September 9 – Lord of Lords

“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”  But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”  – Genesis 15:1-2 (ESV)

Have you ever been promised something that seemed impossible that you would ever see come true? Abram (not yet Abraham) was in that fix. God had promised descendants, children, and so many that they would be impossible to count. To Abram, God’s promise had stalled and he believed he had an answer. Abram suggested adoption of a servant as the male heir—a well-known contemporary custom of the time and culture. Abram considered it a done deal as it was the best official arrangement to make God's promise come to pass⸺humanly speaking. God said No! It will not be ‘this man’ for it will be your very own son who will be your heir. Now eighty-six years old, time was running out for Abram and Sarai (not yet Sarah). In this exchange Abram address God by the name ‘Adonai’ which was a common name meaning lord, master and God. Abram also addressed God by the name YHWH. This is the name God revealed to Moses when He said “I AM WHO I AM.” While many titles are given for God, the name Yahweh is the true name for God. Most translations render the name as LORD – using all capitals.  

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March 24 – Before Abraham I AM

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” – John 8:58 (NASB)

Jesus, never shy from provoking the religious establishment does so with this bold statement. He had a purpose and that was to convince all who followed Him that He was who He said He was, the Son of God and God Himself. Jesus kept telling the ‘Jews’ (Jewish religious leaders), that He knew the Father personally and they had an authentic relationship. This was something the Jews did not have and never would. This encounter ended up putting Jesus’ life in peril. Never understanding Jesus they challenged His words. He says to the Jews that their father Abraham had rejoiced and was glad when he saw His day. The Jews challenged how He can be telling the truth. Less than fifty years old how could Abraham have seen Him. Christ’s reply is our verse today. It is a bold statement claiming to be the one named I AM which is the authentic name God claimed for Himself – YHWH in Hebrew. I AM means 'God Is' and has always been from forever without beginning without end. Jesus tells them He has been since before Abraham was born. They picked up stones to kill Jesus but he hides Himself from them.

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June 14 – Time Appointed

“Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised.  So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.”  - Genesis 21:1-2 (NASB)

Each day we consider promises God has made.  Most time they are promises that we can claim as our own.  Today is different. Today we are taking up a promise given to someone else.  To a man and woman who had been waiting some thirty years or more for a promise to be fulfilled. Certainly by now it's too late.  Maybe when the promise was made God could have given them a child, but now? Is it possible to have a baby this long past the time when birthing children was a possibility? Sarah thought not. It made her laugh. But He made the promise again.  This time, year from now the fulfillment will happen.  God had appointed a time when it would have to be a God act alone and not an accident of natural processes.  It was God who would bring it to pass without question. Maybe the promises we are waiting on need God and only God just as much as Abraham and Sarah needed God to make it possible to conceive their child. If God makes a promise, he appoints the time it will be fulfilled.  Even for us in our day. Let’s trust Him.

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January 15 – Faith in the Impossible is Possible

“No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”  - . Romans 4:20-21 (ESV)

This passage from the apostle Paul’s letter to believers of Jesus in Rome is pointing to the unfaltering faith of Abraham.  When God called Abram out of the land which is now Iraq and sent him to Canaan which is now Israel, He  promised to make a great nation out of his descendants that would be beyond number.  But now, about a hundred years old with a wife that is beyond child bearing, we read that Abraham maintained his belief that God’s promise would be fulfilled. He was “fully convinced” that God was able and would do what He had promised.  Abraham believed God could not lie and God could not and would not renege on a promise. The same, one and only God has promised us many things.  We may not know how God will fulfill his promises but let’s not let unbelief cause our faith to waver.  Instead let’s be like Abraham and give glory to God with strong faith.

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April 13 – Formed For Praise

“The people whom I formed for Myself  Will declare My praise.” Isaiah 43:21 (NASB)

We don't need to wonder why our God has taken a special interest in us as His people. He has revealed the answer to that question in several statements in the Bible. Today's verse is one of those statements. During the Old Testament days God had a special people, the descendants of Abraham. He gave them special attention because He wanted them to bring glory to Himself.  We believe that He still has special plans for them and His motive is still the same. When Jesus came as our Savior, He came to open the way for other to become a special people by trusting in His name. God is forming a people for Himself today and we can thank Him for including us. Let's be sure that we give Him the praise that He so deserves and so delights in. That is the promise of this verse – that we will declare His praise to Him because we are belong to the people He has formed.

March 2 – Call Him Almighty

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.” Genesis 17:1  (NIV)

We are still thinking this week about how God has revealed Himself to His people by telling them of the various names by which they can know Him.  Many years before the events of this verse God had called Abram and promised that He would make of him a great nation. On one occasion God had told him that his descendants' numbers would be like the stars of the sky which cannot be counted. But the time had elapsed and there were no children born to Abram and his wife Sarai. Abram was now old and his wife was as well. God’s promise now seemed impossible. Then God revealed Himself with this name, the God Almighty to show that He was the God who can do the impossible. The next year Isaac was born – the impossible happened. This is a name that we should never forget. Our God is Almighty. All powerful. Omnipotent. Nothing is too hard for Him to handle. Remember this promise when the impossible faces you in your life and turn to God Almighty for help – He is there for you. Remember, He is the great I AM.

August 25 – Out of Those Before Us

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;” Isaiah 51:1 (NIV)

There is a word in today's verse which we don't use very much anymore.  When a sculptor wants to make a sculpture, they start with a block of marble or other stone that has been *hewn* out of the side of a cliff - it has to be cut out of the earth where the desired kind of stone is found.  These words from God were delivered to the people of Israel by the prophet Isaiah.  They are being reminded to look to whom they came from, out of whom they were cut and set aside for righteousness – their ancestor, Abraham.  They could look back to the faithfulness of their ancestors and to the faithfulness of Abraham's God. We also look back to the way God has worked in our lives. In each of our lives, God has been and is involved. If we are His children through faith today we can praise Him for His involvement. It can do us good to think back on how God has brought us along just as if He hewed us out of a rock an is making something worth while out of that for us. 

July 24 – Persuaded Beyond Doubt

“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Romans 4:20-21 (NIV)

The Bible gives us the stories of people of long ago who believed that God was a promise giver and a promise keeper. Once such example was Abraham who had faith in God's promise. Abraham received promises from God and he had no doubt about God's ability to do what He said He would do even when Abraham did not know how God would do it.  We must have the same attitude. God did keep his promise to Abraham and He'll keep His promises to us also. Our verses say that Abraham was fully persuaded about God's ability to keep promises. Let's have the same faith and attitude and not waver at all  in our thinking about God's faithfulness. He can be trusted, for He who promised is faithful. 

April 14

“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” Malachi 3:6 (NIV)

You may say that this promise is given to the Jews, the descendants of Jacob, and you are right. But don’t think there is nothing in it for those of other races – for ourselves. What God is saying is that the promises He made to Abraham and to Jacob were still valid. He had chosen the people of Israel and He would always care for them. He would not forget them. He would not change. We who believe in Jesus as our Savior are God’s people. He has promised to watch over us. We can depend on Him to be faithful to His promises because He does not change. 

March 10

“Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together.”  Genesis 22:8 (NIV)
“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”  Romans 8:32 (NIV)

The first verse tells what Abraham told his son when in obedience he was ready to offer him. When God stopped him he saw a ram nearby. What did Abraham call that place? “THE LORD WILL PROVIDE.”  God provided an offering in response to his faith. God has done the same for us as we read in the second verse. Never question it. God gave His Son for us as an offering. He will also provide all your needs today and every day. 

March 3

“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” Genesis 15:1

God said that He would be Abram’s reward. Abram, or Abraham as he was later called, was thinking, as we are apt to think, that God will give us something as our reward. It is true that God does reward us by helping us in various ways here on earth. And we know He will reward those who trust Him with special blessings in heaven. But our greatest reward here on earth is to have a wonderful God in heaven. And when we get to heaven, the greatest reward of all will be God Himself. Let’s trust Him today. HE is your reward today and always.

January 15

“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God. Romans 4:20

We are accustomed to thinking of Abraham as a man of faith and we can learn much from the example he has shown us The apostle Paul points to this in Romans. This leads me to ask, what would be a sign of a strong faith? How can we demonstrate faith? Abraham showed his faith by giving glory to God. He received God’s promises and believed that God was able and faithful to keep His word. When we have a need, then think of God’s promise to care for us, what is our reaction? Do we trust him? If so we are giving Him glory, and that’s what faith is.