Focus

Prepare yourself to discern what is and what is not of God today. Still yourself so you can hear how God is calling you.

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Read

Genesis 35:1-4 (NRSV)

God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes; then come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near Shechem.

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Reflect

I’m thankful that most summers I get to return to a place that for me (and many others) is holy ground, a place where I’ve experienced the overwhelming love and grace of God. It’s not the amenities or landscape that make it holy to me, but the experiences I’ve had when there.

One of the things about a holy place is that it is often a place that confronts you. It speaks like so many places can’t. It’s a place of refiner’s fire. No matter how many times you’ve gone, you always leave transformed, renewed, and changed.

God’s call for Jacob to return to Bethel speaks to how our Creator uses particular places to move us toward a deeper experience of God. Where are those places for you? Have you visited any of them lately? It may just be the right time for you to return to your holy place.

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Pray

We thank you for holy ground, spaces where we go and meet you to hear and be changed by you. Amen.

Go with God.