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.