Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
June 9, 2023
Genesis 24:12-17
12 He said, “LORD, God of my master Abraham, make something good happen for me today and be loyal to my master Abraham. 13 I will stand here by the spring while the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water. 14 When I say to a young woman, ‘Hand me your water jar so I can drink,’ and she says to me, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels water too,’ may she be the one you’ve selected for your servant Isaac. In this way I will know that you’ve been loyal to my master.” 15 Even before he finished speaking, Rebekah—daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother—was coming out with a water jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was very beautiful, old enough to be married, and hadn’t known a man intimately. She went down to the spring, filled her water jar, and came back up. 17 The servant ran to meet her and said, “Give me a little sip of water from your jar.” 18 She said, “Drink, sir.” Then she quickly lowered the water jar with her hands and gave him some water to drink. 19 When she finished giving him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw some water for your camels too, till they’ve had enough to drink.” 20 She emptied her water jar quickly into the watering trough, ran to the well again to draw water, and drew water for all of the camels. 21 The man stood gazing at her, wondering silently if the LORD had made his trip successful or not. 22 As soon as the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold ring, weighing a half shekel, and two gold bracelets for her arms, weighing ten shekels. 23 He said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She responded, “I’m the daughter of Bethuel, who is the son of Milcah and Nahor.” 25 She continued, “We have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and a place to spend the night.” 26 The man bowed down and praised the LORD: 27 “Bless the LORD, God of my master Abraham, who hasn’t given up his loyalty and his faithfulness to my master. The LORD has shown me the way to the household of my master’s brother.”
Good Morning, Jesus said, “Love one another.”
We live in a complicated world. Discrimination is present everywhere we turn. Almost every day, we hear or read about a situation often involving violence between people who are different. Conflict arises regardless of their differences which are the root of the problem. This scares us, so we try to avoid these confrontations.
The idea of reaching out to help a needy stranger is becoming unimaginable. How do we balance our fears against the needs of the poor and outcasts? Who or what are our foes? Over the past three years, we encountered a new enemy: the global pandemic. The fear of germs, disease, and death created new barriers between us.
Simple acts of kindness were no longer possible. Smiles were hidden behind masks, handshakes became elbow bumps, and hugs were not allowed as we tried to socially distance ourselves from one another. Isolation from others became the norm. Of course, these unpleasant truths were necessary for our health and the health of others, but truly these actions have severely weakened our efforts at being kind and serving one another.
We must adapt, overcome, and innovate new ways to show compassion and kindness to one another. In a world where you can do anything, be kind! Mister Rogers, a champion of kindness, said, “We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say, ‘It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”
Generous God, We thank you for Your blessings. Be kind! We are all your children, yet we find so many ways to cause division among us. Help us share kindness. We Thank You! In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Show kindness to a stranger today!
Start a ripple of kindness! Pastor Liz
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