Scripture: “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.’ At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said
Scripture: “The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if
God called Abram out of his current location to the place God was leading him. Abram’s father, Terah, started the journey toward the land of Canaan, but settled in Haran. Maybe the allure of that civilization seemed more appealing than moving forward to a new land. Yet, God’s promise to Abram was not limited by his “pitstop” in Haran. The surprising part of the story is that Abram left his homeland – the place where he had roots. He took his family and departed for a land where he had never been. Surely there was anxiety and uncertainty about going on an adventure without knowing what was ahead. Yet, God kept showing up on his journey to remind Abram that he was walking along the right path. Abram set out to follow God to find a blessing, but God blessed Abram as he journeyed. Abram had to move to take hold of God’s promise…
Abraham could put his arm around the promise God had been faithful to provide. His son was an answer to prayer and the promise God had given Abraham and Sarah. Along the way, God wanted to see if Abraham’s heart was still in line with His heart. So, He sent him a test so significant that Abraham would have to make the decision if he trusted God with his greatest treasure, Isaac. Isaac began to wonder about the journey up the mountain as well. He knew they were going for a sacrifice but didn’t have an animal to sacrifice to God, as was customary in that day…
Scripture: “A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you. Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will