Thursday February 29, 2024

Today is Thursday, February 29 and we are learning what the Bible says about generosity.

As I enter a time of prayer, I pause and become still. I calm my thoughts and silence my mind. I breathe deeply and slowly, and focus myself on God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, I long to experience your abiding presence. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, enable me to hear the message you have for me today. Speak to my heart and mind in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

In the morning I praise God and rejoice with the ancient words of Psalm 145.

Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. Psalm 145:3-4, 7

Pause and Pray

Abraham and Sarah were the great father and mother of the Judeo-Christian faith. There is much I can learn from them. Throughout their existence they grew in faith and learned to trust God over time. They made lots of mistakes along the way, but God continued with them on their journey and they matured and strengthened. Their story began in a town in ancient Mesopotamia called Haran. God spoke to Abraham and told him to leave his country and his extended family. He was to step out in faith and travel a far distance with his wife and nephew to a new place where God would lead them.

The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Genesis 12:1-5

Everyone wonders what the future holds. I often ask questions. What is next for me? For my loved ones? What is God’s direction? No matter how much I think I know about what will happen tomorrow or the next day, month, or year, I cannot be certain. At the beginning of his story, Abraham’s future seemed fairly mundane and predictable. His father Terah died at the ripe old age of 205 (Genesis 11:32) and Abraham inherited great wealth and accumulated many possessions. He was married, but his wife Sarah was said to be barren and childless. Then God spoke. God said “go.” Go where? Like me, Abraham and Sarah had questions about the future. Yet, without hesitation, they packed up the household and set off.

Ask: How well do I trust God with the uncertainty of my future? Am I ready to “go” wherever God guides me next in my life confident that he will go with me?

Pause and Pray

Holy Lord God, you spoke to Abraham long ago and promised to make him into a great nation. You blessed him and Sarah and fulfilled your promises to them that all the people on the earth would be blessed through them. That blessing includes me, your adopted, rescued child who found a home in heaven with you through the sacrifice of your Son Jesus, a descendant of Abraham. Speak to me Lord. I read the words from Genesis again and listen for the message you have for me.

The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Genesis 12:1-5

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

God promised to bless Abraham so that he would bless others. God promised that someday people all over the world, far into the future would be blessed through one of Abraham’s descendants. That promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. For anyone can become a child of Abraham by believing in Jesus as God’s Son and Messiah. I am a child of Abraham. I am also blessed to be a blessing. I am to be a light to the world and spread the good news of salvation in Christ. I am on a journey with God. God may tell me to “go,” even when things seem uncertain. I trust God to get me to the next leg in my journey and then I will await God’s instruction for whatever is next. The road will not always be easy, difficulties and challenges abound. But I know God is always with me. He is my companion on the way to guide me, help me and encourage me, as I learn to trust him more and more.

Pause and Pray

Blessed Lord God, help me learn to trust you as we travel together on this journey of life. You have generously blessed my life and I have found salvation through your Son Jesus. Let me live my life to generously bless others. May I be a light to the world and spread your good news to everyone. May they see your love in my kind words, generous actions and good deeds. Amen.

I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Isaiah 49:6b (NRSV)

I leave this time of prayer knowing I am a child of Abraham, blessed to be a blessing to others in the name of Jesus.

Amen