Expect the Unexpected

O.T. #37 "Expect the Unexpected"
April 30, 2013
Genesis 17-Part 2
But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set
time in the next year. Genesis 17:21 

LET IT GLOW

What does your name mean? My name, Linda, means beautiful; my husband's name means
 mighty warrior; our two children's names are derived from the same one, which means crowned
 one.

In verses 5 and 15, God changed Abram's name and his wife Sarai's name. Names back then
were significant of God's plan for a person's life.

Abram means high father; Abraham means father of a multitude.
Sarai means contentious; Sarah means a princess.

Their new names were preparation for the new blessing about to enter their home. Only the grace of God could take two idol-worshiping heathen and make godly kings and queens out of them!
(Wiersbe)

For twenty-four years of close and intimate fellowship with God had changed him completely. Abram was living under the shaping Hand of God. This name change was essentially an announcement by God that God was now going to relate to him by his "new character"! This
begins a whole new dimension in Abraham's life.
 (Blackaby)

Abraham believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness. (15:5)

God changed other names-Jacob to Israel, Saul to Paul, and Simon to Peter, shaping their
character over time.

Is God shaping our character? Is our relationship with God changing?

Speaking of names, so far we have read of the Old Testament names for God:

• Elohim, referring to God's power and might (1:1)
• Jehovah, a reference to God's divine salvation (2:4)
• El-Elyon, meaning "The Most High God" (14;17-20)
• El-Roi, meaning "The Strong One who sees" (16:12)
• El-Shaddai, meaning "The God of the mountains" or "God Almighty" (17:1)                         (The MacArthur Bible Commentary)

Which has God shown Himself to you as? Are we worthy of the name Christian?


LET IT GROW

Psst-yeah, sure, a 90 year old will give birth by a 100 year old husband. I think that would be my reaction. Actually, we had a surprise in our family similar to that. Only I didn't laugh when I
heard it, but I did react with disbelief. Our daughter, who is 38, is having her fifth child in
seven days. Now that news was shocking to all of the family, especially her. (Please pray for her daily as she is quite ready.) Are you ready for the unexpected?

Here is another first mention: Sarah, the barren old wife of Abraham, as being the mother of his
child. Keep in mind their ages when the son of promise, Isaac, was born. Both Abraham and his wife laughed within themselves when they heard God promise this. Guess what the name Isaac means-he laughed. What an appropriate reminder to them of their initial, faithless reaction to
God's promise.  (I really can't blame them. I wonder if she had any friends alive that she
could share the news with.)

What else did God promise to Sarah?
God would establish His covenant with Isaac for an everlasting covenant and with his seed after
him. Kings shall come from her. Also, Sarah would bear Isaac at this set time in the next year.
We know this did come true.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under
the heaven.

If this couple had had a son born in their younger years, they would not have experience a
miracle. It would have been a natural thing.

Are we ever doubtful at God's promises to us?

LET IT GO

Act like a Christian.

Allow God to shape my character as He wishes.

Expect the unexpected.

A Mountain-Top Experience

O.T. #36  "A Mountain-Top Experience" 
April 29, 2013
Genesis 17-Part 1
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said
unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. Genesis 17:1

LET IT GLOW

Last night, my husband and I were coming back from Little Rock, going over the Ozark
Mountains. It had been raining earlier, so the air was trying to cool off. Clouds form in the form
appearance of fog around the mountain peaks. What a sight to behold! Seeing this, brought to my to mind when God came to speak to Moses in a thick cloud (Exodus 19:9). The only things
missing were the voice of a trumpet, thunder, and lightning. I saw how powerful our Almighty
God is! It was a humbling experience, a mountain-top experience.

Thirteen years passed with God's silence between Ishmael's birth and the events of chapter 17.
God had to wait for Abram and Sarai to die to self so that His resurrection power might be
displayed in their lives.
Twenty-four years Abram was living under the shaping Hand of God. He was not the same man
in character that he was when God first called him.

Here is the first mention of God revealing Himself as God Almighty-El Shaddai, which
means all-powerful, all-sufficient keeper of My promises, from David Wilkerson's book, Knowing God By Name.

Liberty Bible Commentary says "Abram's corresponding conduct must be to walk before
El Shaddai  in uprightness. The name for God presented in this context means, 'powerful,
mighty,' and may be derived from a word for mountain, thus picturing God as the overpowering, almighty One who will provide descendants for Abram when all else fails."

God reminded Abram of His covenant, by saying that God will:

• multiply Abram exceedingly;
• make him exceeding fruitful;
• make nations of Abram;
• bring kings come out of his lineage;
• establish His covenant between God and Abram's seed in generations to come for an everlasting covenant;
• be a God to Abram and his seed after him;
• give the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession;
• keep His part of the covenant, and all of Abrams' men descendants would be circumcised.

God laid it all out. Christians, children of Abram, have the same promises-we will be spiritually fruitful, have spiritual children, we are princes and princesses (Jesus is our King), and our land to inherit is called heaven. What more could we ask for?

Is Jesus my mountain? Do I come to meet the mountain of God daily?


LET IT GROW

What did God tell Abram to do, or what did Abram do before God?
Almighty God told Abram to:

• walk before Him;
• be perfect; Perfect means without blemish; without spot; undefiled.
• Abram fell on his face and God talked to him;
• be circumcised, every man child among them.

This is the first mention of circumcision.
Circumcision  was a token of the covenant, a tribal mark. Old covenant blessings came by
physical descent, of which circumcision was the sign; new covenant blessings are spiritually
conveyed and are expressed by a new sign, that which is written in our hearts and lives. (Falwell)

Nowhere does the Old Testament teach that circumcision saves a man. It is but the outward
symbol of the covenant between God and men. It was to remind them of the inward circumcision
of the heart that accompanies true salvation (Deut. 10:16, Jer. 4:4). Believers today are in the
New Covenant and are the true circumcision (Phil. 3:1-3), which is experienced spiritually
through the death of Christ (Col. 2:9-15). The entire body of sin (old nature) has been put off,
and we may live in the Spirit, not in the flesh. (Wiersbe)

Is our heart changed? Are we living in the flesh or the Spirit? Romans 8 contrasts the flesh and
the spiritual life.

LET IT GO

Meet with God on His terms, not mine.

Trust God's promises to Abram to apply to us Christians today.

Go to the Rock that is higher than I.

Share with others my change of heart so they can have a heart change.

If Waiting Was Easy, Everyone could Do It

O.T. #35  "If Waiting Was Easy, Everyone Could Do It"
April 26, 2013
Genesis 16
And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.  Genesis 16:9

LET IT GLOW

I can't wait! There. I admitted it. Waiting is not my better virtue. I'm talking about waiting for anything and everything. Just waiting for God to move, handle situations, issues, problems. If
waiting was easy, everyone could do it. Then we wouldn't make mistakes by doing things our
way nor rushing ahead of God.

Our first child was a sweet little girl. We waited  three and a half years for our son to be born.
Some couples have waited long, I realize. Poor Sarah had to wait a long time-25 years, for a
child. I couldn't have done that, I think to myself. On the other hand, if I must wait 25 years for something, I must, in order to be in God's will-I'll wait. How about you? Are you waiting for something?

God made the covenant and would fulfill it. All Abram and Sarai had to do was wait by faith
(Heb. 6:12). Follow Him one day at a time. That's all. We know that God's purpose for Abraham's
life was to use him to build a nation that loved God, to be a father that served and obeyed God
with all his heart and showed the world how to live for Him. But it took 25 years of waiting for
this child of promise, Isaac to be born. During that time, God developed Abram's character.

Gals, shall we look at this chapter from a woman's perspective?
Poor Sarai. The waiting must have been hard. Every time she heard a baby cry, her heart sunk
low. Men don't understand. They have their work. Women have this innate, built in mothering instinct, cuddling and soothing their own child. Most of the time, previously, Abram had listened
to God, but now he was listening to his wife, instead. She wasn't listening to God say wait. She
had waited long enough. It was time to take action. The clock was ticking and she wasn't getting
any younger. (I'm not trying to justify what she did, but trying to better understand Sarai.) She,
too, waited 25 years for her own son to be born. Obviously, after 12 years of no baby, God
needed some help. So she schemed. If Hagar, her maiden, had the baby by Abram, she could
take care of it and raise it as her own. (We know faith is living without scheming.) Her scheme
didn't work. It didn't turn out like Sarai planned.
Sarah pictures the New Covenant and Hagar the Old Covenant; Hagar was a slave while Sarah
was a free woman; Ishmael was born of the flesh, yet Isaac was born of the Spirit.

Sarah could have changed her mind after sharing the idea with her husband. In fact, her husband could have refused the plan, but he didn't. Then as time went on, Hagar took Sarah's place of importance. She became so prideful of carrying Abraham's baby. Sarah couldn't stand it any
longer-Hagar had to go, which meant harsh treatment to run her off. Good riddens to her.
Poor Sarah. Things aren't getting any better around the tent.

Is God taking His time in answering your prayers? Are you tempted to jump in and take care of things? Can we learn from Sarah's mistakes, girls? If God says wait, then we must wait. Do it His way, or we will live to regret it. How many times did Sarah regret her not waiting? Every time
she saw Ishmael or hear him cry?

LET IT GROW

Here is the first time in Scriptures that we the angel of the Lord appears. It is a preincarnate appearance of Christ. It is a Christophanies (temporary visible appearances of Christ). (Falwell)

I find encouragment in the Lord speaking to a slave girl, of all people. Hagar ran away into the wilderness. The Lord's message to Hagar was to return and submit to her mistress. She was given
a promise-her seed would be multiplied. She was instructed to name her son Ishmael, which
means "God hears" and told he would be a wild man and dwell in the presence of his brothers.
Hagar called the name of the Lord El Rai, which is a God of seeing or a God vision; not so much
a God who sees, but a God who permits Himself to be seen.
Did Hagar obey? Yes, she returned and submitted, had a son, and called him Ishmael. Abram
was 86 years old when Ishmael was born.

It was 13 more years before God spoke to Abram again. Poor, poor Sarai. Hagar had a baby and
she didn't. Do we do that? Think poor, poor _______? (Insert your name in the blank.) I do. I
told you at the beginning of this lesson,  waiting is not my thing. Patience is not my virtue. I
have to get it from the Lord-strength to wait on Him. Is God telling us to return to His will and submit to Him or someone else?

Isaiah 40:31 says But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall
mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and
not faint.

How long will you wait? Will you take matters into your own hands, or wait?

Joseph Campbell said, "We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have
the life that is waiting for us."

Will you wait on God and His timing?

LET IT GO

Wait as long as God wants me to wait.

Renew my strength in the Lord's Word.

Don't scheme to get it done my way.

Twinkling Promises

O. T. # 33  "Twinkling Promises"  April 25, 2013
Genesis 15
And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness. Genesis 15:6

LET IT GLOW

Can you count the number the stars? Monday morning I went outside around 5:30 to look for the expected meteor shower. Though it was somewhat cloudy, I could still see many stars twinkling
in the somewhat early morning sky. I turned all directions, even walked to the four sides of the
house-none did I see. I was disappointed, but then I saw the beauty of the sky. I probably could
have counted the stars that morning, but had no need to do it. God had it all under  control.
Instead,  I sang a song of praise to Him in the quietness of the morning. Abram would have
looked up into the same sky one night. I'm talking about the night the Word of the Lord came to
Him.

The Word of the Lord came to Abram twice in chapter 15. What did God tell Abram?

• Fear not. Maybe Abram feared the kings retaliating and attacking him.
• I am thy shield. Shield refers to a small shield or buckler; a protector.
• I am thy exceeding great reward. Reward means benefit, fare, worth, wages.
• Eliezer is not thine heir, but a son coming  from your own body.
• Thy offspring will be as many as the stars. 
• I brought you out of Ur to give you this land to take possession of it.
• Bring Me a three year old heifer, goat, and ram, along with a dove and a young pigeon.
• Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own; will be enslaved for 400      years. The Hebrews spent 400 years in Egypt.
• I will punish those who enslaved them and bring them back here with great possessions.
• You will die in peace and at an old age.

The stars Abram saw that night came with a promise. I wonder if he tried to count them.
Abraham had God's promise of protection and provision so he need not fear. Abraham offfered
the sacrifices and labored to keep Satan (the birds) away. But nothing happened until Abraham
went to sleep. God walked between the pieces of the slain animals. This was a covenant that was all of grace and depended solely upon the Lord.

Salvation is based on the sacrifice of Christ and the grace of God; assurance comes from the
Word of God. As children of faith, children of Abraham, we too are assured of those promises-
our inheritance is in heaven, He is our shield and reward.

Kay Arthur said, "God's Word never fails, and that fact should give you great peace."


LET IT GROW


Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament points out at least 7 words or phrases that
appear in this chapter for the first time:

1.  The Word of the Lord (verse 1)
2.  Fear not (verse 1)
3. Reward (verse 1)
4. Heir and inherit (verses 3, 7)
5. believe (verse 6)
6. counted (verse 6)
7. righteousness (verse 6)

Verse 6 says, And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

The word righteousness, root word righteous, means right, moral, virtuous, cleansed, just.

It wasn't any works that Abraham did that made him right with God, but it was his faith,
believing God's promise to give him a seed, a child. Abraham was justified by God 14 years
before he was circumcised. Paul said in Romans 4:6 and 22 that circumcision is a sign of faith,
not a means for obtaining justification. All Abraham did in verse 6 was to confirm, affirm, or say
amen to God's promise of verse 5. (Liberty Bible Commentary)

True faith persists until the promise is fulfilled. That is what makes it faith that pleases God!
Faith is a matter not of merit, but of the readiness to accept what God promises. (Blackaby)

Abraham was justified by faith. Did you notice that God allowed Abraham to question Him
about how this was going to be true for him? Also, God reveals the future of Abraham's
descendants. God took 25 years to fulfill his promise to Abraham.

Here are some questions for us to ponder:
  *How long would you wait for God to fulfill His promise to you?
  *Do you have the intimate relationship with God that believes Him and waits for Him to do
    what He said?
  *Is there anything that has diminished in your life since your spiritual conversion?
  *If so, are you willing to take time now to return to God in that area of your life?

LET IT GO

Surrender to God's will.

Walk by faith, trusting Him, no matter how long it takes.

Wait on God.

Fear not.

A Reward is Offered

O. T. #32  "A Reward is Offered"
April 24, 2013
Genesis 14
And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And
he gave him tithes of all. Genesis 14:20

That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing
that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich. Genesis 14:22

LET IT GLOW

A reward is offered for the return of a family pet or something lost. Should the finder return it for
the reward? Abraham found himself in such a predicament. Read on to find out what Abraham
did.

Four kings took their armies and fought against the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, winning, taking everything, even Lot and his possessions. Abraham learned what had happened.

He took 318 trained servants, three allies and their men, pursued and defeated the victorious
kings, and returned Lot and all the captured people and possessions of Sodom. But Abram knew
that regardless of his ability, only God could give him the victory. (Blackaby)

From this, we learn that in life's battles, character is tested. Conflict reveals character. Life
always brings some measure of conflict, even real battles. But God is always with those He
chooses to:

1. bring them through the battles,
2. bring them to new understanding of Himself, and
3. shape their character in new and fresh ways.

Conflicts are God's means of developing character, especially faith in Him.

[Resource: Created to be God's Friend, by Henry T. Blackaby]

Did Abram take credit for the victory or give God the glory for His victory?

When he returned home victorious, Abram received visits from two kings.
The first king of Sodom offered a reward to Abram, in verse 21, the goods rescued. Abraham
refused to accept anything, not even a thread of a shoelatchet, (thong of a sandal, as NIV says),
so the king could not say that he made Abram rich. Also, this prevented the king of Sodom from
holding it over Abram as owing a favor in return. (Abram did take food for his men and allowed
the allies to decide if they wanted any rewards.)

Abram did good, didn't he? He gave God the credit for the victory.

When a prayer is answered, do we give God the credit, glory for it?

LET IT GROW

The second king to visit Abram after the victory was Melchizedek king of Salem. Not only was
he a king, but he was also a high priest. He brought bread and wine, then gave a blessing from
the Most High God (El Elyon), who delivered Abram's enemies into his hand..

Some scholars think this was a theophany (appearance of God Himself), while others think not
since he was from Salem.

Here is the first instance of tithing in the Bible. Today's believers follow Abraham's example as
they bring tithes to the Lord. Abraham refused the riches of the world but shared his wealth with
the Lord, and God richly blessed him. (Wiersbe)

This tithe is first mentioned in Scripture of giving ten percent. Tithe, mansrah, means a tenth, according to Strong's Concordance.
Because of our love for our Lord Jesus, we want to give something back to Him, since He has provided all that we have.

How faithful are we to tithe? If not, then blessings are being missed and our heart is in the wrong place.


LET IT GO

Give God the glory for all He does.

Open the purse and give a tithe.

Share with others what God is doing in my life.

Falling into the Pits

O.T. #31 "Falling into the Pits"
April 23, 2013
Genesis 13-Part 2
And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled,
and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. Genesis 14:10 

LET IT GLOW

After the rain, one has to wear rubber boots out into the cow lot. Puddles are everywhere contain-
ing the wastes of cows. Not only is it a stinky mess, but a slimmy, muddy mess.You have to walk slowly so as not to slide down or stumble over a hidden rock. It certainly isn't my choice of a
path for walking. Lot must have been on the same path. What happened?

A conflict occurred in Abraham's family after leaving Egypt. He and Lot, the nephew, had so
many animals that the land could not feed them all. (verse 6) Christ is a divider (John 7:43, 9:16, 10:19). In this case, dividing was good. Lot pitched his tent and looked toward Sodom, the sinful city,
then choose the plush land of Jordan and moved closer to Sodom. He finally moved and lived
in Sodom, where the wicked people lived.

We can contrast the two men, Abraham and Lot:

• Abraham walked with the light/Lot went toward the darkness;
• Abraham became a friend of God/Lot became a friend of the world;
• Abraham was given all of the land/Lot took part of the land;
• Abraham's family was blessed/Lot's family was destroyed;
• Abraham kept his tent and altar/Lot soon lost both.

Is my life different from those living in the worldliness?

LET IT GROW

Lot thought his move was going to be one of gain, but it turned out to be one of loss. The kings mentioned at the beginning of chapter 14 were at war with each other. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and fell into the slimepits. Their people left for the mountains and the cities
were captured (14:10). Remember, these were wicked people who didn't worship God. These cities were full of homosexuals, too. Easy come, easy go. Lot lost everything-captured.
Slimepits were holes from which bitumen had been excavated. (Liberty Bible Commentary)
Bitumen is any of a class of natural substance such as petroleum and asphalt. (Webster's
Dictionary)

Isn't that where sin leads-the slimepits?

As it turns out, there was an escapee and Abraham had an informant of the situation. Blow the trumpet, here comes the charging Calvary. (Oh, it's not a western.) He took 318 trained servant
men, chased  after the enemies, and rescued Lot and his bunch. Isn't that like Abraham, taking
care of Lot?
The separated believer helps the backslider. It took traveling 120 miles to overcome the enemies,
but Abraham did it. Can you picture this man over 75 leading the charge?
Lot got in trouble when he walked by sight and not by faith.

Lot followed the path of friendship with the world (James 4:4), then love of the world
(1John 2:15-17), then conformity to the world (Rom. 12:2), and finally, judgment with the world (1Cor. 11:32). (Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament)

Which way are we walking?

LET IT GO

Watch were I am walking and looking.

Make sure the path I am on is one on which God has me.

Remain friends with God, not friends with the world.

If possible, rescue the backslider.

Where You Pitch Your Tent Matters

O.T. #30  "Where You Pitch Your Tent Matters"
April 22, 2013
Genesis 13-Part 1
Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and
pitched his tents near Sodom. Genesis 13:12 NIV

LET IT GLOW

I have only had a few experiences in camping out in a tent and those were good ones. However,
a few years ago, at a nearby state park, some campers did not have good experiences one
particular weekend. You see, there were flash floods that weekend and the rivers rose rapidly.
Many people that camped along that particular river  lost everything, some even lost their lives.
So you see, where you pitch you tent does matter. Shall we check out where Abraham and Lot pitched theirs.

We saw Abraham's initial response of faith, following God, living in a tent and sacrificing on
altars to Him. However, when the famine came, Abraham's faith lapsed. Instead of staying in
Canaan and trusting God, He, his family, servants, and all he had went down to Egypt. He was getting in deeper in sin when God stepped in and exposed a lie of Abraham and Sarah's. Pharaoh asked them to leave and they did. They had to go back to the very place where they abandoned
the Lord, left the Lord's will. Abraham's faith returned, as he went back to Bethel where the
altar to God was. He needed to make a new start. We see that God's promises were still effective because the land as far as Abraham could see was to be owned by his family.

I wonder if Abraham's faith grew as he walked through the Promised Land. Is my faith growing
as I walk with God? 

LET IT GROW

Abraham still had to reap the consequences of his trip to Egypt:

• He lost time. Those weeks that Abraham and his household were away from the Lord were lost and never to be regained.
• He lost his testimony of the true God before Pharaoh after deceiving him.
• Sarah's maid servant Hagar, came from Egypt (16:1). Her presence resulted in trouble as Sarah's carnal scheme Hagar to bear a child to Abraham, instead of waiting on God for a son. Whatever we bring with us from Egypt will result in trouble.
• His increase in possessions helped to cause the later dispute between Abraham's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen.
• He let Lot choose the land for him to dwell. Though Abraham took Lot out of Egypt, he couldn't take Egypt out of Lot. Lot came out of Egypt and shared Abraham's tents, but not     the altar to worship God. Lot pitched his tent, looking toward the wicked city of Sodom,   where the watered plains and green grass was. Later, we'll find out what happened to Lot      and his sacrifice made.

Even if we have left our Egypt (worldliness and rebellion), has Egypt been taken out of us? Do
we still look back at the way it was, or have we learned from our lessons? Are our eyes on God
or the world?

LET IT GO

Let go of my Egypt, worldliness, rebellion, and fleshly desires.

Repent and return to God and where His will was.

Walk by faith, not by sight.

Keep my eyes focused on Jesus and remember His mercy.

Watch out where I pitch my tent, consequences will result.

  

Going the Wrong Way

O.T. #28  "Going the Wrong Way"
April 19, 2013
Genesis 12-Part 2
And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.  Genesis 12:7

LET IT GLOW

I had two job offers and took the one that offered twice the money as the other. Knowing it was the wrong job, I left the Lord's will, went the wrong way, and went my own way with a lapse of faith. I spent over three years wandering around in my spiritual Egypt. Then the attack came and I had to quit the job. I humbly confessed my rebellion to the Lord Jesus. Later, I had to go to the other job and ask forgiveness and was hired.
Certainly, I can't point my finger at Abraham and ask him why he went down into Egypt. How about you? Have you gone to Egypt before? Have you left God's will knowing full well it was rebellion.
Let's review before going on down the road to Egypt with Abraham.

What was Abram's response to God's call?

Warren W. Wiersbe, in his book, Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament says:

God called one man to begin the fulfillment of His promise to send a Savior to the world. ( Gen. 3:15) Abram means high father; Abraham means father of a multitude. This man was of the line of Shem (11:10) and the father of the Jewish nation.

1. Abraham's response was one of faith. God called him in Ur of the Chaldess, but he had lingered at Haran until the death of his father. God demands total separation to Himself, even if death must accomplish it. This call was completely of grace and the blessings of the covenant wholly from the Lord's goodness. God promised to give Abraham a land, a great name, a great nation, and a blessing that would spread to the whole world. Abraham had no children and he and his wife were getting old. Note the "I wills" from God, if Abraham would believe.
2. Abraham's compromise occurred when he took Lot, his nephew, with them on the journey of faith. This caused problems, so God had to separate Lot from Abraham before He could advance His plan for the patriarch's life. (verses 4-6)
3. Abraham didn't hesitate to confess his faith before the heathen in land. Wherever he went, he pitched his tent and built his altar (13:3-4, 18). The tent speaks of the pilgrim, the person who trusts God a day at a time and is always ready to move; the altar speaks of the worshiper who brings a sacrifice and offers it to God. (my emphasis)

Friends, we are walking on our Christian pilgrimage. Are we trusting God a day at a time? Are we always ready to move when and where He leads? Is our life on the altar daily?

LET IT GROW
 

Continuing with Wiersbe's words:

4. Abraham has a lapse of faith in verses 10-20. A famine in the place of
    God's leading! What a great disappointment this must have been to the
    pilgrims. God was testing their faith, to see if they were trusting the land
    or the Lord. Instead of remaining in Canaan and trusting God, they went
    down to Egypt. Egypt symbolizes the world, the life of self-confidence;
    Canaan illustrates the life of faith and victory. Abraham abandoned his
    tent and altar and trusted in the world! (Isaiah 31:1)

5. Abraham's deception involved Sarah telling a lie, really a half-truth, that
    she was his sister (instead of his wife). One sin leads to another: first
    Abraham trusted Egypt; now he trusted his wife's lie to protect him.

6. We see the discipline of God as He stepped in and exposed the lie, then
    Pharaoh had to ask them to leave. Someone has said, "Faith is living
    without scheming."

7. Finally, Abraham's return of faith is seen in 13:1-4. He had to get back to
    the placed of the tent and the alter, back to the place where he could call
    upon the Lord and receive blessing. Christians must go back to the very
    place where they abandoned the Lord. Go nowhere in this world where
    you must leave your testimony behind. Any place where we cannot build
    the altar and pitch the tent is out of bounds.

Have you left the Lord's will? If so, you need to return to where it was and doing what His will last had you doing.

LET IT GO

Leave the world behind and walk by faith with God, even if there is a spiritual famine.

Daily listen to the Holy Spirit as He directs and obey.

Keep placing self on the altar of God.

Don't compromise doing the Lord's will my way.

Stay where God has me until He moves.

Return and repent when I leave His will.

 

The Call

O. T. 28  "The Call"    April 18, 2013
Genesis 12-Part 1

LET IT GLOW

What was I doing when the call came? My family was in a worship service, my husband was preaching one Sunday night, when his sister called. Their brother had drown and to come was the news. Another time I was alone at the house when when the call came. My husband and children were at a meeting at our associational camp one Saturday morning. Mom told me that Dad had passed away. That's not the same kind of call that God placed to Abram (later changed to Abraham).

What was Abram doing when he got the call from God? He was living in Haran when this call came(12:1). It was originally given to him in Ur of the Chaldees (15:7). Acts 7:2 tells us he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. Falwell concluded that Abram didn't know where he was going, so his stay in Haran was not disobedience (Heb. 11:8) He was being sent to the land of Canaan, which was God's ultimate purpose for Abram.
My conclusion is that God had already been talking to Abram before the call came, though it's not recorded in the Bible. Otherwise, would he have obeyed? Remember, he grew up in a pagan worshiping family.

Are we quietly listening for God's call? Am I ready to answer the call, no matter where it takes me or what it has me doing?

What were the blessings that God promised to Abram?

1. a land
2. a great nation (many seeds)
3. he would be a blessing.

At this time, Abram's wife Sarai had no children, was barren.
Abram's whole life centered around each of these promises as he was severely tested in all three areas. (Falwell)

God called one man to begin the fulfillment of His promise in Genesis 3:15, to send a Savior to the world.

LET IT GROW

The LORD told Abram to get out of his country and from his kindred (KJV);
to leave his country, people, and his father's household and go to the land God would show him. (NIV)

Did Abram obey? He did not obey fully.
Instead of leaving his father behind, he took him along; and the pilgrimage was delayed at Haran, where Terah died. Often our half-way obedience becomes costly, both in time and treasure. Abraham lost the time he could have spent walking with God, and he lost his father too. Abraham took Lot with him on the next stage of the journey, but Lot also had to be taken away from Abraham (13:5-14)
(Wiersbe)

 However, Abram took Lot, his nephew, when told to leave family. That decision would come back to bite him. Abram is 75 years old and Sarai is 65 when they started on this journey of faith.

It isn't easy to leave the familiar to go to another state to serve the Lord. We did that when I was 43. We rented the biggest U-Haul truck that was available. I cried the two days it took to get there. We had to leave our two children behind. But, it became a blessed time, looking back, because we were in God's will.

Are you willing to go wherever, whenever God says to?
What will you be doing when the call comes?

LET IT GO

Be listening for God's call.

Answer it when the call comes.

Be willing to go and do it.

Trust in God's promises.

Babbling On

O.T. #27   "Babbling On"
April 17, 2013
Genesis 11-Part 2
Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Genesis 11:9

LET IT GLOW

I've seen many babbling brooks where shallow water flows over rocks. I've heard babbling babies, making meaningless sounds. I've even listened to women babble on and on about something.
Babble, in Webster's Dictionary, means talk idly, chatter; utter words imperfectly.
That must have been what happened at the Tower of Babel (pronounced with a long a), but my slang uses a short a. I'm talking about after God confused their languages.

Here were these people building a tower to reach heaven, to honor themselves, not God.

God confounded the workers, making it impossible to work together. It was an act of mercy as well as judgment, for had they persisted in their plan, a more terrible judgment would have followed. (Wiersbe)

I had not looked at it that way. Their rebellion could have developed into judgment from God, not a good thing for the people.

How do we look at events in our lives, the ones that frustrate us? Do we see them as mercy or judgment?

They could have been standing next to a person, carrying on a conversation, and the next minute it was not understandable, just babbling. I wonder if God got their attention? Well, that's what it took to accomplish God's will-scattering the people on the earth.

What will it take for people around you to do God's will? For you and me?

LET IT GROW

The rest of chapter 11 lists the generations of Shem, Noah's son, the one through whom Christ was born. Verse 26 brings the line on down to Terrah.

Who was Terrah? Why was he so important to be listed here?

• He was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. The oldest son is not placed first, but the most important son from the messianic viewpoint is first. (Falwell)
• He lived 205 years, which means Abram was born when Terrah was 130.
• He worshipped heathen gods, according to Joshua 24:2.
• His own name, and those of Laban, Sarah, and Milcah, points toward the moon-god as the most prominent pagan deity. Haran was a moon-worship center. (Falwell)
• His son, Haran, died before father Terah in the land of his nativity, birthplace. (verse 28) Haran was older than his brother Abram. Haran had a son named Lot, which is familiar to us.
• The family moved in Ur of the Chaldees, a Sumerian city; thus very different from the Mesopotamian culture. (verse 31) They were traveling to the land of Canaan, but dwelt on the other side of the flood, referring to the Euphrates River (Joshua 24:2-3), at a place called Haran. (Acts 7:2-3)  
• God called Abraham to leave his country and people while still in Mesopotamia. (more detail in tomorrow's post)

What kind of influence are we having on our family, dear one? Do they know about our Father God, Jehovah? Or are passive and not sharing Jesus Christ with them?

LET IT GO

Instead of babbling on, honor God with my words.

Share Jesus with my family. Tell of His wonder deeds.

A Tree and a Tower

O.T. 26  "A Tree and a Tower"
April 16, 2013
Genesis 10-11 Part 1
And they said, go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
 Genesis 11:4


LET IT GLOW

How big is your family tree? Do you have your family tree filled out? Maybe I should take time to do that. My family would only have three branches, since I only have one brother and one sister. However, my husband's family tree would have seven branches, since he has three brothers and three sisters. Then our branch would have two off of it, our son and daughter. We would need another tree after that because we have five grandchildren and one on the way next month. What about Noah's family tree? Did you know his branches reach to Jesus Christ?

Here we have the generations of Noah, a family tree with three branches, Noah's sons and families, which are listed at the beginning of chapter 10.

Japheth's sons became settled in the north (modern Europe and Asia). They are listed in the verses 2-4. They failed God in three ways: not holding fast the knowledge of God nor personally knowing Him; not following after God, walking after Him; not teaching their descendants about God.

Ham and his sons became the Canaanite family, along with the Amorites, Girgasites, Hivites, Arkites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. They were an ungodlly, immoral and unjust society.  They built the cities of Babel, Nineveh, Sodom and Gomorrah. Nimrod was a powerful force behind the building of the Tower of Babel. They occupied Palestine or the land of Canaa, which had to be conquered later by the Israelites in order to possess the Promised Land. Many were Israel's enemies, and they settled in the south, what became the Egyptians and Cush country. (Ham sinned by looking upon his drunken father's (Noah) nakedness.) 

Shem, the oldest of Noah's three sons, settled in the middle east. His line extended to ten generations,  Abraham, our father of faith. They stayed faithful in worshiping the one true God. Shem's descendants settled in the Middle East. Shem was an ancester of Jesus Christ, the Savior and Messiah.

Noah had a lot of descendants, didn't he? Have you thought about your descendants to come? Will they have faith in Jesus as Savior? Are you praying for your grandchildren to be saved, to be preachers, teachers, singers, missionaries of the Word of God? I am. I pray for my grandchildren's grandchildren, that God's Spirit would be upon them.


LET IT GROW

As a summary later, verses 5 tells us that Japheth's family was divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families in their nations. Verse 20 says the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations. Verse 31 says the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
 
Before that happened, Genesis 11:1 says, and the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

Noah and his family landed in Ararat, and the migration would have been southeast and east into the Fertile Crescent. As they journeyed, they dwelt in this plain and determined to stay there lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. (Falwell)

What do we learn from the Tower of Babel?

• Tower, in the Hebrew language, means fortress; babel in Hebrew means confusion. It could have been a tower for defense, to keep the people in. (Ryrie)
• The arrogant builders were using bricks, building a city and a tower, making a name for themselves. (verse 4) It was a city as a monument to their prideful abilities and for their reputation. Nimrod's people refused to move on as God instructed.
• God came down to see the city and tower. The people disobeyed God and attempted to steal His glory. They were so united that they would do all they desired to do. (MacArthur)
• God's judgment came down and He confounded their language so they couldn't understand each other. (Today we have over 3,000 languages and dialects.)
• The result of this confusion was the scattering of mankind. The building of the city was stopped.

What can we learn from their mistakes?
God will work His plans through a heart willing to work His way.
If necessary God may have to work through a broken heart that wanted its own way, but surrendered to God's way.
He may choose to use and bless someone else that is willing, leaving us to our own surmise.
Which one describes you and me?
Do we share our faith? Who knows what our great grandchildren may become.

LET IT GO

Tell my family about salvation in Jesus so my descendants on my family tree grow in faith.

Surrender my heart to do God's will, His way.

Obey the first time.

Do You Want to Experience God?

O.T. 25  "Do You Want to Experience God?"
April 15, 2013
Review of Noah

LET IT GLOW

How desperate are we to experience God working in our lives? Isn't it exciting to have Him use us to accomplish His will?
I didn't go with my husband to the Dominican Republic on the first two mission trips. Then I saw what a group of volunteers were doing in Haiti on a Bible study blog. The teacher went. My heart was touched as I saw the children in need. I knew it was time for me to go to the D.R. So I said yes and trusted God to provide all that was needed. You know what? He did. I made the adjustments and sacrifices necessary. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, sharing a part of my life that I had never shared before. I also taught a Bible story to children. The Lord blessed all of our efforts and over 100 adults and children were saved that week. Everyone on the mission team experienced God working through us, in us, and around us. We will be going again in June, to a different area. Please pray for us in preparation.
That's my example of how I applied the following principles and experienced God. Do you want to experience God?

Henry and Richard Blackaby and Claude King, authors of Experiencing God, taught these principles for the Christian Knowing and Doing the Will of God. I wanted to apply these principles to the life of Noah.
Here are the seven realities of experiencing God:

1. God is always at work around you.
    In chapter 6, God saw the wickedness of men, their evil hearts and thoughts. He was sorry to
    have made them. His plan was to destroy them, all but one family, Noah's. Noah was a preacher of
    righteousness (2 Peter 2:5).

2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.
    Noah walked with God, which means God walked with Noah, too. He was a just, perfect, and
    righteous man. Noah lived 950 years on earth. He found grace in the eyes of God. God loved Noah
    and picked his family to preserve mankind through the Flood and to replenish the earth.

3. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
    What was God about to do when He asked Noah to build an ark? He was about to destroy the
    world with a great flood when he approached Noah. (Gen. 6:5-14)

4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to
    reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
    When God came to Noah, He didn't ask, "What do you want to do for Me?" he revealed what He
    was going to do. It really didn't matter what Noah had planned to do for God. It was far more
    important to know what God was about to do. He was about to destroy the world, and He wanted
    to work through Noah to accomplish His purposes of saving a remnant of people and animals to
    repopulate the earth.

Am I watching for God at work in my little world? Do I see and hear Him? How's our love relationship with God? Are we listening for His invitation to join Him in His work? What is God using to speak to us today?

LET IT GROW


5. God's invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires
    faith and action.
    Noah was faithful as he worked on the ark 120 years, believing God will do what He says. He
    showed faith in God as he stepped into the ark.

6. You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
     Noah changed jobs, being a full-time carpenter and preacher.

7. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him, and He accomplishes His work
    through you.
    How did Noah experience God? He experienced God as all-powerful, omnipotent, El Shaddah,
    who spoke the rain to flood the earth; as provider Jehovah Jireh; as ever-present, omnipresent God,
    always with his family;  as all-knowing, omniscient, instructing the right dimensions of the ark.

Is God calling you to do something, but it requires faith? Are you prepared to make adjustments in your life in order to do His will? How long will you wait in order to obey God and experience His working through you? Will you join me in applying these 7 principles so we can experience God?

LET IT GO

Watch to see where God is working in my world and those around me.

Listen to His invitation to join in His work.

Keep believing that God can do all things, provide all things needed.

Make the adjustments needed in order to accomplish God's will.

Obey God. Don't wait.

Give God the glory for what He does through me.

Two Rainbows

O.T.#24  "Two Rainbows"       April 12, 2013
Genesis 9-Part 1
And I, behld, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you.  Genesis 9:9
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13

LET IT GLOW

During one trip I made on an airplane, I saw two rainbows in the sky among the clouds. What a magnificent sight! I was reminded of the promise of God. We shall see what it was.

Do you know what were the institutions that God established first?
First was marriage, family, next was the civil government, then was His church.

God has invested in mankind the right to govern itself; it is one of our inalienable rights. Those who set in authority over us are to be a terror to evil works (Rom. 13:3); and those who disobey the God-ordained powers of human government are liable for punishment. Capital punishment is is nowhere abrogated in scripture and is a valid today as it was in the days of Noah.  (Falwell)

God made several covenants with people and their descendants. According to The Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible, they were:

• Noahic Covenant in Genesis 9:1-7;
• Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 17:7;
• priestly covenant in Numbers 25:10-13;
• Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 25:5;
• New Covenant in Jeremiah 32:40.

*I will add the Mosiac Coventant found in Exodus 20. The first five were an everlasting covenant, which was through eternity future or to the end of time; the Mosiac Covenant was nullified with the blood sacrifice of Jesus.

What was the Noahic Covenant? God promised to never destroy the earth with a universal flood and the Savior, the promised seed, would be sent.
What were the provisions in the Noahic covenant?

• seasons regulation (v.11)
• mission of man to repopulate the earth (v.1,7)
• supremacy of man to rule over the earth (v.2)
• provision of food for man (v.3-4)
• establishment of human government and capital punishment (v.5-7). 

Everyone should know what the sign is of this covenant-the rainbow. As the sun shines on the rain, we can be sure it will stop raining sometime. Thus there will never be a flood that covers the entire earth again. So it is in our lives-the Son  shines on our problems, rainy days.

LET IT GROW

We see how sin in the world popped its ugly head up again. Noah lived 600 years and was a righteous, just man. He lived 350 years after the Flood. We read the first mention of wine in the Bible. The people before the Flood were drinkers, so this was not the first occasion of drinking (Matt. 24:38).
I'll let you read about what happened. Commentaries give various views on the details. The result was Ham's son Canaan becoming a servant to Shem's descendants later on. Japheth's land was enlarged and they dwelled in Shem's tents. The Savior came through the family of Shem, who helped cover his father's sin.

We are never beyond temptation and succumbing to sin. So let's not judge these guys.

LET IT GO

Remove any impurities in my home so temptaions are not there.

Stay close to God.

Remember that God keeps His promises; than Him for the beautiful rainbow as a reminder.

A Long Boat Ride

O.T. #23 "A Long Boat Ride"
April 11, 2013
Genesis 7-Part 2, to Genesis 8
And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days. Genesis 7:24

LET IT GLOW

Are we there yet? How much longer? If I had a nickle for all the times I heard those questions, I'd be rich.
When our children grew up, we always lived a six hour drive to our parents. That was often a long trip for young children who have no concept of time nor distance. Sometimes we would travel at night just to avoid the noise of you know who.
I wonder if those 8 people on Noah's ark asked the same question. Of course, they didn't know where they were going, just drifting around in a titantic or gigantic boat. The Captain was guiding it.

How long was their drift? They stayed on the ark for about a year, best I can figure. The actual number of days vary with commentaries.

•  waited 7 days on ark before it rained (verse 4);
• 40 days and nights of rain (verse 12);
• 110 more days flood waters remained on the earth, ark settled on Mt. Ararat (verse 24);
• 74 days before the tops of the mountains were seen (8:5);
• 7 more days before the dove was first released (8:6-7);
• 7 more days before it was dispatched the second time (8:10);
• 7 additional days for the third trip for the dove (8:12);
• another 29 days elapsed and Noah removed the covering and looked onto dry ground (8:13);
• 57 more days til the earth dried up in 8:14;
• total of 371 days according to Liberty Bible Commentary.

Am I drifting along in my spiritual life?

Where did Mr. and Mrs. Noah move their family to? The ark landed on the highest peak in the mojuntain range of Mt. Araarat, which towers some 17,000 feet high. It is in the present nation of Armenia or eastern Turkey. (The Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible)

We think of Noah's great faith, patience, and obedience. Can you imagine living a year under such living conditions and confinement? Did they feel cooped up, caged in, imprisioned? I'm sure they kept busy with all those animals to take care of day after day.
I think we can call those 8 people survivors.

Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. Ps. 37:5
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Prov. 3:5

Do I find myself complaining about my small house and one restroom? And there is only two of us.

LET IT GROW

What did Noah do when he got out?
He didn't build his wife a new house; he didn't host a party; he didn't explore their location and map it out.
Noah's first act when he stepped out of the ark was to set up a place of worship. (8:20) He built an altar unto the LORD and offered burnt offerings on it. He sacrificed every clean beast and clean fowl.

The first animal sacrifice was made by God in order to clothe Adam and Eve. Noah's father, Lamech, was 56 years old when Adam died. Adam would have taught his family what was acceptable to God.

What animal were acceptable sacrifices in the the Old Testament?

• a bullock or an ox (Lev. 1:5)
• a sheep or lamb (Lev. 1:10)
• a goat (Lev. 1:10)
• a pigeon or turtle-dove (Lev. 1:14).

The animal offered must have been clean without disease, blemish, injury,or defect of any kind. Its life and shed blood was a substitute or ransom for the person's sins.
Jesus Christ met all those requirements. He was without sin, dying in our place, taking our punishment.

The Lord smelled a sweet savour. A sacrifice offered by a righteous man in faith is always acceptable to God. The Lord said He would not curse the ground again nor kill every thing living.

Ephesians 5:2 says, And walk in love, as Christ also hath love us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

...present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)

But by him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. (Hebrews 13:15-16)

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)

Aren't we glad to be under grace and not the law?

LET IT GO

Stay on course with God, not drifting along.

Let God direct my life.

Sacrifice whatever for the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Offer the sacrifices of praise to the Lord all day long.

Give Him my body as a living sacrifice.

Eight People on One Boat

O.T. #22  "Eight People on One Boat"
April 10, 2013
Genesis 7-Part 1
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.  Hebrews 11:7 KJV

LET IT GLOW

What kind of influence does your homelife have on your children? Will they take on the world's ungodly ways and attitudes or follow your godly influence? Time will tell.
We are so blessed to have both our children and their families following the Lord's ways. Our grandchildren are being raised in loving and God-fearing homes, taught about Jesus, and taken to worship.

Noah's children faced the same kind of world that our families face. Throughout his life, Noah didn't compromise his integrity. How fortunate his three sons were to have such a godly, righteous, and just father who walked with God for their role model. However, Shem, Ham, and Japheth had to choose for themselves whether they would believe those around them or trust their father. We know their choice because they helped Noah build an ark in a dry place, not near an ocean or lake, and without ever having seen rain. Even Noah's daughter-inlaws came along. That makes 8 people to care for all those animals. Whew!

In their devotional book, Experiencing God Day-By-Day, the Blackabys wrote,

As the world tries to persuade people to follow its standard, your life should stand in stark contrast as an example of a righteous person. Your life should convince those around you of the wisdom of following God. Do not underestimate the positive effect that your obedience will have upon those close to you.
 

Are you teaching God's faithfulness to your children and His Truth to your grandchildren?

In the first verse, the LORD said to Noah, come thou and all thy house into the ark: for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

What two invitations did God give Noah?
God was already in the ark, bidding Noah and his family to come in. He didn't instruct them to go in.
Before that, 120 years before, God told Noah to make himself an ark (6:14).

"Ya'll come on in," was a greeting I used to hear growing up. It meant the visitors were friends, family, or neighbors and they were welcome into our home.
Did you notice that Noah didn't shut the door to the ark, God did. This illustrates to us that as Noah was saved in the ark, so are we saved in the ark of Jesus. He invites us to come in, saves us, then protects and provides for us.

In John 10:9, Jesus says, I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

Brothers and sisters, have you entered into the door for ark of salvation? People aren't summoned to enter in masses, but as individuals. He loves each of us and died for us individually, therefore we must come alone to Jesus for salvation. Only we can ask Him into our heart as Lord and Savior, to forgive us of our sins. Please come in today.
If you have already entered the ark, won't you share it with someone today so they can come in?


LET IT GROW

Under what circumstances do we see Noah's faith?

• He listened to God, then shared God's instructions with his family, and his sons helped him build the ark.
• He finished the ark after 120 years.
• He followed God's directions, dimensions, and details.
• He rounded up the animals and food for their journey.
• He believed that God could send water to cover the whole earth.
• He trusted his soul to the salvation of the Lord.
• He waited in the ark 7 days for the rain to fall.
• He believed God would cause the water to recede so they could get out of the ark after 197 days.
• He sent a raven out and a dove (3 times) to scout for dry land and trusted God for the signal.
• He endured 40 rainy days consecutively.
• He floated around with all those stinky animals and only 7 other people for 150 days after the rain stopped, without going outside.
• He trusted in the Lord to keep His promises-not to flood the entire earth again, seasons would continue.

Is my faith as strong as Mrs. Noah? She went along with her husband's carpentry idea, furnished the guys lunch as they worked on the ark for all those years, followed him into the ark without experiencing rain, left her home behind, lived 6 months with all those noisy and smelly animals, probably cleaned up after them, hosted dinner parties with the same guests attending, allowed 3 other women in her kitchen... Well, maybe I got carried away with a woman's perspective.
How supportive am I when my husband says he is following God's will somewhere else? Can I sing in the rain for 40 days in a row?

The number  "40"  in the Bible  is associated with testing and purification; a period of trial ending in victory to the good and ruin to the evil. We see 40 occurring later in the Bible:
Moses on Mt., Sinai, the 12 spies to Canaan, Israel's wandering in the wilderness, Elijah fasted in the wilderness of Beersheba, the days the Ninevites had to repent, Jesus fasted in the wilderness, was tempted by Satan, days Christ was on earth after His resurrection.

If I had to endure 40 rainy days, could I with a loving attitude shown to those around me? Am I staying faithful to the task God has called me? Even if it takes what seems forever?

LET IT GO

Leave the world behind and step into the boat of faith.

Trust God to keep my salvation in Jesus for all eternity.

Praise Jesus in the rainy days.

Remain faithful.

Noah and The Ark

O.T.#21  "Noah and The Ark"
April 9, 2013
Genesis 6-Part 2
But with thee will I establish my covenant...  Genesis 6:18a KJV

LET IT GLOW

I don't live near an ocean nor a lake. I have only been on a small ship a few times. (Of course, that is fine with me because I am afraid of water that's over my head.) I have seen pictures of the Titantic and have walked around on a replica. How huge it was. My mind can't comprehend its actual size, nor can I picture that of the ark Noah and his sons built. (1 1/2 football fields) Before we get into that, let's check out the builder.

Noah was the great grandson of Enoch, who walked with God and was translated instead of dying. Chapter 6 tells us about the evil, corrupt, and violent men upon the earth during Noah's time. In our last lesson, we saw that Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (verse 8) Grace means to bend or stoop. God bent down to Noah and showed him grace, by warning him of the coming judgment by flooding all the earth.

What else do we know about Noah? Look at verses 9 and 14. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. (verse 9)

• He was a just man. Just means lawful, righteous (man). He was in right relationship with God.
• He was perfect in his generations. Perfect refers to integrity, truth, without blemish, complete, full, whole. It conveys the idea of maturity or completeness. This is how Noah lived among the wicked people that God wanted to destroy, and did. He stood alone for God.
• He was instructed by God to build an ark. The word ark means box. Noah was given the details for making the barge-like vessel.
• He obeyed God, though it took 120 years to complete. His family was saved as a result of Noah's obedience.
• He walked with God.

Noah was saved by grace through faith in the coming Savior (Eph. 2:8-9) as we are.
Remember that it had never rained before, only midst rose up from the ground to water it.

We see the great faith of Noah to:
*believe the unbelievable; flood everything and killing everything;
*to do the incredible; build an ark in the middle of nowhere (verses 14-16); saving his family;
*accept God's Word at face value; God was going to destroy both man and earth (verse 13);
*obey God by standing up of God and His Word, by standing against the ridicule and mockery of the
  world; capture and bring all the animals by two's into the ark, which had to be a male and female.

Do I walk with God, listening and obeying Him? Are my ways just and perfect? How strong is my faith in God and His Word? What about you, sister?

LET IT GROW

Here's some interesting information about the ark:

• 450' long, 75' wide, 45' high (a boat that was 1 1/2 football fields in size);
• 3 stories, decks tall;
• a barge-like vessel, that floated, not sailed across the water;
• had a window at the top;
• had a door on its side;
• held 2 of each animal, male and female; (could have been 17,000 to 1,000,000);
• housed 8 people;
• held enough food for the animals and people;
• withstood water-40 days of rain and 150 days of prevailing on the earth;
• made of pitch and gopher wood.

Just as the ark was safety and salvation for Noah and his family, so Jesus is our ark of salvation in which our soul is saved and safe.

Verse 18 is the first mention of the covenant God established. It was made with Noah and his family. Covenant is in the sense of cutting; a compact (made by passing between two pieces of flesh). The pledged covenant is actually explained in 9:9-17 of Genesis. It was a one-time act, as the rainbow reminds us. God has kept his promise.

How strong is my faith and trust in God's Word? When I see a beautiful rainbow in the sky, do I remember God's faithfulness? Do I have enough faith to do a gigantic job for God?

LET IT GO

Believe the unbelievable; do the incredible; accept God's Word; obey God.

Walk by faith in God.

Trust Jesus to be my Ark.

Daffodils and Grace

O.T. #20  "Daffodils and Grace"
April 8, 2013
Genesis 6-Part 1
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.  Genesis 6:8 KJV

LET IT GLOW

I stopped the car in the field where the old house used to stand. Then I wade through the tall green grass. I know they are there, beautiful yellow daffodils, early spring flowers seen from my country dirt road. Aha, there they are. I bend down and pick a handful, sniff their sweet fragrance, then my mind wanders down memory lane.
Our neighbors, when I was growing up, lived there in an old brown stucco house, without running water or indoor plumbing. She was a Sunday School teacher in my junior department. He was a farmer that rode an old tractor that went putt-putt across the field in front of my house. Such sweet people, they were the age of my grandfather. Anyway, the house has since been torn down.
I take another sniff of the flowers she planted at least 60 some odd years ago. The fruit of her labors so long ago can still be enjoyed if one just looks beyond the tall grass.
And so a loving God bends down, picks me up out of my field of problems and sin, and shows beautiful grace to this heart full of sin, cleansing and making it a sweet fragrance of His love again.

Grace comes from a root meaning "to bend or stoop;" thus the condescending or unmerited favor of a superior person to an inferior one is implied. (Falwell)

Grace, meaning graciousness, kindness, favor, pleasant, precious, well favored. (Strong's Concordance)

This is the first occurrence of grace in Scriptures. Why was there a need for grace?

• Man had become so wicked. (verse 5)
• Every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually; (verse 5) imagination is derived from the potter's verb formed, and implies a design or purpose;
• It repented  the LORD that He had made man on the earth (verse 6); repented  doesn't mean God made a mistake in His dealings with men, but rather indicates a change in divine direction resulting from the actions of man.
• It grieved God in His heart (verse 6);
• God planned to destroy men, animals, and fowl He created from the face of the earth.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

God would call out a remnant unto Himself. God showed His grace and favor upon Noah. Noah was chosen to be the person to be saved through the coming judgment. Noah had faith and believed  in the promise of God, in the coming Savior, to save him. As a result, Noah and his family were spared, saved, from the Flood.

All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
Every person is saved just like Noah was: by the grace of God through faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ.  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Have you asked God for this grace?

LET IT GROW

Man became lawless as well as immoral in developing the first society. There were giants in those days (verse 4), which means fallers, apostates from true religion; falling on men with violence; strong and robust in body, and leaders of others. (William Wilson)
 They were strong, lawless, lustful, immoral, self-gratifiers. The children of Cain and Seth became living for and in the flesh, not for God. Who do we know that was behind all of this? None other than Satan himself. I'm not going to list such sins, but they can be found in Galatians 5 and 2 Timothy 3.

Mankind became so bad that God wanted to wipe him off the face of the earth. Now that is bad, huh?
And He did, except for the remnant of Noah.

Is our society heading down the same road? What with homosexuality, adultery, murders, break up of the family, all out in the open and unashamed, aren't we headed for judgment, too? Except for the grace of God go I.

Are we warning people?

LET IT GO

Repent of my sins and seek God's grace.

Have giant faith in Jesus, not a giant in sin.




 

That's as Old as Methuselah

O.T.18  "That's as Old as Methuselah"
April 5, 2013
Genesis 5-Part 1
And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
Genesis 5:27

LET IT GLOW

How old is or was the oldest person you have known?
My aunt was 100 years old when she died. Her daughter celebrated her 90th birthday a few months ago. My grandfather was in his 90's when he died. These relatives are all on my mother's side of the family. (My aunt did not consider it a blessing to have lived so long.) I sure don't desire to live that long, considering all the aches and pains I have been experiencing lately, and I'm not 60 yet. A long life is considered to be a blessing from the Lord.
I remember a common saying, "That's as old as Methuselah." Apparently, the speaker consider something very old, or else they didn't realize how long Methuselah lived.

In chapter 5, we read of the longest living man-Methuselah, who lived 969 years. Who was this guy? He was the son of Enoch. They knew each other for 300 years. Isn't that amazing, to have such a long relationship with your father? Enoch had the right influence on his son because Enoch walked with God those 300 years.

What kind of influence are we having on our children and grandchildren? Are we showing them how to walk by faith in Jesus? Are we teaching them the Bible with our life?

LET IT GROW

Methuselah means "man of a dart," according to Strong's Concordance.
Matthew Henry said that the name could mean "he dies, there is a dart, or sending forth."
Liberty Bible Commentary states that the name means "when he is dead it shall be sent."
Arthur Pink said it means "when he dies, it shall come."

Anyway, it's a testimony of God's wonderful grace in blessing the godly line and people while upon earth. Also, it's a testimony of God's coming judgment unless men repent of their ungodliness.
(The Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible)

Within 1600 years, men of the chosen lineage of the Savior became wicked (6:5).
Methuselah's long life was no accident, from eating health foods, or exercise. It was due to God's grace being extended. His grandson was Noah.

How did God warn these immoral, worldly, godless men of Cain and Seth?

• Adam taught, preached, and warned his descendants for 930 years.
• Enoch also preached and warned the world of their ungodly deeds and of the coming judgment of God upon all ungodliness (Jude 14-15).
• Methuselah probably preached about God's judgment coming, because of his very name.
• Noah was a preacher of righteousness, warning the people up to the very end (2 Peter 2:5).

As we read of the immorality in chapter 6, we aren't justified in pointing a finger at those people. Our society is sounding more like them by the day. Romans 1:18 tells us that There is none righteous, no, not one.

In Genesis 6:3, the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man.

When the Holy Spirit speaks, offering salvation, one should surrender to it right then. God's grace is extended on His timetable, not ours. Today if ye hear His voice, harden not your hearts. (Heb. 4:7, Ps. 95:7)

Jesus said in John 14:6, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus Christ is the only only way to heaven, to God our Heavenly Father. Have you believed on Him?
Have you asked Him to forgive you of your sins and be your Savior?

Friends, are we sharing the gospel of hope to a lost world?

LET IT GO

Walk by faith all the days of my life.

Share Jesus.

Show His grace and mercy.




  

How am I Walking?

O.T. 18  "How am I Walking?"        April 4, 2013
Genesis 4-Part 2
And Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him. Genesis 5:24

LET IT GLOW

I like walking outside along my country road, especially in the springtime-flowers and trees are in bloom, new baby calves are prancing around, birds are singing. More important is my walk with God. Am I walking by faith, living a surrendered life? How am I walking? Where do you like to walk?

Verse 17 tells us that Cain went out from the presence of the Lord. He physically and spiritually left.
You can read about him and his descendants in the rest of the chapter. I'm not going to dwell on them. Another murder happened in Cain's family, since he didn't have a change of heart. As for something good coming from Cain's family, we see a city built, Nod, musical instruments, and metal working.
Adam and Eve had other children, obviously their sons had children by their sisters, nieces, or great nieces. (Commentaries say that  their genes were pure and intermarriage did not deform them at that time.)
Shall we go on?

Adam lived to be 930 years old, so he could have had many children that the Bible does not record. A son that is mentioned is Seth, which means annointed one. It is through Seth's lineage that Jesus came. Did you notice that after Seth's son Enoch is mentioned in verse 26, then men began to call upon the name of the LORD.

Liberty Bible Commentary explains it this way: It is a testimony that the religious worship of the community of faith was organized for their public worship of God together.

The MacArthur Bible Commentary states: As men realized their inherent sinfulness with no human means to appease God's righteous indignation and wrath over their multiplied iniquities, they turned to God for mercy and grace in hopes of a restored personal relationship.

Luke 3 gives the geneology of Jesus. He is related to Adam through Seth, not Cain nor others. God was working His plan. Since these men lived to be hundreds of years, I wonder if they out lived their wives. Probably so. Some say it was due to the pre-Flood environment, with a canopy of water filtering out the ultraviolet rays of the sun that resulted in longivity of life back then. (MacArthrur)
I say that God has our length of days pre-determined.

Are we teaching our descendants to call upon the name of the Lord?

LET IT GROW

Moving into chapter 5, we read of Seth's descendants. Seventh from Adam is a man named Enoch. We don't know much about Enoch, but two specific things that we remember about him are:

1. Enoch walked with God according to verse 22 and 24. Only one other man was said to have enjoyed this intimacy of relationship in walking with God-Noah. Enoch was 300 years old when his first son, Methuselah was born. He walked with God after he had Methuselah. I never caught that until now. Walking means forward movement, steady progress. This man must have had a conversion experience. Maybe he realized his responsibility of teaching his child about God and his sinful, ungodly life.

The Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible states, To walk with God means:

•  to believe God and to be diligent in seeking after God's promises;
•  to develop an unbroken communion and fellowship with God; it means to walk about with God, to live with God;
• to keep His mind on God; casting down every imagination and to captivate every thought for God;
• to live a holy and godly life, a life of separation, completely different from the sinful lives of others;
• to walk just like God and live just like God;
• to bear a strong witness and testimony for God.

Hebrews 11:5-6 says, By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

Jude 14-15 tells what Enoch prophesied-The Lord will come with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon the ungodly.

2. He didn't die, for God took him to heaven alive, translated Enoch. This only happened to Elijah later (2 Kings 2:1-12). Now this was a first. Translated means carried over or carried across. God translated Enoch because Enoch walked so closely to God, to demonstrate His power to execute judgment, symbolize the promise of eternal life, and to encourage other believers.


How closely do I walk with God? How closely do I want to walk with God? Am I willing to pay the price?

LET IT GO

Surrender my all to God.

Walk with God all day long.

Live a separated life from the world so others see Jesus.

Teach others to call upon the name of the Lord.

*I am sorry this is so late. A skunk got under my house and sprayed it's unpleasant scent.