July 15, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier. This is where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.” (Genesis 13.3-4)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Somewhere in the middle, Abram chose to worship God. “To worship God” is the meaning of the phrase “to call on the name of the Lord.” Nearly 500 years later, Moses would be given the “Rules of Righteousness,” we call them The Ten Commandments. In those commandments was the description of living a life of righteousness by not taking the Lord’s name in vain. Falsely interpreted as “thou shalt not cuss,” the call to speak righteously the name of God was the means by which oaths and promises made in God’s name were to be seen as holy, righteous and unbreakable. Abram “called on the name of the Lord” as a matter of worshiping the One who made it possible for the promise not only to be given but to be fulfilled. With Bethel to west, Ai to the east, Shechem to the north and the Negev to the south, this encampment would be like a centering for Abram and his family. He prospered in the Negev after leaving Egypt. God opened the resources to Abram and he was increased. He was increased not by his works alone; but by the goodness and graciousness and mercy of God.

In a way, Abram was receiving a time for reconciliation. I wouldn’t call it a do over exactly. It was a time of getting one’s bearings straight. The first time Abram was in this place, God led him to the Negev. He did not ask him to go further, but Abram did. It was as if he lost his bearings. We know he lost his mind because he was willing to trade his wife to Pharaoh for his own life. Now, back to the juncture in the middle of Canaan, that Promised Land, Abram would finally decide to settle. Only he would not settle for less. He would settle for what God would provide. That decision would lead to other challenges, too. But the baseline was now established as to how Abram should make those decisions even when he did not do so very well. Abram is human. He made mistakes as do we all. But in a place of centeredness, the truth would will out at last. This would be a lesson for us. We all have our Negevs and we all have our centering places as if between Bethel and Ai. What is important is knowing when and where to stay and why and how to stay there. In making that right decision, we will find our blessing. It will be a blessing to be blessing. That is, after all, our true calling as children and the people of God.

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.