Genesis 14: 21-24a

²¹ And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” ²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand^[c] to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me.

When separating spoils from a victory, Abram wants only to be able to thank God for what he has.  It's a reminder that God is the Provider!

Genesis 12:1-3

12 Now the Lord said^[a] to Abram, “Go from your country^[b] and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”^[c]

^{Commissioning Abram--with Abram's obedience, God blesses him and future generations.}

Genesis 1: 27-31

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹ And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Created in God's image and given authority over everything on the earth--an amazing blessing by our Creator.

Job 5: 17

¹⁷ “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves;
    therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.

 Discipline by God is not always punishment--He sometimes is jealous of our attention and reproves us for having idols before Him.  Mourn when you are punished and accept God's grace and healing.

Job 5: 6-16

⁸ “As for me, I would seek God,
    and to God would I commit my cause,
⁹ who does great things and unsearchable,
    marvelous things without number:
¹⁰ he gives rain on the earth
    and sends waters on the fields;
¹¹ he sets on high those who are lowly,
    and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
¹² He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.
¹³ He catches the wise in their own craftiness,
    and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.
¹⁴ They meet with darkness in the daytime
    and grope at noonday as in the night.
¹⁵ But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth
    and from the hand of the mighty.
¹⁶ So the poor have hope,
    and injustice shuts her mouth.

God, the Creator--He sees us!

Job 1: 1-5

1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. ² There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. ³ He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. ⁴ His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed^[a] God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

 Lord, accept our prayers for our families especially our children that we will pray for them to increase in their relationship with you.

Philippians 4: 4-9

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Rejoice!