A Wonderful Dream

August 16 - 22

A Wonderful Dream

August 16 – 22 Family Devotions
Part 2

This comes from Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s book Children of God Storybook Bible

Week of August 16 – 22

Theme: A WONDERFUL DREAM (Genesis 25, 27-28)

Read:

Isaac grew up healthy and strong and had two sons, Esau and Jacob. One day, the brothers fought, and Jacob became scared of his big brother. He ran into the desert to hide. When it was dark, Jacob rested his head on a large, smooth stone and tried to sleep.

For a long time, Jacob stared up at the distant stars. Jacob felt far away from his family and so very alone. Finally, he fell into a restless sleep.

He dreamed of a ladder reaching to the sky with angels going up and down. In the dream, God stood beside him and said, “I made a promise to your forefathers, Abraham and Isaac, and I will keep that promise to you. I will be with you, and I will protect you, and I will always keep you safe.”

Jacob woke up. He was amazed by the dream. “God is in this place, and I did not know it!”

So he took the stone he had rested on, stood it up, and poured oil on it to bless it. He said, “This is the house of God and the gate to heaven.”

He called the place Bethel, which means, “house of God,” and he promised to remember God everywhere he went.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.
—Psalm 24.1

Discussion

What do you think Jacob meant when he said, “God is in this place and I didn’t know it”?

Is there anyplace in the world where God isn’t?

Do you think there are times when we maybe aren’t paying attention and miss out on what God is doing?

Family Project

Pray: God, help us to see that the whole world is your home. We want to know your presence and your work everywhere we go! Amen.