Sunday, February 9, 2020 | Sh’vat 14, 5780

“Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.”

 – 2 Samuel 18:9

Lord, You are the master of creation and can use even the trees to carry out Your judgments. Fill me with wonder at Your power and deeds.

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Saturday, February 8, 2020 | Sh’vat 13, 5780

“When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.”

 – Deuteronomy 24:20

Jesus, give me a generous spirit. Remove any selfishness from me and fill me with concern for the needs of others.

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Friday, February 7, 2020 | Sh’vat 12, 5780

“Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.”

 – Deuteronomy 12:12

Holy Spirit, examine my life and show me any areas where I’m not putting You first – where I’m putting myself, my hobbies, my desires, or my family above You. Give me the strength to give You everything.

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Thursday, February 6, 2020 | Sh’vat 11, 5780

“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.”

 – Leviticus 27:30

My God, help me to trust You with my resources. Give me a heart of gratitude to give back to You what You’ve so graciously given to me.

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Wednesday, February 5, 2020 | Sh’vat 10, 5780

“Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit.”

 – Leviticus 26:20

Jesus, let my life be meaningful. Let me not work and live in vain. Turn my heart to You as You turn Yours to me.

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Tuesday, February 4, 2020 | Sh’vat 9, 5780

“I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.”

 – Leviticus 26:4

Blessed Father, help me to always obey You so that I enjoy Your blessings.

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Monday, February 3, 2020 | Sh’vat 8, 5780

“When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten.”

 – Leviticus 19:23

How wise You are, oh, Lord! You command us to let Your trees grow and become healthy before we eat of their fruit. Feed with Your Spirit so that I grow and prepare myself to nourish the spirits of others.

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Sunday, February 2, 2020 | Sh’vat 7, 5780

“They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness.”

 – Nehemiah 9:25

Lord, just as You blessed Israel with the work of others, so You bless me by allowing me to learn from the examples of Christians in previous generations. Open my heart and mind to the lessons You taught them.

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Saturday, February 1, 2020 | Sh’vat 6, 5780

“And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.’”

 – Genesis 3:22

Jesus, my eternal life isn’t for me to reach out and take, but for You to give. You are my salvation and my King.

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Friday, January 31, 2020 | Sh’vat 5, 5780

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

 – Genesis 3:8

Holy Spirit, soften my heart so that I never try to hide from You. When You convict me, let me run to You in confession and repentance.

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Thursday, January 30, 2020 | Sh’vat 4, 5780

“And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’”

 – Genesis 2:16-17

Your commands are good and Your judgments are fair, oh Lord. Help me to obey Your instructions.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2020 | Sh’vat 3, 5780

“The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

 – Genesis 2:9

Father, remind me that in Your creation there is life, but there is also danger. Give me the wisdom to stay close to one and far from the other.

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Tuesday, January 28, 2020 | Sh’vat 2, 5780

“Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.’”

 – Genesis 1:29

You are so generous, Father, to give us Your creation. Help me to be generous to the world.

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Monday, January 27, 2020 | Sh’vat 1, 5780

“Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so.”

 – Genesis 1:11

Father, You are so creative. And not only are You creative enough to make the trees, but You are wise enough to design them to reproduce and bear fruit year after year to sustain us. I praise You!

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Refusing to Take Dirty Money - Devotion on Genesis 14

Scripture: Genesis 14:22-23

“With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’”

When the king of Sodom offered the remaining possessions to Abram, he refused to accept. He knew that the king of Sodom was corrupt, and Abram did not want to owe anything to him. Abram trusted only God's blessings and did not want to deal with people who didn't share his values.

We can take some lessons from Abram here. Where does your money come from? Who do you do business with? Don't dirty yourself or your finances by taking money from someone you know to be of low moral value. Don’t give the world a claim on you. Instead, do business with integrity, work for a company of integrity, buy from people of integrity, and God will bless you for it.

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The Tenth - Devotion on Genesis 14

Scripture: Genesis 14:20

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

When Abram was victorious over the attacking kings, he gave a tenth of the recovered possessions to the priest, Melchizedek. Why did he give this priest a tenth of what he had received? The priest didn't fight the battle. The priest didn't recover the possessions. The priest didn't have anything stolen from him in the first place.

But Abram gave him a tenth in order to show his gratitude to God. He was thankful that God had given him such an amazing victory. And since he couldn't give the tenth to God directly, he gave it to God's representative, the priest.

We do the same thing. When we want to acknowledge the good things God has done for us by giving us certain skills and the opportunity to work at our jobs and make an income, we thank Him by giving a portion of what we have received back to Him. But we give it to Him by entrusting it to His chosen representatives, the officials of the church.

Giving God an offering out of what we have received is our way of showing our gratitude to Him. Do you need to be more giving in your offerings to God? What else can you give besides money to express your thankfulness to Him?

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Praise Be - Devotion on Genesis 14

Scripture: Genesis 14:19-20

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Melchizedek, this mysterious man of God, knows the score. When everyone else would have seen Abram’s prowess in battle, Melchizedek saw the truth. God had blessed Abram and given him the victory. Yes, Abram acted bravely and did his part, but without the Lord helping him, he surely would have failed. After all, he only had 318 men against an alliance of multiple armies.

God can give you the victory over overwhelming circumstances, just as He did for Abram. When He does, don’t let it go to your head. Give Him the glory and thank Him for blessing you again. He’s a good God, and He deserves your praise.

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King of Righteousness, King of Peace - Devotion on Genesis 14

Scripture: Genesis 14:17-18

After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High…

Melchizedek. He’s a very enigmatic character whom the writer of Hebrews reminds us is a foreshadowing of Christ because this person is both a king and a priest, just as Jesus is before the Lord.

But Melchizedek’s appearance in this story is interesting in itself. Notice that he was not one of the kings involved in the war with Kedorlaomer. He didn’t ally with Kedorlaomer or with the rebel kings. He was neutral. Why is that?

Let’s take a closer look at this king-priest. His name means “King of Righteousness,” and the name of his city means “Peace.” So, he’s literally King of Righteousness, the King of Peace. He doesn’t get down and dirty with the wars of his day. Instead, he remains peaceful and then, brings out refreshments for the warriors once the dust has settled. The bread and wine that he brings to the battlefield is a sign of reconciliation for the two parties (you don’t eat with your enemy), just as Christ’s bread and wine at the Last Supper was a sign of the reconciliation between God and us.

The question is, how we can be more like Melchizedek? How can we show the righteousness God has given us by standing apart from the messiness and the squabbling of the world while also offering reconciliation and peace to the people of the world?

As you go through your day, look for opportunities to be a Melchizedek to the people around you.

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Calling Out the Troops - Devotion on Genesis 14

Scripture: Genesis 14:14

When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit…

Abram gets bad news and calls out the 318 trained men born in his household. These are men loyal to Abram and trained to fight. They stand ready to take action.

This is the perfect picture of Christians calling on their prayer warriors. As the Church, we are trained members of God’s household who stand ready to lift each other up in prayer and to take action on each other’s behalf. We’re not going to pursue an enemy army, but we can band together to defeat the devil’s army when he comes against us.

Who do you call on when trouble comes? Are you using all of the resources the Lord has put at your disposal? Are you making yourself available for other Christian brothers and sisters to call on you when they need help?

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Caught Up - Devotion on Genesis 14

Scripture: Genesis 14:12

They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

Nine kings were having a war, and Lot was caught up in the middle of it. Sure, it was partly his fault for wanting to move closer to the sin haven of Sodom, but with God's help, Abram was able to defeat the attacking kings and recover what had been lost.

In the same way, either through our own fault or no fault of our own, we sometimes get caught up in the events of life. Things happen that we have no control over. Circumstances take a downturn for us.

And like Abram and Lot in this passage, we can come out of those times victorious. With God's help, we can regain what was lost.

Has life ever caught you up? How did God make you victorious in that situation? Do you believe that He’ll do it again?

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