Tues.’s Devo - Name Changes

Read: Genesis 16:1-18:19; Matthew 6:1-24; Psalm 7:1-17; Proverbs 2:1-5
Sarah is so relatable! She gets tired of waiting for her promised son so she starts figuring out how she can make it happen. Her plan is Hagar. But that backfires when Hagar becomes pregnant and throws it in Sarai’s face. Sarai blames Abram and Abram must have been afraid of both of them so he told Sarai to handle it however she pleased. She chose to treat Hagar the way she was being treated. Hagar fled.
The angel found Hagar and told her to return to her mistress and submit to her. Then he gave her some incentive. He told her that her son would have descendants too numerous to count. He gave her the boy’s name and described his character. She went back to Sarah and had Ishmael.
Thirteen years later, the Lord appeared to Abram and told him it was time to have his son. He changed his name from Abram to Abraham. From “father” to “father of many nations”. He told him to circumcise his men as a covenant between them. He changed Sarai’s name to Sarah which means “a princess”.
He gave Abraham the name for his new son, Isaac, meaning “he will laugh in mockery”. He would mock the fact that it was naturally impossible for Sarah at 90 to have a baby. Sarah laughed in disbelief. She even lied to the angels about it. In spite of all of Sarah’s faults, God chose her. How encouraging!
In Matthew, Jesus continues explaining the spirit behind the law. We should do our giving, fasting and praying so that God gets the glory and not us. Then he taught us a great prayer. First we acknowledge who the Lord is and praise him. Then we acknowledge his purpose which is to bring the kingdom of heaven down to earth. This earth should mirror heaven. Next, we pray for our needs. Then we ask for forgiveness for our selves and others. Lastly, we pray not to be led into temptation but for deliverance from evil. We must forgive others to be forgiven ourselves.
Jesus said that we should treasure the things of God and heaven more than the things of this earth. We cannot serve both heaven and earth. We have to choose who our master is.
Lord, we choose to follow only You. Help us to have discernment to see the enemy and his deceitful tactics. Thank you for giving us your Name.