F O O T H O L D
READING
21 WELCOME VISITORS
PRAY Speak to me today,
Lord, that I may speak your word to others.
READ Genesis 18:115
THINK What is the main point
of this story?
FOCUS One of the marks of a
deepening love for God is a growing respect
and care for other people,
friends and strangers alike. There is a
spontaneous response from
Abraham to the sight of three strangers
on a hot day (2). He
welcomed them into his home. Notice that the
invitation was wholehearted (35) and the provision generous
(6
8). God's character is one
of selfless generosity, and he wants
his people to be like that,
too.
As we genuinely respect and
serve others we can expect to find our
relationship with God
deepening. Abraham discovered that the Lord
God himself had come. The
promise of a son for which he had waited
so long was about to be
fulfilled. One of the most difficult
things about faith is
patience. When it seems as though nothing is
happening, when we are
tempted to feel that God has let us down
then is the time to remember
what God has done in the past and to
believe that he can do it
again.
But even after God had
promised again and again, Sarah was still
full of doubts. She listened
at the tent door (10). What was
Sarah's reaction to the
words she heard (1012)?
There are two lessons here
for us:
(a) Don't doubt God's power.
Things may look quite impossible to
us but God sees things
differently.
(b) Don't deny your own sin:
we may fool others, we may even fool
ourselves, but God sees not
only what we do but the way we think
as well (15).
PRAY Ask God to grow a
generous spirit in your life.
