iii ii My Identity in Christ 365 Daily Devotionals “. . . and in Him you have been made complete . . .” Colossians 2:10 v iv Youth Ministries Department General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist® Church Copyright © 2011 by General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist® Church All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Credits Department Director: Gilbert Cangy Project Supervisor: Jonatan Tejel Author: Debbonaire Kovacs Copyeditor: Erica Richards Cover and interior design: Jonatan Tejel Reviewed by the Biblical Research Institute Printed by Cadmus Communications, Conklin, New York My Identity in Christ 365 Daily Devotionals Written by Debbonaire Kovacs General Conference Youth Ministries Department 2011 vii vi Reflections on Identity An Introduction by Gilbert Cangy Meals are ready, shoes are polished, clothes are pressed, the front and backyard are clean, the floor shines, the best meals of the week are prepared, showers have been taken; as the sun is setting, we gather around our mother for worship. It is Sabbath. Sometimes, I would get home late, distracted by an after-school football game; I would then have to face my mother, and the bamboo rod never failed to leave its marks. It was a challenge to sing praises after the ordeal. These are enduring memories of my home. In many ways, the home I grew up in defined my identity as a Seventh-day Adventist. It was forged in an environment where I saw my mother practice giving God the first place in our family life, in times of joy and adversity. I do not think I missed a single Sabbath service or a Wednesday prayer meeting in my childhood and adolescent years, not even during exams. I sensed I belonged to a worldwide community that was making a difference for Jesus in the world. Mission stories told us so and in our family worship we prayed for the Mission, the Union, the Division and the General Conference leaders. I had little knowledge of what all that meant, but I knew we were part of a worldwide movement of God with a keen sense of its special calling to preach the everlasting gospel in the context of the three angel’s messages of Revelation 14. Jesus was at the centre of this movement of destiny, which had young people at the core of its leadership at the very beginning. A small group of faithful people emerging from a bitter disappointment had grown to establish a worldwide presence, and God had raised a young prophet to assist our church in defining its character, purpose, and mission. It would be fair to say that there are times when my church, in its passion to impress the world of the soon coming of Jesus, focuses so much on the circumstances of His coming—the pre-advent judgment, the mark of the beast, the fall of Babylon—that sometimes it overlooks the heart of the everlasting gospel. The story of Jesus is central to our faith and lives as Seventh-day Adventist Christians. We share the Sabbath, the prophecies, the sanctuary, and the state of the dead with a hopeless world because these teachings bring Jesus into clearer focus. This is the time for ‘Revival and Reformation’; a revival that begins with the reaffirmation of the good news of Jesus at the heart of our message and a revival of our calling to proclaim the everlasting gospel in the setting of the three angel’s messages. This daily devotional is designed to assist us in rediscovering the faith, mission, and way of life that makes us who we are. We will revisit biblical stories, learn more about our church’s history, and study our 28 fundamental beliefs. As Adventists, we are humbled by the privilege and responsibility to have been entrusted with this special calling to share our hope in, and prepare for the soon coming of Jesus. We identify with Paul when he assured his readers that he had resolved to know nothing while he was with them “except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). This remains the centre of our faith, our church, and our lives. This is our true identity. day 1 1 viii WHO AM I . . . REALLY? God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” Genesis 1:26, first part, The Message “Who are you?” It’s one of the most common questions in life. “I’m Anna Perez.” Is that an answer? Well, yes and no. Often people who ask this question only want to know what our name is. But as we move through the years that end childhood and begin adulthood, the question grows more urgent. Who am I? I am a son . . . a daughter . . . a friend . . . a student . . . an artist . . . a maker . . . a scientist . . . a technologist . . . a Christian . . . a Seventh-day Adventist. This year, we are going on a journey through time and space. In the first quarter, we will peek in on patriarchs and wise women, on kings and priests and servant girls, as we seek to understand Our Source by looking more deeply into the biblical stories of the early people on this earth, those who first learned who God is and how to relate to Him. During the second quarter we will visit people from the centuries as they pass, and learn about the heritage and roots of our faith and of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. Then we will seek the source and the heart of our most cherished values by studying the 28 Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination throughout the third and fourth quarters. Along the way, we will attempt to discover some answers to that perennial question, who am I really? Or at least we’ll learn some questions to ask ourselves and God as we seek to uncover those answers. Sometimes the best answers come through the questions themselves. As we journey through the centuries, we will journey to the heart of God . . . and to our own truest, deepest selves. Who am I? I am a beloved child of God. I didn’t just happen. God made me because He wanted me. Creator of the cosmos, show me how to know You, not just to know about You, but to really know You at the heart level. Show me how to know that You know me—the real me, the me that is so hidden that often I don’t see it myself. As we walk together through the hills and valleys of this year, show me more and more how to truly be the me You are creating me to be. day 3 day 2 2 3 VICE PRESIDENT OF A PLANET God created human beings; he created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.” Genesis 1:27, 28 The Message Adam might be a real shock to look at today. We have no idea what a perfect human would look like, even when we try to imagine it. God created Adam powerful physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. He and Eve walked and talked with God and were designed to be co-managers of the whole planet. God was the Maker, and of course, Sovereign. He decided how things were to be done and made all the rules. There were only two: Love God. Love everybody else. Do it with all you’ve got. Everything they did, from keeping the garden to celebrating the Sabbath, was based on that one Great Law of Love. Angels were messengers, teaching the new humans about the world and their work, telling them stories of heaven and Creation. Perhaps they taught them about managing the animal and plant kingdoms. Adam and Eve were next in what you might think of as a hierarchy of love. There was no king/subject or boss/employee relationship such as we think of now. Even the animals looked up to and trusted their caretakers. There was no back-biting, no arguing, no laziness or blame or passing the buck. Adam and Eve worked together in all things, learning more every day about their individual talents and abilities. Maybe Eve was better at propagating plants, or Adam was better at training vines. What does one do in a garden without weeds, thorns, or pests? We don’t even know! Here is what we do know: Adam looked at his realm with a reflection of the same love with which God looked at him. He loved Eve, he loved the animals, and he even loved the plants. He had named these things. He loved learning what each animal and plant needed for happiness, wholeness, and health (not that the concept of disease or death had yet entered his head!) Every day, in everything he did, Adam gave his life to the care of those God had entrusted to him. He never thought it would end. Creator of relationships, Caregiver of my soul, it amazes me to think that after everything that’s happened, after everything I’ve done, You still give me my little share of the work of caring for Your world! It’s a lot harder now than it was ever meant to be. Let me see clearly my job today, and to do it with Your love, as Your helping child. A HANDMADE WOMAN God created human beings; he created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. Genesis 1:27, The Message There were only two handmade people in history. Genesis says that God “formed” Adam from earth and Eve from his rib. He spoke everything else into existence, but people He chose to build, to model, like a sculptor making a statue. Except that no sculptor ever was able to breathe life into his or her creations! Imagine God bending over the clay, carefully shaping Adam’s nose, creating each finger and toe, deciding how tall he would be and what kind of hair to give him. Imagine Him later putting Adam into a deep sleep, taking a rib from near his heart, and fashioning it into the perfect partner Adam had been longing for, the most beautiful handmade woman the world has ever known. Then imagine being Eve and opening your eyes for the first time. Hovering over you is the shining face of your Maker, beaming on you with love and joy. You sit up and take a breath. How beautiful everything is! Then the Maker says, “Here, let Me help you up. There is someone waiting to meet you.” You take God’s hand and stand, not even knowing what a miracle you are, how amazing it is that your heart is powerfully pumping away and your lungs are extracting oxygen from the rich air and spreading it throughout your strong, perfect body. “Adam,” says God, “here she is—the one made just for you, the partner who fits with you like two leaves on the same branch.” You look. Adam looks. Love at first sight, for the first and last time in the history of the planet. His smile, as bright as the sunshine, reminds you of God’s—his Father and yours. The man says, “Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man” (Gen. 2:23, The Message). “I’ll call her Eve,” Adam adds. “She will be the mother of all the living yet to come.” You take his hand and the two of you walk with your Maker to explore the fabulous garden home He has created just for you. Your life has just begun. It doesn’t even occur to you to doubt that it will last forever. Creator of the human heart, You meant us to be so strong, good, and wise. You meant us to be like You. I am weak, faulty, and sometimes foolish. Your dreams for me are too bright for me to see. But I want to . . . I want to! Help me to open my eyes, to see You walking with me, to dream your dreams after You and know that there, I will find my true self. And it will last forever, because I am Your growing child. day 5 day 4 4 5 ADAM’S MOMENT OF TRUTH “And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.” 1 Timothy 2:14, NIV There she was: his beloved, literally bone of his bone. Juice ran down her chin, and she waved a bitten piece of fruit. “Look, Adam!” Eve exclaimed. “This talking serpent explained it all to me. We won’t really die. We’ll be godlike! Here—have some!” And she held out the fruit, while Adam stared at her in horror. The Bible teaches that the serpent (really the devil) deceived Eve—he tricked her. But Paul says Adam “was not the one deceived.” That certainly explains why the whole Bible speaks of “the sin of Adam” that got us into all this mess! Eve’s sin was sin. She chose her own way over God’s. There was no excuse for her to be deceived by the serpent when she had already been warned about the war in heaven. However, there is a difference between that sort of disobedience and the deliberate choice to disobey even though you know perfectly well it is wrong. “Adam,” says the Bible, “was not . . . deceived.” That’s shocking! Why, then, did he do it? Have you ever been about to do something wrong, hesitated, recognized the call of your conscience and of the Holy Spirit, and then done it anyway? I have. Why do we do it? Sometimes it’s sheer selfishness: I want what I want when I want it! Sometimes it’s pride: God will understand this once, which really means, I know better than God. Often it’s fear, and it seems that might have been what motivated Adam. He’d never felt fear before. But his beloved wife had just done what they had been forbidden to do. What would happen to her now? What would God do to her? If Adam really loved her, clearly the right thing to do would be to share her fate. What’s missing from this line of thinking? Trust! We know that Jesus would die for just one sinner. Adam didn’t know that, yet. But he did know God. He walked with Him and talked with Him face to face and heart to heart. Adam knew God loved Eve more than he did. Couldn’t he have trusted that God would come up with a plan? How could he have decided fear was the way to go? But he did. He grabbed the fruit and ate some. Then he waited to die. Creator, Protector, and Defender, I am Your open-eyed child. Please create in me a solid trust that will do Your will even when the reason is not clear. Please protect me from the devil’s sneak attacks, tricks, and rebellious attitude. Most of all, please defend me against my own selfishness and pride. I admit, I do like having my own way. But I want to love You more! A CROSSROADS When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate. Genesis 1:27, The Message How long was it? How long did the world’s only perfect marriage last? How long did Adam and Eve live through bright days working in a thornless garden and warm nights sleeping in perfect safety? How long did they walk and talk with God? The way the story is told, it seems like the next day that things changed. Adam is created Friday morning, Eve is created that afternoon, and by Sabbath evening they’re out of there! But some time must have passed. God must have told them the exciting story of their creation and the horrible story of the war in heaven. He surely warned them of the fallen angels who would be after their souls. “Stay away from that tree!” He must have urged them earnestly. “You’ll be safe if you just stay away!” But there she is, standing under the branches, looking at the bright fruit, listening to the brighter serpent. There she is, making a decision that will affect the rest of the world—even the rest of the universe for all time to come, if only she knew it! There she is, reaching out, touching the fruit, smelling it, bringing it to her lips . . . Don’t touch it, Eve! Don’t do it! I’ve been there. Have you? Standing at the crossroads. Making the decision. Hearing the tempter, hearing my conscience, making excuses and justifications. Making the mistake. I’ve been there. Have you? Oh, no! She ate it! So did he! What now? I did it again, Lord! The same mistake! I sometimes think I’ll never learn to do better—to listen to You, not the tempter, not my own twisted logic. I’ve made this same mistake so many times before! What can I do now? What will You do now? Have You run out of patience? . . . Do You still love me? . . . Creator of Redemption, Designer of Salvation, one of the things I know I am is a sinner. I’m really good at it, and I hate it! Help me! Show me the way back to Your side. Forgive me. Reform me. Walk with me again in the cool of the evening. I still want to be Your forgiven child. day 7 day 6 6 7 SIMPLE GIFTS God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. 2 Corinthians 9:7, The Message Abel carried the perfect lamb he had chosen toward the altar near the gate of Eden. Even in the bright light of the setting sun, he could see the flashing of the sword of the angel who guarded the gate. It was nearly time for another Sabbath sacrifice. The lamb in his arms bleated, and he looked down at it and spoke a gentle word. It always made him sad to think of the sacrifice. He was pretty sure it was supposed to make a person sad to think of it. Abel knew his mother and father were terribly sad when they remembered the choices they had made. Adam had explained how God told him that the innocent lamb, who hadn’t done anything wrong, represented the Redeemer God would send, who also would not do anything wrong, but would die for sinful humans anyway. Abel couldn’t say he really understood it all completely. But he accepted it. It was God, and Abel trusted God. After all, hadn’t God forgiven his parents for the wrong they had done? Hadn’t He promised a Redeemer even though they didn’t feel they deserved it? If Abel could keep the memory of the promise alive by offering the best of his flock, then he was willing to do that. Abel looked toward his brother, Cain, also heading toward the altar. He didn’t worry and brood over things as Cain did. Cain was always complaining, always questioning and arguing. Look at him tonight—a basket of fruit and vegetables? Why would he bring that? Abel brought his attention back to his own sacrifice. He lifted his eyes to heaven and prayed silently, “I am Your simple child, God. What You want me to do, that’s what I want to do. My sacrifices are small, and not worthy of Your regard, but they are my best, and I offer them with love. Please accept them, and please accept me.” Today, God does not ask us to give Him burnt offerings. He has provided the Lamb for every human being who ever lived. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are sufficient for every sin ever committed. What God asks today is that we accept that gift on our behalf. It’s as simple—simpler!—than the sacrifices Adam, Eve, and Abel brought. Then He asks us to give ourselves—our gifts, our talents, our interests, our hard work. It’s hard, but it’s not complicated. It’s very simple. Creator of every good and perfect gift, I am Your simple child. What You want me to do, that’s what I want to do. My sacrifices are small, and not worthy of Your regard, but they are my best, and I offer them with love. Please accept them, and please accept me. CLOSED AND OPENED GATES “I’m declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He’ll wound your head, you’ll wound his heel.” Genesis 3:15, The Message Eve huddled under Adam’s sheltering arm, hiding her face in his shoulder, sobbing. If only she had never listened to that horrible serpent! But it was too late now for “if only’s.” She had. And she had given Adam some of the fruit, too, and now here they were. The serpent would be sorry—God had just cursed it to crawl on its belly. No more would it be the wisest and most beautiful of the garden creatures. Eve held her breath to listen more clearly. What was God saying? “War between you and the woman . . .” well, that was for sure! She would never even look at another serpent! But . . . it must be more than that. “. . . between your offspring and hers. He’ll wound your head, you’ll wound his heel.” Eve lifted her head. What did that mean? We won’t know for sure until we can ask them in heaven just how much Adam and Eve understood at that point. It’s certain that they would soon learn, in the newly sinful earth, that head wounds were fatal, and heel wounds usually weren’t. Ellen White says God explained more to them, even telling them some of the history of the world yet to come (PP 67). Here is what we know: That day, a shining gate was closed, but not forever. That day a gate was opened, also not forever. The second gate was not so beautiful—it would involve the torture and death of the Son of God—but it would lead to salvation, and those who enter it would regain that lost garden. As we consider the question, Who Am I?, we have learned that we are all children of God by way of creation—made in His image, intended to care for the world and all in it, intended to have a close friendship with God. That plan seemed to be derailed and in ruins that dark day in Eden. But God reclaimed it. He warned that care of creation (and of each other) would be harder now, but it would still be possible. And He promised that, for those who chose it, the friendship was still possible, too! God Himself would come to us, in dreams and visions, in prophecies and oracles, in sanctuary services and miracles, and in a tiny baby who was really God! If we choose, we can be children of God in a deeper way—children by choice—children of the heart and spirit. The gate is still open . . . Creator of the open gate, take my hand. I want to walk through that gate with You. I want to walk in newness of life. I want to be Your close-following child by choice. Thank You, Lord. day 9 day 8 8 9 HOLDING HANDS WITH GOD By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him be- cause God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” Hebrews 11:5, The Message You’ve probably heard the story all your life. “Enoch walked with God” (Gen. 5:22). The Message has it, “walked steadily with God.” Then “he was not.” He disappeared. One way it’s told is that Enoch walked with God so long that one day God said, “Enoch, we’re closer to My house than yours; why don’t you come on home with Me?” Did you ever wonder how they knew God had taken him? Couldn’t he have just died somewhere, out where no one saw him? Couldn’t wild animals have gotten him, or bandits? How did they know that when they couldn’t find Enoch, it meant God had taken him to heaven without death? No doubt part of that answer is to be found in revelation; in other words, God told someone, whether by vision, or in a dream. Or maybe someone even saw him disappear, as Elisha saw Elijah go into heaven. But the most important reason people knew where Enoch had gone is because of who Enoch was. He walked with God. Everywhere he went, people could tell Enoch was holding God’s hand. How did they know that? What did Enoch do that made it clear he was always aware of God by his side? Some things are obvious, even without knowing Enoch. He must have been kind and loving and helpful. He must have been self-sacrificing, looking out for the needs of others. He must have been clearly different from the rapidly worsening people in the pre-Flood era. But there’s one more thing we know about Enoch, and it’s found in that tiny little book called Jude. Jude 13-15 says that Enoch prophesied about the Second Coming! Thousands of years before Jesus was even born the first time, Enoch saw a vision about Him coming in judgment. There’s only one way he could have seen that: He and God were close friends. Great Leader, I know that Your deepest desire is that each of us follow You as closely as Enoch did. I desire that, too. I long to be constantly and contentedly aware of Your gentle, guiding presence. I want to cling to Your hand like a little child, walking by Your side through this world. Then, someday soon, I want to go home with You! The sooner, the better! GOD TALKS TO SINNERS GOD spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.” Genesis 4:6, 7, The Message Cain knew all the rules for sacrifice. His whole life, he had watched his dad, Adam, sacrificing burnt offerings on the altar. Now Cain and his brother Abel were grown up and making their own sacrifices. Abel had made a sacrifice of a lamb, but that was easy for him, Cain thought. Abel was a shepherd and had plenty of flocks to spare. Cain was a gardener, and he thought his offering of fruits and vegetables should be just as good. Didn’t God like it that he knew how to grow good food? Well, of course, God did. An offering of Cain’s best could have been accepted with delight if it had been given as a freewill offering along with the required lamb. But not instead. Cain did not get to make his own rules. So now he was sulking. He was probably muttering to himself about how God loved Abel better, and Abel was a goody-goody. Imagine his shock when God spoke to him! “If you do what you know is right, you’ll be accepted,” He promised. Then He added a warning. “Sin is lying in wait for you.” Other Bibles say, “Crouching at your door.” In other words, watch out—the devil is out to get you. Cain might have thought God would only speak to people who were doing everything right. Lots of people think that today. Or they think God doesn’t speak at all, to anyone, anymore. The story of Cain teaches us otherwise. God reached out to Cain when he was in a state of rebellion, without waiting for Cain to repent and reach out to Him. God had done the same for Adam and Eve, and He’s doing the same for other sinners today. Put yourself in Cain’s place. Think about something you have done wrong or are angry about. Do you feel God is being unfair? Read the words God spoke to Cain and imagine Him saying them to you. What would you say back? What do you think God would say then? Great Mender of broken relationships, please forgive me. Remind me that even when I am in rebellion, I am still Your chosen child, and I can still turn around and choose You again. Don’t give up on me—keep speaking! I’m listening . . . day 11 day 10 10 11 WHAT JOB KNEW “I know that God lives—the One who gives me back my life— and eventually he’ll take his stand on earth. And I’ll see him . . . see God myself, with my very own eyes. Oh, how I long for that day!” Job 19:26, 27, The Message Poor Job! He reminds me of some people I know, people who are living through trauma after tragedy after crisis, and it never seems to stop. You have to wonder, “Why, God? What did he/she ever do to deserve this?” Is it okay to tell God the truth about how you feel? Job did. He got depressed: “Obliterate the day I was born. Blank out the night I was conceived! Let it be a black hole in space. May God above forget it ever happened . . . Why didn’t I die at birth, my first breath out of the womb my last?” (Job 3:3, 11). He was fearful. “If I say, ‘I’m going to bed, then I’ll feel better. A little nap will lift my spirits,’ You come and so scare me with nightmares and frighten me with ghosts that I’d rather strangle in the bedclothes than face this kind of life any longer” (7:13-15). Most of all, Job was angry. He was very angry, and he let God know it. “So what’s this all about, anyway—this compulsion to dig up some dirt, to find some skeleton in my closet? You know good and well I’m not guilty. You also know no one can help me” (10:6, 7). This could be seen as lack of trust, or even lack of respect. But if you read all of Job, you will find songs of praise scattered through it. Job speaks of God’s power and grace, and assures his friends that even if God kills him, he will still choose to trust (13:15). Because there’s one thing Job knows for sure. It’s found in our focus text for today: I know my Redeemer lives, and that He will take His stand on the earth, and I will see Him. Oh, how I long for that day, too! How about you? Faithful Redeemer, I don’t always understand why You so often lead through such deep, dark valleys of pain, such scary, nightmarish forests of trouble, such searing deserts of loss and grief and anger. But this one thing I know: You are with me. I am with You. I will see You and You will make it all plain. In the meantime, I am still Your child, though perhaps a questioning and troubled child, and I hold Your hand, even in the dark. GOD LIKED WHAT HE SAW Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah . . . Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Genesis 6:8, 9, The Message Now, isn’t that interesting—Noah, who was Enoch’s great-grandson, walked with God, too! In those days, people lived so long that it was amazing that Enoch was gone before Noah was born. Adam himself, father of the whole race, died only 126 years before Noah’s birth, and he had still been alive when Enoch turned 300! This was a bitter time for God. He had been so joyful when He created the world, with people to love. Now there was almost no one at all, on the whole planet, who loved God back. The Message says God’s heart was broken, and I think that’s true. Don’t you? Now the whole world was going to be destroyed, but God still wanted to save as many as He could. Perhaps the fear of knowing the Flood was coming would turn some of them back to Him. God asked Noah to build the ark, and to preach as earnestly as he could, begging and pleading with people to get on and be saved. For 120 years! It’s interesting to think about: God didn’t ask for a change of heart or mind. He just asked them to walk up the ramp and get on. How hard was that? It was kind of like, “Don’t eat from that one tree!” Noah, by his actions, said to those around him, “No matter how silly it may appear to you, I am God’s child first. Your friendship and your opinion of me come after that in importance.” I wonder how hard it was for Noah to keep on building, to keep on preaching, year after year, decade after decade, when everyone except his own family thought he was nuts. I wonder how hard it’s going to be this week for me, or for you, to keep on loving God, to keep on being kind, to go on loving everyone around us, and acting on it . . . no matter what they say or think . . . Loving Father, help me be determined to be Your steadfast child first. Let nothing else in life, no matter how important or how difficult or how tempting, come before that. Let my words and actions show all those around me that I belong to You. day 13 day 12 12 13 “BLESSED THROUGH YOU” GOD told Abram: “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you . . . All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:1, 3 (last part), The Message You are probably familiar with the story of Abram: how God told him to leave the metropolis of Ur, city of learning, libraries, high culture, and idolatry, and go to “a land that I will show you.” The land God showed him turned out to be the wilderness, where they wandered around from one place to another, living in tents. It seems that one of the things God wanted for Abram and his family was the simplicity of living close to the land, so all their dependence would be on Him and they would know it. You’re probably familiar with the story, but like all Bible stories, there’s always more to learn. Have you ever read it over in one sitting? It’s quite interesting. Notice this: Genesis 12:7: “Abram built an altar.” Vs. 8: “He built an altar there and prayed to God.” Vs. 10-20: A very foolish mistake of telling Pharaoh that Sarai was his sister. 13:4: [Back at] “his first altar. Abram prayed there to God.” (Smart—when you make a mistake, it’s a good idea to go back to your first altar!) Vs. 18: “There he built an altar to God.” And so it continues. Do you notice a pattern here? Everywhere he went, Abram built altars! Although he made mistakes, some of them huge ones, what people remembered most about him was that he was a praying man. Even when he gathered his household army and rescued Lot and many others from the kings in chapter 14, Abram gave God the honor of the victory by tithing the goods he brought back. And since he refused to take any extra loot (see vs. 22-24), these goods he tithed were already his! I wonder if, when people think of you and me, what they remember is that we are praying people. I wonder if, when they see us make mistakes, they learn by watching that we can find forgiveness with God . . . Lord, let my life build “altars” of prayer and praise to You in the sight of those who know me. Let them learn by watching me that a child of God will always be a praying person. Let them learn that they can seek forgiveness with You, and that they, too, can be praying children of God if they choose. WHY BOTHER? Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” Job 2:9, NASB She had lost her wealth. That was bad. Her husband had lost his health. That was worse. But they had lost their children. All of them! That was so terrible that nothing else really mattered much. Only those who have lost children themselves understand this incurable pain. Mrs. Job has gotten a bad rap over the centuries. Yes, she was angry and in pain. So was Job. Yes, she spoke hastily. Surely the one thing we know she said wasn’t any worse than “Why was I ever born?” and “You know good and well I’m not guilty!” which are just two of the things her husband said in his long argument with God. They both thought God wasn’t listening anymore, and both were tempted to think, “Why bother?” But Mrs. Job said it. Fortunately, God is her judge. We aren’t. Perhaps she was truly turning her back on God, refusing to find comfort or to express trust in Him as Job repeatedly did, despite his anger, fear, and discouragement. But isn’t it also possible that she just needed some comfort, too? After all, which is harder: to suffer yourself or to watch someone you love suffering? As far as we know, nothing happened to her personally. Can you imagine how that must have felt? She must have thought, having lost everything else, that she was about to lose her husband too, so why not hasten the process? She surely felt completely helpless, even to relieve the pain and itching of his sores. If Job has helped millions over the centuries to realize that it’s okay to tell God our true feelings (it’s not like He doesn’t already know them anyway!), then perhaps Mrs. Job can be an example, too. Maybe Job’s answer, “Don’t be silly. We take the good days from God, we can take the bad ones, too,” helped her to regain some perspective. Maybe when someone we know is allowing the anger and confusion to overcome the trust, we can lovingly remind each other of God’s care, too. When Mrs. Job had more children, they never took the place of the ones she lost, and God knew that. But they did comfort her heart and give her the chance to see God in a new light. Great Comforter, it’s true. Sometimes I do get angry and wonder why You don’t prevent some of the things that happen. Sometimes I’m tempted to think You don’t care, so why bother? Forgive me, and help me to maintain the balance of admitting my true feelings before you as Your honest child, and also to trust You no matter what. day 15 day 14 14 15 THE GOD WHO SEES She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13, NIV Hagar had it rough. First, she was an Egyptian slave, possibly acquired by Abraham and Sarah when they went to Egypt early in their travels because of a famine. Second, her mistress got the brilliant idea of giving her to Abraham so that she would get pregnant, and then the baby would be claimed by Sarah as her own child. This was a common custom in those times, and Hagar was no doubt familiar with it, but that didn’t make it any easier for her. She had no say over what happened to her own body, let alone her own child. Yet Hagar is recorded in the Bible as having God speak personally to her, not once, but twice. This is an incredible honor, especially in the eyes of those who thought she was “only a slave,” not valuable, maybe not even entirely a person. The first time, she was still pregnant. She couldn’t stand her life anymore and ran away. But God had plans for Hagar and her child, and He knew she wouldn’t survive without the protection of Abraham’s family, even if it wasn’t exactly ideal. He spoke to her in words astonishingly similar to the ones Gabriel spoke to Mary. (Compare for yourself: Gen. 16:11 to Luke 1:30-32). Hagar gave God a new name! She called Him “the God who sees.” The second time was when Ishmael was a young boy and Isaac was born. This time, God let Abraham send her away with provisions. He must have known Ishmael was big enough to help take care of her now. But again, when they almost died of thirst in the desert, God not only spoke to Hagar and made her promises a lot like those He made Abraham, but He miraculously provided water for her, just as He would do later for the Israelites. So Hagar, “only” a slave woman, received personal attention and care from the God who really saw her for who she was. He promised her a great nation of descendants, and today, believe it or not, there are almost 100 times as many of Ishmael’s descendants (ethnic Arabs) as there are of Isaac’s (ethnic Jews)! All-seeing Father, even as Your beloved child, sometimes I feel invisible and unimportant. Help me to remember that just as You cared for Hagar when she was at the end of her rope and expected to die, so You care for me and will give me what I need, including living water from the spring of eternal life. GOD HAS THE LAST LAUGH One of them said, “I’m coming back about this time next year. When I arrive, your wife Sarah will have a son.” . . . Sarah laughed within herself, “An old woman like me? Get pregnant? With this old man of a husband?” Genesis 18:10, 12, The Message Sarah peeked out of the tent flap to see who her husband was talking to. Three strangers! They would need food and rest. Sure enough, here came Abraham. “Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread” (Vs. 6). Sarah may have already had some flour ground, but if she didn’t, she had plenty of time to grind it, because it took quite a while for the servant to butcher, clean, and roast a calf. She built a fire out of the way of the back tent flap and heated the baking stone. Then she mixed her flour with a little salt and oil and enough water to make a thick paste. She pressed the paste between her hands and baked it on the stone, making several flat loaves of bread. While she did all this, she listened to the men talking outside the tent. She heard one say that next year she would have a child. If she could hear them, they could probably hear her, so she must have tried to smother the laughter that bubbled up at this outlandish statement. Sarah was 89 years old! She had long since given up hope of a child of her own. Imagine her embarrassment when the Man (the Bible says it was the Lord) asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh?” “I didn’t laugh!” Sarah protested hurriedly. But less than a year later, God had the last laugh. Sarah, at the age of 90, had a baby! And she said good-naturedly, “God has blessed me with laughter and all who get the news will laugh with me!” (Gen. 21:6). She named her baby Isaac, which means laughter. Sometimes God makes promises that seem farfetched. Or sometimes He makes a promise and then you wait and wait and wait and nothing happens, so you decide it was your imagination after all. Abraham and Sarah waited twenty-five years before the promise God made them came true. And even then, all they got was one child in Sarah’s lifetime. Not much of a great nation. When God comes through after all, do we laugh good-naturedly and invite others to laugh with us? Creator of joy, as I try to follow you and sometimes embarrass myself, let me keep my sense of humor. Teach me through experience that if I am Your (sometimes silly) child, then I will see a lot of unexpected things, and sometimes You and I will laugh together over them. day 17 day 16 16 17 CALLED TO PEACE The LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants,for the sake of My servant Abraham.” Genesis 26:24, NASB It all started with the wells. Isaac’s father, Abraham, had dug them long before Isaac was born. When Isaac accumulated large flocks and herds and became wealthy, the Philistines envied him, so they filled in all the wells with dirt. (Which is pretty silly, because now where were they going to get water?) Isaac moved away and found some more wells his father had dug, reopened them, and settled down. Then his servants discovered another spring and dug that out, too. The shepherds of Gerar argued, “That’s our water!” Isaac moved again. He dug another new well, and the same thing happened again. By now, Isaac must have been pretty frustrated. Water is essential for life everywhere, but in a dry land like Canaan, it was a life and death matter. Wars were fought over wells. But Isaac didn’t want to be like that. So he moved yet again. This time, the Bible says, no one tried to take his well away. So he named it Rehoboth (Wide-Open Spaces), saying, “Now GOD has given us plenty of space to spread out in the land” (Gen. 26:22). What happened next was very interesting. Verse 23 says “that very night” God appeared to him and blessed him, repeating and renewing the covenant promises he’d made to Abraham. I wonder if the timing of that blessing had any relation to the fact that Isaac not only chose peace, but went out of his way, time after time, to maintain it? Imagine how much work it was to take down his big tents, pack up his family, servants, and possessions, and drive those large flocks and herds to new locations. And then wait to dig a new well before you even can renew your water supply! Refusing conflict, even when it was offered, meant that much to Isaac. Does it mean that much to you and to me? God honors peacemakers. Quiet One, You call us to peace, and You promise blessings to the peacemakers. Help me to be as non-combative as Isaac was, preferring to face unfairness and injustice rather than creating a battle over it. Teach me to turn the other cheek and love my enemies as You did when you were here. Then I will truly be a peacemaking child of God. WHOSE DAUGHTER ARE YOU? “This is totally from GOD. We have no say in the matter, either yes or no.” . . . They called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man?” She said, “I’m ready to go.” Genesis 24:50, 58, The Message Rebekah didn’t know it wasn’t just another day when she put her empty (but still heavy!) stoneware water jar on her shoulder and headed out to the well outside of town. She always tried to be kind, so when she saw the travel-weary man with ten thirsty camels, she didn’t hesitate to offer to water his camels for him. It took a lot of water, but Rebekah was used to that. Her father and brother had flocks and herds, too. The man asked, “Whose daughter are you?” Rebekah told him, and he asked if there was room for him and his men to stay at her house. “Of course,” she said willingly. “And lots of straw and feed, too.” Imagine how she felt when the man told her family that he was the servant of their relative, Abraham, who had left the area many years before, that his master had sent him to find a godly wife for his son, Isaac, and that he had just prayed, before she showed up at the well, that God would show him the right woman by having her offer to water his camels! Rebekah must have been speechless. Her father and brother recognized the hand of God, too. “We can’t say anything either way—this is a God thing!” They asked Rebekah, and she said, “I’ll go.” Then they blessed her. “Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies” (Gen. 24:59, NIV). The only reason this decision was so apparently easy to make is that this family had already decided to be God-followers. In the heat of the moment, it’s really hard to decide anything, if you haven’t made that one, most important decision. In fact, when Rebekah answered the question, “Whose daughter are you?” she could just as well have said, “I’m God’s daughter.” I wonder if I would have the faith to go off with a strange man to a strange country to marry someone I’d never met because God made it clear it was what He wanted! Mighty One, You call us in such mysterious ways sometimes. We never know what will happen next. Give me the faith and commitment to follow wherever You lead, just because I have already chosen to live as Your trusting child. day 19 day 18 18 19 PRAISE HIM ANYWAY She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children. Genesis 29:35, NIV The Bible doesn’t really tell us about Leah’s heart. How did she feel when she was given to Jacob after he had worked seven long years for her sister, Rachel? Did she have any say in the matter, or did she just have to do what her father made her do? Did she love Jacob? Did she even like him? We can certainly imagine what a woman’s feelings might be to know she was married to someone who didn’t want her. And then (though this is harder for us to imagine unless we live in a country where men have more than one wife), she had to share him with her sister, too. It must have been so painful and difficult. We can figure out some things from what the Bible does say. For instance, when she begins bearing sons, she says that God has “seen her misery,” and each time she has a son (very important in that culture), she hopes that this time, Jacob will love her. But a very important thing occurs in Genesis 29:35. She has named her boys, “See—a boy!,” “God Heard,” and “Attached,” hoping having three boys will make Jacob become attached to her. Then she has her fourth, and the Bible records that she says, “This time, I’ll praise the Lord.” And she names him Judah, which means “Praise God.” Maybe Leah had learned the difficult lesson that the child of God must learn to praise Him no matter what. Praise Him in good times, praise Him in hard times, praise Him most of all in impossible times—it’s the only way you’ll get through them! Perhaps Leah had learned that the way to make the best of a bad situation is to give it to God and just live as His child, patiently taking what comes and waiting for God to make it into His grand plan. I wonder what Leah would think if she could know that her boy, “Praise God,” turned out to be the great-great-gazillion-great-grandpa of the Messiah? I wonder what choice we’re going to make today that will seem like a small choice, but will make a big difference in the plans that God has for us . . . Worthy One, You deserve all of our praise! Help me learn to praise You anyway, praise You all the time, praise You whether I “get it” or not. Remind me that I am Your own, not-ignored child, even when it seems others have more say than I do over where my life is going and what I am doing. You are awesome, You are mighty, You are beyond my understanding. And, best of all, You are my very own, dear Abba. THE GATE OF HEAVEN When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Genesis 28:16, 17, NIV I wonder if Jacob had trouble sleeping that night. He had made some really foolish choices. First, he’d cheated his brother, Esau, out of his birthright, then tricked their father into giving him the birthright blessing, too. He was really younger than Esau, even if it was only by a few minutes. But his mother had told him that God prophesied that he’d be the head of the family, not Esau. Jacob had wanted to make sure that happened. But God didn’t need his help. Especially not by cheating and trickery! Now his brother was angry enough to kill him, and Jacob was on his way to live with far-distant relatives. He didn’t know what would happen to him. And to top it all off, he was trying to sleep with a stone as a pillow! But he did fall asleep, and when he did, he had a dream. A ladder reached all the way to heaven, and Jacob saw angels going up and down the ladder, communicating between heaven and earth. Then God Himself entered Jacob’s dream, and once again He repeated and renewed the promises He’d made to Abraham and Sarah, then to Isaac and Rebekah, and now to Jacob the cheater, as he ran for his life from his family home. How could that be? When Jacob awoke, he felt a sense of awe, almost like fear. “This is the gate of heaven!” he exclaimed. He set up the stone pillow like a little altar and prayed. You can tell by his prayer that he didn’t really know God yet. He bargained: “If You take good care of me and bring me...