-
Christian Devotional – January 21, 2016
Read Genesis chapter 37 VERSE: Genesis 37:5–Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. TRUTH: Following God doesn’t mean you’ll be popular and well liked. In fact, often the exact opposite is true and you’ll be hated and despised because you follow God. Joseph experienced this. He had an experience with God and then went to share it with others and they hated him because of it. We have to realize that we follow God and not others and as a result, we don’t have to worry about the opinions of others. That can still be very difficult, but as…
-
Christian Devotional – January 20, 2016
Read Genesis chapter 36 VERSE: Genesis 36:6–Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. TRUTH: Esau had a very practical reason to move. He had a lot of stuff. He knew that he would not be able to support his livestock when they were so close to all the livestock that his brother had. So, he picked up and moved. Unfortunately, this meant that he moved farther away from his brother and the…
-
Christian Devotional – January 19, 2016
Read Genesis chapter 35 VERSE: Genesis 35:1–The God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.” TRUTH: It had been over 20 years since Jacob had left, running for his life, all alone. Now, God was bringing him back to that place. Jacob had been through a lot and had seen a lot, but he had not stayed as committed to God as he had promised to be. Here, God even has to remind him which God is talking to him as we se later in the chapter that…
-
Christian Devotional – January 18, 2016
Read Genesis chapter 34 VERSE: Genesis 34:23–Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So, let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us. TRUTH: This entire chapter deals with lust. Shechem’s lust for Dinah, Hamor’s lust for possessions, and Simeon and Levi’s lust for vengeance. While Shechem’s mind is solely fixed on the beautiful Dinah and doing whatever he needs to in order to get permission to have her legally, his father has been busy eyeing all the animals and possessions of this newcomer Jacob. Instead of just grabbing their swords and heading into battle against them. Hamor proposes a more subtle way…
-
Christian Devotional – January 17, 2016
Read Genesis chapter 33 VERSE: Genesis 33:4–But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. TRUTH: Esau had been wronged and was deceived by Jacob. Esau had every logical reason to be upset and seek revenge from Jacob. Yet, when given the chance, Esau responds with forgiveness. Even while Jacob had been away 20 years, God had been working on Esau as well. Esau had been blessed and was rich himself, but he had been able to let go of the anger and bitterness that accompanies unforgiveness. Are we willing to let it go? Will we make…
-
Christian Devotional – January 16, 2016
Read Genesis chapter 32 VERSE: Genesis 32:26–Then the man said, “Let me go for it is daybreak.” Bu Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” TRUTH: Jacob had wrestled all night. He was tired, worn out, and exhausted both physically and mentally from worry and anxiety about his brother. Yet, he refused to give up or give in. Even when the man from God stated he had to leave, Jacob refused to let him go until the man blessed him. We go through plenty of our share of struggles and worries. We face lots of opportunities to give up and give in each and every…
-
Christian Devotional – January 15, 2016
Read Genesis chapter 31 VERSE: Genesis 31:31–Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force.” TRUTH: Jacob had been told by God to leave this area and return to the land where he was from. However, even though Jacob was doing what he was supposed to be doing, how he was doing it wasn’t the best. He tells Laban that he determined how to leave based on fear. Fear can be the reason behind a number of things that we do. Yes if God tells us something then we should obey it, but how we obey is just as important…
-
Christian Devotional – January 14, 2016
Read Genesis chapter 30 VERSE: Genesis 30:27–But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. TRUTH: Even though Laban wasn’t a believer in God, he recognized when he had a good thing going. He realized that God was with Jacob and was working in what Jacob was doing and blessing it, and Laban wanted to stay part of that blessing. Laban, like so many people, wanted the benefits of a relationship with God, without having to actually submit his life to God himself. The question becomes, how do we help…
-
Christian Devotional – January 13, 2016
Read Genesis chapter 29 VERSE: Genesis 29:31–When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. TRUTH: God sees us and knows us. He knows our deepest fears and our innermost longings. God is not some distant being, but instead is someone who knows us better than we even know ourselves. When that is put together with the fact that God sees and knows everything about the world and all that goes on, we see that God truly knows our best interest and is able to work in and through all things in order to bring about the very best for us.…
-
Christian Devotional – January 12, 2016
Read Genesis chapter 28 VERSE: Genesis 28:15–I am with you and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised. TRUTH: As Jacob was leaving, reaping the consequences of his deceit against his brother, he lay down and had a dream. In that dream God appeared to him, which seems to be the first time that God had spoken to him. In this, God explains that He is Lord over all and that Jacob is destined to return to this land. God makes him a promise. When we are…