Journey Through the Bible in a Year
Reading God's Word and learning more about His plan for my life each day!
Monday, September 30, 2002
Introduction to Journey Through the Bible
A note about online study
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thank You for the opportunity to know You personally. When I consider what an amazing reality it is that the God of the universe knows me by name and cares about me infinitely, it is too much to imagine! I pray that as I go about this day that You will fill me with the Holy Spirit that I may be all that You created me to be, and that my thoughts, words and actions will bring You glory and honor. Use me in my interactions with others to display the grace and love of Jesus, so that they may grow deeper in their relationship with You, or desire to belong to You. May I live this day fully in line with Your will. This I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
My Journey Verses for Today
Genesis 28:10-22
10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone for a pillow and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from earth to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down on it. 13 At the top of the stairway stood the LORD, and he said, "I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I will give it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will cover the land from east to west and from north to south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What's more, I will be with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. I will someday bring you safely back to this land. I will be with you constantly until I have finished giving you everything I have promised."
16 Then Jacob woke up and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God – the gateway to heaven!" 18 The next morning he got up very early. He took the stone he had used as a pillow and set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. 19 He named the place Bethel – "house of God" – though the name of the nearby village was Luz. 20 Then Jacob made this vow: "If God will be with me and protect me on this journey and give me food and clothing, 21 and if he will bring me back safely to my father, then I will make the LORD my God. 22 This memorial pillar will become a place for worshiping God, and I will give God a tenth of everything he gives me."
Reflecting on God's Word for My Journey
What is the most amazing experience you have ever had of God’s presence in your life?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word for My Journey
How does God reveal Himself to Jacob in today’s reading? (28:10-16)
What is Jacob’s response to God’s presence? (28:16-17)
What “bargain” does Jacob make with God in today’s reading? (28:19-22)
Understanding God's Will for My Journey
What is the most important reality Jacob learned about God in today’s Scripture?
What surprised Jacob about this encounter with God?
Applying What God's Word Tells Me to My Journey
What is God leading you to DO as a result of having read this Scripture?
My Personal Journey Thought for the Day—“I Will Be with You Constantly!”
God promised Jacob a great deal in today’s Scripture—land, millions of descendants, that he would be a blessing to all the nations of the earth—but above all God said, “I will be with you constantly.” This is the greatest promise of all for Jacob. While it must have been wonderful to imagine having his own nation, and filling it with his descendants, surely the greatest blessing God could ever give anyone would be to be with that person “constantly.” Do you ever feel that God is distant, that you want to know what He thinks about something, but He doesn’t seem to be there? Jacob had those kinds of times as well. But when he had those feelings that God had deserted him, or just couldn’t be found, all he had to do was remember that God had promised him—I will be with you constantly. Jesus made that promise to us, too! He promised His disciples, and that includes us, that He will never leave us nor forsake us. As we go about our daily activities, let’s remember that God IS with us CONSTANTLY. What a difference it makes when we know that God—the sovereign God of the universe—IS with us right now, and will be with us forever. The Good News doesn’t get any better than that! Let’s go out and attempt great things—not for God—but WITH God, because He IS with us now and always!
To view other studies from our Journey Through the Bible, click here.