Remember some of the things you have seen in the past, and praise God today for the miracles you have experienced, either for yourself or in meetings with others. If you feel as though you have not seen any miracles, think about conception and childbirth, how that produces a baby!

Jesus replied to Thomas during a discussion about the immediate future. He told His disciples that He was leaving them in order to prepare a place for them. That is a promise we can take for ourselves too. Jesus has prepared a place for each one of us in Heaven.

Sadly there are church leaders today who take advantage of their position as shepherds but don't fulfill the requirements of the job. The opening of Ezekiel 34 are a tirade from the Lord against the shepherds of Israel. I wonder how many of them listened to what this prophet said!

The Lord appeared to Hagar as an angel and sent her back to Sarah, Abraham's wife. It was at that point that Hagar referred to "the God who sees me." What an encouragement it must have been for Hagar, but a challenge too, because she would not want to return.

Once Hagar discovered that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. How awful Sarah must have felt. Realising it was her own fault, she hated what she herself had suggested. After complaining to Abraham, she so mistreated Hagar that the slave girl ran away. God had a plan!

This chapter is an encouraging one where we read that God told the Israelites that He could see the mess they were in. And He had plans to change their situation. We can take this same promise for ourselves today. And for our families, our areas, and for our nations.

Yahweh-Jireh meaning "The Lord will provide", is the name used for God in this verse. The situation is an extremely difficult one. Certainly one which none of us would want to find ourselves in. God was testing Abraham to see if he really did trust Him with all his heart.

God really is Lord over everything. Adonai is the Greek word used in this verse. And the supremacy of God is what Paul was telling his readers in the Roman church. The reason Jesus came to earth was to make known to us God as Father and supreme Lord: Adonai.

When God used the name El Shaddai while talking to Abram, He also promised Abram (later Abraham) that he would be the father of many nations. That looked somewhat impossible at the time because he was already 99, and had been married to Sarah for many years without her conceiving.