July 21, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.’” (Genesis 13.14-15)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

A deal is a deal. Perhaps it is better to say, “What God said He will do, He will do.” We do not hear God say to anyone in Heaven, “I am going to create the heavens and the earth.” We do hear God say, day by day, how creation would take place, how it would unfold. The stages of creation demonstrated the interrelationship of one upon the other. Like the ripples on the water when a stone is cast in, so the Word of God moved and the Holy Spirit followed His lead. The result was spectacular. It was in the middle of the sixth day, that God moved into consultation mode. The moment in question was humanity. Genesis 1.26, we hear, “Let us make human beings and fashion them in our image.” The result of that collaborative effort was blessed by God as “good and very good.” While we marvel at the panorama of creation, the message may get lost in the awe and wonder of it all. What is that message? God’s spoken Word is more than a promise, it is a true reality. What God said He will do, He will do.” This is not the same as for us, but it should be. This, too, is the story of the Bible. It is the blending of wills and the battle of wills. Ultimately, however, and we all know this whether we will accept it or not: God’s will will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Jesus taught the disciples to pray asking for that reality to happen in their lives and in their lifetimes. The prayer was to be an affirmation of faith and a statement of awareness that truly there could be no other way. Jesus, we know from the Garden prayer, knew this reality to be true. And while the rest of the world had no clue as to “what’s next,” Jesus knew, if He knew nothing else, God’s will will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Today, we reflect on what God reaffirmed as His word to Abram. Abram had made a decision to share the land with his nephew. What the agreement for such a thing apart from occupation was, is not in this moment fully outlined. It seemed to be more territorial than anything. This may be one of those differences between Abram and Lot. Lot occupied space. Abram took accountability. Lot settled. Abram mastered. This is obvious to me in today’s scripture. After dividing the space and sending Lot to the valley of the Jordan River, God spoke again to Abram. It shows the sovereignty of God in the effort of collaboration. This is the essence of true promise and achieved reality. Regardless of what Abram did to resolve a conflict with Lot, God was not rendered handicapped nor ineffective. His promise to Abram was for everything that stretched out before him. Abram did not, and could not, surrender ownership or mastery over all the land which God had shown him and now was giving to him. God’s promise was with Abram and his descendants by blood and by faith. This would include Lot, as we will soon find out.

What does this say to us? The essence of God’s promise to us in Jesus Christ our Lord is a covenant of accountability and ownership. He has fashioned us and our purpose in His image, the image of the Trinity: Sovereignty (Father), Obedience (Son) and Empowerment (Holy Spirit). It is our duty and responsibility to accept the fullness of God’s promise and not simply be territorial or settlers. We are disciples of Christ, ambassadors of the gospel and emissaries of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. Being made in His image, we are to be the reflections of the nature and character of God. He has shown us “the way, the truth and the life” in the gifting to us of His Son whose spirit and life was passed on to us in His death and resurrection. We dare not let our sights fall short when He has shown us everything.

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.