DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY JANUARY 5
WORD OF WISDOM
It's better to walk alone than with a crowd going in the wrong direction!
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DAILY DEVOTION
Walking in Darkness
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion
of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and
walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness
hath blinded his eyes.
1 John 2:10-11
Though their use dates back many centuries, the idea of using dogs as guides
for blind people became much more common in the 1800s. The concept soon
entered popular literature. In her lengthy poem Aurora Leigh, Elizabeth
Barrett Browning wrote, "The blind man walks wherever the dog pulls." And in
Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, part of his description of the awfulness
of Ebenezer Scrooge includes these lines: "Even the blind men's dogs
appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their
owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though
they said, 'No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!'"
The loss of sight is a huge limitation on life because many of the
activities people take for granted can only be performed with some kind of
assistance. But at least people who have lost their physical sight are aware
of it. There is a kind of spiritual blindness that is just as debilitating
and limiting as physical blindness, and yet often we are unaware of it. This
blindness comes when we allow bitterness and hatred toward fellow believers
to remain in our hearts . As long as there are people, there will be hurt
feelings, disappointments, disillusionment, and strife. But we do not have
to allow these to fester and grow into hatred.
Instead God commands us to take action to lovingly restore our relationships
as a matter of priority. Jesus said, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to
the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled
to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matthew 5:23-24).
We cannot walk in the light if we are walking in bitterness and hatred
toward others.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Genesis 13-15 New King James Version
Abram Inherits Canaan
13 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and
Lot with him, to the [a]South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in
silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as
Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between
Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first.
And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. 6 Now the
land was not able to [b]support them, that they might dwell together, for
their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And
there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen
of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the
land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me,
and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the
whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I
will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the
left."
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well
watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the
garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. 11 Then
Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And
they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and
Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as
Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against
the Lord.
14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your
eyes now and look from the place where you are-northward, southward,
eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and
your [c]descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust
of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your
descendants also could be numbered. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its
length and its width, for I give it to you."
18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by [d]the terebinth trees
of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.
Lot's Captivity and Rescue
14 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king
of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of [e]nations, 2 that
they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king
of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3
All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4
Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they
rebelled.
5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came
and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in
Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El
Paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En
Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites,
and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar.
8 And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king
of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined
together in battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Chedorlaomer king of
Elam, Tidal king of [f]nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of
Ellasar-four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of
asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and
the remainder fled to the mountains. 11 Then they took all the goods of
Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They
also took Lot, Abram's brother's son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and
departed.
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by
[g]the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother
of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. 14 Now when Abram heard that his
brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained
servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants
attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is [h]north of
Damascus. 16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his
brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that
is, the King's Valley), after his return from the [i]defeat of Chedorlaomer
and the kings who were with him.
Abram and Melchizedek
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the
priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said:
"Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand."
And he gave him [j]a tithe of all.
21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the [k]persons, and take
the goods for yourself."
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the Lord,
God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take
nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything
that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich'- 24 except only
what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me:
Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion."
God's Covenant with Abram
15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision,
saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, [l]your exceedingly
great reward."
2 But Abram said, "Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I [m]go
childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 Then Abram
said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one[n] born in my house
is my heir!"
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This one shall not
be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir."
5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count
the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall
your descendants be."
6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
7 Then He said to him, "I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the
Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it."
8 And he said, "Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?"
9 So He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old
female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10
Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and
placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and
behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram:
"Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is
not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred
years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they
shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall [o]go to
your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the
fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites
is not yet complete."
17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold,
there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those
pieces. 18 On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying:
"To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the
great river, the River Euphrates- 19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the
Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites,
the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
Footnotes
Genesis 13:1 Heb. Negev
Genesis 13:6 Lit. bear
Genesis 13:15 Lit. seed
Genesis 13:18 Heb. Alon Mamre
Genesis 14:1 Heb. goyim
Genesis 14:9 Heb. goyim
Genesis 14:13 Heb. Alon Mamre
Genesis 14:15 Lit. on the left hand of
Genesis 14:17 Lit. striking
Genesis 14:20 one-tenth
Genesis 14:21 Lit. souls
Genesis 15:1 Or your reward shall be very great
Genesis 15:2 am childless
Genesis 15:3 a servant
Genesis 15:15 Die and join your ancestors
