Daily Scripture: Genesis 11:26 Terach lived seventy years and fathered Avram, Nachor and Haran. 27 Here is the genealogy of Terach. Terach fathered Avram, Nachor and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died before his father Terach in the land where he was born, in Ur of the Kasdim.
(Maftir) 29 Then Avram and Nachor took wives for themselves. The name of Avram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nachor’s wife was Milkah the daughter of Haran. He was the father of Milkah and of Yiskah. 30 Sarai was barren — she had no child. 31 Terach took his son Avram, his son Haran’s son Lot, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Avram’s wife; and they left Ur of the Kasdim to go to the land of Kena‘an. But when they came to Haran, they stayed there. 32 Terach lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.
12:1 Now Adonai said to Avram, “Get yourself out of your country, away from your kinsmen and away from your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and you are to be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse anyone who curses you; and by you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
4 So Avram went, as Adonai had said to him, and Lot went with him. Avram was 75 years old when he left Haran. 5 Avram took his wife Sarai, his brother’s son Lot, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, as well as the people they had acquired in Haran; then they set out for the land of Kena‘an and entered the land of Kena‘an.
6 Avram passed through the land to the place called Sh’khem, to the oak of Moreh. The Kena‘ani were then in the land. 7 Adonai appeared to Avram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to Adonai, who had appeared to him.
8 He left that place, went to the hill east of Beit-El and pitched his tent. With Beit-El to the west and ‘Ai to the east, he built an altar there and called on the name of Adonai.
15:2 Avram replied, “Adonai, God, what good will your gifts be to me if I continue childless; and Eli‘ezer from Dammesek inherits my possessions? 3 You haven’t given me a child,” Avram continued, “so someone born in my house will be my heir.” 4 But the word of Adonai came to him: “This man will not be your heir. No, your heir will be a child from your own body.” 5 Then he brought him outside and said, “Look up at the sky, and count the stars — if you can count them! Your descendants will be that many!” 6 He believed in Adonai, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Reflection Questions:
Embarking on a new job, Evelyn in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel says, “I thought, how many new lives can we have? Then I thought, as many as we like.” Abram (later Abraham—Genesis 17:5) left a secure life in Ur (a major city of his day), and followed God’s call to an unknown land and a life of greater significance. God said his life would bless “all the families of the earth.”
- 1 Peter 2:9 applied God’s call to Abram to all Christians, saying “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God’s own possession. You have become this people SO THAT you may speak of the wonderful acts of the one who called you out of darkness into his amazing light.” In what ways are you living out the “so that” of God’s call, using whatever resources you have to bless others?
- Abram was in a new land and a new life, with much to learn. But he didn’t need to learn how to worship. His God came with him: “At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him” (verses 6-7). What intentional ways do you have to honor and worship God in your home? In your life outside your home?
Today’s Prayer:
Lord Jesus, cultivate in me a hunger to live a life that really matters. And guide me as I seek to find and live that kind of a life for you. Amen.
Insights from Donna Karlen
Lord Jesus, cultivate in me a hunger to live a life that really matters. And guide me as I seek to find and live that kind of a life for you. Amen.
Insights from Donna Karlen
Donna Karlen serves in Communications at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
“… and you will be a blessing.”
In Pastor Clayton’s message this past weekend, he talked about living a life of significance. I can think of few things more significant than being a blessing to others.
As I write this, my family is in Wisconsin for the funeral of my husband’s brother. Just 55 years young, he lost his short but valiant fight with cancer. As a dairy farmer in a very small town (population 1024 and I think that’s counting us), he had many opportunities to be a blessing to friends and neighbors (two words that are generally synonymous here), the Boy Scouts he led, the church he sang at, those he hunted with or who rode along with him on his Harley rides, and the many others whose lives he touched with his free spirit, sense of humor and willingness to help. The last time I saw him just three weeks ago, he and his amazing wife had opened their home for family and friends to gather together for food and fireworks. I smile at the memory of him sharing laughs and stories with those gathered around him – even as he was suffering terrible pain.
If ever there was evidence of him being a blessing to others, it was what happened when the ravages of his spreading cancer made him too weak to take care of the everyday needs of the farm. He had blessed others countless times by helping them over the years, and they came to bless him.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
“… and you will be a blessing.”
In Pastor Clayton’s message this past weekend, he talked about living a life of significance. I can think of few things more significant than being a blessing to others.
As I write this, my family is in Wisconsin for the funeral of my husband’s brother. Just 55 years young, he lost his short but valiant fight with cancer. As a dairy farmer in a very small town (population 1024 and I think that’s counting us), he had many opportunities to be a blessing to friends and neighbors (two words that are generally synonymous here), the Boy Scouts he led, the church he sang at, those he hunted with or who rode along with him on his Harley rides, and the many others whose lives he touched with his free spirit, sense of humor and willingness to help. The last time I saw him just three weeks ago, he and his amazing wife had opened their home for family and friends to gather together for food and fireworks. I smile at the memory of him sharing laughs and stories with those gathered around him – even as he was suffering terrible pain.
If ever there was evidence of him being a blessing to others, it was what happened when the ravages of his spreading cancer made him too weak to take care of the everyday needs of the farm. He had blessed others countless times by helping them over the years, and they came to bless him.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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