Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

(By David.)

A Prayer of Praise

Abram and Lot Separate

13 Abram and Sarai took everything they owned and went to the Southern Desert. Lot went with them.

² Abram was very rich. He owned many cattle, sheep, and goats, and had a lot of silver and gold. ³ Abram moved from place to place in the Southern Desert. And finally, he went north and set up his tents between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ where he had earlier camped and built an altar. There he worshiped the Lord.

⁵ Lot, who was traveling with him, also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and slaves. ^6-7 At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were still living in the same area, and so there wasn't enough pastureland left for Abram and Lot with all of their animals. Besides this, the men who took care of Abram's animals and the ones who took care of Lot's animals started quarreling.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ After Abram and Lot had gone their separate ways, the Lord said to Abram:

Look around to the north, south, east, and west. ^15 (A) I will give you and your family all the land you can see. It will be theirs forever! ¹⁶ I will give you more descendants than there are specks of dust on the earth, and someday it will be easier to count those specks of dust than to count your descendants. ¹⁷ Now walk back and forth across the land, because I am going to give it to you.

¹⁸ Abram took down his tents and went to live near the sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar in honor of the Lord.

² Watch out for those people who behave like dogs! They are evil and want to do more than just circumcise you. ³ But we are the ones who are truly circumcised, because we worship by the power of God's Spirit^[a] and take pride in Christ Jesus. We don't brag about what we have done, ⁴ although I could. Others may brag about themselves, but I have more reason to brag than anyone else. ^5 (A) I was circumcised when I was eight days old,^[b] and I am from the nation of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. I am a true Hebrew. As a Pharisee, I strictly obeyed the Law of Moses. ^6 (B) And I was so eager I even made trouble for the church. I did everything the Law demands in order to please God.

⁷ But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. ⁸ Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ ⁹ and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. ¹⁰ All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, ¹¹ so that somehow I also may be raised to life.

Running toward the Goal

¹² I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize.