July 8, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.” (Genesis 12.8)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

If there was a modern day illustration of the journey of Abram to the land that God would show him it would sound like this: “Are we there yet?” Again, carrying the theme of “not settled,” we read today how Abram and his community left Shechem and the Tree of Moreh. After worshiping God there, they travelled south to a place apparently equidistant between Bethel and Ai. Notice there are cities with populations already established in the land. We have read how it was inhabited by Canaanites. As at Shechem, Abram built an altar in that place and “called upon the name of the Lord.” In other words, Abram worshipped God in that place. It appears that Abram was conducting a survey of the land which God was literally showing him. We might consider these altars as boundary markers which would define all that God was giving to Abram and the Abrahamic community. In Genesis 17.1, God reveals Himself to Abram by the name El Shaddai. This name means “God Almighty” or “The All-Sufficient One.” Surely Abram understood he was dealing with the One True God who was providing him with all that was needed. If that sounds similar to David’s Shepherd Psalm, you would not be incorrect. God is the provider of what is needed to accomplish the working out of His will for all creation. We, as human beings, are a part of that creation. We have a purpose in the midst of the world. It only stands to reason that God provision us in the midst of what we are called to do. In Luke 17, Jesus says to the Pharisees who asked “When will the Kingdom of God come?” that “the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you, it is neither here nor there as if an observable sign or designation.” Of course, I believe that Jesus was speaking of Himself and His ministry. Abram was doing a similar declaration as he built altars on his “tour of Canaan.” By the time we reach Genesis 17, the boundary will be set. The whole expanse of the Abrahamic kingdom far exceeds modern Israel. All the arguments concerning the State of Israel and other such “states” are actually the attempt to deny what is the truth as God declared it. To limit Israel now is the act of denying God’s provision then.

So, let me return to the first question today: “Are we there yet?” The answer is obviously “Not yet!” Neither was Abram who would be led past Jerusalem where Melchizedek was priest and king and went to the Negev and ultimately to Egypt. Interesting if we apply the promise of God “Go and I will show you the land where I am taking you.” It wasn’t about a dot on the map but a destiny of geographic and theological proportions whose consequences are global. It wasn’t merely Canaan that God was leading Abram to as the inheritance for future generations. It was “north, south, east and west.” It is the precursor to the Great Commission which Jesus declared to the disciples as an answer to the Pharisees’ question “When will the Kingdom of God come?” They were anticipating a theocratic kingdom and Jesus was telling them it was a sociological, spiritual and ministerial reality of living out the precepts of the Kingdom of God right in the midst of everyone. Again, “Are we there yet?” Mighty ones of God, we are living in the “already but not yet of the Age of the Church.” It is an age that is journeying to a close which opens up to a whole new reality. The world is not ready for it but we must be!

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.