CCI Opelika One Year Bible Reading 2010

1.7.10

Genesis 16-18:15

17¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”

John – Abraham here is still struggling to see how this is possible, but God continues to open his eyes.

18¹³ And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

John – Is anything too hard for God? That is the question to each of us, how we answer it shows our level of trust.

Matthew 6:1-24

6³ But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

John – Charitable deeds is not an “IF” but a “WHEN” so it not optional but essential…. Where do you get rewarded? OPENLY!

6¹⁴ “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

John – Pretty clear… to receive forgiveness we must operate in it ourselves.

Psalm 7:1-17

7⁹ Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
But establish the just;
For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.

Proverbs 2:1-5

¹ My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
² So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
³ Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
⁴ If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
⁵ Then you will understand the fear of the LORD,
And find the knowledge of God.

John – If you, if you, if you….. Then you

January 7th - Laura

Ge. 16:4 When she (Hagar) knew she was pregnant, her mistress became despised in her eyes.

1) to make light, lighten

2) to treat with contempt, bring contempt or dishonour 1) to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light 2) to appear trifling, be too trifling, be insignificant be of little account

Laura: Hagar quit honoring (making weighty) Sarai when Hagar found out she was pregnant. I bet this was so difficult for Sarai. Hagar, on the other hand, probably didn't like the idea in the first place (she probably did it out of trusting and also feeling like she had too since her masters suggested it) but once she was pregnant, she got haughty, AND, she probably had heard so much talk about GOd providing a child to bless that when she had conceived, it was HER who the child was going to come from and not Sarai (at least in Hagar's mind), so she probably felt she had more of a place than Sarai.

However, God loves to bless those who want His blessing, so He blessed Hagar.

How loved Hagar must have felt, when God found her in her condition, alone, and spoke the very word, concerning the matter that was of such concern to her. -⁹ The Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” ¹⁰ Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” ¹¹ And the Angel of the LORD said to her:

“ Behold, you are with child,
And you shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
Because the LORD has heard your affliction.

Laura: Don't worry Sarah! The great thing about God is he has a blessing for everyone. Sarah was in the forefront of God's mind. HE had a plan that He was commited to in Sarah's life to bless her. She was not second string. God loves to bless those who look for his blessing...and when we think he has forgotten us, He has remembered us.

¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶ And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
¹⁹ Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

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Matt 6:3 - But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

Ty: Jesus makes clear that we should not seek the acceptance of men, he also points out that we need to protect ourselves from our own perception of our works