Genesis 12:1-8; Hebrews 11:8 "Do You Know Where You Are Going?"

With experience, traveling gets easier; or at least it should.

If we have previously navigated an airport or are familiar with the local language, it is not overwhelming to get where we are going.

But if we don't know the way to our next gate or can't read the signs pointing the way, we can soon feel lost and have no idea where we are and where we need to go next.

Abraham was in a situation like that.

If we try to put ourselves in his sandals, we can see that it was no small thing to

obey God and follow God's leading.

God promised that Abraham would be a great nation and bring great blessings for "all peoples on earth", but this would required a long journey and a new start, living among strangers in a faraway land.

"He did not know where he was going"

When Abraham arrived at his destination, he built an altar and dedicated it to the Lord, who had brought him there. What a wonderful action in the midst of one of the most memorable pilgrimages in Scripture.

Where has God brought you?

Is your first thought to worship Him for His faithfulness?

God continues to promise us spiritual blessings in this life and the next.

So let's not forget to dedicate the steps of our lives to God, even if, like Abraham, it is unclear exactly where God is leading.

[RE-READ THAT LAST SENTENCE]

So let's not forget 

to dedicate the steps of our lives to God, 

even if, 

like Abraham,

 it is unclear 

exactly where 

God is leading.

*Taken from the TODAY devotional Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Numbers 13:1-3, 26-31; 14:1-9 "Out of Egypt"

One of the great pilgrimages of Scripture is the trek of the people of Israel from Egypt, where they had been slaves, to the promised land of Canaan.

It is an account of great adventure but also great tragedy. 

After seeing how God rescued them through amazing miracles, 

how could the people not trust the Lord Almighty 

as they stood at the door 

to the promised land?

Yet, amazingly, that is what happened.

After witnessing the great works of the Lord in their escape from Egypt--the ten plagues, the walk through the Red Sea on dry land, the destruction of Pharaoh's army (Exodus 7-15)--the people of Israel showed a great lack of confidence in God when they reached the land of promise.

Rather than having confidence that the Lord would again do so as He had promised, they rejected the advice of Caleb and Joshua, who trusted the Lord.

So the people paid a heavy price.

Their desert wanderings for the next forty years were a testimony to their lack of faith in God.

In our own lives, God often provides abundantly for us also--and yet, when we are faced with a challenge, we fail to trust that He will bring us through.

The Lord has promised our salvation. Let's hold firm to His promises!

**Taken from the TODAY devotional Monday, February 10, 2014

Genesis 47:7-12 "Jacob in Egypt"

Sometimes the hardships of life accumulate on the soul, with resulting bitterness and resentment. When we cannot forgive and move on, we develop soul-destroying grudges.
As one writer noted,

"Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and then hoping that the other person dies." 

The deep desire to see someone suffer ends up as a curse over our own heads. Jacob had lots of reasons to hold a grudge: his days had been difficult, especially with a recent drought in the land. He might have despaired, letting the bitter bile of resentment gouge his heart. 

But we find his perspective quite different.

He framed the "few and difficult" years of his life in the context of pilgrimage. He knew that life was not just an accumulation of one problem after another but was a journey directed by God Himself.

This pilgrimage perspective was all the more useful for a man who left his homeland to live in a foreign land, where there was no guarantee of peace.

As Jacob found peace in the prism of life as a pilgrimage, so can we. Whether we move about or stay in one place, God is shaping us, sharpening us, calling us to live for Him. 

Life has its challenges and trials, but we find comfort in the love and care of our heavenly Father.

**This is taken from the TODAY devotional Sunday, February 9, 2014

Hebrews 13:21 "Comfort in Times of Fear"

I haven't read the devotional book "Voices From the Past" which is a Puritan devotional reading; in a long time. However, I picked it up today--February 12--and this was the entry. It came at a very fitting time for me in my life. It provided great encouragement and comfort for me! I hope it does the same for you!

Hebrews 13:21 

"Working in us that which is pleasing in His sight"

Satan is a troubler of our souls. 

He will test you as to your fear of the future: 

'What will become of you if God should bring you into such and such affliction or trial, when you must burn at the stake or deny the Lord, or when all your outward estate is torn from you, and there is no money in your purse? Do you dare to think that your faith will hold out in such an hour of temptation?'

He is tossing you a snare. 

He is seeking by the fear of future troubles to get you to neglect your present duty, and then be unprepared for your future trials when they come.

If a man has a great amount of business to do the next day, he needs to put it out of his mind the night before, to get the rest he needs to be prepared for the next day. The less rest the soul has in God now, the less strength it will find to bear trials when the pinch comes.

Comfort your soul with three plain conclusions:

1. Every event is the product of God's providence; not a sparrow, much less a saint falls to the ground by poverty, sickness, or persecution, but the hand of God is in it.

2. God has promised, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:5). God will teach His servants all they need to know. At the first moment of your spiritual life, suffering grace was infused into you as well as praying grace.

3. God in wisdom conceals the comforts He intends to give you at the various stages of your life, so that He may encourage your heart to full dependence upon His faithful promises now.

Thus, try the metal of Abraham's faith, He let him go on, until his hand was stretched forth to slay Isaac, and then He came to his rescue.

Christ sent His disciples to sea, but stayed behind Himself, with the design to test their faith, and show His love.

Comfort yourself with this: 

though you do not see God in the way, yet you will find Him in the end.

Written by William Gurnall

My Theme for 2014

I have chosen to ponder and think about for 2014; Psalm 90:1-4

"Lord, you have been 

our dwelling place in all generations. 

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, 

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You return men to dust and say,

'Return, O children of man!'

For a thousand years in your sight 

are bust as yesterday when it is past, or a watch in the night."