Divine Street United Methodist Church
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​Dunn, North Carolina  28334​ 
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Week Three - Day ONE:  Not That Again

7/23/2018

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READ: GENESIS 20

TODAY'S FOCUS: Genesis 20:17
Abraham prayed to God.
 (Common English Bible)
 
Over the years, I have found my mind working out what I might do if a potential circumstance arises. This “what if” game can be helpful when facing tough decisions or determining the best course of action. Other times, though, playing out all scenarios in my mind becomes consuming and destructive – especially when the possibilities create an incessant loop. Creating endless problems where none have presented is an unhealthy practice that drives me far from God’s good plan, and the result is disastrous for me and harmful to those around me.
 
Since I believe God has a good plan for my life, my focus should remain on discovering that path. I never want to be so overwhelmed with the dreadfulness of what might happen that I miss the loveliness of what could happen.
 
Abraham plays a great game of “what if” with Pharaoh in chapter 12 and repeats the game here with Abimelech in chapter 20.  His continuous loop asks: What if they don’t fear God? What if they want my wife? What if they kill me to get her? What if I just lie so I don’t have to deal with it all? Oh no, not this again. The result, in both cases, is harmful to others, yet God’s response is fascinating to me. I can hear God saying:  “All will be well when you go back to the point when things were working, Abraham will pray for you, and you will live.”
 
Abraham will pray for you? Where did that come from? “Go back and make it right” has just become the easy part.  When God directs Abraham to pray for Abimelech and his people, the people Abraham himself harmed with his own lie, I’m humbled. Now, I’m faced with praying for those I’ve hurt, and that is a huge responsibility. To be sure, it’s a responsibility that creates an exciting freedom to grow closer to Jesus, but it’s not always going to be the easy part. May God provide me with wisdom, courage, patience and integrity to make good decisions and stay away from “what ifs.” As John Wesley taught me, may I do good, do no harm, and stay in love with God.
 
Prayer
Healing God, move my heart, my thinking, and even my unintentional actions to better places. When I create scenarios that harm myself and others, I pray your touch will restore us all to wholeness. Amen. 

​
More to think about:
Romans12:1-2
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Ephesians 4:23
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Week Two - Day FIVE: Smoke Rising

7/20/2018

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READ: GENESIS 19

TODAY'S FOCUS: Genesis19:26
When Lot’s wife looked back, she turned into a pillar of salt.
(Common English Bible)
 
One thing is certain: inappropriate behavior is not new and did not begin with our current generations.
 
Genesis 19 is a difficult passage filled with poor decisions, bad conduct, immoral actions, and defiant disregard.  “Don’t look back” was the unheeded warning. “Don’t get caught up in the judgment of others.”  Lot’s wife could escape her attachment to sinful living. She was shown the path: Abandon wickedness. Move forward quickly. Leave the past behind. As she bolted from the city, though, she just couldn’t bring herself to make that clean break. God had provided the separation and removed the barriers; she only need obey the instructions to advance. She simply had to refocus her loyalty. One glance backward toward her former life, however, and she was damaged beyond repair.
 
Obstacles form in a variety of methods and, without intervention, may well damage us. Beth Moore notes: “Few things are more dangerous than looking back to that from which God has delivered us.” What a blessing given us that God provides enough love and instruction to move us away from destruction. I am greatly comforted knowing that God is continually reconciling God’s people back to God.
 
Inappropriate behavior is not new and did not begin with our current generations, but thanks be to our God who restores us to wholeness.
 
Saving God, when I think about looking back to days of poor decisions and bad behavior, bring me back into alignment with your will. Help me to always walk in a way that is pleasing to you. Amen. 
 
More to think about:
1 John 1:15
Ephesians 4:18-19
2 Peter: 2
John 14:23
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Week Two - Day FOUR: Anything Too Hard

7/19/2018

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Week Two - Day FOUR: Anything Too Hard
 
READ: GENESIS 18:1-15

TODAY'S FOCUS: Genesis18:14a
Is anything too difficult for the Lord?  (Common English Bible)
 
Well, that rings a bell. Reading through today’s text brings to mind a sentence from my July 13 post:  God is reminding me that God can do anything God wants.
 
On a sweltering day, too hot to do much of anything else, I sometimes find myself sitting in the doorway. Something about that space creates a needed feeling of moving ventilation. Surrounded by arid desert air, the home entryway is where we find Abraham – sitting in his doorway as the three visitors arrive. Leaping into action, he leaves the thought of heat behind and moves directly into hospitality. He receives them well, welcomes them well, provides for them well, and listens to them well.
 
Sarah, however, snickers as she overhears the visitors speak. To her, the truth is as dry as the air that encompasses her. Her willingness to believe is dehydrated; the impossibility of their words masks the life-giving reality. As the Lord’s rebuke drenches her in truth, I can almost feel the movement of the Holy Spirit as a cool breeze before a gentle rain.
 
When I feel too old, too worn out, too parched to believe in the hydrating presence and power of El Elyon – God Most High, I return to Sarah’s reprimand. If God is capable of child-blessing a ninety-year-old woman whose womb is as dry and barren as a Middle Eastern desert, who am I to deny that I may also be blessed in my empty spaces? Is anything too difficult for the Lord? I think not.
 
God Most High, in my barren moments, bathe me in your Spirit and quench my questioning. Saturate my day with your truth, and flood my disbelief with the powerful storm of your love.  Amen. 
 
More to think about:
Revelation 3:20
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Week Two - Day THREE: No Longer Sarai

7/18/2018

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READ: GENESIS 17:15-27

TODAY'S FOCUS: Genesis17:15-16
God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you will no longer call her Sarai. Her name will now be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and even give you a son from her. I will bless her so that she will become nations, and kings of peoples will come from her.” (Common English Bible)
 
I wonder how many times God has repeated words spoken to me. Have I often been too busy with my own plan or even too busy talking to listen to what God has to say the first time?  Have I met God’s call with laughter or even a suggestion as to how God might rearrange things in a way I think is better?
 
Abraham has just experienced his own life-changing, name-changing, game-changing episode, and yet he questions God’s power to make a change in his wife. “Sarai will have a child? Don’t make me laugh. She’s too old for such nonsense. Besides, I already have a son. Just use that one for this great idea of yours. I’m happy to be obedient as long as I understand the plan, and this one just doesn’t make good sense.”
 
And so begins God’s repeating. “Yes, Abraham. I will use Ishmael, the son you have, but that’s not the plan I’m talking about. I’m talking about the son you will have with Sarai. Yes, Sarai. That’s been the plan all along. I will bless Ishmael, but Sarai’s son Isaac – he’s the one I will covenant with. I will make my covenant with Isaac and all of Isaac’s family from now on. And while we are at it, her name is now Sarah. It means princess.  This royal family of mine will come from a Princess.”
 
A little bit of Abraham may be found in each of us. We may possess a slight trait of stubbornness that pushes us to laughter when we don’t understand the plan. While I speculate how much I miss when I don’t listen to my Lord the first time, I am thrilled to know that my inflexibility loses all power when lined up against God’s faithfulness, patience, and willingness to repeat. With that captivating reiteration, Abraham was compelled (even propelled) to act in obedience that very day. I wonder what God has in store for me and how quickly I will respond once I make it my practice to listen the first time!
 
Patient and faithful God, when I am stubborn enough to miss your direction, and I question your call because of my own limitations, remind me over and over again that your plan makes perfect sense.  With your help, I am willing to change my heart, my actions and even my name. Amen. 
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Week Two - Day TWO: The Breath of the Covenant

7/17/2018

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READ: GENESIS 17:1-14

TODAY'S FOCUS: Genesis17:1-8
When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk with me and be trustworthy. I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants.” Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, “But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations. And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram but Abraham. I will make you very fertile. I will produce nations from you, and kings will come from you. I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you. I will give you and your descendants the land in which you are immigrants, the whole land of Canaan, as an enduring possession. And I will be their God.”
(Common English Bible)
 
Keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times. I have surely heard those words hundreds of times. As a teen, I spent countless hours on amusement park roller coasters. We climbed as high as the clouds, topped the rise, plunged deep into underground tunnels or rolled upside down in the fashion of a corkscrew moving faster and faster until we couldn’t breathe. Each ride was unique, but each preparation was the same: Keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times.
 
“I am El Shaddai,” God says.” Walk with me and be trustworthy.” El Shaddai (Almighty God) instructs Abram to follow God’s plan faithfully and blamelessly – climbing, plunging, rolling – whatever it takes to be all in. Expectations and preparations move faster and faster until Abram surely cannot breathe, and then the Most High and Powerful God of the Universe sighs a breath of life into him.  With one loving exhale, Abram is transformed to Abra-ha-m. Can you hear the gust of perpetuation as his name grows from meaning “exalted father” to meaning “father of many?”[1]
 
The breath of God is always about bringing life. When I pledge my days to be all in and accept Jesus Christ into my heart, God breathes the Holy Spirit into me and I receive new life. My faithful response is to simply keep my hands and feet inside the joyous ride at all times!
 
God Almighty, El Shaddai, I will walk with you and will do all in my power to be all in. Amen. 

​More to think about:
John 15
Matthew 1:1
Romans 4:9-12
Galatians 2:15-21




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[1] Moore, Beth. The Patriarchs: Encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. LifeWay Press, Nashville, TN, 2014, page 42.
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    Author:
    Pastor Beth

    Journey with me each weekday as I share my thoughts with you on Beth Moore's intriguing study!  Better yet, get your own copy and share your journaling thoughts with me! 

    Bible Study:
    The Patriarchs - Encountering the God
    of Abraham, Isaac,
    and Jacob
    Based on the study by  Beth Moore

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