The Call of Abram

DAILY READING

Genesis 12:1-9

REFLECTION

God Calls The Unworthy

by Pastor Jeff Morlock

We spend so much of our lives trying to measure up, to be worthy in the eyes of God and others. Yet the Lord chooses that which the world deems unlikely.

God called Abram to be the father of the covenant, the one through whose line the messiah would come to bring salvation to the world. We might expect God to pick a strong young man for this privilege, one with impeccable credentials, integrity, and devotion to the Lord. But Joshua 24:2 describes Abram and his ancestors as idol worshipers. That’s strike one. Abram is also way past his prime in terms of age. That’s strike two. And this elderly idolator’s wife, Sarai, is unable to bear children. If you’re counting, that’s strike three.

Martin Luther said that God loves to create from nothing, as he did in the beginning. So he starts here with three strikes and the odds stacked against him. Making promises to Abram, the Lord bids him leave everything behind (all past influences), including his country, his extended family, and his religion. He is to start over in a land that God will show him. Incredibly, Abram obediently responds in faith! We can at least give him credit for that, right? For having faith?

Well, yes. And no. A person might have faith in this thing or that idea, but saving faith in God and God’s promise is not something we can muster up on our own. By nature we are prone to rebel against God, not trust in him. Consequently, like God’s promises themselves, the ability to receive them and act on them (faith) is also a gift!

God chooses unlikely people like Abram and you and me, not because of our resumes, but in spite of them. God qualifies the unqualified, “faiths” the faithless, and “worthies” the unworthy. He comes to us hidden in ordinary people and things, like a baby lying in a manger, a condemned man dying on a cross, or elements of water, bread, and wine. Through these, he delivers to you what he promised. Forgiveness. Salvation. Worth. And new life in Jesus, the Promised One.
 
In what ways have you been striving to earn a gift that is already yours? In what ways have you sought worth by comparing yourself to others, resulting in either unrealistic pride or shame? Spend some time in prayer repenting of these things and thanking God for choosing you in love to be his precious child. 

PRAYER PRACTICE

Prayer Journal – To begin your daily worship today, grab a pen and paper and write out a prayer to God. Give thanks to God for all that He gives. And then your supplication by presenting your prayer requests to God. When you are done, tuck this away somewhere (so you can read it later and see how God has answered your prayers) and then move into hearing from God through His Word.

Jesus Predicts His Death

 Cup Prayer – This prayer will help you pour your heart out to God (Ps. 62:8). Begin with your hands folded together like an upside-down cup. Pour out before God all your fears, anxieties, guilt, sin and shame. Tell Him what troubles you. Take time to be specific. When you feel like you’ve poured out your heart, flip your hands over, folding them like an open cup, ready to receive from God. Sit in silence, asking God simply to fill you with His Spirit. If your mind runs back to sin, shame, anxiety or concerns of the day, flip your hands back over and pour it out to the Lord. When you are finished praying, read today’s Scripture and listen as God shares His heart back with you.

Daily Reading - Luke 18:31-43

Devotional -
Jesus Predicts His Death
by Pastor Jeff Morlock

This the third time in Luke that Jesus predicts his suffering, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. But the crowds can’t imagine a crucified king. And neither can those closest to Jesus, including his disciples. In this passage, the people who are physically able to see seem spiritually blind, while the blind beggar sees Jesus’ identity and purpose clearly. Why? Maybe because he’s the only one who perceives Jesus through the lens of Scripture. The beggar calls Jesus, “Son of David”and cries out to him repeatedly for mercy. Apart from the Bible, you simply can’t understand Jesus, which is why daily worship and study matters so much.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus inquires of the beggar. My hunch is that most answers to a blank check like that would be “short sighted”. But not this beggar’s answer. He knows how some people like to make a show of their generosity to street people, but he also knows that Jesus is different. He’s heard of Christ’s miraculous signs, including healing. So instead of asking for food or money that will eventually run out, the beggar asks instead to regain his sight. And when he receives it, he immediately glorifies God and follows the Healer.
 
Luke uses this story to illustrate that the kingdom of God has broken into the world, and that “… everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.” Jesus is almost at Jerusalem, where God’s plan will be completed. There he will bear the consequences of our disobedience. By his death, Jesus will take on himself the blindness and despair of the world. By his resurrection, he will heal all who have been blinded by sin, death, and the devil. “We are all beggars, it’s true,” Martin Luther is said to have uttered on his deathbed. What do you want Jesus to do for you today?

Make the beggar’s prayer your own: ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Do you know what you want and need him to do for you? Ask Jesus to help you see God’s presence in your life and world; to see where it is that he would have you to join him in his work. Praise Jesus for who he is, thank him for what he's done and for his promises to you.

God's Love for Israel

In His on-going effort to warn God’s people of their coming doom (being conquered and taken into exile), Hosea reminds Israel of their experience with Egypt. They had been held captive before and cried out to God. When they did, God delivered them and prospered them. Yet, they had turned their backs on God. And now they would go back into exactly the kind of bondage that God had delivered them from. As you read, consider the way that the people of God so easily get caught back up in bondage to sin. Also consider how consistently merciful God has been to lead His people back to freedom.

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

Click here to access the reading from Hosea 11:1-11

For more help use this Bible Study method

 

REFLECTION

GOD’S LOVE FOR ISRAEL

By Pastor Jeff Morlock 

Being a parent is hard. As our kids grow, the stakes get higher and the questions more persistent. “Is she safe? Will he succeed? Did I teach them enough?” No matter how well they’re raised, though, children can’t be forced to love God or make wise choices. In the 8th century BC, Israel was like a rebellious teenager. Infighting had split the kingdom. The monarchies were plagued by intrigue. False gods were invoked, and pagan rituals embraced. And the more the Lord called to them, the more they ran in the opposite direction. In which direction are you running these days? What does that look like?

Hosea reminds Israel of God’s parental love that delivered them from slavery; when the Angel of Death took the lives of Egypt’s firstborn sons, he passed over the homes of the Hebrews, whose doorposts were marked with the blood of a spotless lamb. Yet the children of Israel remained ungrateful. Their idolatry that began at Mount Sinai accelerated in Hosea’s time. Was it time for tough love? Would God allow them to experience the full consequences of their actions? 

Being a parent is hard. God can’t bear the thought of His children being destroyed like Admah and Zeboiim, cities that met their downfall along with Sodom and Gomorrah. Instead, Israel will experience exile in Assyria (a very long, extended “time out”), but a remnant will return. They won’t be obliterated. God judges sin and punishes wickedness, but His compassion is warm and tender. 

If that seems like a contradiction, consider that the word compassion in v. 8 means “to suffer with.” Both the judgment and mercy of God would find full expression in the suffering and crucifixion of Christ Jesus. He is the true and perfect Lamb of God who, in love, died the death we deserve. By His blood, we are forgiven and restored, so that we may more closely reflect the loving compassion and faithfulness of our Creator. 

In your relationship with God, how have you been like a rebellious teenager recently? In what way(s) might the Lord be calling you to reflect his love and compassion this week to someone who is undeserving?

PRAYER:

God, we confess that we are prone to wander; but we are also grateful for what your love has overcome in us through Christ. Grant us obedient hearts filled with compassion, and teach us to love sacrificially as you first loved us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

UALC’S CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER - FRIDAY

FAITH - Pray for faith instead of fear, that many would come to faith in Jesus and that we would all trust God more deeply during this time.

Hope

 The beginning of chapter 66 (that you read yesterday) was a stunning warning. Here at the end of the chapter, Isaiah gives a beautiful word of hope. While human effort is untrustworthy (66:1-6), God’s faithfulness is reliable. And the end of the chapter reveals an even more surprising secret – God’s faithfulness isn’t just for Israel, but for anyone who will turn to Him in faith!

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

 Click here to access the reading from Isaiah 66:13-22

 
For more help use this Bible Study method

 

REFLECTION

Hope

By Jeff Morlock

God isn’t fooled by appearances. Some in Judah who publicly offered sacrifices to Yahweh also participated in pagan rituals and blatantly sinful behavior on the side. God promised punishment for these hypocrites and consolation for his faithful. But his judgment had taken a toll on the nation, and those who had kept the faith were weary.

Do you know what it’s like to be bone-tired? Depression, anxiety, marital or family strife, financial instability, ill health, and more can make us feel so mentally, physically and spiritually exhausted that we can’t imagine feeling truly alive again. The Israelites knew this bone-tiredness after suffering through the exile, being cut off from their land and their God. Then, when some were allowed to return in anticipation of the great blessings Yahweh had promised, they found only further hardship, famine, political in-fighting, and economic oppression.

But tucked within this drama of God’s righteous anger and Israel’s eventual vindication is the promise of v. 13, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” Biblically, we know God as Father. But the comfort he offers is like that of a mother. When our daughters were little, my kisses never seemed to cure “owies” like their mother’s did, probably because moms have a special way of knowing exactly what kind of comfort is needed and just how to offer it for maximum impact. Even now when my adult children want fun, frivolity, or food, they call me. But when they want comfort, only Mom will do. Perhaps this is what Isaiah means. The labor pains of Zion’s deliverance and rebirth are unavoidable, yet the God who births her is there to comfort and console all along the way. Those who embrace this promise (and its Giver) will receive the hope Isaiah describes. God is making all things new. New heavens. New earth. New community. New you!

What sin do you need to confess today? What is getting in the way of your relationship with God and new life in Christ? What distraction is making you so weary that you have lost sight of his loving care and the hope to which he has called you? Spend some time silently in God’s presence, asking the Lord to forgive and soothe and renew you.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your love that comes to us as both judgment and hope, for Jesus who fulfills both, and for the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, through whom we experience the care that Isaiah describes. Amen.

UALC’S CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER - FRIDAY

FAITH - Pray for faith instead of fear, that many would come to faith in Jesus and that we would all trust God more deeply during this time.

The King's Edict on Behalf of the Jews

The story of Esther is another story of God’s faithfulness to the Jewish people, even in exile. Esther and her people live in a foreign land, even as many Jews had returned to the promised land and had begun to rebuild (as you read yesterday). In today’s reading we hear the end of Esther’s story – where because of her bravery, all Jews, whether in Jerusalem or in exile, were permitted to worship God freely. Like the story of the rebuilding of the temple, this is a story of God’s faithfulness to His people, and of their relationship to Him through worship.

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

Click here to access the reading from Esther 8:1-17

For more help use this Bible Study method

 

REFLECTION

 

A Domino Effect

    by Jeff Morlock

When I was a kid I loved setting up dominoes. Spaced just the right distance apart, going up and down and around corners. It gave me great satisfaction to touch the first domino and watch all the others fall in sequence. The book of Esther is like that, I think. Each seemingly random event in the book triggers another, Yet taken individually, they appear unconnected.                                                                                        
Athough secretly Jewish, Esther is chosen queen of Persia because of her beauty. Then King Xerxes writes an edict declaring that all Jews in the country should to be killed, simply because Haman, whom the king had promoted, got angry when Esther's cousin, Mordecai failed to stand and salute him. Finally, when Esther begs the king to save her and her people from this awful edict, the king’s decision is the falling domino that seals Haman’s fate, and makes a way forward for God’s people.

What’s strange about the book of Esther is that God’s name is never mentioned. What we see is simply that the first edict the king gives is for death. Then comes Esther's request, and a second royal edict is given for life. Similarly, within the larger context of the Scriptures, it is because of our sin that God pronounced an edict of death over all humanity. It was an edict that we couldn't change or overturn despite our best efforts. But God made a way for sinful human beings by sending his only begotten Son, Jesus to die the death that we deserve and be raised again to life. For those who believe on his name, Jesus gives pronounces a second edict of life, abundant and eternal. 

So when your life seems like a stream of random circumstances threatening to overwhelm you or do you in, you can appeal to to Christ Jesus, our risen and ascended King, who is seated at the right hand of his Father in heaven. This story points to him, the One who has authority over every circumstance you will ever face. He mercifully stands behind every twist and turn for you. He uses every up and down for your benefit and the benefit of those around you. Will you trust that truth today? And believe that God can use you as he did Esther, to accomplish his purpose?

PRAYER: Lord ,you have authority over the circumstances of our lives and world. We thank you that you are always at work for our good, even when we can't see how. Grant us the courage of Esther to pray expectantly and to boldly join you in your mission to set the oppressed free. In the name of our Risen King, Jesus. Amen.

UALC’S CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER - FRIDAY

FAITH - Pray for faith instead of fear, that many would come to faith in Jesus and that we would all trust God more deeply during this time.

Jacob Gets Isaacs Blessing

Jacob uses deception to steal the blessing from his older brother Esau. This theme of deception and in-fighting will continue on to the next generation (which we will hear about in the sermon next week). Despite this act of sin, God continues to work. He is able even to use our sin and deceit to accomplish His purposes. As we often say around UALC, we are stubborn to sin, but God is even more stubborn to save.

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

Click here to access the reading from Genesis 27:18-29 

For more help use this Bible Study method

REFLECTION

Struggle for Blessing

by Jeff Morlock

God promised to bless and save the world through Abraham’s family. Each generation carried on the messianic seed through one son. This seed passed through Isaac. And now it will pass to one of his sons. Will it be Esau or Jacob? The word “bless(ing)” occurs 22 times in these verses. Off-handed comments of blessing or cursing affect us more profoundly than we care to admit. How much more words of blessing spoken with authority and finality at a parent’s death bed? 

The struggle for blessing is the theme of Jacob's life. But no one can bless themselves. Therefore, Jacob risks everything to steal from his brother what everyone desires above all else - the blessing of the firstborn. It's about being special and favored in the father's eyes. The absence of this blessing poisons one's future. But in order to steal the blessing of the firstborn, Jacob has to pretend. We all do this. We hide our true selves from others. Seeking approval, some become what their parents want them to be. Or they rebel and become the opposite, trying to convince themselves that they don’t care. But what all of us desperately need is what this story offers: God the Father gives favor, even to folks like Jacob who don’t deserve it. 

Jacob lied when he said, "I am the firstborn." But despite his deception God was at work, and through Jacob's line came Jesus, "the firstborn over all creation" (Colossians 1:15) and "the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18). Jesus leaves the father’s home to come to earth and die on a cross, where, he prays. "My God, my God”. Every other time he addresses God as Father, but not at Calvary. Because at the cross, Jesus loses the blessing of the firstborn, and fulfils the words of Jacob's mother and co-conspirator, Rebekah, "May the curse [for sin] fall on me”. 

Jesus dressed up like us and got the curse we deserve, so that when we believe in him, we can be clothed like him, and receive the firstborn blessing of our heavenly father. Hebrews 12:23, says, "…to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven." What kind of family has nothing but firstborn heirs? God’s family! Which includes you and everyone reading this who are special and highly favored.

PRAYER:
Thank you, Father, that we are blessed to be a blessing. Help us by your Spirit to speak words of life and favor today, encouraging and empowering others to become all that you created them to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

UALC’S CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER - FRIDAY

FAITH - Pray for faith instead of fear, that many would come to faith in Jesus and that we would all trust God more deeply during this time.

God Calls Abram

The story of the tower of Babel gives readers a context for the emergence of nations and tribes. This becomes critical to the salvation story of the Bible, as in Gen. 12 God calls one man, and his descendants to be His people. God makes an incredible promise to this man and places a high demand on Him as well. The fulfillment of the promise that God makes to Abram will ultimately come to pass – not because of Abram’s perfect faithfulness, but because of the work of Jesus, who will come from the line of Abram. In Gen. 12 God is laying the foundation of what He will do to bring hope and salvation to the whole world!

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

Click here to access the reading from Genesis12:1-9

For more help use this Bible Study method

REFLECTION

God Calls Abram

By Jeff Morlock

Abram means “father” and Abraham “father of many.” That’s key, because Genesis 11 describes the human race as so wicked as to have reached a dead end. One ray of hope is Seth’s family, who alone “called on the name of the Lord” (see Genesis 4). But Abram and his Father, Terah, whose name means “moon”, are the end of the line, in more ways than one.

Their home in Ur of the Chaldeans is the center of lunar worship. And their family, which was to preserve the worship of Yahweh, has become pagan, like their neighbors. Furthermore, Abram’s wife Sarai is barren, which means it’s literally the end of the line spiritually and physically for God’s people…. until the Lord speaks.

God calls Abram away from his clan and away from the worship of created things, which will always let you down, because they can’t deliver what they promise. Note that Abram is unfaithful and idolatrous when God calls him, a reminder for you and me that we’re NOT called by God because we’re qualified. We’re qualified because we’re called! God’s invitation always opens a door to new life and transformation! 

Abram’s family had come halfway to the promised land and then stopped. Now God calls Abram to leave and press on. But, says the Lord, “I won’t tell you where you’re headed.” If you knew ahead of time what God would require of you and exactly what it would entail, then you wouldn’t be answering a call. You’d be staying in charge of your own life. 

Of all God’s promises to Abram, the most important is a son, the seed of a family tree through which Christ Jesus would be born to save all humanity. Jesus is the true and better Abraham. He too, left the comfort of His Father’s home, and by his obedience opened the way to forgiveness and the promised land of the heaven. We who believe are “Abraham’s sons” and heirs of all that God has promised. Like Abraham, we answer God’s call by having faith in what we cannot see. What is God calling you away from today? What is he asking you to leave behind? And what is he calling you toward? Will you remain in what is familiar, but empty - or step out in faith?

Prayer: Father, empower me and all your people to live with the bold, daring faith of Abram. Make us unafraid to call on your name in a culture that does not know you. Guard us from distractions and from the temptation to settle down in comfortable places before we reach the destination to which you call us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

UALC’S CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER - FRIDAY

FAITH - Pray for faith instead of fear, that many would come to faith in Jesus and that we would all trust God more deeply during this time.

The Harvest of the Earth

Often, we think of harvest as a good thing. It’s when we gather food and celebrate. In spiritual terms, we usually think about harvest as God gathering more people to Himself – new Christians. But here the harvest relates to judgement. Drawing on language from the Old Testament (especially the book of Joel), God reveals that He will not only save His people, but that He will also punish evil. God loves justice, and His righteousness is expressed against evil in the form of wrath. And so, God’s people are invited to live with boldness in the present assured that God will punish evil in the future.

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

Click here to access the reading from Revelation 14:14-20

For more help use this Bible Study method

REFLECTION

Call on the Lord

By Jeff Morlock

The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. – Revelation 14:19.

As a kid growing up in a small-town farming community, I hired on with relatives each summer to plant, and later pick tomatoes. At the end of the season, the crop would be harvested and sold to the local processing plant to make tomato juice, sauce, or ketchup. Though the harvest represents the climax of a season’s labor, it can be a messy business. Fruit is gathered, washed, and separated. Then it’s pressed and strained, and the peels and seeds cast aside.

The Bible often uses the harvest as an image of God’s judgment. At the end of days, God will gather up our life’s work and measure its eternal value. Judgment may be favorable, for a crop worth preserving. Or it may involve destruction. This idea of judgment doesn’t sit easily with most people today. Because tolerance and acceptance are two of our society’s highest and most rewarded values, we often operate with an “I’m OK, you’re OK” mentality. But according to Revelation, God does not.

Scripture reminds us time and again that we are NOT okay. We are sinners with a tendency to rebel against the Lord. And because he is holy and just, evil has no place in his presence. According to this text, then, God is also in the messy business of straining and separating people and their deeds. Does the abuse, violence, manipulation, and hurt in the world trouble you? Praise God that there will come a time when all that has been inflicted on us—and all that we inflict on others—will be strained out and cast away from God’s presence. In his eternal kingdom, only the good will remain.

All of us deserve judgment. But those who trust in Jesus can rest assured that he has already endured the “winepress of God’s wrath” for us. This is the victory of the cross. This is the hope to which we are called. Praise God for his harvest justice and hope!

Prayer: Holy and merciful God, we know that judgment is a serious thing, because sin is serious. Thank you for the work of Christ that gives us a firm place to stand. Empower us to turn from any attitude or action that would grieve you and strengthen us to join you in working for a more just world. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

UALC’S CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER - FRIDAY

FAITH - Pray for faith instead of fear, that many would come to faith in Jesus and that we would all trust God more deeply during this time.

Mary's Song

Read Luke 1:46-56

What makes you sing? Ideas and experiences have always been expressed through song in deeper ways than words alone can manage. Songs speak from heart to heart in ways that articulate the deepest human longings. In these verses, Luke tells us that the baby within Elizabeth (a.k.a. John the Baptist) leaped for joy within her at the greeting of her cousin, Mary. The presence of Jesus, still in Mary’s womb, was already fulfilling human longing and bringing joy to the world!

At this, Mary’s soul burst forth in song as the words of "The Magnificat" flowed from her lips, exalting the uniqueness of her Savior. This song subverts our expectations about what it means to be in relationship with God. It's by grace and not merit, through weakness and not strength, through humility and not power-plays, by admitting our need instead of striving for self-sufficiency. If your relationship with God depends on what you bring to the table, the likelihood is that your heart won’t be overflowing with joy anytime soon. So, make Mary's words your own by praying the Magnificat daily for the remainder of Advent. See if a song begins to bubble up in your heart, too!

QUESTIONS:

1. What is your basic mode-of-operation with God? Do you approach Him out of duty, entitlement, or rather grace? What symptoms or signs typify each approach?

2. Self-sufficiency is the enemy of relationship with God, but the hallmark of Western society. How does this tension impact your ability to follow Jesus daily?

PRAYER:

God, with empty hands outstretched, I seek Your presence, Your favor, Your joy. Let these gifts overflow me to bless others in Jesus' name. Amen.

Jeff Morlock

I Have a Sin Problem, and So Do You :)

2 Samuel 12:1-13

What do you do when you know that a Christian friend is going down a path that is going to end up in heartache, and it's a direct result of their sinful disobedience?  What do you do when you see blatant sin - in plain sight?  Do you avert your eyes?  Do you say to yourself, I can't say anything, I can't judge?  And besides, I don't want them ever to judge me, so I'll keep quiet?

That, my friends, is what I do 9 times out of 10.  I don't want to lose a friend.  I don't want to judge.  And besides, I know that deep down, my sins are always lurking, waiting to be discovered.  Yes, I have a sin problem.  You have a sin problem.  So how can we help one another confess our sins, lean into God's infinite mercy and grace, accept the forgiveness only He can give, and move on to experience his love and power more deeply?

In today's passage, we see how Nathan confronts King David about his sin with Bathsheba.  Remember, David is King.  And Nathan is not.  But Nathan has watched David, little by little, rationalize his behavior toward women.  First, he takes another wife.  Then, he has a harem.  Then, he decides that another man's beautiful wife - his only wife - must be his.  So he uses his power to cruelly manipulate the husband's battlefield assignment so he is sure to be killed.  Voila - David gets the beautiful newly widowed Bathsheba for his own!   When Nathan confronts him (and you MUST read the story to see how brilliantly, how masterfully, Nathan does this) David falls to his knees:  "I have sinned against the LORD."

David and Nathan had a long history together. This was a deep relationship, borne out of trust.  That is the only way that Nathan earned the right to confront David.  And he did so at great risk, just as Esther did when she confronted the King about the wicked plot to destroy the Jews.

But don't take my word for it.  Take about 15 minutes and listen to Pastor Jeff Morlock's sermon.  You will be glad you did.  I have posted it above for you - all you have to do is click on the link.

Lord, I have a sin problem that I often refuse to acknowledge.  Help me to confess my sins, and to know that you are faithful and just to forgive them, and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.  Amen.  

Pastor Jeff said it so well. Listen here.