Posts with the tag “jesse-tree”

Genesis 22:1-19God promised Abraham a family. God had given Abraham and Sarah a gift—their son, Isaac. Isaac was their joy and delight. They treasured their son, and loved him more than anything.God spoke to Abraham, asking him to make a sacrifice of his son. God was testing Abraham because he obeyed God in all he did. Abraham knew what he had to do. Abraham and Isaac set off on a 3 day journey to...  Read More

God had given Abraham and Sarah a gift, their son Isaac. From the moment he cried his first newborn wail to the first time he tottered across the tent, Isaac was their joy, their delight, the treasure of their hearts. They loved him more than anything, more than life itself.And then one day, God spoke to Abraham with a command that shook him to his core: Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom yo...  Read More

Genesis 12:1-7, 15:1-6A man named Abraham was living peacefully at home with his family, in a land he’d always known, with a clear vision of his future. He understood what his path in life was. He knew his future, and was eager for it. Abraham was set. But then came something he never could have believed. God spoke directly to Abraham, changing his plans and his future and calling him to something...  Read More

THE PROMISE The story of Abraham is, at its heart, about looking at the impossible and trusting God anyway. It begins with a call: Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. - Genesis 12:1 Abraham was seventy-five years old when God called him. All he had was God’s word.God’s promise came with a vision that stretched beyond Abraham’s imaginatio...  Read More

Genesis 6:5-14, 7:-5, 7:17-8:12, 9:1-17As the world kept growing, unfortunately sin kept growing. The more people sinned, the more the world became more broken, angering God. God would send a big flood to destroy the earth to start all over again. But God, because He is kind, decided to preserve the goodness of His creation. He would restore the earth, and to help, He would use a man named Noah. N...  Read More

Genesis 2:4-3:24God created Adam and Eve, who were perfect and without sin.God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to work and keep it, to enjoy the world that He had given them. God told them they can eat fruit from all of the trees in the garden, except one. God commanded, You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,for in...  Read More

ADAM & EVE Have you ever tried to put something together and realized, halfway through, that you left out an important piece? Maybe it was a toy, a shelf, or a recipe. Everything looks fine for a moment, but without the missing piece, the shelf won’t hold together, or the birthday cake will taste like wheat bread.It’s a lot like life without knowing what we’re for. In Genesis 2, God shows us what ...  Read More

CREATION The best stories have amazing first lines; just think about Charles Dickens’ “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” in A Tale of Two Cities or E.B. White’s “Where’s Papa going with that ax?” in Charlotte’s Web. A great opening pulls us into a bigger story, one we want to keep reading.The Bible begins with the greatest opening line of all: “In the beginning, God created th...  Read More

In the beginning, God was already there. He was perfect and good, full and complete. He didn’t need anything more than what He already had. But this was just the beginning!God created everything in the entire universe—the sun, moon, and stars. The mountains, valleys, and trees. And everything else that flies in the sky, walks on the land, and swims in the sea!But of all of His creation, one thing ...  Read More

Read/listen to Bible. Read devotional. Reflect. For each day of this devotional journey, we encourage you to read the assigned passage of Scripture before reading the reflection. Allow God’s Word to be your primary guide, and let this resource serve as a supplement to that guidance, much like a map is to a lit path in the darkness. The lit path will show you the way; the map will aim to help you m...  Read More

In the beginning, God was already there. He was perfect and good, full and complete. He didn’t need anything more than what He already had. But this was just the beginning!God created everything in the entire universe—the sun, moon, and stars. The mountains, valleys, and trees. And everything else that flies in the sky, walks on the land, and swims in the sea!But of all of His creation, one thing ...  Read More