When the Lord spoke to Abram, he received covenant promises of God’s unchanging faithfulness. God had promised Abram an heir, but as he and Sarai grew older, having the child of the promise seemed impossible. During this time of doubt, God reminded Abram of His faithfulness. Genesis 17:2 I will make a covenant with you, by …
It doesn’t matter if you are a patriarch of the Bible or a modern-day believer; walking with God transforms. Walking with God represents a life of obedience and being led by the Spirit. The Lord gives us free will, but as I walk with God, I surrender my free will to the Lord as He …
Genesis 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.[1] Imagine yourself in the sandals of Abram as you hear these words from the Lord. When Abram was 75, God called him out of Haran. God promised to bless …
Hagar discovered a God who sees and hears when she was alone in the desert. This was such an incredible revelation that she called God by a different name. She even gave a new name to the place where God had appeared to her. Genesis 16: 13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the …
I think every pregnant woman wonders, “What will my child be like?” God revealed what Hagar’s child would be like to encourage her in a difficult time. Genesis 16: 10 Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.” 11 And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth …
Submitting to God transforms our actions. Submission and change are hard, but why? Our sinful nature desires to rebel against God because we think we know more than He does. As an immature believer, I didn’t realize the importance of submitting to God and learned some faith lessons the hard way. You may have experienced …
God seeks us. This is a magnificent characteristic of our Lord. God had commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But when they disobeyed, the Lord sought them out. As people, we are much like sheep: we get lost. When this happens, the Lord doesn’t …
This week’s story shows Sarai, Abram, and Hagar all struggling to take responsibility. God had given Abram a promise of many descendants but Sarai remained infertile. They were both past childbearing age, so Sarai had her maid, Hagar, act as a surrogate. After Hagar became pregnant, she became disrespectful to Sarai. This was a problem, …
Throughout history, people have made culturally acceptable but morally wrong decisions with unexpected consequences. Our founding fathers had a chance to outlaw slavery in 1776, but did not. Slavery was culturally acceptable at the time. This morally wrong decision would impact millions of people and have lasting repercussions to this day. God gives a rule …
When reason collides with faith, we begin making decisions based on worldly wisdom rather than trusting God’s guidance. Hebrews 11:1Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.[1] In Genesis 15:4, the Lord told Abram that he would have a son of his own to be his …