<b>Fire Snakes</b> devotion for 01-MAR-11
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Fire Snakes
They set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey.
The people spoke against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food."
The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
So the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us." And Moses interceded for the people.
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live."
And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. - Numbers 21:4-9 NASB
People tend to give up on God at the first sign of trouble. On the other hand, they can praise him at the first hint of blessing. People can be fickle with their affections. The Israelites found it easy to complain about their condition. In fact, complaining is something that all humans everywhere are good at. The I students at any school complain about the food in the cafeteria. Workers stand around the watercooler and gripe about the boss and all the work piling up. The unemployed grumble about the lines at the unemployment office and about how hard it is to find work. How much easier it would be to just lie down and die.
The Israelites had that chance. They were unhappy with their diet. They asked Moses why he had brought them out to the wilderness only to die. Snakes appeared and started biting people. Suddenly death was not merely a feared possibility—it was a present reality. God immediately provided an easy way to stay alive. The bronze snake became a cure for the poison. Those among the Israelites who were determined to die only had to close their eyes and give up. But persevering wasn't hard. The Israelites who didn't want to give up just had to alter their perspectives a little and look at the snake to know that God didn't want to kill them in the wilderness. God was near to them then just as he is near to us today. God never abandons his people.
Information for your soul. Daily devotionals and Observances to celebrate.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
A Year with God
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Ever Since You Were Born
Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, all you who remain in Israel.
I have cared for you since you were born.
Yes, I carried you before you were born.
I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you.
To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?
Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it.
Then they bow down and worship it!
They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there.
It can't even move!
And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.
It can't rescue anyone from trouble.
Do not forget this! Keep it in mind!
Remember this, you guilty ones. Remember the things I have done in the past.
For I alone am God!
I am God, and there is none like me. - Isaiah 46:3—9 NLT
Misplaced trust is disastrous. The Israelites had depended on their idols. They had ignored the one God who could have helped them. The Assyrians invaded Israel around 722 BC. They took captive a little fewer than thirty thousand people, mostly the upper classes and the well-to-do because they were most likely to lead an uprising. God spoke to the Israelites who were left behind after that destruction, who wondered what the future might hold.
Even though they might not have realized it, God had been taking care of them since before they were born, and he would continue caring for them until they were old and white-haired. There was no stage of their life where God was not present. They could not get away from him, no matter how hard they might try. There was no way that God had or ever would abandon them.
In contrast, the idols were nothing more than the wood, stone, or precious metals out of which they were manufactured. How could the Israelites ever compare God to them? They were worthless. We don't carry idols like those any longer, but we've made new ones of our jobs, our abilities, our technology. But if the economy goes bad, if we get sick or disabled, if the batteries run out, or we can't find a plug, what then? The new idols are as worthless as the wood, stone, and metal ones.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Ever Since You Were Born
Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, all you who remain in Israel.
I have cared for you since you were born.
Yes, I carried you before you were born.
I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you.
To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?
Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it.
Then they bow down and worship it!
They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there.
It can't even move!
And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.
It can't rescue anyone from trouble.
Do not forget this! Keep it in mind!
Remember this, you guilty ones. Remember the things I have done in the past.
For I alone am God!
I am God, and there is none like me. - Isaiah 46:3—9 NLT
Misplaced trust is disastrous. The Israelites had depended on their idols. They had ignored the one God who could have helped them. The Assyrians invaded Israel around 722 BC. They took captive a little fewer than thirty thousand people, mostly the upper classes and the well-to-do because they were most likely to lead an uprising. God spoke to the Israelites who were left behind after that destruction, who wondered what the future might hold.
Even though they might not have realized it, God had been taking care of them since before they were born, and he would continue caring for them until they were old and white-haired. There was no stage of their life where God was not present. They could not get away from him, no matter how hard they might try. There was no way that God had or ever would abandon them.
In contrast, the idols were nothing more than the wood, stone, or precious metals out of which they were manufactured. How could the Israelites ever compare God to them? They were worthless. We don't carry idols like those any longer, but we've made new ones of our jobs, our abilities, our technology. But if the economy goes bad, if we get sick or disabled, if the batteries run out, or we can't find a plug, what then? The new idols are as worthless as the wood, stone, and metal ones.
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Watching Hair Grow
The LORD said to Moses, "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.
"If any of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the LORD in a special way, they must give up wine and other alcoholic drinks. They must not use vinegar made from wine or from other alcoholic drinks, they must not drink fresh grape juice, and they must not eat grapes or raisins. As long as they are bound by their Nazirite vow, they are not allowed to eat or drink anything that comes from a grapevine— not even the grape seeds or skins.
"They must never cut their hair throughout the time of their vow, for they are holy and set apart to the LORD. Until the time of their vow has been fulfilled, they must let their hair grow long. And they must not go near a dead body during the entire period of their vow to the LORD. Even if the dead person is their own father, mother, brother, or sister, they must not defile themselves, for the hair on their head is the symbol of their separation to God. This requirement applies as long as they are set apart to the LORD." - Numbers 6:1-8 NLT
Sometimes all you'll get out of a vow is distress. A Nazirite vow meant giving up haircuts and anything made out of grapes, among other things. People in the Bible who took a Nazirite vow include both Samson and Samuel, who were Nazirites from birth (Judges 13:7 and 1 Samuel 1:11). The apostle Paul took the vow as an adult, but only for a specified, limited period (Acts 18:18). Paul also paid for the ending ceremony for other Nazirites (Acts 21:17-26).
Why did God give the Israelites a spiritual discipline like the Nazirite vow? Did God delight in discomfort or deprivation? God is not brought nearer or better understood as a consequence of self-inflicted suffering. Rather, the discipline of the vow became the learning experience for the Nazirite—perseverance, seeing something through to the end. A person gets to know God better not in the pain but in the practice of God's qualities. A person who vows makes a promise that needs to be kept even when it is hard. To make a vow and to see it through to the end builds patience and perseverance, qualities that are valuable in life and in one's relationship with God. After all, God may not fulfill his promises instantly. His answers to our prayers often take time. We need to be patient.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Watching Hair Grow
The LORD said to Moses, "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.
"If any of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the LORD in a special way, they must give up wine and other alcoholic drinks. They must not use vinegar made from wine or from other alcoholic drinks, they must not drink fresh grape juice, and they must not eat grapes or raisins. As long as they are bound by their Nazirite vow, they are not allowed to eat or drink anything that comes from a grapevine— not even the grape seeds or skins.
"They must never cut their hair throughout the time of their vow, for they are holy and set apart to the LORD. Until the time of their vow has been fulfilled, they must let their hair grow long. And they must not go near a dead body during the entire period of their vow to the LORD. Even if the dead person is their own father, mother, brother, or sister, they must not defile themselves, for the hair on their head is the symbol of their separation to God. This requirement applies as long as they are set apart to the LORD." - Numbers 6:1-8 NLT
Sometimes all you'll get out of a vow is distress. A Nazirite vow meant giving up haircuts and anything made out of grapes, among other things. People in the Bible who took a Nazirite vow include both Samson and Samuel, who were Nazirites from birth (Judges 13:7 and 1 Samuel 1:11). The apostle Paul took the vow as an adult, but only for a specified, limited period (Acts 18:18). Paul also paid for the ending ceremony for other Nazirites (Acts 21:17-26).
Why did God give the Israelites a spiritual discipline like the Nazirite vow? Did God delight in discomfort or deprivation? God is not brought nearer or better understood as a consequence of self-inflicted suffering. Rather, the discipline of the vow became the learning experience for the Nazirite—perseverance, seeing something through to the end. A person gets to know God better not in the pain but in the practice of God's qualities. A person who vows makes a promise that needs to be kept even when it is hard. To make a vow and to see it through to the end builds patience and perseverance, qualities that are valuable in life and in one's relationship with God. After all, God may not fulfill his promises instantly. His answers to our prayers often take time. We need to be patient.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Pay Attention to the Details
GOD spoke to Moses: "Tell the Israelites that they are to set aside offerings for me. Receive the offerings from everyone who is willing to give. These are the offerings I want you to receive from them: gold, silver, bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen; goats' hair; tanned rams' skins; dolphin skins; acacia wood; lamp oil; spices for anointing oils and for fragrant incense; onyx stones and other stones for setting in the Ephod and the Breastpiece. Let them construct a Sanctuary for me so that I can live among them. You are to construct it following the plans I've given you, the design for The Dwelling and the design for all its furnishings.
"First let them make a Chest using acacia wood: make it three and three-quarters feet long and two and one-quarter feet wide and deep. Cover it with a veneer of pure gold inside and out and make a molding of gold all around it. Cast four gold rings and attach them to its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Make poles from acacia wood and cover them with a veneer of gold and insert them into the rings on the sides of the Chest for carrying the Chest. The poles are to stay in the rings; they must not be removed." - Exodus 25:1—15 MSG
God cares about the details as well as he cares about the big picture. Just as God told Moses what to say regarding the plagues, so too God told Moses what decorations he wanted in the tabernacle. God explained the sorts of cloth to be used, details about the furniture, even the kinds of spices to be used for the anointing oils. He explained in detail how the ark was to be built and how it was to be carried. God had specific plans for how the Israelites were going to worship him formally.
Nothing is too small for God. Nothing is insignificant. God concerned himself with the number of gold rings to attach to the ark of the covenant, and he bothered to specify the kind of wood to use for the ark even when that wood was going to be covered over with a layer of gold. God concerned himself with those details knowing the finished box would wind up behind curtains that only one man once a year would even see. No matter how much you may think both you and your concerns are insignificant, they aren't. You are worth more to God than the choice of spices and the design of furniture.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Pay Attention to the Details
GOD spoke to Moses: "Tell the Israelites that they are to set aside offerings for me. Receive the offerings from everyone who is willing to give. These are the offerings I want you to receive from them: gold, silver, bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen; goats' hair; tanned rams' skins; dolphin skins; acacia wood; lamp oil; spices for anointing oils and for fragrant incense; onyx stones and other stones for setting in the Ephod and the Breastpiece. Let them construct a Sanctuary for me so that I can live among them. You are to construct it following the plans I've given you, the design for The Dwelling and the design for all its furnishings.
"First let them make a Chest using acacia wood: make it three and three-quarters feet long and two and one-quarter feet wide and deep. Cover it with a veneer of pure gold inside and out and make a molding of gold all around it. Cast four gold rings and attach them to its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Make poles from acacia wood and cover them with a veneer of gold and insert them into the rings on the sides of the Chest for carrying the Chest. The poles are to stay in the rings; they must not be removed." - Exodus 25:1—15 MSG
God cares about the details as well as he cares about the big picture. Just as God told Moses what to say regarding the plagues, so too God told Moses what decorations he wanted in the tabernacle. God explained the sorts of cloth to be used, details about the furniture, even the kinds of spices to be used for the anointing oils. He explained in detail how the ark was to be built and how it was to be carried. God had specific plans for how the Israelites were going to worship him formally.
Nothing is too small for God. Nothing is insignificant. God concerned himself with the number of gold rings to attach to the ark of the covenant, and he bothered to specify the kind of wood to use for the ark even when that wood was going to be covered over with a layer of gold. God concerned himself with those details knowing the finished box would wind up behind curtains that only one man once a year would even see. No matter how much you may think both you and your concerns are insignificant, they aren't. You are worth more to God than the choice of spices and the design of furniture.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
God Will Outlast You
GOD said to Moses: "Go to Pharaoh. I've made him stubborn, him and his servants, so that I can force him to look at these signs and so you'll be able to tell your children and grandchildren how I toyed with the Egyptians, like a cat with a mouse; you'll tell them the stories of the signs that I brought down on them, so that you'll all know that I am GOD."
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "GOD, the God of the Hebrews, says, 'How long are you going to refuse to knuckle under? Release my people so that they can worship me. If you refuse to release my people, watch out tomorrow I'm bringing locusts into your country. They'll cover every square inch of ground; no one will be able to see the ground. They'll devour everything left over from the hailstorm, even the saplings out in the fields—they'll clear-cut the trees. And they'll invade your houses, filling the houses of your servants, filling every house in Egypt Nobody will have ever seen anything like this, from the time your ancestors first set foot on this soil until today."
Then he turned on his heel and left Pharaoh. - Exodus 10:1-6 MSG
Just as sometimes several whacks are needed to get a rock to break, so God knew it would take more than a single plague to get Pharaoh to break. Moses became discouraged at the beginning of the process, wondering why he didn't have immediate success in getting the people freed from their slavery. But thanks to God's instruction and encouragement, Moses kept confronting Pharaoh. Each time, the results were the same, with only minor variation. Every time, Pharaoh ended by telling Moses no.
Locust plagues weren't unusual in the ancient Middle East, though the severity of this particular plague was far above average. It was the worst such plague ever to have happened to Egypt. The timing of it was out of the ordinary also; it happened just when Moses said it would happen. Rather than the plague being a random event, it was clearly the hand of God.
The purpose of the plagues was not just to free the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. It also taught both Egyptians and Israelites that God was stronger than Pharaoh and all the many gods of Egypt. The plagues built their faith and helped prepare them—and their descendants—for the journey ahead. Don't be tempted to give up just because it's a long, hard trip.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
God Will Outlast You
GOD said to Moses: "Go to Pharaoh. I've made him stubborn, him and his servants, so that I can force him to look at these signs and so you'll be able to tell your children and grandchildren how I toyed with the Egyptians, like a cat with a mouse; you'll tell them the stories of the signs that I brought down on them, so that you'll all know that I am GOD."
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "GOD, the God of the Hebrews, says, 'How long are you going to refuse to knuckle under? Release my people so that they can worship me. If you refuse to release my people, watch out tomorrow I'm bringing locusts into your country. They'll cover every square inch of ground; no one will be able to see the ground. They'll devour everything left over from the hailstorm, even the saplings out in the fields—they'll clear-cut the trees. And they'll invade your houses, filling the houses of your servants, filling every house in Egypt Nobody will have ever seen anything like this, from the time your ancestors first set foot on this soil until today."
Then he turned on his heel and left Pharaoh. - Exodus 10:1-6 MSG
Just as sometimes several whacks are needed to get a rock to break, so God knew it would take more than a single plague to get Pharaoh to break. Moses became discouraged at the beginning of the process, wondering why he didn't have immediate success in getting the people freed from their slavery. But thanks to God's instruction and encouragement, Moses kept confronting Pharaoh. Each time, the results were the same, with only minor variation. Every time, Pharaoh ended by telling Moses no.
Locust plagues weren't unusual in the ancient Middle East, though the severity of this particular plague was far above average. It was the worst such plague ever to have happened to Egypt. The timing of it was out of the ordinary also; it happened just when Moses said it would happen. Rather than the plague being a random event, it was clearly the hand of God.
The purpose of the plagues was not just to free the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. It also taught both Egyptians and Israelites that God was stronger than Pharaoh and all the many gods of Egypt. The plagues built their faith and helped prepare them—and their descendants—for the journey ahead. Don't be tempted to give up just because it's a long, hard trip.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
For the Foreseeable Future
God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, induding the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant"
God said to Abraham, "As for Sarah your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" - Genesis 17:9—17 NRSV
The symbol of God's relationship with Abraham and his descendants was a secret that only they could see. And only half his people carried it. Women were not circumcised. Were they not part of God's covenant? For them, the symbol of their connection to circumcision was secondary, made real in the marriage relationship when they became "one flesh." Their connection to the symbol also came from the fact that they were born of their fathers, related to their brothers, and mothers to their sons. The circumcised man would know he was circumcised. His father and mother and wife would know he was circumcised. No one else would ever see the circumcision. But it represented the connection between that person and his God. His life reflected the hidden symbol.
The symbol of our relationship with God is likewise hidden. More important than the symbol was the reality of a relationship with God, what God referred to as "circumcision of the heart," something that was true for both men and women. No one can see the interior circumcision either, except in the way it transforms a person. The evidence of a changed heart is demonstrated by how a life is lived.
Click here to send this devotion to a friend!
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
For the Foreseeable Future
God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, induding the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant"
God said to Abraham, "As for Sarah your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" - Genesis 17:9—17 NRSV
The symbol of God's relationship with Abraham and his descendants was a secret that only they could see. And only half his people carried it. Women were not circumcised. Were they not part of God's covenant? For them, the symbol of their connection to circumcision was secondary, made real in the marriage relationship when they became "one flesh." Their connection to the symbol also came from the fact that they were born of their fathers, related to their brothers, and mothers to their sons. The circumcised man would know he was circumcised. His father and mother and wife would know he was circumcised. No one else would ever see the circumcision. But it represented the connection between that person and his God. His life reflected the hidden symbol.
The symbol of our relationship with God is likewise hidden. More important than the symbol was the reality of a relationship with God, what God referred to as "circumcision of the heart," something that was true for both men and women. No one can see the interior circumcision either, except in the way it transforms a person. The evidence of a changed heart is demonstrated by how a life is lived.
Click here to send this devotion to a friend!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
God Perseveres
Abram was ninety- nine years old when the LORD appeared to him again and said, "I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right, I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted." Abram bowed with his face to the ground, and God said:
I promise that you will be the father of many nations. That's why I now change your name from Abram to Abraham. I will give you a lot of descendants, and in the future they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings. I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your descendants, because I am your God and their God. I will give you and them the land in which you are now a foreigner. I will give the whole land of Canaan to your family forever, and I will be their God. - Genesis 17:1-8 CEV
Giving up is the easy way out. But it isn't God's way. God promised Abraham that he would have descendants who would become great nations with kings. The land of Canaan would be theirs.
The author of Genesis, writing after the exodus from Egypt, announced that it was Yahweh—translated as the word LORD in capital letters—who appeared to Abram when God promised him a son and changed his name to Abraham. Abram meant "exalted father," while Abraham meant "father of many." God changed Abram's name because Abraham would become the ancestor of more than one group of people, both the Jews and the Arabs.
The average life span is seventy years, give or take a bit. Abraham had to wait beyond a normal life span to receive what God had promised him. He had to wait until realistically all he had to look forward to was his own funeral. At that moment, however, God promised him a son. Abraham's descendants became the people of Israel—but not right away. Jacob's children would go to Egypt and have descendants who would be enslaved by Egypt for four hundred years.
Even after his people reached the promised land, God still would have to train them, leading them by prophet and punishment for centuries. It was not easy, and yet God never gave up on them. God persevered. He did not give up on Israel.
It is hard to keep working at a problem that never seems to be solved. Friends and family would probably support a decision to quit and turn back. They wouldn't want to see you suffer and be disappointed. But perseverance is a gift of God. Keep on going no matter how hard it is.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
God Perseveres
Abram was ninety- nine years old when the LORD appeared to him again and said, "I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right, I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted." Abram bowed with his face to the ground, and God said:
I promise that you will be the father of many nations. That's why I now change your name from Abram to Abraham. I will give you a lot of descendants, and in the future they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings. I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your descendants, because I am your God and their God. I will give you and them the land in which you are now a foreigner. I will give the whole land of Canaan to your family forever, and I will be their God. - Genesis 17:1-8 CEV
Giving up is the easy way out. But it isn't God's way. God promised Abraham that he would have descendants who would become great nations with kings. The land of Canaan would be theirs.
The author of Genesis, writing after the exodus from Egypt, announced that it was Yahweh—translated as the word LORD in capital letters—who appeared to Abram when God promised him a son and changed his name to Abraham. Abram meant "exalted father," while Abraham meant "father of many." God changed Abram's name because Abraham would become the ancestor of more than one group of people, both the Jews and the Arabs.
The average life span is seventy years, give or take a bit. Abraham had to wait beyond a normal life span to receive what God had promised him. He had to wait until realistically all he had to look forward to was his own funeral. At that moment, however, God promised him a son. Abraham's descendants became the people of Israel—but not right away. Jacob's children would go to Egypt and have descendants who would be enslaved by Egypt for four hundred years.
Even after his people reached the promised land, God still would have to train them, leading them by prophet and punishment for centuries. It was not easy, and yet God never gave up on them. God persevered. He did not give up on Israel.
It is hard to keep working at a problem that never seems to be solved. Friends and family would probably support a decision to quit and turn back. They wouldn't want to see you suffer and be disappointed. But perseverance is a gift of God. Keep on going no matter how hard it is.
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