In today’s reading, we walk through one of the most dramatic scenes in Genesis: God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. We also witness the birth of Isaac, the exile of Hagar and Ishmael, and Abraham’s repeated fear-driven mistakes. In Matthew, Jesus wraps up the Sermon on the Mount with a warning—calling Him “Lord” isn’t enough; only those who do the Father’s will enter the Kingdom.

We ask tough questions today:

• Why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son?

• Why did Abraham keep lying about Sarah?

• What’s the difference between doing God’s will and doing good works?

• And how can faith be “dead” without works if we’re not saved by works in the first place?

We also spend time with David in the Psalms as he praises God’s justice, and get more wisdom from Proverbs on avoiding destructive paths.

Music Credit:
“Fly” by All the Good Folks

Sources Referenced:

• https://www.gotquestions.org/Abraham-sacrifice-Isaac.html

• https://bible.org/seriespage/19-abraham-s-greatest-test-genesis-221-24

• https://www.bibleref.com/Genesis/21/Genesis-chapter-21.html

• https://www.gotquestions.org/Ishmael-in-the-Bible.html

• https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/genesis-20/

• https://www.gotquestions.org/Abraham-lie-Sarah.html

• https://www.gotquestions.org/not-everyone-who-says-Lord.html

• https://www.gotquestions.org/faith-without-works-dead.html

• https://bibleproject.com/articles/faith-vs-works-what-does-bible-say/