Genesis 20-25:18
Abraham & Isaac
Week 5 August 12 – 16, 2019
Monday August 12
Abraham Deceives Abimelech – Genesis 20
Abraham had set up a habit of lying whenever he was in a new country because he was afraid of the people there. He allowed fear to rule this area of his life and because of his position as a prophet, it effected others in a very strong way. As Christians, we have a responsibility to do what is right. Because we are aligned with God, our actions have greater power and greater consequences, for good or bad. Even more so for our Christian leaders, our pastors, prophets, evangelists, ministry leaders – their actions effect others greatly. We must be careful not to make our decisions based on fear. Fear of humans and things in this world is not from God, so we cannot allow it to motivate us. We see that Abraham is again influenced by fear and as a result many people are hurt. When we decide to follow God and trust Him for salvation, it is so much more that just believing that we will go to Heaven when we die. Salvation infiltrates every area of our lives and we have to allow salvation to work it’s way in us – holding nothing back and giving power to nothing else. God, the creator of the universe and everything in it, will take care of us, we just have to give him the authority to do so. Is there an area of your life where fear is influencing your decisions? How you act? The way you talk? You can move forward in confidence, free from fear, knowing that you can trust God’s salvation to work in every part of your life!
Activity: Remember a time where you acted or spoke from the motivation of fear. It could be within a relationship or the way you interacted with someone in passing. Maybe it has to do with your health or the health of someone you love. Are you in the habit of thinking with a defeated mindset? Wherever in your life you think that fear may have it’s grip, decide that you will purposefully release fear and introduce salvation. Take a piece of paper, and make two columns. In the first column write “Fear” and in the second column write “Trust”. Fill the fear column with whatever you can think of. Pray and ask God to help you to trust Him and believe that you are saved from your fears, that they no longer have a place in your life. Now scratch a line through each fear one at a time and re-write them in the trust column.
With Children: Ask your child if there is anything that they are afraid of. They may need your help thinking of something, but more than likely there is at least one thing! Tell them that God can help them to not be afraid anymore and that He will always take care of them. Then pray together asking God to help them to overcome their fears, that they would trust God next time a scary situation arises, and that they would live a life filled with faith. For younger children, you can talk with them about things that might be scary to them and pray over them, even if they can’t yet talk back.
Tuesday August 13
The Birth of Isaac – Genesis 21
We see in these verses a beautiful display of the truth that God keeps his promises! Abraham has not had a perfect faith. He has given in to fear, allowed his choices to be swayed by other people, and he has sinned. And similarly so has Sarah, by going along with Abraham’s lies, making plans to force God’s promise to come true, and treating Hagar and Ishmael badly. It takes patience to wait for God’s perfect timing, because we always want every good thing right away. However, we’re not always ready to receive what God has for us. We will often have to wait until we have grown in faith and are mature enough to handle the responsibility of God’s blessing. Growth of faith requires testing. Testing comes in the form of opportunities to trust God, which can feel very hard at times. If life were always easy then we would never have the opportunity to trust Him and our faith would never grow. “No pain, no gain,” as we have heard. Though we don’t have to wallow in our pain, we can even have joy in our testing, because we recognize God is using the difficult things in our lives to make us stronger. It’s better to think of our trials and growing in faith more like lifting weights. At first it feels very uncomfortable, even a small weight may be difficult if it’s not something you’ve done before. But when you stick with it, you get stronger and stronger until it’s like lifting nothing at all. The practice can even be enjoyable because you see that it is actually improving you and making you stronger. Then you move up to the next weight and it might feel difficult all over again. As you continue this practice, you reach new levels of strength with each new weight. It’s important not to let your practice lapse though, because you will find that the next time is actually harder, not easier. You can get back to where you were, but you’ll have to do the work again and it will take time.
Activity: Lift some weights today! You can use real weights or even your own body weight through sit-ups, jumping jacks, push ups, going for a run, etc. Whether you go to the gym, use some weights at home, or practice using soup cans – thank God for helping you to grow your faith and for the opportunities you have to trust Him. As you lift whatever weights you’re physically able, ask Him to help you recognize trials for what they are – strengthening exercises. It is your choice to quickly submit your difficulties to God in this way, or allow yourself to lapse in your exercise and possibly end up right back at the start, struggling with even the smallest of life’s challenges. God is growing you to be able to maturely handle the responsibility of your next blessing.
With Children: Have your child join in the exercises with you and maybe even let them choose which exercises you do together! With younger children, they may not be coordinated enough, but they will likely try to join in with whatever it is you choose to do.
Wednesday August 14
Abraham’s Faith is Tested – Genesis 22
What thing do you most value in your life? It is likely a person, your child, your spouse, a friend or family member, someone you admire. Or maybe it is something you own, an award you received for your accomplishments, a personal trait such as intelligence or kindness. For Abraham, it was his son Isaac. He waited a long time for Isaac to come to him, and with the birth Isaac came a lot of attached promises. Through Isaac Abraham was going to have a great legacy. When God told Abraham to take Isaac up the mountain to give him as a sacrifice to God, that could not have been easy. Abraham obeyed God even though it probably didn’t make sense to him. We must have the same obedience. I wouldn’t call it “blind faith” as much a “proven faith.” God has proven to us over and over again that his way is best and we don’t have to blindly trust and obey Him – we have the proof that obeying God works! Romans 1:25 tells us, “They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.” We have to be diligent, constantly checking to make sure that we love God because we know that he loves us, instead of just loving the things he gives to us. Don’t lose sight of the fact that God is the creator of the universe and everything in it! He created you and me and the things and people that we love. So we must love God first and obey him in every situation, giving up whatever we must to follow Him, knowing that it may be difficult but the outcome will be better than we could imagine.
Activity: Think about the things that are most important to you and try to pinpoint what is #1 on your list. Remind yourself that it comes to you from God, and that in your heart you ought to give it back to God. Trust him with your treasures in life and see how He blesses and multiplies them when they have been entrusted to his care rather than your own. Say a prayer asking God to help you to obey Him no matter the cost.
With Children: Help your child find their favorite item in your home. More than likely a toy or maybe a favorite food that they just can’t live without! Remind them that even though there are things in life that we love, we must love God the most! Say a prayer with them and ask God to help them love him the most for the rest of their life. With younger children they may not understand enough to choose a favorite toy, but you can talk to them about loving God the most and pray with them.
Thursday August 15
Sarah’s Burial – Genesis 23
According to the custom of the area, it was normal for two people to go back and forth over the sale of property or any other item. For Abraham to have accepted the property for free would have been an insult to the seller and he likely have been told the property was no longer available. When he pressed for a price, Abraham was given a price double the value of the property so that he could haggle down, as was the custom. Instead Abraham paid the full price and even though he was a stranger in the land, he earned respect from the men in the area. In the midst of his grief over the death of his wife Sarah, Abraham was still generous to those around him and he was honored because of it. We serve a generous God and likewise, we ought to be generous as well. This doesn’t necessarily mean paying double the price for something – our conventional purchases don’t work the same way, but it does mean using your generosity to make a statement. In paying such a high price for this property, Abraham was above reproach and not one person could accuse him of trying to take advantage. This left an impression on the people who knew he was a godly man and in turn left an impression of God’s character as well. We must remember that we carry the name of Christ with us wherever we go, a representation of God’s character to the world in everything that we do. It is important that we are polite and civil in our interactions with others and that we go above the expectation to meet the bare minimum. When money changes hands there is often an air of contention, complaining about the price, demanding better quality product or customer service, unhappiness because your coupon was expired. Don’t let that be you. Pay what is owed, give generously of your time, money, and attitude, and represent God in all that you do.
Activity: Find a way to be generous today, above what is expected. That can be as simple as smiling at your cashier and genuinely wishing them well as you check out at the grocery store. Giving to a fundraiser for a friend or neighbor kid, or being extra courteous to other drivers on the road. When you create an atmosphere of generosity wherever you go, you will likely find that others are generous toward you also!
With Children: Encourage your child that you both will practice being generous today! Help your child think of something that they can give to someone else. It doesn’t have to be their favorite toy, but it should be something they value. Maybe they can share their bag of candy with a sibling, or pick flowers for your neighbor. Whatever they come up with, help them to understand that God loves to be generous toward us and so we ought to happily share with others, too! With younger children they may not be able to do this, but they can be present for your act of generosity and you should explain to them what you are doing and why.
Friday August 16
Isaac & Rebekah – Genesis 24-25:18
Eliezer was sent out of Canaan because Abraham wanted a godly wife for Isaac, and Abraham was being obedient to God by keeping his family in the land that God had called him to. When Eliezer stopped to look for a wife for Isaac, he didn’t ask God for someone who looked beautiful or who was wealthy. He asked God for someone who had a good heart, who would go above what is asked to serve. Rebekah was older than most brides at the time, but the Bible says that she was a good wife to Isaac, and she was able to bring happiness to a very sad time. They loved each other very much and they were a good match. It is easy to get caught up in trying to be the most appealing to others based on our outward appearance. We spend a lot of time on the things we own and wear, having the latest hairstyle, or the coolest shoes. As we see with Rebekah, those are not the things which matter most. The Bible doesn’t really mention Rebekah’s looks, she may have been very pretty, but that was not what gave her value. Her value was based in how she treated others and the God she served. Both men and women can get carried away with outward displays of good looks, trendy clothes, expensive cars, powerful job titles, and making yourself look good. These things aren’t bad or wrong. We just have to be careful that we don’t trade outward appearance for our internal godly attributes. Looking good is just not the priority of a christian. A godly mindset, a servant’s heart, faith in every circumstance, those are things worth mentioning and reading about thousands of years later. Those are the things that made Rebekah stand out, and she was blessed. When God comes looking for you, what attributes will you have to offer? Will you say, “Well God, I look really good today, I’m wearing the coolest sneakers, but I don’t really have much else to offer.” or will you say, “I’m here God, I’m ready to serve, and I trust that I can do whatever you have called me to do.” Nothing wrong with cool sneakers! Just don’t lose the perspective that you have so much more to offer than just your looks.
Activity: Think about one godly attribute that you would like to see in yourself. If you need some ideas, you can take a look at the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Pray to God that he would help to grow this godly quality in you and reset your priorities to match God’s.
With Children: Help your child think of a godly quality that they would like more of and pray together, asking God to grow this quality in them. For younger children, pray a specific godly quality to be strong in their life as they grow up.
