Today Daily Devotional

One of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back . . . ! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”

— Genesis 19:17

Genesis 19 tells the tragic story of Abraham’s nephew Lot. Until the arrival of two heavenly messengers, Lot was oblivious to the danger around him. He had gotten so close to sin and evil that he had lost perspective. Lot was a God-fearing man, but he had a divided heart. He loved the Lord, but he also loved the things of the world. Lot tried to serve two masters. But in the end he lost everything that mattered to him.

Failure in the Christian life is seldom the result of a sudden blowout. Most often it is the result of a slow leak. It usual­ly involves a gradual drifting away from God and into sin, as was the case with Lot. He and his family were so torn by their ­divided loyalties that the heavenly messengers had to lead them by hand out of the city before destruction rained down.

God’s exhortation still stands: flee from evil! Flee, before evil gets its claws so deeply embedded into you that you are unable to break free. Running from sin is not the mark of a coward, but yielding to sin is. It takes guts to admit our vulnerability and to flee from sin’s overwhelming power. There is a high price in choosing to follow Jesus—but an even higher price in not choosing to follow him.

Lord, our hearts are often divided. We have become so accustomed to sin that we no longer blush. Forgive us. Purify us. Make us wholly yours. May we run to you whenever we are overwhelmed. Amen.

In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah . . . serve as an ­example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

— Jude 7

Every caring parent has warned their child about the dangers of playing near a busy street or in some other hazardous place. Young children are often unaware of danger, so they need to be warned. Our heavenly Father responds similarly when his children are sometimes careless. Thoughts of them perishing so stirs his heart that he sends warning signals our way. The dreadful destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah serves as one of those warning signs.

The events described in Gene­sis 19 give us a small window into the godless depravity of these cities. Two heavenly messengers, sent to warn Lot about Sodom, said, “The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.” Having rejected God long ago, these cities no longer had any moral or social conscience.

The tragic truth about human nature is that the worse we get, the less we realize it. We can become like a skunk that gives off a putrid smell but is not ­offended by it at all. People entrapped in sin are often oblivious to their own moral stench. May the fate of these ancient cities serve as a solemn warning of the consequences of trying to live our own way without regard for God or his way.

Lord, have mercy on us. We are attracted by sin but are often blind to its many dangers. May we heed your warnings, keeping our eyes fixed on you—the author and perfecter of faith. Amen.

“Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city?”

— Genesis 18:23-24

Prayer doesn’t stop with making requests for ourselves. It ­reaches out to include others. That’s why, with great intensity, Paul could say, “I urge . . . that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. . . . This is good, and pleases God” (1 Timothy 2:1-3). God works through intercession—prayer for others—to do mighty things. We can pray powerfully to God for others—and when we need prayer, with others pleading our cause before the Almighty, that can be a powerful experience.

Abraham’s visitors informed him that Sodom and Gomorrah were about to be destroyed. Knowing that his nephew Lot was in danger there, Abraham pleaded with God to spare the city if even fifty, or forty, or thirty, or twenty, or even ten righteous people lived there. And God said he would spare the city if even so few righteous people were there.

This episode demonstrates the powerful impact of intercessory prayer. It’s as if the intercessor has one hand reaching out to a needy, broken world, and the other hand reaching up to the gracious God—­linking them together. Intercession gives us an opportunity to partner with God in accomplishing his work. When we intercede for others, we come close to the heart of Jesus, the great intercessor (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25).

Father, thank you for the privilege of prayer. May we seek to be conduits of your grace, interceding for others so that your presence and power may fill their lives. Amen.

Abraham . . . laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” . . . Sarah laughed. . . .

— Genesis 17:17; 18:12

Not all laughter is good medicine. There is a kind of laughter that mocks and wounds. It’s the laughter of disdain and derision. Being laughed at is no fun.

However, laughing alongside good friends can bring healing. This is a kind of joyful laughter that accompanies celebrations: the laughter of wonder, amusement, and amazement.

On two different occasions, we read of laughter breaking out after God’s announcement that a child would be born to aged Sarah and Abraham. In Genesis 17, we read that Abraham laughs, and in the next chapter Sarah laughs too. This was a laughter of astonishment and amazement mingled with a hint of disbelief. They weren’t necessarily laughing at God, but more at a plan that seemed so implausible. God had been faithful to them, but they weren’t quite sure they believed God would do the impossible. But then the child of promise was eventually born the next year, and they named him Isaac, meaning “laughter” (Genesis 21:1-7). Their laughter of doubt was transformed into a laughter of celebration and praise.

Where do you see God at work in astonishing ways today? Consider how this can bring a sense of joy and celebration to people around you.

God of amazing grace and joy, cast out our doubts and fears. Turn our mourning into dancing, our weeping into laughter. Help us to trust that you will make all things new. Amen.

In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands . . . having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him. . . .

— Colossians 2:11-12

The Bible tells one consistent story of God’s gracious dealings with his people. Beginning with Abraham, God invites them into a special relationship with him. The Old Testament sign of this covenantal bond was the rite of circumcision. In the New Testament the church has received baptism in Christ as the sign of belonging in God’s covenant. Participation is no longer limited to Jewish males but is now open to all who believe in Christ as Savior.

The waters of baptism mark a person’s life—letting them know who they are and to whom they belong. This God-ordained sacrament is a channel of blessing, a means of grace, a way of assuring us of God’s promises. Through baptism God makes promises to us. He signs and seals his covenant with us, his children. Our faith is confirmed and strengthened by our participation in it.

Colossians 2 teaches that the rite of circumcision pointed forward to the day when Jesus’ own blood would be shed for us. Because of his once-for-all sacrifice, the shedding of blood is no longer required. Instead, water now becomes the symbol of both death and resurrection in Christ, forever binding us with the promises of God. If you have not yet done so, there is no better time than right now to believe and be baptized to new life.

Lord Jesus, your amazing grace invites us into your story and your victory over sin for us. Help us to live faithfully for you. Amen.

“You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.”

— Genesis 17:11

Over the years, God gave Abraham an armful of ­promises. God even invited Abraham into a special cove­nantal relationship. And now God asks Abraham to recipro­cate. Abraham is to accept this covenantal relationship by means of a ceremony called circumcision. Abraham and his descendants will receive a permanent mark on their bodies—an ongoing reminder that they belong, body and soul, to their God.

The ceremony also symbolizes that they belong not only to God but also to each other. Circumcision was an initiation rite into the family of God, with participants considered part of God’s chosen people. The ceremony spoke of both ownership and identity. It also symbolized the need for cutting or casting off all forms of unrighteousness in order to be wholly devoted to God. This covenant was to be sealed by the shedding of blood.

Today we still use symbols as powerful reminders of who we are and the promises we make. When two people enter the sacred covenant of marriage, they often seal their promises with a kiss and with wedding rings, declaring that they belong to each other. And in a way like circumcision for God’s Old Testament saints, the baptism of New Testament saints is a powerful reminder of our unity and identity in Christ.

Father God, thank you for your gracious covenantal love. May it never cease to amaze us. May it transform us more and more into the image of your Son, our Savior. Amen.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and . . . I will . . . greatly increase your numbers.”

— Genesis 17:1-2

Often when God wants to do something big, he starts with something small. Such was the case with Abraham and Sarai. God took an elderly, childless couple and made them fruitful beyond belief. What seems impossible to human beings is very possible with God.

It had been 24 years since God first promised Abraham that he would become the father of a great nation (see Genesis 12:1-4). Several times through those years God reaffirmed his promise and even ceremonially sealed it. Still, Abraham and Sarai were without children. In Genesis 17 God affirmed this promise again by revealing his special name El Shaddai, meaning “God Almighty.” Then he changed Abram’s name to Abraham, meaning “father of many,” and spelled out further details of his plan. God also changed Sarai’s name to Sarah, meaning “princess” (see v. 15). Even though the promise had yet to be fulfilled, God offered reassurance to them.

Similarly, at times when it was difficult for me to believe his promises, God sent reassurances my way. Bible verses, songs, encouraging notes, and prayers helped to reassure me that God was still at work—even if circumstances hadn’t yet changed. Whatever you are trusting God for, draw strength from the encouragements he gives along the way.

God Almighty, you know how we struggle to be faithful. Reassure us of your presence and power, reminding us that nothing is impossible with you. Amen.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you.

— 2 Peter 3:9

Abraham struggled to wait for his and Sarai’s promised child to be born. It seemed to him that God was too slow in keeping his promises. Eventually Abraham and Sarai lost patience with God and tried to have a child in their own unsanctified way (through Sarai’s servant). In his foolishness, Abraham ran ahead of God—leaving a path of relational carnage in his wake.

Many of us can probably recall times when we have done something similar. We were unhappy with God’s timing and began doubting his reliability. Maybe we didn’t go as far as Abraham did, but we still charged ahead and tried to ­direct our own destiny.

Often we find it easier to work rather than wait, to try harder rather than to trust, to play God rather than to surrender to him. But Abraham learned the hard way that there is one thing worse than waiting for God—and that is wishing you had waited. Abraham spent the rest of his life regretting his lack of faith and the rashness of his actions.

God’s timing and ours are often not in sync, so we are called to wait. And yet the Lord is not slow in keeping his promises (2 Peter 3:9). From the perspective of eternity, God’s timing is perfect. Our calling is simply to trust God, giving him the time and space needed to work out his good plan.

Lord, it is a privilege to be part of your great plan to restore this world. Help us to step into that plan, waiting patiently to see what you will do in us and through us. Amen.

She said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

— Genesis 16:2

It’s human nature to try to control our own destiny. We take matters into our own hands and make something happen—whether it be in business, finance, or family matters. We may even take ill-advised shortcuts to get there.

Abraham is a case in point. Genesis 16 records one of the darkest blots on his spiritual rec­ord. We see this man of faith acting without faith. Frustrated with the delay in God’s plan to give them a child, Abraham and Sarai take matters into their own hands. They devise a scheme for getting what God has promised them. In effect, they try to provide their own solution rather than trusting in God’s timing. In a startling act of unfaithfulness, Abraham sleeps with his wife’s servant Hagar.

This unholy shortcut brings deep and lasting trouble. Hagar becomes pregnant, and soon jealousy breaks out between Sarai and Hagar, and Hagar runs away.

May this tragedy warn us against taking moral shortcuts, compromising our principles, and trying to play God. It’s good to know that when we walk with God, his delays are never dead-ends—and that because of his grace, our failures are never final.

Father, forgive us when we lose confidence in you and take matters into our own hands. Help us instead to trust in you and in your plan for our lives. In Jesus, Amen.

The Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to . . . the Euphrates.”

— Genesis 15:18

Politicians make lots of promises, especially during campaigns. But we are not surprised when their lofty ­promises are broken. Today, in fact, it seems to be getting harder and harder to find people whose word is credible. Could that be why we might struggle also to take God at his word?

Yet God reveals himself as the promise-making, promise-keeping God. Through trial and error, Abraham came to discover that God is the only One who can always be counted on. God is forever true to his word.

In ancient times, kings often made covenants with their subjects. These were formal agree­ments, including oaths and solemn vows, to establish and maintain relationships.

In Genesis 15 Abraham’s doubts led to a covenantal response from God, by which God sealed his promises with an oath. In those days, oaths were often sealed by means of a gory ceremony involving the slaughter of animals. This was intended to show that if the covenant were broken, the violator would suffer the same fate as the animals. Amazingly, God made this kind of oath with Abraham, promising to bless him and his descendants. And God remained true to his word, as always.

What promise of God do you need to rely on today?

Thank you, Lord, for always being trustworthy and true. Help us to know that when you make a promise, you will surely fulfill it. Amen.