Jan.10

1 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.

4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.

6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.

7 These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years.

8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.

9 Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,

10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife.

11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.

12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham.

13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes.

17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.)

18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.

19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac,

20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.

21 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, "If it is thus, why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.

23 And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger." 

24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.

26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.

28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.

30 And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom.)

31 Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright now."

32 Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?"

33 Jacob said, "Swear to me now." So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. - Genesis 25

1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines.

2 And the LORD appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.

3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,

5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," for he feared to say, "My wife," thinking, "lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah," because she was attractive in appearance.

8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife.

9 So Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I thought, 'Lest I die because of her.'"

10 Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us."

11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, "Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."

12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him,

13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.

14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him.

15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.)

16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we."

17 So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.

18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them.

19 But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water,

20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water is ours." So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.

21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah.

22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, "For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."

23 From there he went up to Beersheba.

24 And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake."

25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

26 When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army,

27 Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?"

28 They said, "We see plainly that the LORD has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you,

29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD."

30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.

32 That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, "We have found water."

33 He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

34 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite,

35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. - Genesis 26

1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 

2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised. 

3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. 

4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God." 

5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them. 

6 He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity." 

7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. 

8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; 

9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. 

10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might. 

11 He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it." 

12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. 

13 Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, "You will not call to account"? 

14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless. 

15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none. 

16 The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. 

17 O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear 

18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.  - Psalms 10

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.

3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.

4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.

6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.

10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God."

12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,

13 and they set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law,

14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us."

15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. - Acts 6

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. - Matthew 5:1-12

Who Needs a Do-Over?

“Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make”

Jeremiah 18:3-4

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

The making of pottery is one of the oldest arts known to men. A potter takes clay and chops it and crushes it and molds it and squeezes it until it is soft and pliable. It is a beautiful thing to watch: a vessel of beauty or a vessel of service, or both, emerge from that ugly clay.

There are three ingredients in the making of pottery: the Potter, the clay, and the wheel. God is the Potter. We are His workmanship. God is the Master Workman, working on us. Think of yourself as the clay and see what God can do with you, for He is at work in your life. The wheel is the circumstances of life. Don’t think the incidences in your life is meaningless. God wants to make something beautiful out of you.

ACTION POINT:

Though you may not understand it now, every turn of the wheel has been a part of God’s plan. If He does not rule, God overrules. He’s going to turn every Calvary to an Easter, every midnight to a sunrise. He is going to turn every tear to a pearl and make a diadem for you.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Only a Little While

After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:10)

Sometimes in the midst of the afflictions and ordinary stresses of daily life, we may cry out, “How long, O Lord? I can’t see beyond today’s pain. What will tomorrow bring? Will you be there for that affliction too?”

This question is utterly urgent, because Jesus said, “The one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:13). We tremble at the thought of being among “those who shrink back and are destroyed” (Hebrews 10:39). We are not playing games. Suffering is a horrible threat to faith in God’s future grace.

Therefore, it is a wonderful thing to hear Peter promise the afflicted and weary Christians, “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10).

The assurance that he will not delay beyond what we can endure, and that he will abolish the flaws we bemoan, and that he will establish forever what has tottered so long — that assurance comes from the God of “all grace.”

God is not the God of some grace — like bygone grace. He is “the God of all grace” — including the infinite, inexhaustible stores of future grace, that we need to endure to the end.

Faith in that future grace, strengthened by the memory of past grace, is the key to enduring on the narrow and hard road that leads to life.

John Piper 

Jan.9

1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh,

3 that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell,

4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac."

5 The servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?"

6 Abraham said to him, "See to it that you do not take my son back there.

7 The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, 'To your offspring I will give this land,' he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there."

9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

10 Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor.

11 And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water.

12 And he said, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.

13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.

14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, 'Please let down your jar that I may drink,' and who shall say, 'Drink, and I will water your camels'-let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master."

15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder.

16 The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up.

17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water to drink from your jar."

18 She said, "Drink, my lord." And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink.

19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking."

20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels.

21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not.

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels,

23 and said, "Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"

24 She said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor."

25 She added, "We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night."

26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD

27 and said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsmen."

28 Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things.

29 Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring.

30 As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, "Thus the man spoke to me," he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.

31 He said, "Come in, O blessed of the LORD. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels."

32 So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

33 Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." He said, "Speak on."

34 So he said, "I am Abraham's servant.

35 The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys.

36 And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has.

37 My master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell,

38 but you shall go to my father's house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.'

39 I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.'

40 But he said to me, 'The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father's house.

41 Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.'

42 "I came today to the spring and said, 'O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go,

43 behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, "Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,"

44 and who will say to me, "Drink, and I will draw for your camels also," let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master's son.'

45 "Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, 'Please let me drink.'

46 She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.' So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also.

47 Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms.

48 Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son.

49 Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left."

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, "The thing has come from the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good.

51 Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has spoken."

52 When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the LORD.

53 And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments.

54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, "Send me away to my master."

55 Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go."

56 But he said to them, "Do not delay me, since the LORD has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master."

57 They said, "Let us call the young woman and ask her."

58 And they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I will go."

59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men.

60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him!" 

61 Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

62 Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb.

63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel

65 and said to the servant, "Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." So she took her veil and covered herself.

66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.

67 Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. - Genesis 24

1 I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. 

2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 

3 When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence. 

4 For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment. 

5 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever. 

6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. 

7 But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, 

8 and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness. 

9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 

10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you. 

11 Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds! 

12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted. 

13 Be gracious to me, O LORD! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death, 

14 that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation. 

15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. 

16 The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah 

17 The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God. 

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever. 

19 Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! 

20 Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah  - Psalms 9

17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy

18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.

19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,

20 "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life."

21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 

22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,

23 "We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside."

24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.

25 And someone came and told them, "Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people."

26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them,

28 saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us."

29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.

30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.

31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.

35 And he said to them, "Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men.

36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.

37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.

38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail;

39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!" So they took his advice,

40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. - Acts 5:17-42

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.

22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.

25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. - Matthew 4:18-25

Gain What You Cannot Lose

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27)

Here are two great incentives from Jesus to become a World Christian and to dedicate yourself to the cause of Frontier Missions. As a goer or a sender.

1. Every impossibility with men is possible with God (Mark 10:27). The conversion of hardened sinners will be the work of God and will accord with his sovereign plan. We need not fear or fret over our weakness. The battle is the Lord’s, and he will give the victory.

2. Christ promises to work for us, and to be for us so much that, when our missionary life is over, we will not be able to say we’ve sacrificed anything (Mark 10:29–30).

When we follow his missionary prescription, we discover that even the painful side effects work to improve our condition. Our spiritual health, our joy, improves a hundredfold. And when we die, we do not die. We gain eternal life.

I do not appeal to you to screw up your courage and sacrifice for Christ. I appeal to you to renounce all you have, to obtain life that satisfies your deepest longings. I appeal to you to count all things as rubbish for the surpassing value of standing in the service of the King of kings. I appeal to you to take off your store-bought rags and put on the garments of God’s ambassadors.

I promise you persecutions and privations — but remember the joy! “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10).

On January 8, 1956, five Waorani Indians of Ecuador killed Jim Elliot and his four missionary companions as they were trying to bring the gospel to the Waorani tribe of sixty people.

Four young wives lost husbands and nine children lost their fathers. Elisabeth Elliot wrote that the world called it a nightmare of tragedy. Then she added, “The world did not recognize the truth of the second clause in Jim Elliot’s credo: ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.’”

John Piper 

Are You a List-maker?

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it” 

(1 Corinthians 9:24).

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Are you drifting? Sometimes we don’t realize what is happening to us. Drifting is deceptive and dangerous. Most people do not plan to fail. They simply do not plan anything. You need to have a goal.

Many years ago a Yale University study found that 3% of the students had written down specific goals. Twenty-two years later, a follow-up with those students revealed that the goal-writing 3% had achieved more than the other 97% put together. They were not drifters. They had goals in their life. Sociologists find that 95% of people never have any written goals, but of the 5% that do have written goals, 95% of that 5% have reached their goals.

ACTION POINT:

Write down today some goals for yourself in the coming year. We are body, soul, and spirit, so make 3 divisions: On one page write “Spiritual Goals.” On the second write “Physical Goals.” And on the third write “Personal Goals.” Do you have a goal? Do you have a vision? Be one of the 5%, not the 95%.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Jan. 8

1 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised.

2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.

3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.

4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

6 And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me."

7 And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

8 And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.

10 So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac."

11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son.

12 But God said to Abraham, "Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring."

14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes.

16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, "Let me not look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.

17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation."

19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow.

21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, "God is with you in all that you do.

23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned."

24 And Abraham said, "I will swear."

25 When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized,

26 Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today."

27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant.

28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart.

29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?"

30 He said, "These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well."

31 Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath.

32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines.

33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.

34 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines. - Genesis 21

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

2 He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.

5 Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you."

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.

7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"

8 Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.

9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

12 He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

14 So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."

15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven

16 and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,

17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,

18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."

19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

20 Now after these things it was told to Abraham, "Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:

21 Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,

22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel."

23 (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

24 Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. - Genesis 22

1 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.

2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

3 And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,

4 "I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

5 The Hittites answered Abraham,

6 "Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead."

7 Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land.

8 And he said to them, "If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar,

9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place."

10 Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city,

11 "No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead."

12 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.

13 And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, "But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there."

14 Ephron answered Abraham,

15 "My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead."

16 Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over

18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

20 The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites. - Genesis 23

1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 

2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 

4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 

6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 

7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 

8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 

9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  - Psalms 8

1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,

2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.

3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?

4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God."

5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.

6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

8 And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much."

9 But Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."

10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico.

13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.

14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,

15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. - Acts 5:1-16

12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee.

13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,

14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles- 

16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." 

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." - Matthew 4:12-17