"SHARING GRACE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT MEETING WITH GOD PERSONALLY"
Genesis 12:3 “And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,”
Genesis 12:4 “to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.”
Taken from today's reading in "The One Year Bible”.
1. As we journey through life, it's good to pause and call on the name of the Lord.
Genesis 12:3 “And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,”
Abram was actually moving from one location to another.
He would often return to places he had been before.
Our lives are not so transient, yet we have a new day, day by day.
What we see Abram doing is a good picture for us of what we can do.
He would pause or camp at the altar of worship he made, and worship God.
We can do the same thing morning by morning. Pause and worship our Savior.
2. We are on a journey, and God can be approached day by day.
Genesis 12:3 “And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,”
We need to connect with God regularly.
Abram did this frequently.
He is again a good example of consistently worshipping and fellowshipping with God.
We can connect with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the way the the truth and the life.
And no man comes to the Father but by Him.
Thank You, Jesus, for being our mediator to the Father.
3. We can call upon the name of the LORD.
Genesis 12:4 “to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.”
Abram had built an altar.
He did this to worship God.
He came back to the altar he had built.
And at the altar he would call upon the name of the LORD.
We can have our own altars, if you will.
Perhaps it's the chair in your living room where you sit in the mornings to read your Bible.
Or maybe it's some other location.
But, it's also an altar in your heart, as it were, where you day by day call upon the God who you need and who hears You.
Some Questions:
1. Do you know that like Abram we are on a journey that will take us to heaven one day?
2. Do you feel the need in your life for God today?
3. Why do you think Abram would regularly pause at the altar he built and call upon God?
4. Because he was a man just like you or me, and he knew he could not live his life without God at the center of his life.
5. May we all be encouraged to develop the practice of seeking the Lord day by day and calling upon Him. He listens.
A Prayer:
Father, some days are bright and some days are cloudy spiritually. It's easy to call upon you on a bright day, but a little more difficult, and in fact, often very very difficult to turn our minds away from what may be troubling us and turn them to You, and fix our thoughts and hearts upon You, and upon Your Word. Help us, Lord, to build an altar each morning, regardless of the color of our day, i.e our souls. Be they happy or troubled, we can build that altar and there meet with You, and You meet with us. You love us much more than we love You. But help us, Lord, to grow more and more in our love to You. It won't be long before we will be in heaven, and the troubles of this life will be over. Thank You that in the mean time we can pause and connect with You and find a little bit, or a lot of heavenly influence in our lives to help us on our journey. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.
