VERSE: “Now the Lord said to Abram,’Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you….(Genesis 12:1)...’ Abram took…..Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they [set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. (Genesis 12:5).

EQUATION: Doing exactly what God says = Less hassle + headaches.

ACTION: God specifically told Abram to leave his relatives behind and go. He was only supposed to take his wife. Abram (not yet Abraham) took Sarai (Sarah) and much more, including his nephew Lot. The result of this error of slight disobedience is all kinds of trouble with Lot to the point of parting ways with him, and Lot eventually becoming steeped in the culture of Sodom, even though God rescued him from its destruction. Lot’s young daughters’ immorality with him, eventually led to the birth of the pagan nations of Moab and Ammon (Jordan etc). For us, this means one thing – do exactly what God says, as far as Abram and secondly, do not be as greedy and eager to partake in the fleshly lusts and temptations of this world, even if you’re a real Christian. In other words, do not be like Lot!

PRAYER: Most High God, blessed be Your Name in ALL the earth. You call many out of the pit of despair from pagan and lost lands, families and backgrounds and You give life, hope and purpose to them. You make promises which are always true and never to be broken. But we, in our broken, sinful and rebellious condition always violate Your commands and either ignore Your specific instructions or do not follow them, as You intend. Lord, today, in this new year, give us clean hearts to obey You, clean minds to listen to You and clear thoughts to execute the plans You have specifically put before us, that it will go well with us and Your Perfect Will be done. Forgive us for all the times we have disobeyed Your extremely clear commands and instructions and paid the price. You continued to rescue us, like You did with Abraham, because You love us so much. Make us more like Christ, Who always did what You wanted and help us to see with Your eyes, the things we are called to do, to the Praise and Glory of Your Name, amen.

VERSE: “Do all things without grumbling or questioning,” (Philippians 2:14)

FORMULA: Take 100% focus off yourself, put it on someone else, and then watch the blessings return one hundred fold.

ACTION:  An attitude of ingratitude can only take you so far. A life of misery, discontent and complete unhappiness is the result.  On the other hand, if we do our job the best we know how to…if we remember Scripture says we are actually working for the God Who gave us all of this, whether we’re a the lowest paid at work and are treated with disrespect or the bank manager or the coffee person at church, then the peace, joy, contentment, blessings and satisfaction can never be fathomed by a selfish and corrupt world.

PRAYER: Our Good and Gracious God, we worship, adore, bless, lift up and thank the Mighty King of the Universe – the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ for the unfathomable blessings and joy He has given to all His sheep. Yes, Lord, we are all sheep because basically without You as our Good Shepherd, we can do nothing. It is because of You, giving grace and compassion to the Humble and rejecting the Proud, that we even have a roof over our head, heat in the winter and food on the table. It is because of You, we are able to get off a warm bed in the morning and stand up downright upright and even walk into a new day. It is ALL because of You. Father, Good Good Father, help us to remember these basic facts the very next time we are tempted to launch a pity-party, grumble about our situation or complain we don’t have enough beyond what we need to live. Help us to just THANK YOU, for EVERYTHING instead of the opposite so that we will continue to live with the Shalom of knowing that You only want the best for us, and we are where we are because this is where You, in Your long view of life, know what we need. Just thank You, Lord, thank You for giving us even the breath we take second by second, that we can consider these things. In Jesus Name, we pray and stand amazed in His Presence, amen and amen.