Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Jan 15th, 2025 Godly Character

Today’s Passages – Genesis 38 – 40 (Click on the references to listen to the passages. Click here to view today’s passage on Blue Letter Bible.)

(Second Milers also read – Mark 1 – 2; Proverbs 15; Psalms 71 – 75)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 89:1

Read the “0115 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from this passage – “What About Judah?“ and “God’s Perfect Plan“

“And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:7-9)

Joseph was a man of great godly character and is a wonderful picture, or type, of Christ in that regard. He is simply not like other men. He has the ability to say no to his flesh and completely yield to the will of God for his life. This attribute of godly character can be exhibited in many examples from Joseph’s life, but a particularly vivid picture of this is painted for us in the verses above. Joseph, a young, single man, was being tempted in the area of sexual purity by the wife of his employer. Joseph had the perfect opportunity to yield to the the lusts of his flesh, but instead refuses. He says, “NO!” He knew that yielding to Potiphar’s wife’s wishes was foremost a sin against God and was also a sin against Potiphar, a man that had been very good to Joseph up to this point. How many young men in Joseph’s position would have been able to resist the temptation and say no to this kind of proposition?

Sexual impurity is not limited to just the act of committing adultery with another man’s wife. It is just as wrong for unmarried people to commit fornication regardless of what our very carnal contemporary culture would say. It is also dangerous to view images portraying sexual impurity on the internet. It is very difficult for both men and women to say no to their flesh and yield to God in these areas, but it can be done through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says:

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)

I realize that the Holy Spirit did not work in quite the same way in the Old Testament time that Joseph lived, but I know this: Joseph had a deep and abiding relationship with God, which is exactly what walking in the Spirit is for the New Testament Christian today. Joseph’s love for God and His will superseded Joseph’s fleshly desires. Joseph did not have “better flesh” than other men; he was not superhuman. He just was in love with God.

Peter wrote about this level of Christian discipline:

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8)

Notice two of the seven attributes that Peter states can and should be added to every Christian’s life: virtue and godliness. These are the two that Joseph exemplified in his encounter with Potiphar’s wife. However, Joseph also demonstrated the other five attributes listed by Peter throughout his life. And so can we, if we are walking with and filled with the Spirit of God, and yielded to God’s will. It is not easy to “just say no” to our flesh, but it is certainly not impossible with God’s help.

By the way, we see quite a contrast in Joseph’s godly character in chapter 39 with the character of Judah and his family in chapter 38. Notice the language used in v. 2:

“2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.” (Genesis 38:2)

It does not say that he married her; it just states that he “went in unto her.” There is all kinds of other weirdness going on in this chapter also including immoral behavior by Judah’s sons and also Judah sleeping with his daughter-in-law whom he thought was a harlot. 

Jan 13th, 2025 Worried Over Nothing

Today’s Passage – Genesis 33 – 35 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Matthew 25 – 26; Proverbs 13; Psalms 61 – 65)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 55:17

Read the “0113 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from today’s reading – “Lead On Softly;“ and “Boys Will Be Boys.“

“Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; … Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.” (Genesis 32:7, 11)

“And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.” (Genesis 33:4)

For twenty years Jacob lived with the fear that his brother Esau was going to kill him. His fear of Esau was likely part of the reason why Jacob spent so many years in Padanaram working for his father-in-law in a less than ideal arrangement. But when Jacob finally got fed up with Laban and his in-laws Jacob determined to go back to Canaan and face his brother. For more than two decades Jacob had the fear of his brother in the back of his mind, but all of his worries and fears were for nothing. Not only did Esau not want to kill Jacob, He actually welcomed him in love.

I remember when I worked as a salesman in my father’s wholesale candy and nut business. My job was to service supermarkets, making sure they had enough product, etc. For most of the accounts I took care of, I would need to be in the store at least once per week. Every once in a while, I got backed up and could not get to the stores, sometimes for two or three weeks. I would dread facing those store managers when I was late, and I always imagined the worst-case scenario. In my head, all kinds of bad stuff was going to happen – “the stores are going to be completely empty or a mess,” or “the manager is going to fire my company as a supplier” – but rarely, if ever, did my fears ever prove to be true.

Jacob’s fear of Esau did not go away until he faced him head on, and your fears will not go away either until you face your problems. Don’t allow your problems (or your worry about them) to become larger over time by not dealing with them. Jacob finally resolved his problem with Esau, but it was only after a few things happened:

1. Jacob could no longer run from Esau. God made Jacob’e situation so unpleasant in Padanaram, that Jacob finally realized that he would be better off going back home.
2. Jacob spent a lot of time on his knees getting right with God. Much of Genesis 32 records Jacob praying and preparing to face his brother.
3. Jacob made things right with Esau. Esau was legitimately wronged by Jacob twenty years earlier. Jacob and his mother had deceived Isaac into giving him the blessing that was intended for Esau. Notice in Genesis 33:10 – 11, however, that Jacob wants to make things right. He wants to give the blessing to his brother.

“And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.” (Genesis 33:10-11)

So if you are worried about something, face it head on, but only after you have thoroughly prayed about it and are willing to do whatever is necessary to fix it.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6)

Jan 12th, 2025 Perspective

Today’s Passages – Genesis 31 – 32 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Matthew 23 – 24; Proverbs 12; Psalms 56 – 60)

Read the “0112 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from this passage – “No More Jacob,” and “Following the Will of God.“

“And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory.” (Genesis 31:1)

The dictionary would define perspective as “a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view” (Apple Dictionary)

In the very first verse of our text today in Genesis 31, we see that Laban and his sons had a completely different perspective or point of view than Jacob did. From Laban’s family’s perspective, Jacob had received all of his prosperity from Laban: that Jacob had actually taken it from him and his other sons. From their point of view, Jacob owed them greatly. However, Jacob had a completely different perspective. He saw things in a completely different way than Laban and his boys. Jacob’s side of the story was that Laban’s family did not have very much when Jacob joined them, and because of the hard work and blessing of God upon Jacob, God had increased both Laban and Jacob tremendously. We know from the text that Jacob’s perspective was right:

” … for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.” (Genesis 31:12)

My point, however, is that Laban and Jacob had completely different perspectives on the exact same set of circumstances. It is like those pictures that were circulating around the internet a while back. The image would be of a dress, and some people would sware that the dress was green, and others were absolutely positive that it was another color. People often see things from different perspectives. 

Again, we know that Jacob’s particular point of view in this case was the accurate one according to God, but that does not change the fact that Laban’s sons truly believed that they were right also. They were not, but they thought they were. They could not see things from Jacob’s persepective. Oftentimes, people see things through the lense of what is in their best interest. Jacob was benefiting more than the sons of Laban were from the arrangement that Laban made with Jacob, so they naturally thought that somehow something was amiss; they thought Jacob must have been stealing from them, which simply was not true. 

There are a couple of lessons here that I think we need to learn. First, when it comes to conflicts between two people who are, in most areas, likeminded, there needs to be a sincere attempt to try to understand the other’s perspective: try to see things from their point of view. Oftentimes, if an open mind is kept, conflicts can be easily resolved.

However, when trying to understand people who come from a completely different perspective, a little more care will have to be taken. Christians have a God perspective; especially those believers who are well-grounded in the Scriptures. We see things from God’s perspective (at least for the most part). The lost world and even some carnal Christians have a totally different perspective, partially because of the fact that they have been blinded to spiritual Truth. Satan has blinded them:

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

The lost world believes that Christians are foolish for believing what we do. They simply do not understand us:

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

As believers, we need to try to understand that the problem is a spiritual one. We are simply living in two different worlds; we have totally different mindsets or paradigms. There needs to be a paradigm shift. We need to pray that God will open their eyes to the Truth of the gospel. If they were to get saved, the problem of different perspectives would be solved. Like you, I get very frustrated watching and listening to the politicians and television personalities who “simply don’t get it.” But, they can’t get it because right now they are blind to the Truth. God needs to open their eyes. We need to pray for them, and compassionately love them and try to preach the Truth to them.

Jan 11th, 2025 The Saturday Morning Post – The Unloved

Today’s Passage – Genesis 29 – 30 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Matthew 21 – 22; Proverbs 11; Psalms 51 – 55)

“Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.” (Genesis 29:27-35)

Good morning. Did you ever have the feeling that you were unloved, that nobody cared about you, or that everyone hated you? Maybe it’s your fault, maybe it’s not. Leah was hated. The Bible states that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, but when the Lord looked at the heart of Jacob, He could see that Leah was hated. What did God do? He opened her womb, and she conceived. She bare Jacob his first four sons. At the birth of the fourth son she said, “Now will I praise the LORD.”:therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.”

Her fourth son was Judah. Judah is the tribe that the Lord chose to come to earth through: the King of Kings, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, our Emmanuel: God with us.

How do you feel about harlots? God used a harlot to hide the spies sent into Jericho, saved her and her family, then used her in the line of Jesus. Rahab (spelled Rachab in the New Testament) the harlot was King David’s great, great grandmother…

“And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;” (Matthew 1:5-6)

Then after a few years later, we find Ruth in the line of Messiah…

“Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years. And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.” (Ruth 1:1-6)

Moab was the firstborn of Lot and his daughter. When Israel did evil in the site of the Lord, God had them serve Eglon, king of Moab, for 18 years.

“And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees. So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.” (Judges 3:12-14)

Israel hated the Moabites; God didn’t. So God put a woman of Moab, Ruth, in the line of Jesus also…

“So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son. And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.” (Ruth 4:13-17)

Come to think of it, everyone in the line of Judah, up to, but not including Jesus, was a sinner: everybody who ever was and is going to be is a sinner except Jesus. He died for the Leah’s of this world, the Rahab’s of this world, the Ruth’s of this world, and everybody else who has ever lived or died in this world. And Jesus gave His life for us because He loved us…

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:14-17)

If you feel you are one of the unloved, remember that Jesus loves you. He loved you so much that He believed you were worth dying for. Remember Leah, Rahab, and Ruth.How do you feel about others? Do they meet your high standards or not? Remember who God chooses to use: you just may be looking down your nose at someone who will do something great for God.

Peace.

Jan 10th, 2025 Rebekah

Today’s Passage – Genesis 27 – 28 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Matthew 19 – 20; Proverbs 10; Psalms 46 – 50)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 48:1 & 2

Read the “0110 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – “A Disfunctional Family,” “I am with Thee,” “The House of God” and “Savory Meat“

“5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. 6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: 10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. 11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. 13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. 14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. 15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: 17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.” (Genesis 27:5-17)

I have considered these two chapters from our reading today for many years and have previously written on many different aspects of this story involving Jacob and Esau. We have in the past covered the carnality of Isaac and the deception of Jacob but my thought this morning is on Rebekah. 

In chapter twenty-seven, we have the story of Jacob tricking his father into giving him the blessing that was intended for his brother Esau. He did this by disguising himself and pretending to be his brother, even going as far as wearing goatskin on his hands to deceive his father who was old and could not see very well. But Jacob did not come up with this idea on his own; the plot was actually hatched by Rebekah, Jacob and Esau’s mother, and Isaac’s wife. It seems a little bizarre to me that this scheme could really work. What I mean is that surely Isaac would eventually discover the truth, which in my mind should nullify any blessing that was pronounced upon Jacob. It seems to me that Isaac could have just renounced the blessing once he found out that he was tricked, but apparently that is not the way it worked in Bible times. I am reminded of the covenant that Joshua made with the Gibeonites after being tricked by them. God expected Israel to honor that covenant even though they were deceived into making it (see Joshua 9:3 – 15). In both of these cases, however, the deception could have been prevented had both Joshua and Isaac consulted the Lord before opening their mouths. And in our story here, I am very sure that God would have stopped Rebekah also had she prayed about it before deceiving her husband. God may also have stopped her husband from what he was about to do had she prayed.

Personally, I cannot agree with some who have said that what Rebekah did was right in the eyes of God. Their reasoning is that because God had pronounced at the time of the birth of the twins (Genesis 25:23) that the elder (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob). The theory is that Rebekah was attempting to assist the ultimate will of God by plotting and implementing a plan to deceive her husband. In other words, Rebekah did something wrong in order to accomplish something that was good. But isn’t that situational ethics? Is it ever right to do something wrong in order to accomplish something that is right? That is a hard question. The biblical example of the Rahab the harlot lying to the leaders of Jericho regarding the Israelite spies that she had hidden on her roof comes to mind (see Joshua 2). God commended her for what she did and she is even included in the lineage of Christ (see Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25; Matthew 1:5). There is also the example of the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah who refused to kill the male babies at their births as the Egyptian government instructed and then lied to Pharaoh about how they survived (Exodus 1:15 – 22). Peter and John also disobeyed the command of the religious authority about preaching the gospel because the commandment of God was higher than the commandment of men (Acts 5:29).

However, I do not think that Rebekah’s case is the same as Rahab’s or the case of the midwives. First, Rebekah was not a harlot from a heathen city; she was the wife of a man who knew the Lord and surely came to know the Lord herself. The Lord had spoken directly to her when her twins were born (Genesis 25:23). She knew that lying was wrong and she also knew that she should have been in submission to her husband instead of deceiving him and plotting against what he was trying to do. Now, I do believe that she could have spoken up to her husband and strongly reminded him of what God had told her about their sons. And, she should have prayed fervently about the situation to the Lord. The Lord was not dependent upon the sinful actions of Rebekah to accomplish His will. Esau was going to serve Jacob regardless of what Rebekah decided to do, and the descendants of Jacob (Israel) were going to be God’s chosen people. 

Another sad part about this story is that as a result of what happened, Esau becomes angry and plots to kill his brother, which causes Rebekah and Isaac to send Jacob away, back to the Rebekah’s family’s homeland. Jacob would be deceived himself there by Rebekah’s brother, Laban, and will not be free to return home for many years. Rebekah would never again see the son that she loved so dearly because she would die while he was away. 

What do you think? Was Rebekah right to act in the way that she did? Was she right to deceive her husband, even if it was for what she may have thought to be a good reason?

Jan 8th, 2025 The Blessing of the Lord

Today’s Passage – Genesis 23 – 24 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Matthew 15 – 16; Proverbs 8; Psalms 36 – 40)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 34:6

Read the “0108 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from this passage – “Taker or Giver?,” “Praying for Clear Direction,” and “The Bride of Christ”

“And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.” (Genesis 24:1)

“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22)

Once again, I am having a hard time deciding what to write about from these rich chapters from Genesis. As I read through these two chapters in the Bible reading schedule this morning, I considered quite a few ideas that could have been developed for today’s devotion. Some of these thoughts I have already considered in previous posts (see above links), and others I need to give some more consideration to before I write about them. These chapters in Genesis are full of great pictures of Christ as well as many wonderful foundational truths, and it benefits all of us to slow down and carefully read each verse.

My thought from the passage surrounds Genesis 24:1. “the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.” What a privilege it is to have God’s abundant riches and blessings bestowed upon our lives. To some degree, all of us on this earth are recipients of the blessing of God. We all eat the food that God provides and we all drink His water. Most of us, especially here in America, live very comfortable lives and enjoy the many good things that God provides. However, the blessings referred to here in this passage go beyond what most people in the world experience. Abraham had God’s abundant provision, protection, and guidance throughout his life; much more so than others.

In today’s reading, in chapter 23, we see that Abraham needed a burying place for his wife Sarah. He wanted to acquire a small piece of land in Hebron that would be a cemetery of sorts so that he could bury his wife at that time, but could also be used as a burying place for future generations. Not only did God grant favor for Abraham in the eyes of Ephron, the Hittite owner of the land, but Ephron even offered to give it Abraham for free, which Abraham refused. I am reminded of a similar situation in 2 Samuel 24 where David was purchasing the threshing floor of Arunah the Jebusite, which would eventually become the place where Israel’s Temple would be placed. Arunah was willing to give David the piece of ground for free, along with the wood and oxen needed for a burnt offering, but David insisted on paying for it. The point is that these non-Israelite men (Ephron and Arunah) were willing to give property of great value to Abraham and David because they recognized God’s grace upon them.

This is quite a contrast to what we often see today. Too many people, and unfortunately, many preachers, are often always asking and trying to get people to give them stuff. I have had more than one preacher ask me to “pray about” some need that they had. I may be a little bit cynical, but I could not help but wonder if their “prayer request” was really just their attempt to get me (or our church) to buy it for them. Abraham and David were both so blessed by God that they didn’t need a handout and also insisted that they pay themselves for what they wanted or needed, and would not allow the former owners to give it for free.

Another thought that crossed my mind as I was considering this topic is this: why were Abraham, David and others like them so blessed of God? There is no doubt in my mind that they were blessed for two reasons: First, they were men of great faith; they believed God:

“Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Galatians 3:6)

Secondly, their faith was evidenced by the fact that they obeyed God. Of course, neither Abraham nor David were perfect, in the sense that they never disobeyed the Lord, but their lives were characterized by the fact that they both desired to live for the Lord and please him. Most of the time they got it right, and as a result, God blessed them abundantly.

I want to have that kind of blessing upon my life, upon my family, and also upon my ministry. Notice again the verse from Proverbs:

“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22)

Often, when we try to force or finagle good things to happen in our lives, there will be guilt associated with it. But when God is blessing us and making us rich, there is no guilt. And by the way, this is not just talking about monetary blessings or possessions. God is good to us and blesses us in so many ways. I remember once having dinner with a preacher friend, and he said something to me that at first surprised me. He said: “Brother Erickson, you are one of the richest men I know.” At first, I thought he was crazy because I certainly was not “rich” in possessions. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that he was right. God has been very good to me. I have always had every need provided for me; I have a wonderful wife and family; good friends who would take a bullet for me; and a great church family to serve with. God is good!

Jan 6th, 2025 Walk Thou Before Me and Be Thou Perfect

Today’s Passage – Genesis 17 – 19 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Matthew 11 – 12; Proverbs 6; Psalms 26 – 30

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 25

Read the “0106 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from this passage –“Don’t Look Back,” “Abraham Did a Little Walking With God, Too,” “The Prayer of a Friend,” and “God Knows You.”

“1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” (Genesis 17:1)

I did not get very far in my reading this morning until a thought jumped out at me, on the first verse. I immediately dismissed it thinking that it was too quick. The more I read, however, the more other verses started popping into my mind regarding what God said to Abraham in verse one – “walk thou before me, and be thou perfect.” God gave me three other verses in connection to that statement. I’ll give you the verses as God gave them to me and then try to make an application from the text:

“48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

“20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

“18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18)

The word, “perfect,” is found in the Bible many times in connection to the life of a believer, or the lives (plural) of believers. I did a search on Blue Letter Bible and saw that many of the uses of the word, “perfect,” involved the heart of a believer (Click here to see those verses). the Bible indicates many times that various believers were “perfect,” or had a perfect heart, or could have a perfect heart. But, what does that mean? We know that we are not perfect, at least in the way we understand the meaning of the word today. We use the word “perfect” today to indicate something or somebody that is completely flawless, without any errors or blemishes. None of us qualifies to meet that definition. Ecclesiastes 7:20 (above) clearly teaches that none of us is perfect in that way.

So, what does it mean to be “perfect” the way the Bible means it? In the New Testament, the Greek adjective, τέλειος (teleios) is often translated into the English word, “perfect.” Strongs Concordance and Thayer’s Lexicon both describe the meaning as being “mature,” or “of full age.” So the word, “perfect,” does not mean sinless; it means full grown or mature. the Bible states that after we have been saved for a while we should no longer be “babes” in Christ (1 Corinthians 3; Hebrews 5). Too many believers never grow up spiritually. God wants us to be “perfect,” or mature spiritually. He actually commands it (Matthew 5:48). He wants us to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Growth means that we are moving toward maturity.

The secret to growth is continuing to walk with the Lord. Notice that God told Abraham to “walk before [him].” Walking with God involves being in communion with Him in prayer, through reading the Scriptures, and through obeying and serving Him. At the start of this New Year, try to determine that you are going to walk with the Lord continuously – daily – throughout the year. Start your day with the Scriptures and prayer, and then pray without ceasing throughout the day. You will never be completely perfect (sinless), but we can become more perfect, more mature, more full-grown spiritually.

Late add on – Brother Gary brought up a good point regarding this topic. Positionally, all believers are seen by God as completely righteous because of the blood of Christ (Genesis 7:3; Romans 3:21 – 22). However, the idea here is not justification, but rather sanctification.

“9 For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.” (2 Corinthians 13:9)