{"id":15588,"date":"2021-05-06T22:00:40","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T05:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_11_1-9-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-05-06T22:07:03","modified_gmt":"2021-05-07T05:07:03","slug":"genesis_12_1-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_12_1-9\/","title":{"rendered":"When God Speaks to You"},"content":{"rendered":"

Genesis 12:1-9\u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 12:1-9.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 12:1-3 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-3:\u00a0\u00a0Everything that Abram might otherwise use to anchor his identity before \u2013 his country, his people and his family \u2013 God asks Abram to leave in order to go to the land that He will show him (v1).\u00a0\u00a0The only assurance God gives Abram is a promise that God will bless Abram and make Abram into a great nation, and that through him all peoples on earth will be blessed (v2-3).<\/p>\n

How would all peoples on earth be blessed through Abram (v3)?\u00a0\u00a0In a number of ways:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Abram (later known as Abraham) would be regarded as the father of the Jewish people (Mark 12:26; John 8:39; Acts 3:13).<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From Abram\u2019s blood line Jesus Christ would be born (Matthew 1).<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Abraham\u2019s example shows that we are justified (that is, declared righteous and not guilty in God\u2019s sight) simply by having faith in God\u2019s promise, not by the good things we do (Romans 4:1-15).\u00a0\u00a0In this way, Abraham is a father in faith to all who have trusted in Jesus Christ (Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:6-7).<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Abraham is also an example to us all of what it means to have persevering faith (Hebrews 6:15).\u00a0\u00a0To this day, we can study the life of Abraham and be blessed and inspired by the times when he trusted God no matter what the circumstances around him looked like.<\/p>\n

Genesis 12:4-5 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So Abram left, as the\u00a0LORD\u00a0had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 4-5:\u00a0\u00a0Abram had significant wealth, a beautiful wife and social status in Haran, but still something was missing in Abram\u2019s life.\u00a0\u00a0So Abram follows the Lord\u2019s instruction and sets out for the land of Canaan.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0You can have great wealth, many possessions and everything the world says you need to be happy, but until you do what God calls you to do, until you follow the call of God in your life, you\u2019ll feel like something is missing, no matter how much of the world you have.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As Hebrews 11:8 says, \u201cBy faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Faith is trusting that God knows the way even when we don\u2019t know where we\u2019re going.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Do we trust God enough to step out in faith, leaving what is comfortable, in order to experience the blessings of those promises?\u00a0\u00a0If you want to experience the greatest blessings God has for your life, it requires that you step out in faith and trust what God says.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis 12:6-7 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the\u00a0LORD, who had appeared to him.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 6-7:\u00a0\u00a0When God promises Abram that He will give the land of the Canaanites to Abram\u2019s offspring, Abram doesn\u2019t just go on his merry way and say, \u201cThat\u2019s nice.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Rather Abram builds an altar to the Lord in response to God appearing to him with this promise.\u00a0\u00a0From time forward whenever he passed that place, he would see the altar and remember what God said to him.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When God speaks to you, worship Him and thank Him.\u00a0\u00a0Also, when God speaks to you, do something to remember and commemorate that moment.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0That could mean writing it in your journal, creating a visual aid to remind you of what God said, telling a friend, or something else creative.<\/p>\n

Genesis 12:8-9 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0and called on the name of the\u00a0LORD.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-9:\u00a0\u00a0What I admire about Abram is that he didn\u2019t just worship God when he got to the end of his journey.\u00a0\u00a0Abram would take the time to worship God along the way.\u00a0\u00a0I believe Abram\u2019s habit of worshiping God regularly was the secret to his success, strengthening Abram\u2019s faith, clarifying his vision and renewing his hope.\u00a0\u00a0Thus we see Abram leaving a trail of altars in his path because he made worship the habit of his life.<\/p>\n

May you and I do the same:\u00a0don\u2019t just wait until you\u2019ve reached your destination or fulfilled your dream to worship God.\u00a0\u00a0Rather worship God in every season of your faith journey.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0In doing so your faith will be strengthened, your vision clarified and your hope renewed.\u00a0\u00a0Even more importantly, it\u2019s about developing a daily relationship with God, who is worthy of our praise all the time.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of Abram, who shows us that worship is not just an event, but a lifestyle.\u00a0\u00a0Like Abram, may I have faith to trust in Your promise and live on the basis of what You say.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 12:1-9.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 12:1-3 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”<\/p>\n

On verses 1-3:\u00a0\u00a0Everything that Abram might otherwise use to anchor his identity before \u2013 his country, his people and his family \u2013 God asks Abram to leave in order to go to the land that He will show him (v1).\u00a0\u00a0The only assurance God gives Abram is a promise that God will bless Abram and make Abram into a great nation, and that through him all peoples on earth will be blessed (v2-3).\u00a0<\/p>\n

How would all peoples on earth be blessed through Abram (v3)?\u00a0\u00a0In a number of ways:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Abram (later known as Abraham) would be regarded as the father of the Jewish people (Mark 12:26; John 8:39; Acts 3:13).<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From Abram\u2019s blood line Jesus Christ would be born (Matthew 1).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Abraham\u2019s example shows that we are justified (that is, declared righteous and not guilty in God\u2019s sight) simply by having faith in God\u2019s promise, not by the good things we do (Romans 4:1-15).\u00a0\u00a0In this way, Abraham is a father in faith to all who have trusted in Jesus Christ (Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:6-7).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15590,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15588"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15589,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15588\/revisions\/15589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}