Devotions in Preparation for Sunday, July 26th
Devotions in Preparation for Sunday, July 26th
Read Genesis 29:15-28. If ever you are feeling bad about your own family dynamics, the story of Jacob, Rachel, Laban, and Leah should help you feel better. This one has it all: love, jealousy, manipulation, favoritism, infertility…In these verses, Jacob, who, in younger years, had tricked his brother, Esau, out of his inheritance, now gets a taste of his own medicine.
Because of our 21st century western sensibilities, this whole situation seems wrong – Jacob falling in love and wanting to marry his cousin, men bartering for ownership of women without any input from the one affected most, polygamy, a woman’s value determined by her ability to produce offspring…What lessons might there be for you in this passage?
Today, offer a prayer of healing, forgiveness, and peace among families. May this prayer be for your own family and for all families.
Read Psalm 105:1-11, 45b. This psalm begins and ends with thanks and praise for God’s continuing presence and faithfulness. In verse 8, we read that God is forever mindful of the covenant made with the ancestors of our faith. The covenant? I will be your God, and you will be my people. Even when God’s people were wandering, even when they questioned God’s commitment to their wellbeing, even when they created idols as objects of worship, God continued to accompany and provide for them. That’s not to say that they didn’t suffer the natural outcomes of bad choices. Any good parent knows that to prevent any negative consequences would lead to stunted growth.
What evidence have you seen of God’s faithfulness, even when you have wandered? How routinely do you offer thanks and praise in your prayers, as compared to complaining or making requests? How might you “make known God’s deeds among the people”?
Today, find one person with whom to share something that God has done in your life or in the life of someone you know. Offer a prayer of thanksgiving and praise.
Read Romans 8:26-39. In this passage, Paul promises that nothing in life or in death, nothing we do or have done to us – nothing – can separate us from the love of God. These words were written by a man who had every reason to believe God had abandoned him. He had suffered greatly for his work in the spread of the good news of redemption through Jesus Christ. Brought on by his encounter with the risen Christ, Paul experienced a transformation that began at the center of his being and worked its way out into his thoughts, words, and actions.
In what ways is the steadfast love of God transforming you? How is that love manifesting itself in your own thoughts, words, and actions? Looking at the state of our world today, where do you see God bringing good out of what looks irredeemable?
Today, offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the promises contained in these verses.
Read Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52. In each of these parables, Jesus is painting a picture of what the kingdom of heaven is like. Each of the objects he uses in his lesson is tiny: a seed, a grain of yeast, a single pearl. Yet each produces a bounty of riches: a giant bush, delicious bread, great joy. This is the beauty of the kingdom of God. It comes to us in seemingly insignificant and simple ways like a phone call, a nap, or an invitation to coffee. These small moments and gestures produce a bounty of love, renewal, and joy.
What small moments, gestures, or conversations have blessed you richly? How can you be more aware of and present to these as signs of God’s kingdom? How can you impart a small bit of God’s kingdom into any interaction you have today?
Offer a prayer of thanksgiving for Jesus’ teaching and guidance, committing yourself to following him.