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1 Thessalonians 1 Genuine Encouragement Has Tangible Effects

6/30/2016

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But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13
​1 Thessalonians 1
Today, we will begin reading 1 Thessalonians. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica in Macedonia to encourage and exhort them after hearing Timothy’s report of the church from his visit (Acts 18:5). Verse 1 reads,
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
 
The letter was from Paul, Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy, who at the writing of this letter had been working with Paul about a year or so. Paul addresses the church and reminds them they are the church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are supposed to remind each other who we are. We are the church, we are not the world. We are only the church because the Lord has saved us and made us the church. Paul also told the church he prayed for them. Verses 2-3 read,
We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
As the church we should be praying for one another and we should encourage each other by that. Paul told them he prayed for them and was thankful to God for them. He could see the work of God active in their lives. He could see the evidence of their faith, the work of their love and the persistence of their hope. Those evidences are tangible. Do people know about your faith, love, and hope because it is apparent in the way you live your life and affect the kingdom or do they know about it because you tell them? Saying I love you is very different from actually loving. Saying you have faith is not the same as exercising that faith. James described it this way in James 2:15-17,
 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
 
As Paul taught this church, he gave them the positive reinforcements they needed to know they were on the right track. So we as a united church ought to do for one another. If we follow Paul’s example we can let each other know, “I’m praying for you, brother. Your hard work is not going unnoticed. I am inspired by your faith.” What does it mean for you, when you hear encouragement like that? Imagine what genuine assurance does for others as well.
We are the church, not by accident, not by chance but by the will of God. Verses 4-7 read,
 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.
 
Do you know how special it is to be among God’s chosen? Believer, we are not among the world any longer. We heard the Gospel, we believed it, and we accepted it. We are not like the world or in the world, we are in the church and so we should look and behave like Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Those who are more mature should be training the less mature. We should be supporting one another in our walk in Christ.
As we live that way together making disciples of each other, we grow and the word spreads. People outside the local church take note and we encourage more believers. The word also spreads to others. The world takes note, they see the Gospel lived out, they hear it and they have a chance to accept God’s election on their lives and believe. Verses 8-10 read,
For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
 
Genuine love, faith, and hope lived out among us has an impact. When we palpably and substantially love each other, when we care enough to encourage and exhort one another it doesn’t stay within our little groups, it spreads exponentially.
Jesus is returning one day. I believe it is going to be soon. But regardless how little or much time there is, there are too many people who have not heard the Father’s call, known the love of Jesus or seen the work of the Holy Spirit. We can change that by intentionally and sincerely living out our faith, love, and hope.
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Genesis 22:1-19 Tests of Faith Are for Passing not Failing

6/29/2016

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Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;     I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10 On photo Bibles saved from the Fire by Keri Walker
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10 On photo Bibles saved from the Fire by Keri Walker
Genesis 22:1-19
Whether you think so or not God does send us tests. The tests are not so that He will know how we will do, they are so that we will know ourselves better. He doesn’t send us tests in order for us to fail, He sends them to build our faith and make us into the perfect image of Christ. James 1:2-4 says it like this,
 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
God tested Abraham’s faith as well. Verses 1-3 read,
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
He had waited years to have his son Isaac. He had to give up Ishmael, the son provided by his own effort and not God’s promise. He had waited and grown old and finally the promise he waited on for so many years was fulfilled. He probably loved Isaac more than he could imagine loving a child. He envisioned his son’s future as he birthed nations and kings. God needed Abraham to know where his heart was and where it could be so that he would raise Isaac as a father of faith.
His response was immediate, “Here I am.” He didn’t ask God what he wanted before he responded, he was there, ready, and waiting for God’s word. And Abraham didn’t hesitate in doing as God had told him to do. He rose up early and took two men, Isaac, and the wood and left for the mountain in Moriah. Abraham knew that God had promised him that Isaac would become many nations. So though God told him to sacrifice his son, Abraham knew that he could obey and God would still somehow keep His promise. In the past, Abraham had doubted God’s word from time to time. Perhaps he might doubt it again in the future. The Lord wanted to show Abraham that he could trust Him enough to obey Him and never doubt or worry. With that knowledge Abraham probably wouldn’t doubt much in the future.
I try to imagine what that journey was like for Abraham. It had to have been difficult. He couldn’t scare his son by telling him. He couldn’t lighten his burden by sharing it with his servants. He had to walk toward a mountain knowing that when they reached the destination, he would have to kill Isaac, his only son. Did he savor every moment with his son? Did he pray throughout the journey for God to change His mind and give them something else to sacrifice? Or was he more stoic, accepting the terrible situation as it was? All we know is, Abraham trusted God to keep His word and he was willing to give His only son to God because he loved God so very much. Verses 4-10 read,
On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
 
I love the similarity in conversations between Isaac and Abraham and Abraham and God. Clearly Abraham loved his son deeply. His answer to Isaac is so similar to his answer to God, “Here I am, my son.” When Isaac asked where the sacrifice was, Abraham’s faith was exhibited beautifully when he answered, Isaac, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” He wasn’t telling his son a lie in order to keep him from being afraid, Abraham knew that he could trust God.
Abraham’s agony reminds me of Jesus praying in the garden before his arrest and crucifixion. He begged the Father to spare Him, but He knew that He couldn’t be spared. He knew that He was the salvation of the world and had to lay His life down (Matthew 26:39-42). Unlike Jesus, Abraham knew that somehow God would spare Isaac. The moment had come and God had not provided a way out of yet. Abraham’s hand held the knife and he was about to plunge it into his son. Verses 11-12 read,
 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
 
The angel of the Lord is God the Savior Jesus. He called to Abraham and Abraham answered again, “Here I am.” I would guess he was overwhelmed with joy to hear his Lord’s words this time, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”  God spared Isaac and provided another sacrifice in his place. Verses 13-14 read,
 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
 
Then God blessed Abraham by reiterating His promise. God knew long before Abraham was Abraham, that he would “pass the test.” He knew that He could make His promise and that Abraham would be faithful to it. He made the promise then and He repeated it after the sacrifice. Verses 15-19 read,
And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
 
God promised Abraham a son and descendants like the stars and the sand. Abraham believed and it was counted to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). What Abraham went through is also a reminder of faith for us. God promised you salvation and eternal life and when we believed it was counted to us as righteousness. Ephesians 1:11-14 reads,
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Abraham showed his love for God by sacrificing his only son. God showed His love to Abraham by sparing Isaac. God showed His love for us by sacrificing His only Son, by providing the lamb necessary to pay the price for our sin (Romans 5:8). He didn’t spare His own Son because His love for us is so deep. We can trust in the promise of salvation, in our perfect transformation in eternity because we know God loves perfectly and keeps His word.
Whatever test you may go through remember this, God is sending it to you so you can pass it and be strengthened and become more like Him. He wants good for you, not bad. Tests are not punishment, they are not made for you to fail. Tests are gifts, opportunities for blessings, and reasons to rejoice. Romans 8:32 reads,
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
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Genesis 21 Don’t Lose Hope; God Doesn’t Change

6/28/2016

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Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever Hebrews 13:8 On photo of Amber Sky by Lani Campbell
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever Hebrews 13:8 On photo of Amber Sky by Lani Campbell
​In Genesis Chapter 21 God keeps His promise to Sarah and Abraham and Isaac is born. Each person involved reacted, Abraham kept the covenant with God and circumcised his son on the eighth day. Verses 6-7 record Sarah’s joyful reaction,
And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.
Both Abraham and Sarah were grateful to The LORD and expressed their thankfulness appropriately. But Hagar whose son Ishmael was now 14 years old wasn’t so happy. She laughed but it wasn’t a laughter of joy or happiness it was the bitter laugh of derision. When Isaac was weaned Abraham had a feast to celebrate his young son. And Hagar didn’t hide her disdain any longer. Sarah had had enough of it. She told Abraham to send the slave woman and her son away. But Abraham wasn’t overly keen on sending his eldest son away. The LORD spoke to Abraham in verses 12-13,
But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.
So Abraham gave them a skin of water and some bread and sent the woman and young man away. Hagar and Ishmael wandered in the wilderness. I have to wonder why they didn’t go to a town. Why didn’t Hagar find a place and ask to live there? I think she had given up. She didn’t remember what God had said to her all those years ago when He told her about who her son would be and she called Him God Who Sees Me. She had lost all hope. When the water ran out. She set her son (about 16 years old now) under a tree and went to a place a few hundred feet away so that she wouldn’t have to watch him die. She was in utter despair.
But God hadn’t changed. He was still the God Who Sees, and He heard the prayers of Ishmael. He spoke to Hagar. Verses 17-21 read,
And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
God doesn’t change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8). In fact, verse 33 of this chapter reads,
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.
If he told you something last week, last year, or last decade, it has not changed. He doesn’t change. He is sovereign. He is Almighty. He is The LORD. He is Our Healer, Our Peace, Our Rock, Our Salvation, Our King, and Our Provider. He is Sufficient. He is our All in All. He loves you. He knows you. He sees you. He cares.
If you feel hopeless, if you have forgotten what He has said and done for you, call out to Him. Let Him be who He is. Let Him be your God.
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Genesis 20 God’s Promises and Your Salvation Depend on God Not You 

6/27/2016

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So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. Romans 9:16
So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. Romans 9:16
Genesis 20
Isn’t awesome how God takes our chief weakness, our biggest flaw, or our greatest struggle and turns it into our chief strength, biggest gift, or greatest blessing? Although Abraham is remembered as a man of great faith, he was far from perfect and one of his reoccurring issues was a lack of faith, a tendency to depend on himself instead of God when he feared something. That was the case when he moved to live for a little while in Gerar. He was faced with a familiar problem, protecting himself and his beautiful wife in a foreign country. And as he had done in Egypt, he did now; he lied and told the people she was his sister. Abraham’s lack of faith was affecting other people. Verses 1-7
From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
 
Abimelech did what was customary for his people, he saw a beautiful woman that he wanted and took her. Whether customary or not, in ignorance or not taking someone against their will is a sin. The king took Sarah but the Lord protected her, her offspring, and Abimelech by warning him what he was about to do and what the consequences of that act would be. The king responded quickly. Verses 8-13 read,
So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
 
Abraham may have felt like the excuse that the brother sister thing wasn’t totally a lie made it okay. But the truth is their relationship was husband and wife not brother and sister. It was the hiding of their marital relationship which was the lie and the sin. It was Abraham’s reliance on people and his assessment of their condition which was the sin. Abimelech had a right to know the truth. If he had, he might not have taken Sarah. Abraham should have trusted God enough to protect them regardless of what he thought of the people, especially in the light that God had promised that within the year she would give birth to a son. Imagine if Abimelech had slept with Sarah, Isaac’s paternity might forever be questioned by Abraham and by us. God was not going to allow that to happen. Abraham’s lack of faith put Abimelech and all of Gerar in grave danger. But God chose to show His awesome power to the king, not through his prophet Abraham as it should have been but by speaking to the king. Abimelech was angry as he had every right to be but he heeded the Lord who still protected Abraham regardless of his faith. Verses 14-18 reads,
Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
 
God’s steadfast love doesn’t depend on our faith, our effort, or our righteousness. We don’t have our own righteousness (Philippians 3:9), so why would we expect our effort to be good are enough? He promised that He is our God and He would always be with us (Deuteronomy 31:8). Even when Abraham sinned, God still loved him and protected him and the promise He had made. That is not an excuse to keep sinning, it is the reason to want to be more righteous. It’s not a defense to forget faith and run around depending on yourself, it is the motivation to be more faithful and depend on God.
Abimelech could have kept blaming Abraham and Sarah but his encounter with the Lord allowed him to take responsibility and make amends for his own sin as well as forgive Abraham. When he did that, Abraham was moved to pray for the king and his household. And in his prayers, Abraham had to see that God had protected Sarah all along and that the entire house had been made barren and impotent over the situation. He also got to demonstrate God’s mercy to Abimelech and restore his health as his sign of forgiveness.
Believer, God promised you salvation. He isn’t going to abandon you because you aren’t doing well enough or making mistakes. He is going to keep working on you and in you as you submit to Him. He is going to turn your greatest struggles into your greatest assets. He is preparing you for the Day of the Lord and the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. He is protecting you. Your salvation is promised. 1 Peter 1:3-7 reads,
 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 
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Psalm 87 You’re Suffering but You’re not alone 

6/26/2016

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He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4
Psalm 88
There are times that the suffering we experience feels as if it has been with us forever and will last forever. I think many of us could recount tales of woe to one another that might astonish the other. If we were to actually share our burdens with one another, we would realize we are not as alone in the depths of anguish. When we open our eyes and look past our own pain, we can see that there is no one among us who is not suffering. If we ignore the lie that we are alone and understand all of us suffer, then we can bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
This Psalm it titled and subtitled,
I Cry Out Day and Night Before You
A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
The psalmist was Heman the Ezrahite, one of the Sons of Korah. It is a psalm which expresses deep affliction and grief. Heman laid out his pain to God frankly and genuinely. There is no happy ending to the maskil, no unicorns or twinkly smiles. But there is still hope to be found in it. Verses 1-2 read,
O LORD, God of my salvation;
    I cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
    incline your ear to my cry!

 
The name the psalmist uses here for God is Yahweh or Jehovah, it is God’s ultimate name, His name for Himself, I Am. The name refers to His covenant relationship to us. Though Heman was in distress, he still had faith. We know he had faith because he was praying, because he wasn’t giving up, and because of how he addressed the Lord. Heman remembered God’s covenant with him and knew God remembered it with him. What is the promise the psalmist kept in mind? What is it that kept him going? The promise that keeps me going through the worst is found often in scripture, it is written in Deuteronomy 31:8.
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
 
Jesus said it again when He was about to ascend to Heaven in Matthew 28:20
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age

So Heman could pray because he knew his prayers were being heard. Do you know your prayers are not bouncing off the ceiling, or falling on deaf ears? God hears you. He doesn’t ignore your sorrow. Heman prayed honestly. There is no reason to hide our feelings to God. We can be completely open with Him. Being honest with God allows Him to reveal the truth to us and walk in His will and His way by taking the steps He guides us toward in our conversations. If I’m busy pretending that I am okay with my situation, how will I hear my Lord comfort me? If I am lying to myself as I tell God that everything is honky dory, how will I hear His direction? Purge the lies from your prayers and be honest. There are no masks necessary between you and your Maker and Savior.
James 4:8 reads,
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded
 
Verses 3-7 show the psalmists candor.
For my soul is full of troubles,
    and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
    I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
    like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
    for they are cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in the depths of the pit,
    in the regions dark and deep.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
    and you overwhelm me with all your waves.  Selah

He says not only is he dying but the people around him treat him as if he is already dead. He confesses he has no strength and may as well be in his grave already.  Most shockingly, he accuses God of being the one who put him there. We know that God doesn’t want us in pain, but we also know that God does allow pain and suffering for various reasons. For the most part our suffering, illness, and pain is from Satan. Remember he is a creation of God and subject to Him. We can see this point illustrated in Paul’s description of the thorn in his flesh.
 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
God allows Satan to send woes on us. What Satan means for evil and what people mean for harm, God uses for good (Genesis 50:20). Whatever Heman’s troubles were, they began in his youth and had remained with him (Verse 15). He had suffered for so long and he saw no end in sight, but he cried out to God day and night. He leaned on the Lord and though he had no strength, he could keep going. Verses 8-12 read,
You have caused my companions to shun me;
    you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9     my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
    I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
    Do the departed rise up to praise you?  Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your wonders known in the darkness,
    or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

 
The psalmist was deeply sad. He felt trapped in his pain and exhausted from sorrow. He was having trouble seeing anything except his grief. Yet, he still prayed, not only with his words but with his posture; he spread out his hands to God. Look how honest he was with God. He said, “Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed praise you?” He was saying if I’m dead, what good can you do through me? How can I praise you and tell anyone how great you are if I’m dead? Even as he cried out his anguish and frustration to God, he still declared God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, miracles, and righteousness. He said, ‘how can I tell the world about your steadfast love and faithfulness if I’m dead or considered an abomination? People can’t see your wonders or righteousness in my desolation.’
Heman was not afraid to be honest with God. I have no doubt that God answered Heman. I think that verses 10-12 show that God was included in the conversation. As Heman cried out, it was God who said, “Your suffering is showing my steadfast love, faithfulness, wonders, and righteousness. You are not an abomination to me. You are not dead. My grace is sufficient for you. You are not alone. I am with you to the end of the age.”
​
A few weeks ago, I was awake very early and spending time with my Lord in nature. I freely let it all go. I cried and cried to Him about my pain and illness. Parts of my prayer echoed this Psalm. I had suffered for so long and felt like I was very close to death. I asked God why He had not healed me. Just then a sparrow flew into my path. Immediately Luke 12:6-7 came to my mind,
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
 
My Father didn’t stop there, He then brought Matthew 6:26 to me.
 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Which led to Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
In that little sparrow, God spoke to me and said, “Don’t worry; just keep seeking me. I’m taking care of you. I will always be with you.” My cries turned to thanks. My fears turned to faith. If I had not been willing to be completely open, God would not have been able to allay my weakness with His strength.
Did my health get restored? No. I was still in pain, still weak and still sick. My world didn’t suddenly become a rose garden. My world remained as it was but my perspective changed. I haven’t stopped asking the Lord to heal me. I haven’t stopped suffering this terrible pain and frailty. Neither did Heman. Verses 13-18 read,
But I, O LORD, cry to you;
    in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?
    Why do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
    your dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They surround me like a flood all day long;
    they close in on me together.
18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
    my companions have become darkness.

 
This psalm doesn’t end with fat baby angels playing harps on fluffy clouds. It ends with Heman’s pain and loneliness. God doesn’t always take away the pain, He doesn’t always have those we’ve lost forgive us and restore failed relationships. But He does always remain with us. He does always take care of us when we seek Him and His will.
Believer, I know you’re suffering. I know you wonder if it will ever end. The Father will never leave you nor forsake you. Jesus is with you, always. The Holy Spirit is in you; His awesome power is at work in you. You have hope. You have eternity waiting for you. Jesus described our eternal home this way in Revelation 21:3-4,
Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age Matthew 28:20
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age Matthew 28:20
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Psalm 87 Zion, The City of God

6/25/2016

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For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. Deuteronomy 14:2
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. Deuteronomy 14:2
​Psalm 87
This Psalm written by the Sons of Korah is short but meaningful. Verses 1-3 read.
On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2     the Lord loves the gates of Zion
    more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3 Glorious things of you are spoken,
    O city of God. Selah



It is God who established Jerusalem as His holy city. Long before Israel existed, Jerusalem was a city. At one time King Melchizedek ruled there, he served The LORD as His priest and blessed Abraham and his future descendants (Genesis 14:17-24). God chose Jerusalem and favored her with His presence by allowing His temple to be built there. Jerusalem is the place where the foundations of Christianity were laid in the laws, Davidic line, and sacrifices. It is where Jesus taught, outside her gates He died and rose from the dead. It is where the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost and it is where salvation was offered first to the Jews and then given to the world.
But Jerusalem, Zion is more than an ancient city and more than a geographical city. It is more than the capital of Israel, the spiritual seat of Judaism or birthplace of Christianity. Zion is the people, the city of God is God’s treasured possession. Jerusalem was how the world understood God. Psalm 48:1-3 describes her this way,
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
    in the city of our God!
His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation,
    is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
    the city of the great King.
3 Within her citadels God
    has made himself known as a fortress.

 
Jesus also referred to Jerusalem as the city of the great king (Matthew 5:35). Who is the great king? Was Jesus talking about Melchizedek, David, or Solomon? He was referring to Himself. The Lord is the great King. Jerusalem is the city of God. Believer, you and I are the city of God. Matthew 5:14-16 in The Living Bible reads,
You are the world’s light—a city on a hill, glowing in the night for all to see.  Don’t hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father.
 
And Deuteronomy 7:6-8 tells us,
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
 
Revelation 21:22-27 describes Zion also called New Jerusalem like this,
And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
 
What glorious things does this Psalm speak about Zion? It refers to a record of kept by God regarding Zion’s citizens, it refers to the Lamb’s book of life. Verses 4-7 read,
4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
    behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush--
    “This one was born there,” they say.
5 And of Zion it shall be said,
    “This one and that one were born in her”;
    for the Most High himself will establish her.
6 The Lord records as he registers the peoples,
    “This one was born there.” Selah

7 Singers and dancers alike say,
    “All my springs are in you.”

Verse 4 refers to Rahab and Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush. None are Jewish nations. Rahab was a prostitute living in Jericho who helped Joshua’s spies and saved their lives. When the city fell, Rahab was saved (Joshua 2). Her name reminds us that there were people who were not Jews who did not keep the laws and were saved by God’s grace. Rahab is the symbolic name of Egypt in the Bible and in verse 4 it refers to Egypt along with the other nations and cities listed who had long-lasting enmity with Israel. Yet, they will be counted as citizens, not naturalized citizens but citizens born there. They are no longer strangers, we are citizens, we are part of the actual structure of the city. Ephesians 2:19-22 reads,
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
In Christ, both Israel and her enemies can be transformed, born again into new creations, citizens of Heaven, the Kingdom of God. We are not naturalized citizens even though we were adopted and grafted in. It is as if we were born in the city and grown from the vine because we are new creatures, born of water and Spirit. That is only something only God can do. Ephesians 2:8-10 reads,
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 1:3-6 in The Living Bible puts it this way,
How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every blessing in heaven because we belong to Christ.
4 Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us; he decided then to make us holy in his eyes, without a single fault—we who stand before him covered with his love. 5 His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And he did this because he wanted to!
6 Now all praise to God for his wonderful kindness to us and his favor that he has poured out upon us because we belong to his dearly loved Son.
 
Philippians 3:20-21 reminds us we are citizens of Zion not this world.
 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
 
Believer, The City of God belongs to Him. It is His treasured possession. He is our King and we glorify Him. One day soon we will live eternally as the Bride of Christ in the city He has prepared for us, perfectly united with Him and one another. Let’s remember who we are. Let’s reflect who He is to the wanderers of this world looking for home.
 
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Psalm 86 Joy and Peace Even in Suffering and Storms

6/24/2016

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There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18
​Psalm 86
You can’t count on circumstances, people, or even yourself for real joy and true peace.  Those things come from God. He never promised us rosy happy days or a life on this earth without hardship. But He gives us a way to know peace and joy through our suffering. King David understood this. He knew that even in the deepest pain he could know the greatest joy and during the most turbulent struggles he could have perfect peace.
Ask yourself and be honest, (you and God are the only ones who can hear your reply and He already knows the truth), “Do I know actual joy and peace even in the midst of the worst stuff?” Sincere joy doesn’t mean a big smile on your face, no matter what. Genuine peace doesn’t mean apathy. If you, like me fall short of these attributes then join me as I pursue God and seek His kingdom to know Him more deeply.
When David was suffering, what did He do? He prayed. Verses 1-7 read,
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;
    save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,
    for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
    for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
    abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
    listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
    for you answer me.

 
David acknowledged that he needed the Lord and he couldn’t meet his own needs (I am poor and needy). He conceded God’s sovereignty over his life (You are my God). In one sentence David declared his godliness, (his devotion to God’s ways) and declared his need for God’s grace. David knew he could only be godly because of God’s Lordship over him.
He also knew he was safe with The LORD because He is good and forgiving, and abounding in steadfast love. Abounding means rich, complete, and proliferating, having plenty, not lacking, and multiplying. Steadfast means constant, unswerving, reliable and stalwart. God’s love doesn’t depend on our behavior or effort. It doesn’t depend on how many hours, minutes, or seconds we spend in prayer or how much we gave to charity.  God’s love is abounding and steadfast. God is love 1 John 4:8 reads,
 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
 
King David could have joy because he could praise the Lord. He could tell God how great He is. When we praise God, we exalt God and we remind ourselves who God is and what He has done and is capable of doing. Verses 8-10 read,
There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come
    and worship before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things;
    you alone are God.

 
King David knew his answers didn’t lie anywhere but with the Lord. No god, no idol, no effort of his own can do what God can do. Nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37). Though the world in large doesn’t worship Him now, one day all the nations will come and worship, one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). Only God can make that happen.
It is through our relationship with Him that His lavish and ever-present love makes us able to experience joy and peace. He teaches us. As we submit to Him, He changes us. Verses 11-13 read,
Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may walk in your truth;
    unite my heart to fear your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

 
I love how David puts it in verse 11, “unite my heart.” How often is my broken heart split into fear and faith? How often do I feel doubt, peace, trust, fear, despair and hope at the same time? My heart can war against itself. But God unites my heart and enables me to give thanks to Him with my whole heart. How? Walking in the truth, who is Jesus Christ I come to know God. 1 John 4:16-19 puts it this way,
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.19 We love because he first loved us.
God is perfect love and He casts out fear, He perfects His love in us, His love abides (stays) in us. Casting out fear doesn’t mean we have nothing to fear, it means we do not have to be afraid. God doesn’t cast our fear by taking all the things we fear away from us. He changes us, not the circumstances. Verses 14-17 read,
O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
    and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to your servant,
    and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

 
Enemies will still rise up against us. But we do not have to react in fear, despair, or hate. We depend on God, not ourselves. We depend on God, not our circumstances. We depend on God not people. We can respond in love, mercy and grace because God is merciful, gracious and abounding in steadfast love. When we do that, when we let them see the supernatural manifestation of God in us and not our natural selves, they will have the chance to come to know God too.
It is not natural for us to leave vengeance to God. It is not natural for us to have peace while people hate or conditions pull us down. It is not natural for us to remain joyful even in the middle of terrible suffering. It is supernatural, it is only possible with God. That kind of response is love perfected in us.
Peace and joy are the realization of your faith in God’s absolute unconditional love for you and for the people around you. Whatever you are going through, good or bad, authentic and indisputable joy and peace can be yours. Peace and joy do not stem from circumstances; they come from God. Believer, I encourage you today to pray, seek God, and praise Him. Live the fruit of the Spirit of God in you. I’ll leave you with this encouragement from Paul. Philippians 4:4-9 reads,
 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
 
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Genesis 19:30-38 Faith or Flesh Lot’s Daughters’ Choice

6/23/2016

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for we walk by faith, not by sight.  2 Corinthians 5:7 (on a photo of Erik Weihenmayer on Mt. Everest by James Q Martin)
for we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (on a photo of Erik Weihenmayer on Mt. Everest by James Q Martin)
​Genesis 19:30-38
Lot had escaped Sodom to Zoar but as the lone survivors of the destruction of the wicked cities, he was afraid to stay there. Instead he and his two daughters lived in a cave. Lot may have been okay with the situation but his daughters were not. They had both been engaged, preparing to start lives as wives and looking forward to becoming mothers, but now they were alone in a cave with their dad and his fear affected them. Verses 30-32 describe their desperation.
Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.”
These two women had been raised by a righteous man, but their mother was not so righteous. They had been raised in a city so evil that the people thought nothing of gang rape and thought that it was wrong of Lot to try and protect the victims. Lots daughters were faced with a dilemma and a choice of how to handle that problem. They could have prayed to the Lord and asked Him to send them husbands. They could have cried out to Him for an answer. But they didn’t have the faith to see past their own fears and see the hope. They were each one of three survivors of the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Rather than see themselves as survivors, or see the hope of what their saved lives could mean, they focused on what that terrible experience meant for their fleshly desires. They came up with a plan to fix their problems. They decided to rape their father and take what they wanted. Verses 33-35 read,
So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
34 The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 35 So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
Rape is rape, whether the victim is a man or a woman, whether he was drunk or sober, aware or not aware, rape is a terrible violation of a person. It is the epitome of hate. These women were alive only because their father was a good man and God had mercy on him. They were alive because God allowed them to be saved. But they couldn’t acknowledge that or trust that if God had saved them, He most certainly was not going to leave them alone in a cave forever. Rather than be thankful to God and to Lot and use their new lives for good, they hated enough to violate their father in the most despicable manner possible. The plan worked, they got what they wanted. Verses 36-38 read,
Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
They had no shame over their sin, they proudly displayed what they had done by naming their sons with the banner of their sin. Moab sounds like Hebrew for ‘from father” or more closely “the waters of father” and Ben-amni means son of my people. Their mothers showed no repentance for their terrible deeds. And the descendants of Lot’s sons would become prideful evil nations.
The Moabites were pagans known for their obscene worship of the gods Chemosh and Baalpeor. They overwhelmed a race of giants called the Emin but were later dispossessed from that land by Israel. They would give us Ruth who forsook the gods and religion of her people to worship The Lord and become an ancestor of Jesus.
The Ammonites were a strong and vicious people who destroyed an ancient race of giants called Zamzummim, and seized their country east of Judea. They were flagrant idolaters, chiefly worshipping Moloch or Saturn. They fought Israel constantly and had many prophecies against them.
What could Lot’s daughters’ legacy have been had they appreciated their situation through faith instead of selfishness? We might have known their names instead of the wickedness of their sons. He might have given them amazing godly husbands and broods of children, but we will never know. They trusted themselves not God.
It is not easy to see past what we want right here and right now. It is not easy to choose to trust God to have our best for us when we could take the easier route and steal the solution sitting in front of our eyes.
I can’t imagine it was easy living in that cave, not knowing if or when Lot would be courageous enough to leave and find a new place to live. But if they knew their dad, they knew he wouldn’t stay there keeping them away from life forever. They had witnessed God’s power firsthand as He saved Lot from death, offered salvation to their fiancées and rained fire and brimstone down in the cities. But they refused to see the hope because they could only see their desires and despair. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 reads,
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
 
Faith is not about looking at the world with our eyes. It is about seeing the world through our relationship with God. If we know God, we can trust Him to do what is right and best for us. We know that what He has for us is far better than what we can get for ourselves.
What have you taken upon yourself that you should have left to the Lord? Is there a choice before you now between waiting for God or taking the immediate fix? I exhort you to choose faith, wait for the Lord. He won’t leave you exhausted at the end of your rope. Isaiah 40:31 promises us,
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint
.
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Genesis 19 God’s Love Would not be Love without His Wrath

6/21/2016

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In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10
​Genesis 19:1-29
Today’s devotional may not be a popular one. It discusses the wrath of God. Many people do not like to talk about God’s wrath. I’ve heard people say, “My God would never send someone to Hell.” There are people who can only see Him as the fire and brimstone God and they hate Him for it and they call Him a god of hate. A few people think God chooses some people to hate and that He is wrathful only to them. Some people think that a wrathful or vengeful God doesn’t fit into the image of God as love. And they completely dismiss the idea that a loving God could also be a wrathful God.
Imagine a Righteous Judge. Now imagine the case before Him: Two men came into a city known for its debauchery. On the night these men arrived, the population, especially the male population took notice of them and decided to rape them. Although one man in the city took them into his home and tried to keep them safe, this horde of men followed them to the house. They beat the door and tried to break it down to get at the visitors but couldn’t. When the hero tried to reason with them and begged them to stop, they accused him of judging them and continued trying to get the visitors so they could have their way with them. They were bent on the gang rape and nothing, short of God could stop them. Let’s read the case beginning with verses 1-11.
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house.5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
 
Now what should the Righteous Judge do to the mob of men, which was made of up every man in that city except for Lot? Should he show them mercy because they were just following their natural desires? Would it be loving of Him to say, “Good and evil are objective, morality is up to you, so if you think it’s right to rape and murder, then it is right for you?” Where would the love be? What about the victims? Where is their justice? What about the perpetrators? Shouldn’t they pay for their crimes? A loving God loves enough to take vengeance against those who have done wrong. A loving God keeps no secret about who will pay the price for wrongs committed in this world.
Sin is not the individual wrongs every person commits. Sin is the state of the world in which every person falls short of the perfection of God (Romans 3:23). The payment required by God for sin is death (Romans 6:23). Every person has to pay it. But God loves the world so much that He sent His Son, He who is God, perfect and righteous came and paid the debt He did not owe (John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:21). He took the death sentence that each of us owe. He rose from death and conquered sin and death so that we have a choice (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). We can accept the gift of Jesus payment for our sin or we can pay ourselves.
The wrath of God is an expression of God’s love. If no one had to pay for evil of the world, then we would live in a place much like Sodom where a mob of men bent on rape and murder could be considered the standard. Where people felt they had the right to hurt others in the name of personal desires. A place where there was no such thing as right and wrong. So the Lord acted. First He saved Lot and let gave Lot a chance to save others. Verses 12-14 read,
Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
Lot tried to rescue his future sons in law, who had been among the mob. They had the chance to be saved, but they chose to mock Lot rather than believe him. How many people do we know like that in our lives. If we love them, we want them to be saved from God’s wrath, even if it means ridicule. They don’t see it as love, they called it judgement, or they call it foolishness. It is love to tell people that Jesus loves them and wants them to be saved from The Day of Wrath and become instead the Bride of Christ. Do you love them enough to put up with their derision so they can join you for the Wedding Feast of the Lamb?
Verses 15-17 continue the tale.
As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 
The time of God’s wrath was nearing and Lot was lingering. Maybe he didn’t really believe it would happen so soon. Maybe he loved his home and was sad to leave it all behind. One thing is certain, he didn’t know what his future held and he was afraid. The angels took the family by the hands and took them out of Sodom and told them to run so that the destruction wouldn’t fall on them. Verses 18-26 reads,
And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then theLord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
 
Lot and his family made it to Zoar in time, but Lot’s wife was not the committed and righteous person her husband was. She looked back on the city. I wonder if she thought to herself, “I’d rather be there under the sulfur and fire partying with them than bored and breathing in Zoar.” Whatever the case, God gave her what she wanted. She incurred the wrath of God which she chose and became a pillar of salt. Verses 27-29 read,
And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.
29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
 
The destruction of those cities was seen throughout the surrounding areas near and far. All the people who had cried out to God over the wickedness of those place saw the answer to their prayers. God avenged them.
 
Do you trust God enough to understand that His love has to include His wrath? Do you have people you need to go to and tell them that The Day of the Lord is near and they can be saved? Don’t they deserve the chance to hear it, even though they may think you’re ridiculous for believing it? 
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Genesis 18 Intimate Friendship With God

6/20/2016

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Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me Revelation 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me Revelation 3:20
​Genesis 18
When we are in a relationship with God, it can become as intimate as we choose it to be. God is close and He will be as close to us as we are willing to let Him be.  That closeness, that deep familiarity and mutual affection we call fellowship or friendship is not always easy. It is fueled by faith and strong faith is not attained by an easy life.
Abraham had that kind of intimacy with God. His faith likely began when his father Terah raised him to follow the Lord. I am struck by the fact that Terah was seventy years old when he became a father to Abraham (Genesis 11:26). He had waited a long time for his sons and he had three. I think it is clear from who both Abraham and Lot became, that Terah raised his sons to follow God. His faith had grown from the time he first obeyed God and traveled from his home in Ur to Canaan. It grew more as he obeyed the Lord time and again over the years and it grew as He believed God’s covenant, God’s word to him about his future. Abraham’s road was not easy, his faith was massive, and his relationship with God was as close as any relationship could be. They were friends. The Lord enjoyed spending time with His friend so one day, He came by for a visit. (Remember He did not yet dwell in His people). Verses 1-5 read,
And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.”
The relationship is initiated by God but it is not forced. God showed up and let Abraham decide if he would spend some time with Him. There were three men, The Lord didn’t need Abraham’s company, He has Himself for community. He wasn’t lonely. He wanted Abraham’s company so He offered the chance for a little time together. Abraham took the chance and asked the Lord to stay and rest and take a little food. So, they, The Lord said, “Do as you have said.” Did God need a rest? Was He hungry? No. He chose to relate to Abraham on a level Abraham could understand.
What would your reaction be to having the Lord God come and agree to have a bite with you? I think that depends on where you are on your walk with Jesus. Would you cower in fear, would you be all formal and speak to Him in flowery words to keep distance between you? Would you fall at His feet, hug him, or give Him a high five? I doubt any of us can answer that question with complete objectivity. We tend to answer how we hope it would go down. One day, we will see Him face to face and since we will have been made into the perfect image of Christ, our response will be perfect love and worship. But for now, believers know Him just a bit, partially and even that is bigger than most of us can grasp (1 Corinthians 13:12). By the way, God has offered you the chance to fellowship. In Revelation 3:20-21 Jesus says,
 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
Abraham’s reaction showed his friendship with God as the LORD. He worshipped and invited Him to spend time with him. Then he rushed off to prepare the water and the morsel of bread. Verses 6-8 read,
And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
Abraham didn’t bring back a bowl of water and a morsel of bread. He had a feast prepared. He wasn’t doing this for the neighbor down the road, he was doing this for The LORD God Almighty. What difference does it make to you, when you are doing something for me and something for God? Do you do your best for God, do you give Him you best? Keep in mind that we are to do everything from washing a dish to serving a king as if we were doing it for the Lord (Colossians 3:23). Remember that whatever we do for even the seemingly most seemingly insignificant of people, we are doing for the Lord. (Mathew 25:40).
A seah of flower was a little under seven and half liters of flour, more than enough for three little cakes of bread, but Abraham had Sarah use a seah each for the three. Then he went and had a calf killed and prepared with curds and milk. (Had this happened in the days of Levitical law, he would have prepared the Lord a non-kosher dish). How long do you imagine that takes? Does it take a few minutes or is it many hours? He was giving the Lord more than a morsel of bread, He was giving him a feast and as long as it took to prepare it, he got to spend that time with God. As long as it took God to enjoy it, he got to spend that time with Him too.
Don’t imagine that the only time you can spend with your Lord is while you are at church or in service or in a carved out quiet time. What about the time you are preparing for those times? What about the times when you are working, concentrating on a task, or relating to the people in your life? If you allow the Lord to be in those times as well as the others, you can enjoy all that time with Him as well.
Abraham was not the only person present. Sarah was there too. She knew the Lord was right outside her door. She had made Him cakes and she could hear the conversation. She chose to remain outside of that fellowship. She chose to stay by the tent door listening. The Lord knew she was there and He invited her into the conversation. He wanted her to enjoy the same closeness that Abraham was enjoying. Verses 9-12 read,
They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”
Although the Lord spoke to Abraham, He addressed Sarah. His words were for her benefit and for her faith. She laughed, scoffed at the idea of having a child when she had not had her menses for such a long time. She wasn’t in menopause, she was long past it.  She had desired a child for so long and had accepted the fact that she would not have one, even in the face of God’s promise to her and her husband. She had been through many of the same things her husband had been through, yet her faith was not as strong as his. What was the difference? Abraham chose to have a relationship right up close with God and spoke to and listened to Him directly. Sarah chose to listen from afar and let Abraham speak to and for God for her.
I’ve been where she was. I have laughed at the idea of God fulfilling my desires because science and logic say it can’t happen. How did God respond to His precious daughter’s derision? Verses 13-15 read,
The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Once again the Lord spoke to Abraham but addressed Sarah and this time Sarah answered the Lord and let Him speak to her directly. This passage doesn’t say what Sarah’s response was. But we know that the Lord didn’t change His mind about the child. A year later Isaac was born. And God didn’t choose to remember Sarah for her doubt or her sins. He chose to remember her faith and her righteousness. Hebrews 11:11 is a testimonial memorial to Sarah.
By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised
Intimacy with God, friendship with Him also lets us in on His plans. How many of us go through life wondering what God’s will is for us? How many times have you asked your friend what her prayer is and she has said, “I just want to know what God’s will is.” When you are friends with Him, He lets’ you in on it. Verses 16-22 read,
Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
 
The Lord wanted to share His will with Abraham. He wanted Abraham to be included in His work. God doesn’t work in mysterious ways. He is open with us about His will and His plan and He lets us participate. His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9), but His work, acts, and plans are not mysterious. Jesus said it this way in John 15:14-15,
You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
 
Letting us into His plans gives us to join in His work. Amos 3:7-8 reads,
“For the Lord God does nothing
    without revealing his secret
    to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared;
    who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;
    who can but prophesy?”

 
God’s Word tells us His will and if we are in an intimate relationship with Him we’ll act. (BTW, God’s will is for the whole world to be saved, for your sanctification, a relationship with you and His glory 1 Timothy 3:4, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Hosea 6:6, Isaiah 43:7).
Abraham responded to the news that Sodom and Gomorrah were going to be destroyed for their wickedness by intervening to try and save them. The evil of these two cities was more than simple homosexuality as some would make us believe. It was ramped depravity, debauchery, and sexual immorality. It was hedonism to such a degree that the residents only care was their own pleasure. But Abraham had hope for them, because he had faith. He also knew his nephew Lot and was a righteous man living in Sodom with his family. Abraham stood his ground and spoke to the Lord as only a loving friend can. Verses 22-26 read,
So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
 
Can you imagine? He stood in the way of the Lord without letting Him continue onto His plan until He knew more and could convince God to save the wicked cities for the sake of the righteous men within their gates. He knew that the Lord was on His way, the two men went on to the cities but Abraham also knew God is sovereign and powerful. He wouldn’t have any trouble communicating with them.
He then had the boldness to go further. Verses 27-33 in The Message read,
Abraham came back, “Do I, a mere mortal made from a handful of dirt, dare open my mouth again to my Master? What if the fifty fall short by five—would you destroy the city because of those missing five?”
He said, “I won’t destroy it if there are forty-five.”
29 Abraham spoke up again, “What if you only find forty?”
“Neither will I destroy it if for forty.”
30 He said, “Master, don’t be irritated with me, but what if only thirty are found?”
“No, I won’t do it if I find thirty.”
31 He pushed on, “I know I’m trying your patience, Master, but how about for twenty?”
“I won’t destroy it for twenty.”
32 He wouldn’t quit, “Don’t get angry, Master—this is the last time. What if you only come up with ten?”
“For the sake of only ten, I won’t destroy the city.”
33 When God finished talking with Abraham, he left. And Abraham went home.
 
God already knew exactly how many righteous men dwelled in those two cities, one man, Lot and tomorrow we’ll read about what happened.
How close are you to the Lord? Do you visit with Him, talk with Him, and give Him your best? Are you His friend who He can share His plans with? Are you still waiting at the tent door afraid that God will see your doubt? God knows your heart completely whether you choose to be aloof or not. Let Him make you into who you are meant to be, the sanctified righteous image of Jesus Christ. Go ahead join Him for supper, hang out with Him and walk with Him.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8
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    October 21st 2015
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    September 27th 2015
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