Read to prACTice

  To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Waiting for a windfall... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 27 II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (Rebekah said to Jacob...) 10    T hen you shall bring  it  to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.   19  Jacob said to his father, “. . .  Come now, sit and eat of my game, so that  you may bless me.” 36  Then  Esau  said  (to his father) , “ Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” III. Reflection *  Questions :  What is the one thing that exists among these three people as shown in the above three Bible verses? What is the source of that one thing? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me the strong desire of everyone in Isaac's family to pursue a common goal--Your blessing. They treasured blessing from You and they went after Your blessing actively, wholeheart...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* At first, it sounds logical, but it's really ill. I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 26 II. One thing the Bible teaches : 1  Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines.   2  And the  Lord  appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you... 6  So Isaac settled in Gerar. III. Reflection *  Questions : What sounds logical in the above Scripture passage? What makes it ill? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that Egypt was the breadbasket of the world at that time. Your people were facing a very serious famine. And so, going to Egypt to seek food was a very logical thing to do. But You commanded Your people not to go to Egypt while facing the famine! I thank You, L...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Just because of bread and butter... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 25 II. One thing the Bible teaches : 29  When Jacob had cooked a stew one day, Esau came in from the field and he was exhausted;   30  and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a mouthful of that red stuff there, for I am exhausted.” Therefore he was called Edom by name.   31  But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.”   32  Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?”   33  And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore an oath to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.   34  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and got up and went on his way. So Esau despised his birthright. III. Reflection *  Questions : What does "nearsightedness"...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Beyond saying the right thing, He is watching... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 24 II. One thing the Bible teaches : (Abraham's servant prayed for a sign: the young woman who says to me when I ask for a drink, "Drink and I will water your camels." That will be the Lord's pick for Isaac's wife.  17  Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.”   18  She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink.   19  When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”   20  So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels.   21  The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the  Lord  had prospered h...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Two viewpoints One person... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 23 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (after mourning the death of his wife Sarah and weeping for her...) 3  And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,   4  “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”   5  The Hittites answered Abraham,   6  “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.”   III. Reflection *  Questions : What are the two viewpoints in the above passage? IV. Application : Dear Lord God, I thank You for allowing me to see the two viewpoints about Abraham in the above Scripture passage. One viewpoint was from Abraham himself. He...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Honoring You Fearing You Obeying You... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 22 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (The Lord told Abraham to go to the land of Moriah, go up to a certain mountain to offer his only son as a burnt offering to Him. He and his son went to the land of Moriah. They got up a certain mountain. He placed his son on an altar on top of the wood...) 10  Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.   11  But the angel of the  Lord  called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”   12  He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”   III. Reflection *  Questions : What does it mean to fear God? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Cannot have two wives Cannot have two Gods... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 21 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (Abraham and  Sarah had a son late in their life by the special blessing of the Lord. It was Isaac...) 8  And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.   9  But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.   10  So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” III. Reflection *  Questions : Was the problem in Abraham's household avoidable? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that Sarah brought a domestic problem into her own family the day she made an arrangement for Abraham to have a second wife. Two wives in a household! No house in th...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Visual evidence, not theoretical extrapolation... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 20 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (Abimelech asked Abraham why he lied to him, which caused Abimelech to take such an action that could have killed him and his household.) 10  And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?”   11  Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ III. Reflection *  Questions : Was what Abraham did a judgment? What did he see that he did such a thing? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me the wisdom in Abimelech. He expected people to do things based on visual evidence, not theoretical extrapolation. Abraham did not do so in this situation with king Abimelech. I thank You for taking me to this point to remind me that draw...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* In broad daylight... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 19 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (The angels of the Lord told Lot that they were about to destroy the cities in which he and his family were living...) 15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16  But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city... 22  Escape there quickly... III. Reflection *  Questions : Where was the sense of urgency in the warning? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was not done secretly or stealthily. It was done in broad daylight for all eyes to see. Unless the Lord rescued t...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Don't just look away mercilessly... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 18 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (The Lord told Abraham about the imminent destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their grave sin. Abraham interceded fervently for the cities asking the Lord to change His punishment criterion. Abraham said to the  Lord...) 24  Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?... 28  Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”... 30  ... Suppose thirty are found there?...” 31 ...  Suppose twenty are found there?...” 32 ...  Suppose ten are found there?” III. Reflection *  Questions : How do we know Abraham interceded fervently for the cities? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that A...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* This old must go before God's blessings can flow... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 17 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord made a covenant between Him and Abram to multiply him greatly. The Lord said to him...) 4  “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.   5  No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations... 15  And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.   16  I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” III. Reflection *  Questions : What must have taken place before God's blessing can start flowing...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Two questions One answer... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 16 . II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (at this time, Hagar was pregnant through a setup by Sarai. As a result of the pregnancy, the barren Sarai, being looked upon with contempt, and empowered by her husband Abram, mistreated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her...) 7  The angel of the  Lord  found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.   8  And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” III. Reflection *  Questions : How many questions did the angel of the Lord ask Hagar? Why did she answer only one? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that Your angel asked Hagar two questions: "Where have you come from and where are you going?" Hagar answered o...

  To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Trust God's plan because... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 15 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (The Lord told Abram about the future of his descendants...) 13 . . .  “Know for certain  that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and  they will be afflicted for  four hundred years...  16  And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” III. Reflection *  Questions : What did Abram say afterward? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that as You laid out the plan for the future of Abram's descendants, he said not a word, even on the part of their being enslaved and afflicted in Egypt for 400 years. I thank You for taking me to this point to remind me of Abram's respected qualities. He could not be a man of fait...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Love in action meets God's benefaction. I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 14 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (having heard that his nephew, Lot, was taken away as a prisoner of war by an alliance of four kings in the region, Abram quickly took his trained men to pursue the kings to rescue his nephew. Mission accomplished. On his way home...) 18 ...  Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)   19  And he blessed him and said,  “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, P ossessor of heaven and earth;  20  and blessed be God Most High,  who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” III. Reflection *  Questions : Why was Abram blessed by the very special priest of God Most High? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me the one action Abram did before being blessed by Melchizedek, the pr...

  To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Rather suffer wrong... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 13 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : ( Possessions belonging to Lot and Abram were so great that they could not dwell together. T here was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.) 8  Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.   9  Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”   III. Reflection *  Questions : What was the solution to avoid conflict and strife in the family while living amidst the unbelievers? Who initiated that? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Uncertainty? To You, I cleave... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 12 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : 1  Now the  Lord  said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.   2  And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.   3   I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and   in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” III. Reflection *  Questions : How many blessings did the Lord want to bestow on Abram? What did those blessings follow? IV. Application : Dear Lord God, I thank You for showing me that you wanted to give Abram six blessings. You wanted to make a great nation out of him; You wanted to bless him personally; You wanted to make his name known greatly; You wanted...

  To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Sins go up, God comes down... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 11 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : 1  Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.   2  And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.   3  And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.   4  Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”   5  And the  Lord  came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built... 9 ...  And from there the  Lord  dispersed them over the face of all the earth. III. Reflection *  Questions ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* As trees have roots, People have ancestors... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 10 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (After the Great Flood, the nations spread abroad on the earth from the sons of Noah...) 1  These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood. 2  The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 6  The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. 22  The  sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. III. Reflection *  Questions : How many grandsons did Noah have? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that Noah had many great-grandsons. Altogether they came from 16 grandsons. These grandsons came from the three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They all traced back to Noah who traced back to Adam. I thank You, God, for giving us a place to trace b...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Give without being asked, Do without being demanded... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 9 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (The Lord spoke to Noah and his family, saying...) 9  “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,   10  and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.   11  I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”   12  And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: III. Reflection *  Questions : In the short passage above, how many times did God say that ...

  To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Priority number one: Ask for atonement. I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 8 . II. One thing the Bible teaches : (The Lord told Noah to leave the ark with his family and the animals. Noah did...) 20  Then Noah built an altar to the  Lord  and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.   21  And when the  Lord  smelled the pleasing aroma, the  Lord  said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.   III. Reflection *  Questions : Did the Bible say what Noah did between his leaving the ark and his building of the altar? Did the Lord respond to Noah's worshipping? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You fo...