Category: Genesis-BibleTrekToday
Trek through Genesis
The God who asks questions!
Scripture reading for January 5th: Genesis 15-17, Matthew 5
Key Scriptures: Genesis 16:7-10, 13 “The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” . . . .”So she called the Name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of Seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me.”
God asked Hagar two questions, but not because He did not know the answer! “Where have you come from?” has to do with our past and reveals underlying motives or hurts. God wants us bringing them to Him. “Where are you going?” reveals present plans and often our failure to stop and seek God for His will and direction. Prayer searches our hearts and motives.
Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.””
Prayer: Lord, search my heart for deep hurts, impure motives, and sin that brings fiery judgment. You are a God who Sees and looks after me! Amen.
Blessing of obedience!
Scripture reading for January 4th: Genesis 11-14, Matthew 4
Key Scriptures: Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””
God chose Abram and gave him amazing promises tied to his willingness to walk with God and follow His instructions. This is faith working through love and blessings are the result of pleasing God in this manner. Jesus, God’s Son and the promised “seed”of Abraham, left heaven and went to earth in obedience to the Father. He did this to obtain blessings for all the families of the earth! He obeyed every Word of the Father and all nations are blessed through Him!
Matthew 4:1-4 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But He answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
Prayer: Father, in Jesus’ Name, help me to live by every Word coming from Your mouth and make me a blessing! Amen.
Building an altar
Scripture reading for January 3rd: Genesis 8-10, Matthew 3
Key Scriptures: Genesis 8:14-17,20 “In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. Then God said to Noah, “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh–birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” . . . “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”
The Lord gave Noah instructions upon entering and now upon leaving the ark. God’s Word was critical to success in escaping the destruction of the flood and now in entering a new world, washed from violence by the flood. Noah and his family built an altar to worship God and offer acceptable sacrifices. When God smelled the offerings, He was pleased and made a covenant with Noah, promising blessing and no more water judgment! Baptism is a symbol of water judgment on sins!
Matthew 3:1, 11-12 “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”. . . “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His and, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for clear instructions to our forefathers warning of coming judgment and taking them through. Cleanse my heart, by Your Holy Spirit, and make it an altar where You dwell and we meet each day. Amen.
Prayer empowers our walk!
Scripture reading for January 2nd: Genesis 4-7, Matthew 2
Key Scriptures: Genesis 6:9-14 “These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth and behold it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.””
In just a few generations from Adam and Eve, mankind had become totally corrupted and were corrupting the earth with violence. God took note and told one righteous man, Noah, about His planned judgment. God instructed Noah to build an ark as a means of escape and protection for himself, his family, and the animal creation. Noah walked with God, heard and obeyed, saving himself and mankind through His obedience!
Matthew 2:19-20 “But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.”
Prayer: Lord, give me sensitivity to Your voice through the Holy Spirit, dreams, and angelic ministers. Keep me walking with you and protect me and my family from the traps of the devil in these last days. Amen.
Walking with God
Scripture reading for January 1st: Genesis 1-3, Matthew 1
Key Scriptures: Genesis 3:8-12, “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. He said, “Who told you you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me; she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate””
God created Adam and Eve to have fellowship with Him. He placed them in a beautiful garden, with everything they needed and gave them responsibility and dominion over it. The only tree that they were commanded not to eat from was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But Eve was deceived by the serpent and Adam disobeyed God and failed to protect his wife. This brought fear of punishment from God into man’s life and shame separated man from sweet fellowship with their Creator Father. But God had a plan to restore mankind through the “Seed of woman.”
Matthew 1:20-21 “But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Prayer: Father God, we humbly acknowledge our tie to the first Adam and Eve in that we have sinned and separated ourselves from walking with You. As we begin this new year, we ask for grace to hear your call and to walk with You in faith and instead of drawing back in fear. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Son of God! Amen.
God is concerned!
Scripture reading for January 17th: Genesis 50, Exodus 1-4
Key Scriptures: Exodus 4:29-31 “Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.”
God saw the misery of His people in Egypt and heard their cry for mercy. He acted by appearing to Moses and calling him and his brother Aaron to go and demonstrate His power to His people and the Egyptians. His goal was that His people would worship Him and enter into a relationship for eternity.
Cause for Joy: Our Lord and God cares for the needs of His people and is concerned enough to act to bring the needed help! “No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also did not take upon Himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to Him, “You are My Son; today I have become your father.” (Hebrews 5:4-5)
Faith’s eternal vision!
Scripture reading for January 16th: Genesis 46-49
Key Scriptures: Genesis 47:29-31 “When the time drew near for Israel (Jacob) to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” “I will do as you say,” he said. “Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on top of his staff.”
Jacob had lived in Egypt for seventeen years and knew that his departure was coming soon. He called Joseph and gave him instructions for the burial of his bones. He wanted to rest in the land of promise with those of faith who had preceded him in death. When this was assured by Joseph, he worshiped his God as he leaned on his staff!
Cause for rejoicing: God gives us vision concerning eternal life, removing the fear of death from our hearts! His promises are sure! “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.” (Hebrews 11:21-22)
God prepared a great deliverance!
Scripture reading for January 13th: Genesis 41-45
Key Scriptures: Genesis 45:4-7 “Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close by me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”
God has planed for our needs before they even dawn on us. Here God prepared to save His people by sending one of the brothers ahead into Egypt and placing him in a position of authority. In like manner, God sent His Son Jesus into the world to save lives and bring about the greatest deliverance ever known to man!
Reason for rejoicing: God sent His only Son into the world that the world may be saved through Him! “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” (John 3:16-17)
Power over temptation!
Scripture reading for January 12th: Genesis 37-40
Key Scriptures: Genesis 39:6-10 “Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
Because Joseph walked with God and respected His word, he was keenly aware of boundaries. As a slave, he respected his master. As an Israelite, he respected God’s commands. He knew that adultery was a sin and a “wicked” thing in God’s sight. This kept him from temptation. God’s presence in his life empowered Joseph to flee a powerful trap set by Satan!
Thankful for power to resist: God promises to deliver us from evil and the Evil One. We must resist temptation and flee from evil. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1st Corinthians 10:13)
Angel armies protecting us!
Scripture reading for January 11th: Genesis 28-31
Key Scriptures: Genesis 28:10-13 “Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the hearth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.”
Jacob was traveling when he stopped for the night to rest. At this resting place, he had a dream given by God. This dream revealed a stairway to heaven with angels going up and down. The Lord was at the top and spoke to him! He assured Jacob of a fulfillment of the covenant that God had made with Abraham and Isaac. God would be with him and bless all nations through his seed! The angel armies were with him and for him! Praise the Lord!
Cause for rejoicing: God knows where we are as covenant people. He promises to be with us and fulfill all He has spoken! Angels are present to minister to us! “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14)