested when he is asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering to the Lord. Abraham obeys and trusts in God’s promise of an heir through which God would bless all the nations of the world. Somehow God would provide. When Isaac asks his father where the sacrifice was Abraham’s responded, “the Lord would provide”. And that is just what happened. God provided a ram just as Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac.

(A) pplication:
    Obedience is often tough. Sometimes it does not seem to make sense to our finite minds. Too often we try to help God or figure out an alternative plan that seems to make sense to us. Problem is that in both ways we are being disobedient and miss God’s provision and work in our lives. Today I will seek to do what God prompts me to do whether is makes sense or not, I want to live by faith and to walk obediently with Him.

(P) rayer:
    Lord you know my heart and my desire to obey you and your word. Make me aware of when I am making my own plans or trying to skirt around what you have asked me to do. I want to walk closely to you and to experience your provision constantly in my life. Today I will seek to be obedient. Amen

Date: 01-06-2021

Title: God’s Sense of Humor

(S) cripture:
    Genesis 17:17 (NLT2) Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?”
    Genesis 18:12-15 (NLT2) So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” 13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.” But the LORD said, “No, you did laugh.”

    Genesis 21:1-6 (NLT2) The LORD kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. 2 She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. 3 And Abraham named their son Isaac. 4 Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. 6 And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me.

(O) bservation:
    When the Lord told Abraham and Sarah that she would give birth to a son both laughed at the absurdity of the thought because they were both old and Sarah was well beyond child-bearing age. When the child was born he was named Isaac which means “laughter”. I think God smiled and said you laughed at my promise so his name will be a constant reminder of your response.

(A) pplication:
    So many people think God is a mean tyrant that only wants to take the fun our of living. Many never think of God has having a sense of humor. There are many places in the Bible where we can see God’s humor if we just look and think. Jesus used humor often when telling parables or confronting people’s sin as a way of having them examine themselves. Today I am reminded of God’s sense of humor when he called me to preach and teach. I take heart in the Bible story where God had a donkey speak to Balaam and think that he is using me to speak too. I want my life to please the Lord.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, let me see you as you are. Let me laugh with you and be moved in my spirit the way you are in your spirit. Let me use humor the way you do and not in destructive ways. Use me today in people’s lives to encourage them to follow you, the God Who Loves Them. Amen

Date: 01-05-2021

Title: Righteous Live By Faith

(S) cripture:
    Genesis 15:6 (NLT2) And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.

(O) bservation:
    Abram was made righteous by his belief and faith in the Lord not by his actions alone. The “righteous shall live by faith” is not just a New Testament concept but came from the beginnings of our tradition. From the beginning, it has always been faith that brought righteousness.

(A) pplication:
    I want to live by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. To do so I must lay aside my legalism (things that I think by doing them I earn God’s favor and am made righteous) so that I can live by faith and trust in the Lord. I must also take away any legalism I place on others and encourage them to live by faith too. Often it is easier to be told what to do or be given a list of things to do rather than to struggle with the scripture and to follow the Lord’s leading in your life. Those lists amount to legalism and can be more harmful than good. Today I choose to live by faith.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, forgive me when I have been in “works” mode with you. I want to live by faith and to have my faith seen in my works. I know I cannot earn your favor by my works. Let me live by faith today. Use me to help others live by faith too. Amen

Date: 01-04-2021

Title: Pride

(S) cripture:
    Genesis 11:1-9 (NLT2) At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. 2 As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there. 3 They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) 4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” 5 But the LORD came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 6 “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! 7 Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.” 8 In that way, the LORD scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the LORD confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.

(O) bservation:
    The unity that came from having the same language brought about a pride and confidence in themselves and what they could accomplish. That proud spirit excluded the Lord. The Lord then confused their languages and that scattered them and stopped the building of the city and tower. Without the unity of language they would need to depend on the Lord for some things and their human pride was broken.

(A) pplication:
    Whenever I think I can do or accomplish something on my own, I fall into this pride trap set for me by the evil one. This is not to say that there is nothing I can do or skills that I cannot learn and develop. It does mean that when I think I can do this on my own that I and in for a correction from the Lord. The Lord will not allow me to continue in my prideful way without addressing it. Today I want to be keenly aware of when in pride I attempt to do things. I will confess my sin of pride and ask the Lord to forgive me and lead me. I will also hone the skills he has given me so that I can be most effective for Him.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, continue to work in my life and when pride rears its head make me aware so that I can confess and trust you. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and use me today as I trust you. Amen

Date: 01-03-2021

Title: God Provides

(S) cripture:
    Genesis 7:1-3 (NLT2) When everything was ready, the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous. 2 Take with you seven pairs—male and female—of each animal I have approved for eating and for sacrifice, and take one pair of each of the others. 3 Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood.

(O) bservation:
    God has Noah bring seven pairs of each animal that He had approved for eating and sacrifice. This would meet the needs of Noah and his family during their confinement on the ark.

(A) pplication:
    As often as I have read this story, I don’t think I had ever noticed the seven pairs of the animals approved for eating and sacrifice. Sometimes you become so familiar with a story that you read right over parts that are important but you just miss them. Today I was made aware of this kind of hasty reading in my own life. Today I commit to slowing down and not reading over stories but rather reading them with an attention for details. We miss way too much in our haste.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, help me to slow down and take in all of your word and not just a cursory look or reliance on childhood memories of Bible stories. Help me to take it all in so that I can relate it accurately to others. Thank you for the reminder that you always provide for us. Amen

Date: 01-02-2021

Title: God Took Him

(S) cripture:
    Genesis 5:23-24 (NLT2) Enoch lived 365 years, 24 walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.

(O) bservation: In this passage over and over it says the person lived, had sons and daughters, and then died. Then it comes to Enoch and says lived 365 years, had sons and daughters and he walked closely with God all his life and then he disappeared (“was not” NASB) for God took him.

(A) pplication:
    When I die, I would like it to be written of me, “he walked closely with God and then God took him home.” I most likely will not just disappear, but I want my life to be one of faithfulness to the Lord. I want my life to make a difference in the lives of others by pointing them to the Savior. Today I renew my commitment to being faithful to the Lord.

(P) rayer:
    Father, thank you for sending a Savior so that I might walk in fellowship with you. Fill me with you Spirit today so that I can follow and obey you. Make me sensitive to your leading. Amen

Date: 01-01-2021

Title: The Root Of Sin

(S) cripture:
    Genesis 3:1-8 (NLT2) The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.'” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. 8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees.

(O) bservation:
    The root of sin lies in our human jealousy and pride that revealed itself in the desire to be like God. The serpent planted the seed of doubt about God’s goodness and provision and Eve and Adam took the bait and bit into it (pun intended). The result was a recognition of their sinfulness and an attempt to cover themselves and hide from God.

(A) pplication:
    The serpent continues to ply the same trick on us today. Planting in us the seed of doubt concerning God’s goodness and provision for us. The thought that God is holding back something from us triggers our sinful natures. I know that God’s promise to me is life eternal and abundant. Why do I even give the devil an audience or listen. On this first day of 2021, my desire is to trust God’s promises, follow His leading, grow in my relationship with Him and never to give the devil listening ear. My desire is to walk closely with the Lord this year.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, make me keenly aware when I am listening to the Evil one. My desire is to listen, follow and obey you. Let me experience the abundant life you offer to all who trust and follow you. Amen