Week 4 Monday
Today we watch God's promise pass faithfully from Abraham to Isaac, find heartfelt worship in one of David's most treasured psalms, and meet the women who followed Jesus and helped support His ministry.
Genesis 25-26
📖 What are we reading?: Faithful Abraham dies peacefully. Rebekah falls pregnant, and her sons are in conflict even in the womb! Jacob tricks his way into getting Esau's birthright, even though it already belonged to him. Chapter 26 shows us Isaac following in the footsteps of his father, and being blessed by God in accordance with the promise God gave Abraham.
✞ What does this passage say about God?: He is a promise-keeping God, carrying His covenant faithfully from one generation to the next - blessing Isaac just as He had blessed Abraham before him.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live?: Jacob's scheming for the birthright is a reminder that we don't need to grasp and manipulate for what God has already promised us. Isaac's example shows us a better way - simply walking in our father's footsteps of faith and trusting God to do what He said He would.
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: Genesis, meaning "beginnings", was written by Moses around 1400 BC, and covers the story of creation, the fall, and the origins of God's chosen people, Israel.
Psalm 16
📖 What are we reading?: A short poem contrasting the righteous and the wicked. Verse 8 is a favourite of mine! This is a lovely Psalm with much to hold onto. May it lead you to heartfelt worship as you read.
✞ What does this passage say about God?: He is our chosen portion and our cup - the source of every good pleasure and every good relationship in our lives.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live?: Set the Lord always before you, be grateful for the pleasures He gives, and be grateful too for the mentors He places in your path.
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: The Psalms is a collection of 150 poems and songs, written by David and others, expressing the full range of human emotion in response to God and to life.
📝 A devotional by Luke on being grateful for pleasures.
📝 A devotional by Luke on being grateful for mentors.
Luke 8:1-21
📖 What are we reading?: Jesus travels through towns and villages proclaiming the good news, accompanied by the Twelve and a group of women who support the ministry out of their own means. He then tells the parable of the sower, and reminds His listeners not to hide their light but to let it shine.
✞ What does this passage say about God?: God delights to use ordinary, faithful people - including women often overlooked by their culture - to carry His good news forward.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live?: We can learn some lessons from the women who followed Jesus in the first few verses. The parable of the sower causes us to ask ourselves if we are producing a crop for Him. And we are reminded to shine our light for Him, not hide it away.
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: Luke's Gospel was written by Luke, a Greek physician and companion of Paul, around AD 60-62. It is the most detailed account of Jesus' life, and is especially attentive to the poor, to women, and to outcasts.
📝 A set of devotions by Luke on the women who followed Jesus.
A Prayer for the Day
🙏 Lord, thank You that Your promises carry faithfully from one generation to the next. You are our chosen portion, and in Your presence is fullness of joy - help us to set You before us always, and to shine the light You have given us, just as the faithful women who followed Jesus did. Amen.
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