KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, January 19, 2018
Chapters: Genesis 22-24
Message: Tempted By God?
Hello My Friend,
There are two types of temptation, one is of course, of the devil to entice one to commit sin, the other is of God, and it is not to entice rather to prove or show proof of our faith in Him. How do we know if we are being tempted by God or the devil? God’s temptations lead to life, the devils lead to death. God always, always gives us a way out of temptation even before we act upon it. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” – James 1:12-14.
No, I am not talking about the devil’s temptations today, we all know that the temptation to sin is all around us on any given day, but it only becomes evident when we are weak in the flesh. We are going to talk about how and why God tempts or proves us, are going to stand by Him, no matter what He asks or are we going to walk away? Now, whenever we are tempted we have to stop and think about God’s promises first. When God first came to Abraham He promised him that he would have a son, and that through his son there would be so many children that it would be like trying to count the stars or the sand. And while it may have taken several years, that son did come, and we know him to be Isaac. Now, God was about to prove Abraham.
“And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” – Genesis 22:1-3,9-12.
“And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven,” How many times have you attempted to do something only to be told by God to stop? If you stop to think about it, quite a few. You see, God knows His promises to us, and He never backs out of those promises, we may prolong them due to our own foolish decisions as He did with Abraham, but whenever He promises something to us, it will happen. Abraham also remembered God’s promise, and after God proved that he was faithful to Him He reminded him of that promise. “And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” – Genesis 22:15-18.
“because thou hast obeyed my voice.” Whenever God tempts us it is not for evil, rather obedience, I wish I could say that I have always obeyed His voice, but I have not. And yes, I have hindered God at times because I got impatient or did not understand, and instead of waiting I took things into my own hands. Whether we are doing things for ourselves or others it is best to seek God for guidance, in fact, it is the only way you can know that you are even doing the right thing. History proves that when we seek God for guidance we always see the best outcome. Now, Sarah died and Abraham’s health was deteriorating, he decided it was time for Isaac to have a wife, but he did not want him to have a wife from the land of Canaan, he sent his servant to seek out a one for him, he did not give any specifics, only that she be from his people.
“And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.” – Genesis 24:1-8.
“he shall send his angel before thee,” Just yesterday God reminded me that He has always been with me, even when I did not always follow Him, even when I chose the world over Him, even when I got myself caught up in a mess because, quite frankly, the world and I did not get along. You see, long ago, I accepted Christ into my heart, even before I understood what that meant, then I went about my life, only since He now lived in me He could not let me continue living that way, He let me fall, and I fell hard, but He protected me the whole time, and when I was ready, when I was on the edge of falling off the cliff, He pulled me up. You see, the devil tempted me with evil and I took the bait, but Jesus never let me go, He was always one step ahead of me, and He is still always one step ahead. And He is the same way with all of His people. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” – John 10:27-30.
We have to be careful when obeying the voice of God that we do not let others hinder us, Abraham’s servant did just as he asked, when he got there the only thing he thought to do was pray, and amazingly, a woman arrived at the well where he was standing. The servant eagerly followed her to her house and told her family everything, and while they approved, they wanted him to wait a while before they left.
“And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men. And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.” – Genesis 24:52-60.
“be thou the mother of thousands of millions,” How amazing is it that this woman played a part in not only becoming the mother of Israel, but all who know Christ as their Saviour as well. This woman embarked on a journey that only by faith she could have accomplished. Traveling to meet a man she never met, wondering if she was going to even like him or that we would accept her as his wife, I am sure these things crossed her mind, but when she arrived Isaac gladly accepted her as his wife. Often, all of our journeys are by faith, we really never accomplish anything unless we have faith in what we are doing. “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” – Mark 11:22,23.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” – Genesis 22:7-8.
Today’s Prayer: God, Your tempting us never comes without void, and while we do not always understand some of the ways in which You do prove us, everything You do has a purpose and a meaning, and comes out good if we simply trust You. Lord, I will never forget the day You came to me and revealed Your purpose for my life and I want continue to fulfill that purpose, lead me and guide me, give me Your power to trust You no matter what challenge You bring me, and keep me in obedience to Your Word, not because I have to, but because I love and respect You. Give me the strength to fight evil temptation, let me not be hindered from fulfilling Your will for my life, and fill me with Your mercy and grace that I may accomplish all that You have for me. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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