Genesis 22:9-14 Video Devotional

Posted on Apr 28, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , , , ,

“When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”” (Genesis 22:9-14)

If you are looking for an obvious reference to Jesus in the Old Testament, this one should be about the clearest. The setup to the story has quite the makeup for a scandalous situation – after all, this is the one true God who is asking His most faithful follower to sacrifice His only son (who God earlier promised to Him). What seems like a horrific test of a servant is not what it seems – if you have a little higher perspective.

Just to clear any doubts, God never intended to let Abraham kill Isaac. It was never about that; yes, God was challenging Abraham’s trust, but at the same time God was giving Abraham (and us through scripture) a glimpse into the real sacrifice. We see this in verse 14, “Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

It is commonly accepted that Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac happened on Mt Moriah. That hill also happens to be the same place that King David purchased from Auranah the Jebusite to sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord (2 Samuel 24:18-25). This is significant because the explanation of that passage in 2 Samuel is describing what the true king will be (hint: prophet, priest and king). Even more crucial is that this same hill is also known as Golgotha, or Calvary. This hill that Abraham almost sacrificed his son, but with the provision of the ram, Abraham called that hill “the Lord will provide”, is the very hill that Jesus died on taking punishment for our sins.

The Lord provided on that hill with the words “it is finished” the salvation for everyone who believes. Isaac was a glimpse of the coming rescuer, our Messiah. This is a clear and direct promise to Jesus and foreshadowing of the cataclysmic event that would be required for our salvation. Hebrews says that the blood of culls and goats is not enough to take away the sins of the world (Hebrews 10). Jesus was, and is, and will always be, enough.


Genesis 15:7-16 Video Devotional

Posted on Apr 27, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , , ,

“And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”” (Genesis 15:7-16)

In the olden days, it is often quoted that “your word was your bond”. With the number of times I had to sign my name on mortgage papers, I am guessing that line doesn’t mean as much as it used to. No longer can we say, “take me at my word” or “Let’s shake on it” as those phrases don’t hold meaning anymore.

I’m not sure “your word” counted for too much back in ancient times, either. Take this whole idea of a covenant. When this was made between two people, they would cut the animals in half, then each walk in between them to symbolize that if either of them broke the covenant, then cutting them in half would be the appropriate response.

And it is that fact that makes this passage so powerful as a promise of God. Notice who walks through the covenant promise? God ALONE. Abram was sound asleep – meaning that this was a one-way covenant. It had nothing to do with Abram or his (or anyone else’s) actions. This is an unconditional covenant with all of the responsibility squarely on God. This journey He took Abram on is purely to develop the line of Jesus, while showing that He is all-patient and all-powerful.

Our God is an amazing God! Can you share a time when you saw God act unconditionally on your behalf?


Genesis 12:1-3 Video Devotional

Posted on Apr 24, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , , ,

“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

I wonder what hearing this must have felt like to Abram. A child-less husband, getting on in years is told he will become a great nation and all the families of the earth will be blessed through him. What a promise! What an improbable promise. There are a lot of things riding on this, the first of which is actually having a child; that being a problem for Abram and his bride, Sarai.

What exactly is this blessing? The United States has historically used this verse as their reasoning for holding political ties with Israel. Is that really what God meant? I don’t think so. Looking back through Israel’s history, what blessing could be so powerful that it literally blesses every family on earth? Jesus. Jesus is the blessing – the gospel, the salvation of all humans who believe, which we see in Revelation that is from every tribe, every tongue, every nation. Every family will be blessed with the gift of Jesus.

So why preface it with the “bless those who bless you” and vice versa part? Looking at it in its context makes this answer simple: because God was protecting the line of Christ – the line of the promise. This is proven historically as well. No matter how evil Israel got as a nation, God continued to bless them. Why? Because they deserved it or were entitled to it? No, of course not. They were blessed because of this promise – Jesus was on His way, but the lineage had to be protected and blessed.

God gives promises for a reason – and keeps them no matter what. With God, there is no variation or shifting shadow; no change (James 1). He is faithful, yesterday, today and forever. So for us, that means we are blessed through Abram – Jesus is our gift, our blessing, our salvation!


2 Timothy 1:8-12 Video Devotional

Posted on Apr 23, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , , , ,

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do.” (2 Timothy 1:8-12)

Creation, fall, redemption. That’s how most people look at the story of the Bible. And, it is true – if you start reading in Genesis 1 and go straight through, that is the liner view we get. However, that is not the actual order of how it happened. As we can see in verse 9 (above), God gave us grace and purpose before the ages began. Let’s unpack that.

Imagine being able to go back before the world was created. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit were all sitting around and talking about what they want to do. Brainstorming this act of creation. At that point, while the world was still formless and void, you were on the mind of God. They gave you purpose and grace before creation happened. In order to do that, it also means that redemption was planned before the world was created. I imagine it like this (this is a scenario I imagine – not scripture).

“We should create a race of beings that we can love and bless. We could show them the purest form of love and pour that love out on them in droves. Let’s give them real, sacrificial love. We should give our life for theirs! Sacrificing for our creation would show them the best love. Jesus will go to earth, sacrifice Himself to free people from their sin and give them eternity and purpose. Cool – let there be light!”

Redemption, creation, fall. That is the actual order of how the world came to be. Before the ages began, friend, you were on God’s mind. He has had a purpose and plan for you, along with loads of grace, waiting for your time on the earth. You were intentional, planned and are fully loved – from before the ages began!

That’s the God we serve, follow, trust and love. Enjoy Him today!


Genesis 3:14-15 Video Devotional

Posted on Apr 22, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , , ,

The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15)

A promise. Whether it is small or large, a promise is one of the key components of trust. Parents are judged by their children on their ability to keep promises. Politicians are judged on their ability to keep promises. When promises are broken, trust begins to erode. When they are upheld, the foundation is secured. People need kept promises. It gives us comfort, confidence, and consistency necessary to step out in faith.

This is important in our relationship with God as well. After all, He created us this way and promised us many things; He’d never flood the earth again (Genesis 9), we are never alone (Hebrews 13), He loves us unconditionally (Romans 8), we are created intentionally and given purpose (Psalm 139), etc… God’s keeping of these promises gives us a consistent Lord that we can trust, rely on and step out to serve in the midst of risk.

With that in mind, this promise in Genesis 3 is quite vital. He tells the serpent how it will all end. Evil (sin) will bite His heel, but He will crush its head. This is the initial promise of Jesus and is laid out perfectly on the cross. Evil thought it ad scored the major victory with Jesus’ lifeless body hanging on that tree. But, on the third day, Jesus crushed its head by rising from the dead and securing forgiveness and eternal life for all who trust in Him.

With this curse handed to the snake, God promised that good would win, evil would be defeated and destroyed, and restoration would come. That’s a pretty amazing promise!


Matthew 6:25-34 Video Devotional

Posted on Mar 26, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , , ,

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:25-34)
 
Bobby McFerrin sung the song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, but by now I am sure that most everyone sees that as a trite message. When you are not getting paid and aren’t able to pay bills, but are also worried about protecting yourself and your family from getting sick, the song probably doesn’t bring you much joy. It’s a good thing Jesus brings more than a song. Though we don’t know what it will look like, we do know that He promises to take care of us. And that is enough.
 
In all situations, He teaches us to seek God first above whatever we may be dealing with at the time, which also includes the coronavirus scare. His promises will survive all! He is faithful and just and we can trust Him. So, today, seek God. Cast your worries on Him and know that, in the end, it will all be ok. Blessings to you!

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