Egypt Loved Moses
Read Exodus 11
Exodus 11:3 The LORD made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.
AS MANY times as I’ve read the story of the Exodus, I had not caught this parenthetical phrase regarding Moses’ reputation in Egypt. I assumed every Egyptian hated him and many Hebrews were suspicious of him. After all, didn’t all the trouble start when Moses came to town?
But it is God who stirs hearts toward one or away from one, and God created a favorable impression of his servant. This gave Moses authority. It gave him leverage against Pharaoh. His reputation gave him the ability to lead.
The Hebrews needed a man they could follow. The Hebrews also needed the people of Egypt to think well of them, and God saw to it. He prepared the way of the Exodus by preparing hearts and minds.
He does the same for you. He prepares your heart and mind through the Holy Spirit, to think favorably of himself.
As did the Hebrews, we need someone to follow—and God personally disposes himself to you. Through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and now through the Holy Spirit, God shows the way and leads us from bondage to freedom. He leads us to eternal life with him.
There is no greater path in all eternity. Pray that your heart is disposed to him.
Pause and Consider: people enjoy being with someone whose heart focuses on God.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
January 30 God's Got the Power
January 30
God’s Got the Power
Read Exodus 9-10
Ex 9:4, 16 But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die… 16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
GOD sent Moses to Pharaoh with a severe message of an impending hail storm of massive destruction. Why would God use a storm?
One of the most difficult things for all of us to understand is that God does as he pleases for the purpose of glorifying his name in all the earth. When the forces of nature storm through an area, it is impossible for some to feel it could be God at work. But it is. He controls every element through the heavens and earth. He is sovereign.
Thus, the storm could be a demonstration of his power. Or possibly it could be a forewarning to events at the end of time. In this case he raises the storm to judge Egypt and to show his power to his people.
In his sovereign authority, God uses the nature he created for his own purposes. When we know in our hearts that God has that kind of power, we will have an appropriate fear of him. When we have that fear, we will come to know him. For “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his teachings have good understanding.” (Psalm 111:10)
When you fear God’s power, you will understand and rejoice in his power over your life. He truly does have the power to change your life from the deepest darkness to the brightest light.
Pause and Consider: when you see God’s power in a storm, the same power is available to you.
God’s Got the Power
Read Exodus 9-10
Ex 9:4, 16 But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die… 16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
GOD sent Moses to Pharaoh with a severe message of an impending hail storm of massive destruction. Why would God use a storm?
One of the most difficult things for all of us to understand is that God does as he pleases for the purpose of glorifying his name in all the earth. When the forces of nature storm through an area, it is impossible for some to feel it could be God at work. But it is. He controls every element through the heavens and earth. He is sovereign.
Thus, the storm could be a demonstration of his power. Or possibly it could be a forewarning to events at the end of time. In this case he raises the storm to judge Egypt and to show his power to his people.
In his sovereign authority, God uses the nature he created for his own purposes. When we know in our hearts that God has that kind of power, we will have an appropriate fear of him. When we have that fear, we will come to know him. For “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his teachings have good understanding.” (Psalm 111:10)
When you fear God’s power, you will understand and rejoice in his power over your life. He truly does have the power to change your life from the deepest darkness to the brightest light.
Pause and Consider: when you see God’s power in a storm, the same power is available to you.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
January 28 God Will Redeem
God Will Redeem
Read Exodus 5-6
Ex 6:6-7 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.’”
GOD IS getting very personal. He tells the enslaved Hebrews that he will free them with his power. He will redeem them, bring them into a new life away from their bondage. And when they are redeemed, he will welcome them as his own. He will be their God forever!
Wow—that is so incredibly amazing. Think of God’s amazing offer.
Yes, God gave this message to his people then, and he has given the same message to us repeatedly through the ages.
Then he underscored, highlighted, made it bold, italicized and made it extra, extra large font with his Son. Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection is the power of God’s right arm outstretched through the centuries for you. This is the reality of your freedom from the Slave Master Sin. Through faith in Jesus, you are redeemed.
God has always been about freedom from bondage. His purpose is constant to be your God. You can trust a constant God of such power, grace and love.
Pause and Consider: How do you enjoy freedom in Jesus?
Read Exodus 5-6
Ex 6:6-7 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.’”
GOD IS getting very personal. He tells the enslaved Hebrews that he will free them with his power. He will redeem them, bring them into a new life away from their bondage. And when they are redeemed, he will welcome them as his own. He will be their God forever!
Wow—that is so incredibly amazing. Think of God’s amazing offer.
Yes, God gave this message to his people then, and he has given the same message to us repeatedly through the ages.
Then he underscored, highlighted, made it bold, italicized and made it extra, extra large font with his Son. Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection is the power of God’s right arm outstretched through the centuries for you. This is the reality of your freedom from the Slave Master Sin. Through faith in Jesus, you are redeemed.
God has always been about freedom from bondage. His purpose is constant to be your God. You can trust a constant God of such power, grace and love.
Pause and Consider: How do you enjoy freedom in Jesus?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
January 36 Ready to Hear?
Ready to Hear?
Read Exodus 1-2
Exodus 1:14 They (Egyptians) made their (the Hebrews) lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.
400 YEARS have passed since Genesis. God has expanded his nation to nearly 2 million people in Egypt. Was that a mistake? Now they are slaves. Should he have put them in a place where they would have been treated more favorably, even in abundance and luxury? After all, they are the LORD’s people!
Jacob and his family were in Canaan, the place where the Hebrews would eventually settle. Why “waste” 400 years of hardship in Egypt?
It’s always good to walk carefully when we ask God, “Why?” We must not pretend or assume our ways are better than his. But, in the attitude of humility, asking God, “Why?” can lead us to understanding him more clearly.
So, we humbly ask God, “Why Egypt?” “Why slavery?” When we look throughout the bible, we can discover that one answer, to our dislike, is that God often puts people in a position where they desperately need him before they pay attention to him. One place to discover God is in our brokenness. I suspect that if the Hebrews were prosperous, they would ignore God. But they were in need, and they were ready to listen. He had a BIG change planned for their lives.
If you are in despair, and life is tough, God wants to free you. He may have allowed your situation because he needs your attention. When you seek him, and when you are prepared to trust his response, he will speak to you to bring great change to your life. Are you ready to hear him?
Pause and Consider: Be still and listen for His voice.
Read Exodus 1-2
Exodus 1:14 They (Egyptians) made their (the Hebrews) lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.
400 YEARS have passed since Genesis. God has expanded his nation to nearly 2 million people in Egypt. Was that a mistake? Now they are slaves. Should he have put them in a place where they would have been treated more favorably, even in abundance and luxury? After all, they are the LORD’s people!
Jacob and his family were in Canaan, the place where the Hebrews would eventually settle. Why “waste” 400 years of hardship in Egypt?
It’s always good to walk carefully when we ask God, “Why?” We must not pretend or assume our ways are better than his. But, in the attitude of humility, asking God, “Why?” can lead us to understanding him more clearly.
So, we humbly ask God, “Why Egypt?” “Why slavery?” When we look throughout the bible, we can discover that one answer, to our dislike, is that God often puts people in a position where they desperately need him before they pay attention to him. One place to discover God is in our brokenness. I suspect that if the Hebrews were prosperous, they would ignore God. But they were in need, and they were ready to listen. He had a BIG change planned for their lives.
If you are in despair, and life is tough, God wants to free you. He may have allowed your situation because he needs your attention. When you seek him, and when you are prepared to trust his response, he will speak to you to bring great change to your life. Are you ready to hear him?
Pause and Consider: Be still and listen for His voice.
Monday, January 24, 2011
January 25 Forgiveness is Real
January 25
Forgiveness is Real
Read Genesis 49-50
Gen 50:15-17 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brother’s the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
JOSEPH’S brothers still feel guilty. About 17 years have passed since Jacob and his family came to live in Egypt, and Joseph has demonstrated his forgiveness to them. Still the brothers wonder if Joseph will turn on them for the wrongs they did to him many years before this.
That’s the thing about sin. Even when someone says, “I forgive you.” we still want to keep condemning ourselves. The guilt inside lingers and eats away at us. And we are never sure of what the “forgiver” thinks about us.
Joseph weeps in his frustration. His brothers did not truly understand his grace. Joseph had forgiven those transgressions, and he wanted to move forward.
In a like manner, God must feel a great sadness when we continually deny his love and forgiveness. He says when we repent, when we say, “I’m wrong. I want to be with you, LORD.” he will forgive and forget our sins. He wants to point us to the future, to a new and restored relationship with him.
Will you trust God’s forgiveness? The Son, Jesus Christ, bled on a cross to remove your sin. Trust the blood. Trust the cross. Trust the great grace.
Pause and Consider: God forgives and forgets your sin. Will you?
Forgiveness is Real
Read Genesis 49-50
Gen 50:15-17 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brother’s the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
JOSEPH’S brothers still feel guilty. About 17 years have passed since Jacob and his family came to live in Egypt, and Joseph has demonstrated his forgiveness to them. Still the brothers wonder if Joseph will turn on them for the wrongs they did to him many years before this.
That’s the thing about sin. Even when someone says, “I forgive you.” we still want to keep condemning ourselves. The guilt inside lingers and eats away at us. And we are never sure of what the “forgiver” thinks about us.
Joseph weeps in his frustration. His brothers did not truly understand his grace. Joseph had forgiven those transgressions, and he wanted to move forward.
In a like manner, God must feel a great sadness when we continually deny his love and forgiveness. He says when we repent, when we say, “I’m wrong. I want to be with you, LORD.” he will forgive and forget our sins. He wants to point us to the future, to a new and restored relationship with him.
Will you trust God’s forgiveness? The Son, Jesus Christ, bled on a cross to remove your sin. Trust the blood. Trust the cross. Trust the great grace.
Pause and Consider: God forgives and forgets your sin. Will you?
Friday, January 21, 2011
January 22, 2011 Let Go of the Guilt
January 22
Let Go of the Guilt
Read Genesis 41-42
Genesis 42:21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come upon us.”
MANY years had passed since Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. Time had passed, but their guilt had not. What they had done in a moment of passion had stayed in each brother’s heart and mind to slowly and persistently increase their guilt and increase their grief.
How many times had they awakened in the night distressed over their evil deed? How many times had they grieved for their father who had lost his favorite son? How many times did they say to themselves, “Should I confess?”
But they never did. And the sin carved at their hearts. It never let them go. Sin imprisoned their actions and imprisoned their minds. They knew they deserved punishment, but they kept it to themselves.
Are you holding something in your heart that calls you to repentance? Go to God and trust he will free you from your burden. Go to the one you’ve hurt. Cleanse your heart today. You will find a release from a heavy burden. You will experience relief and joy in your heart. You will experience God’s love for you.
Pause and Consider: Are my words and actions good in God’s eyes?
Let Go of the Guilt
Read Genesis 41-42
Genesis 42:21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come upon us.”
MANY years had passed since Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. Time had passed, but their guilt had not. What they had done in a moment of passion had stayed in each brother’s heart and mind to slowly and persistently increase their guilt and increase their grief.
How many times had they awakened in the night distressed over their evil deed? How many times had they grieved for their father who had lost his favorite son? How many times did they say to themselves, “Should I confess?”
But they never did. And the sin carved at their hearts. It never let them go. Sin imprisoned their actions and imprisoned their minds. They knew they deserved punishment, but they kept it to themselves.
Are you holding something in your heart that calls you to repentance? Go to God and trust he will free you from your burden. Go to the one you’ve hurt. Cleanse your heart today. You will find a release from a heavy burden. You will experience relief and joy in your heart. You will experience God’s love for you.
Pause and Consider: Are my words and actions good in God’s eyes?
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
January 19, 2011 A New I.D.
A New I.D.
Read Genesis 34-35
Genesis 35:10 God said to him: “Your name is Jacob; you will no longer be named Jacob, but Israel will be your name.”
WHAT’S in a name? To God, a name is the essence of who you are. Genesis is loaded with names given to places and people because they are reminders of activities the LORD did, the act of faith or disobedience a person did, or the events that occurred in a particular place
Here, God takes another step toward establishing his nation. He had changed Abram’s name to Abraham. Now he changes Jacob’s name to Israel. “Israel” means he has struggled with God, and God has strengthened him.
God separates this man from his neighbors, his family, his brother and his past to move him forward into a new life. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.”
Are you feeling that you are without purpose? Do you feel you’re too young, too old, worn out, or that you have no value? God wants to make you new and alive in him. He wants to be your friend and confidant, your encourager and your strength. He wants to be your Grace Giver. He wants to be your eternal Father. He wants to be your God.
When you open yourself to God, he happily gives you a new identity for tomorrow. When you accept God’s love for, you, too, will be a new creation.
Pause and Consider: What do you like to do? How can you use that for God?
Read Genesis 34-35
Genesis 35:10 God said to him: “Your name is Jacob; you will no longer be named Jacob, but Israel will be your name.”
WHAT’S in a name? To God, a name is the essence of who you are. Genesis is loaded with names given to places and people because they are reminders of activities the LORD did, the act of faith or disobedience a person did, or the events that occurred in a particular place
Here, God takes another step toward establishing his nation. He had changed Abram’s name to Abraham. Now he changes Jacob’s name to Israel. “Israel” means he has struggled with God, and God has strengthened him.
God separates this man from his neighbors, his family, his brother and his past to move him forward into a new life. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.”
Are you feeling that you are without purpose? Do you feel you’re too young, too old, worn out, or that you have no value? God wants to make you new and alive in him. He wants to be your friend and confidant, your encourager and your strength. He wants to be your Grace Giver. He wants to be your eternal Father. He wants to be your God.
When you open yourself to God, he happily gives you a new identity for tomorrow. When you accept God’s love for, you, too, will be a new creation.
Pause and Consider: What do you like to do? How can you use that for God?
Monday, January 17, 2011
January 18, 2011 Wrestling Into New Life
Wrestling into New Life
Read Genesis 32-33
Gen 32:28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”
“BORN AGAIN” is a phrase in today’s Christian language for a person who has asked God to forgive his or her sins, and he or she has welcomed Jesus as the Lord of their lives. “Born again” results from humility before God. It is new life released from sin’s condemnation into salvation’s promise.
There’s another way Jacob is born again. He begins a new life with his family. He also goes to seek forgiveness from his brother Esau, whom he cheated. He cannot live in the shadow of guilt any longer.
On his journey home to meet Esau, he wrestles with God. Pretty crazy, isn’t it? Wrestling with God seems so (is so) weird. But we do wrestle with God, don’t we? We hear and read his Word. Yet we say to ourselves, “I don’t think I can do those things you ask, Lord.” Or we say, “I’m all for following you, Jesus, but I have some other things to do, first.” Our will wrestles with his will, and at some point God has to “touch our hip”, to weaken us so that we will submit to him.
This physical wrestling is a sign of the spiritual wrestling Jacob had experienced for about 30 years. Now Jacob is “born again” into a new life with God.
Are you wrestling with God? Pray for his Spirit to touch you to give you a new life of trust in Him.
Pause and Consider: What does God need to make weak in you so that you will receive his strength?
Read Genesis 32-33
Gen 32:28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”
“BORN AGAIN” is a phrase in today’s Christian language for a person who has asked God to forgive his or her sins, and he or she has welcomed Jesus as the Lord of their lives. “Born again” results from humility before God. It is new life released from sin’s condemnation into salvation’s promise.
There’s another way Jacob is born again. He begins a new life with his family. He also goes to seek forgiveness from his brother Esau, whom he cheated. He cannot live in the shadow of guilt any longer.
On his journey home to meet Esau, he wrestles with God. Pretty crazy, isn’t it? Wrestling with God seems so (is so) weird. But we do wrestle with God, don’t we? We hear and read his Word. Yet we say to ourselves, “I don’t think I can do those things you ask, Lord.” Or we say, “I’m all for following you, Jesus, but I have some other things to do, first.” Our will wrestles with his will, and at some point God has to “touch our hip”, to weaken us so that we will submit to him.
This physical wrestling is a sign of the spiritual wrestling Jacob had experienced for about 30 years. Now Jacob is “born again” into a new life with God.
Are you wrestling with God? Pray for his Spirit to touch you to give you a new life of trust in Him.
Pause and Consider: What does God need to make weak in you so that you will receive his strength?
Sunday, January 16, 2011
January 17, 2011 Four Wives?
Four Wives?
Read Genesis 31
Genesis 31:53-55 So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. 54 He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there. 55 Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.
CHAPTERS 30 & 31 of Genesis are a long account of Jacob going to find a wife, marrying Leah (against his will) and Rachel and having the sons that would eventually become the fathers of the 12 Tribes of Israel.
It is a difficult account to read. Jacob fathers his children through Leah, Leah’s maidservant, Rachel’s maidservant and finally Rachel. But one born to Rachel is Joseph, and the stage is set for the future.
For his own reasons, God has set the stage in a way we wouldn’t expect. Why not have Jacob take one wife and have his children through her? It would seem to be more pure, and there possibly would be less contention in Jacob’s household.
With the rivalries that would develop among his sons and in the issues Jacob had with his father-in-law, Jacob had a difficult life. And before this, Jacob had been deceitful to his father Isaac. The story makes no sense until we remember: God is at work here.
How God accomplishes his will is his business. It is his way. We can be surprised, but we can’t say “This will never work.” God will often take people into difficult times or new places to strengthen them into a deeper trust relationship with him.
Pause and Consider: that what God did with Jacob he wants to do with you.
Read Genesis 31
Genesis 31:53-55 So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. 54 He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there. 55 Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.
CHAPTERS 30 & 31 of Genesis are a long account of Jacob going to find a wife, marrying Leah (against his will) and Rachel and having the sons that would eventually become the fathers of the 12 Tribes of Israel.
It is a difficult account to read. Jacob fathers his children through Leah, Leah’s maidservant, Rachel’s maidservant and finally Rachel. But one born to Rachel is Joseph, and the stage is set for the future.
For his own reasons, God has set the stage in a way we wouldn’t expect. Why not have Jacob take one wife and have his children through her? It would seem to be more pure, and there possibly would be less contention in Jacob’s household.
With the rivalries that would develop among his sons and in the issues Jacob had with his father-in-law, Jacob had a difficult life. And before this, Jacob had been deceitful to his father Isaac. The story makes no sense until we remember: God is at work here.
How God accomplishes his will is his business. It is his way. We can be surprised, but we can’t say “This will never work.” God will often take people into difficult times or new places to strengthen them into a deeper trust relationship with him.
Pause and Consider: that what God did with Jacob he wants to do with you.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
January 16, 2011 God's Life Water
Life’s Water Flows Freely
Read Genesis 29-30
Gen 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.
A LONG time after this event, an event that was part of the process in which God was forming his people, there was another stone rolled away.
You know the story—it’s told every Easter. But the stone rolled away on Easter didn’t provide temporary water for sheep. It offered the eternal cleansing water for our eternal salvation.
Jesus’ words are recorded in John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
Yes, when God rolled the stone away from Jesus’ tomb, he sent forth the Living Water into a world literally and eternally dieing of thirst for the truth. As scattered sheep stranded in a desert, God’s people sought the life-giving water that would renew and refresh them and give them life.
Yes, God provided. He provided the renewing, refreshing life—the resurrected life of Jesus Christ. This event would be the final step in what God is beginning here. The Living Water has burst forth for you for all eternity!
Laban’s sheep eagerly responded to the water Jacob provided. Do you eagerly respond to the Living Water the Good Shepherd gives to you?
Pause and Consider: God’s “Living Water” is his Word. Drink of it daily.
Read Genesis 29-30
Gen 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.
A LONG time after this event, an event that was part of the process in which God was forming his people, there was another stone rolled away.
You know the story—it’s told every Easter. But the stone rolled away on Easter didn’t provide temporary water for sheep. It offered the eternal cleansing water for our eternal salvation.
Jesus’ words are recorded in John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
Yes, when God rolled the stone away from Jesus’ tomb, he sent forth the Living Water into a world literally and eternally dieing of thirst for the truth. As scattered sheep stranded in a desert, God’s people sought the life-giving water that would renew and refresh them and give them life.
Yes, God provided. He provided the renewing, refreshing life—the resurrected life of Jesus Christ. This event would be the final step in what God is beginning here. The Living Water has burst forth for you for all eternity!
Laban’s sheep eagerly responded to the water Jacob provided. Do you eagerly respond to the Living Water the Good Shepherd gives to you?
Pause and Consider: God’s “Living Water” is his Word. Drink of it daily.
Friday, January 14, 2011
January 15, 2011 Ordinary to Extraordinary
Ordinary to Extraordinary
Read Genesis 27-28
Gen 28:16-17 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
GOD AMAZES me. Jacob is far from perfect. He’s even a liar. Now his life is in jeopardy because of this deceit. Yet God enters into Jacob’s life and chooses him!
Through the rest of Genesis, there will scarcely be a time when Jacob is not involved either directly or “on the side” in the story. Jacob is a big deal. God will name him “Israel”. God’s people will take on his name. And a name is a very, very big deal to the Hebrews. It is who you are. The Hebrews would be “Israel”.
Why would God create Jacob with this kind of character?
I’m thinking of people I know who have been transformed from a life of deceit into a life of promise and peace, just as Jacob would be. Seeing these transformations assures me God is at work. And, I look at my own life and know how different I am because I have decided to follow God.
That is the story of Genesis, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These three men, the foundational generations of Israel from whom our Savior would come, are ordinary men whom God chooses to guide to fulfill his Kingdom purposes.
You and I are the same: ordinary in the world, extraordinary in the Kingdom of God. Seeing these changes in Jacob, in our own lives and in lives around us, we can trust God to take us to the gate of Heaven.
Pause and Consider: You are so extraordinary, God sent Jesus to save you.
Read Genesis 27-28
Gen 28:16-17 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
GOD AMAZES me. Jacob is far from perfect. He’s even a liar. Now his life is in jeopardy because of this deceit. Yet God enters into Jacob’s life and chooses him!
Through the rest of Genesis, there will scarcely be a time when Jacob is not involved either directly or “on the side” in the story. Jacob is a big deal. God will name him “Israel”. God’s people will take on his name. And a name is a very, very big deal to the Hebrews. It is who you are. The Hebrews would be “Israel”.
Why would God create Jacob with this kind of character?
I’m thinking of people I know who have been transformed from a life of deceit into a life of promise and peace, just as Jacob would be. Seeing these transformations assures me God is at work. And, I look at my own life and know how different I am because I have decided to follow God.
That is the story of Genesis, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These three men, the foundational generations of Israel from whom our Savior would come, are ordinary men whom God chooses to guide to fulfill his Kingdom purposes.
You and I are the same: ordinary in the world, extraordinary in the Kingdom of God. Seeing these changes in Jacob, in our own lives and in lives around us, we can trust God to take us to the gate of Heaven.
Pause and Consider: You are so extraordinary, God sent Jesus to save you.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
January 14, 2011 A Nation Changes
Changing a Nation
Read Genesis 25-26
Gen 25:34 So Esau despised his birthright.
HAVE YOU ever been around a “drama queen”? You know, the kind of person who loves to accent the smallest trifle into a life or death situation. Esau is one of those. He thinks he will die in a few minutes if Jacob doesn’t give him his stew. He is hungry for immediate satisfaction. As a result, he gives up the most precious possession of a Hebrew first-born son—his birthright.
Esau in a moment of rash passion for a “meal in a minute”, let’s go of his life’s material promise and treasure. He gives up what is due him. And the structure of Isaac’s family changes. The whole structure and foundation of the Hebrew nation changes.
Now Jacob will be the “next in line”. And it will be his family God will bless, just as he told Rebekah.
For you, the lesson is to recognize your birthright: From 1 John 3:1: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”
When you call on Jesus as Lord, you are a child of God forever. But too often we resist. We are, as Esau was, concerned more about instant pleasure than we are about eternal life.
Be careful what you desire. Your decisions will change the structure of your life forever. Trust God, your Father, and receive your birthright in Jesus.
Pause and Consider: Rest for a moment as you consider God is your perfect Father, who loves you as his own.
Read Genesis 25-26
Gen 25:34 So Esau despised his birthright.
HAVE YOU ever been around a “drama queen”? You know, the kind of person who loves to accent the smallest trifle into a life or death situation. Esau is one of those. He thinks he will die in a few minutes if Jacob doesn’t give him his stew. He is hungry for immediate satisfaction. As a result, he gives up the most precious possession of a Hebrew first-born son—his birthright.
Esau in a moment of rash passion for a “meal in a minute”, let’s go of his life’s material promise and treasure. He gives up what is due him. And the structure of Isaac’s family changes. The whole structure and foundation of the Hebrew nation changes.
Now Jacob will be the “next in line”. And it will be his family God will bless, just as he told Rebekah.
For you, the lesson is to recognize your birthright: From 1 John 3:1: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”
When you call on Jesus as Lord, you are a child of God forever. But too often we resist. We are, as Esau was, concerned more about instant pleasure than we are about eternal life.
Be careful what you desire. Your decisions will change the structure of your life forever. Trust God, your Father, and receive your birthright in Jesus.
Pause and Consider: Rest for a moment as you consider God is your perfect Father, who loves you as his own.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
January 13, 2011 Pray With Expectations
Pray with Expectation
Read Genesis 24-25
Gen 24:49 and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.
THIS IS one of my favorite bible stories and chapters. Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for Isaac. The servant has expectations of what the future bride will say and do. He has expectations in Jehovah, God the Provider, and he goes on his journey to see God answer his prayers.
This faithful, simple servant, whose name we don’t know, is a great model for our Christian life today. Too often we pray like this: “God, help me if you will. I hope things will work out.” But this scripture tells us to pray like this: (Gen 24:12) “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.”
Do you hear the expectation? Do you hear the trust? Do you hear the worship? The servant was going to a place he had never been to meet a family he had never known to find a wife for Isaac. Into uncertainty, the servant walks with faith in a God, whom he has seen make good on his promises to Abraham.
It is certain Abraham’s servants saw Abraham’s faith journey and saw God, the Provider, care for their master. And now, given a seemingly impossible task, the servant follows the same faith path.
Trust God as this faithful servant did. Then worship God with praise and thanksgiving so others will see the ways God has provided for you.
Pause and Consider: What huge task is before you? Pray to God as the servant did, and see God’s response to you.
Read Genesis 24-25
Gen 24:49 and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.
THIS IS one of my favorite bible stories and chapters. Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for Isaac. The servant has expectations of what the future bride will say and do. He has expectations in Jehovah, God the Provider, and he goes on his journey to see God answer his prayers.
This faithful, simple servant, whose name we don’t know, is a great model for our Christian life today. Too often we pray like this: “God, help me if you will. I hope things will work out.” But this scripture tells us to pray like this: (Gen 24:12) “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.”
Do you hear the expectation? Do you hear the trust? Do you hear the worship? The servant was going to a place he had never been to meet a family he had never known to find a wife for Isaac. Into uncertainty, the servant walks with faith in a God, whom he has seen make good on his promises to Abraham.
It is certain Abraham’s servants saw Abraham’s faith journey and saw God, the Provider, care for their master. And now, given a seemingly impossible task, the servant follows the same faith path.
Trust God as this faithful servant did. Then worship God with praise and thanksgiving so others will see the ways God has provided for you.
Pause and Consider: What huge task is before you? Pray to God as the servant did, and see God’s response to you.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
January 12, 2011 From the Empty Womb
From the Empty Womb to the Empty Tomb
Read Genesis 21-23
Gen 22:6-8 As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
HERE ARE 3 examples of God’s salvation of life out of emptiness and death. First, God provides to Abraham and Sarah a son. Isaac was born 25 years after God had first made that promise.
Second, God provides for Hagar and Ishmael. He miraculously opens a well in the wilderness, so Ishmael will live and become the ancestor of many people to be a thorn to God’s people.
And third, God provides the sacrificial lamb to replace Abraham’s son Isaac on the altar.
Wow!
Do you see God’s power and sovereignty over death here? God shows his power first over barrenness. From an empty womb God takes us to the empty tomb as Sarah becomes the mother a great nation from whom Jesus Christ would come.
Secondly, he shows his power over death in a barren desert. Ishmael is the son of a sinful act; yet, God blesses him with the life-giving water because he is Abraham’s son. God rewards the father by blessing the son.
And most dramatically, God provides salvation over the power of sin. Yes, God would provide the lamb—that day and 2,000 years later. To the altar would go the Son of God to become the sacrificial lamb for you and for me. We have life; we don’t have to go the altar of death.
Pause and Consider: We can worship God because he has provided the lamb. This, my friends, is a God you can trust.
Read Genesis 21-23
Gen 22:6-8 As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
HERE ARE 3 examples of God’s salvation of life out of emptiness and death. First, God provides to Abraham and Sarah a son. Isaac was born 25 years after God had first made that promise.
Second, God provides for Hagar and Ishmael. He miraculously opens a well in the wilderness, so Ishmael will live and become the ancestor of many people to be a thorn to God’s people.
And third, God provides the sacrificial lamb to replace Abraham’s son Isaac on the altar.
Wow!
Do you see God’s power and sovereignty over death here? God shows his power first over barrenness. From an empty womb God takes us to the empty tomb as Sarah becomes the mother a great nation from whom Jesus Christ would come.
Secondly, he shows his power over death in a barren desert. Ishmael is the son of a sinful act; yet, God blesses him with the life-giving water because he is Abraham’s son. God rewards the father by blessing the son.
And most dramatically, God provides salvation over the power of sin. Yes, God would provide the lamb—that day and 2,000 years later. To the altar would go the Son of God to become the sacrificial lamb for you and for me. We have life; we don’t have to go the altar of death.
Pause and Consider: We can worship God because he has provided the lamb. This, my friends, is a God you can trust.
Monday, January 10, 2011
January 11, 2011 Will He Ever Learn/
Will He Ever Learn?
Read Genesis 20
Gen 20:1-2 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
DOES this story sound familiar? Look at Genesis 12, and you’ll see Abraham pulling the same stunt with Egypt’s leaders. Why does Abraham lie about his wife again and put her at risk?
It seems Abraham is still not in the place to trust his God enough to care of all the circumstances.
Abraham has been walking with God for years by this time. He has talked with him, listened to him, followed him and obeyed him. He has gone from being Abram, the son of a man who worshiped idols, to being Abraham, a man with a new identity—born again—in God. He even saw God care for him in Egypt and protect Sarah in the Egyptian household.
Still, in all these good things that have happened, he trusts himself more in this circumstance than he trusts God.
I do that. Do you? I’m waiting for a new ministry. I know what I want. So why is it taking so long? I have to ask, “What does God want?” and “Do I trust him enough to go to a new place he wants?”
Do you doubt him, even though he has brought you through trouble and trial?
We really do need to step into “new” places with God. As he speaks to us through his Word, our prayers, and our circumstances, he speaks clearly. We need to listen clearly. And we need to say, “Yes.” clearly.
Pause and Consider: Abraham would learn. You can, too.
Read Genesis 20
Gen 20:1-2 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
DOES this story sound familiar? Look at Genesis 12, and you’ll see Abraham pulling the same stunt with Egypt’s leaders. Why does Abraham lie about his wife again and put her at risk?
It seems Abraham is still not in the place to trust his God enough to care of all the circumstances.
Abraham has been walking with God for years by this time. He has talked with him, listened to him, followed him and obeyed him. He has gone from being Abram, the son of a man who worshiped idols, to being Abraham, a man with a new identity—born again—in God. He even saw God care for him in Egypt and protect Sarah in the Egyptian household.
Still, in all these good things that have happened, he trusts himself more in this circumstance than he trusts God.
I do that. Do you? I’m waiting for a new ministry. I know what I want. So why is it taking so long? I have to ask, “What does God want?” and “Do I trust him enough to go to a new place he wants?”
Do you doubt him, even though he has brought you through trouble and trial?
We really do need to step into “new” places with God. As he speaks to us through his Word, our prayers, and our circumstances, he speaks clearly. We need to listen clearly. And we need to say, “Yes.” clearly.
Pause and Consider: Abraham would learn. You can, too.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
January 10, 2011 It's No Joke
It’s No Joke
Read Genesis 19
Gen 19:14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
LOOK around you, and you’ll quickly find people who think that God is joking when it comes to destruction. Cartoons, jokes and Halloween costumes trivialize and give a light-heartedness to Hell and its eternal, horrible consequences.
I think we Christians sometimes trivialize Hell. Making Hell smaller takes away our responsibility to tell people about the destination of destruction. If we think, “It’s not so bad.” then we can excuse ourselves for not telling people about Jesus and the salvation he offers in Heaven.
God is the God of salvation, to rescue people from Hell. He demonstrates this in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Before there was destruction, God sought good people, honest men. He was willing to forego the destruction of the cities if 10 righteous men lived there.
But God only found Lot and his family. Lot warned his sons-in-law. But they did not listen.
God has sent Jesus to warn us. He even demonstrates his willingness to judge and to forgive by sending his precious Son to the cross. Christ died that we might become righteous and live.
Pause and Consider: the horrors of Hell…do you believe Jesus saves us from that horror? Whom will you tell?
Read Genesis 19
Gen 19:14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
LOOK around you, and you’ll quickly find people who think that God is joking when it comes to destruction. Cartoons, jokes and Halloween costumes trivialize and give a light-heartedness to Hell and its eternal, horrible consequences.
I think we Christians sometimes trivialize Hell. Making Hell smaller takes away our responsibility to tell people about the destination of destruction. If we think, “It’s not so bad.” then we can excuse ourselves for not telling people about Jesus and the salvation he offers in Heaven.
God is the God of salvation, to rescue people from Hell. He demonstrates this in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Before there was destruction, God sought good people, honest men. He was willing to forego the destruction of the cities if 10 righteous men lived there.
But God only found Lot and his family. Lot warned his sons-in-law. But they did not listen.
God has sent Jesus to warn us. He even demonstrates his willingness to judge and to forgive by sending his precious Son to the cross. Christ died that we might become righteous and live.
Pause and Consider: the horrors of Hell…do you believe Jesus saves us from that horror? Whom will you tell?
Saturday, January 8, 2011
January 9, 2011 A Big Trust
A Big Trust
Read Genesis 17-18
Gen 18:13-14 Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”
THE LORD God is persistent in accomplishing his will with those whom he chooses. Trust him. He’ll get done what he wants to get done.
Like Sarah, we may doubt his ability to do so. We may question why he wants to use us. We may think we’re the wrong person for the job. But God knows what he wants to do, and he makes it happen.
The hard part is letting go of our doubts and being confident in a future God has ordained. Sometimes the future looks dark or out of reach. We live in certain circumstances for so long that change becomes impossible to see.
But God can see the future. He can see the light piercing the darkness and his promises coming into your life. He can picture it perfectly, and he will bring it to reality in spite of us.
So let’s go into today, tomorrow, with trust. Work at letting go of your doubts and suspicions. Release from your mind life’s limitations, and open yourself to God’s will for you.
I know. It’s not easy to do. But it’s worth it. Celebrating each day with God is a true delight. Let him guide you, walk with you, encourage you, instruct you and be close to you. Going with God, your future will be very, very bright in him.
Pause and Consider: that God may be opening new possibilities for you.
Read Genesis 17-18
Gen 18:13-14 Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”
THE LORD God is persistent in accomplishing his will with those whom he chooses. Trust him. He’ll get done what he wants to get done.
Like Sarah, we may doubt his ability to do so. We may question why he wants to use us. We may think we’re the wrong person for the job. But God knows what he wants to do, and he makes it happen.
The hard part is letting go of our doubts and being confident in a future God has ordained. Sometimes the future looks dark or out of reach. We live in certain circumstances for so long that change becomes impossible to see.
But God can see the future. He can see the light piercing the darkness and his promises coming into your life. He can picture it perfectly, and he will bring it to reality in spite of us.
So let’s go into today, tomorrow, with trust. Work at letting go of your doubts and suspicions. Release from your mind life’s limitations, and open yourself to God’s will for you.
I know. It’s not easy to do. But it’s worth it. Celebrating each day with God is a true delight. Let him guide you, walk with you, encourage you, instruct you and be close to you. Going with God, your future will be very, very bright in him.
Pause and Consider: that God may be opening new possibilities for you.
Friday, January 7, 2011
January 8, 2011 God is Speaking to All
God is Speaking to All
Read Genesis 14-16
Gen 14:18-20 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High.”
WHO IS this priest, Melchizedek? He was a priest of “God Most High”. How could there be a priest of God hundreds of years before God gave his people the order of priesthood? And why would Abram give Melchizedek one-tenth of his bounty from the battle?
One of the many things the bible tells us in Genesis is that God is at work in people “outside of” the main characters. Abram is the central figure here. But this incident shows God is speaking to and using others around Abram. In his journey into a new land away from his home, Abram is not alone.
I want you to understand this. Again, in his journey into a new land away from his home, Abram is not alone.
Here’s a “trust truth”: When God calls you to go to a new land—a new place, he has already gone there. He has prepared the way for you. He has put people and events in place to pour out his Spirit on you that you may accomplish his kingdom purposes as he has called you.
Many of those purposes will be a mystery to you as you journey on the road. But God will be showing you what he wants you to do. Trust him and go with him.
And do as Abram did, worship him.
Pause and Consider: God has already gone where he’s calling you to go.
Read Genesis 14-16
Gen 14:18-20 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High.”
WHO IS this priest, Melchizedek? He was a priest of “God Most High”. How could there be a priest of God hundreds of years before God gave his people the order of priesthood? And why would Abram give Melchizedek one-tenth of his bounty from the battle?
One of the many things the bible tells us in Genesis is that God is at work in people “outside of” the main characters. Abram is the central figure here. But this incident shows God is speaking to and using others around Abram. In his journey into a new land away from his home, Abram is not alone.
I want you to understand this. Again, in his journey into a new land away from his home, Abram is not alone.
Here’s a “trust truth”: When God calls you to go to a new land—a new place, he has already gone there. He has prepared the way for you. He has put people and events in place to pour out his Spirit on you that you may accomplish his kingdom purposes as he has called you.
Many of those purposes will be a mystery to you as you journey on the road. But God will be showing you what he wants you to do. Trust him and go with him.
And do as Abram did, worship him.
Pause and Consider: God has already gone where he’s calling you to go.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
January 7, 2011 How Far Can You Trut Him?
How Far Do You Trust Him?
Read Genesis 11-13
Genesis 12: 13 Tell them you are my sister so that things will go well with me and I 5 be allowed to live because of you.
TRUST IS A big deal here! Do you trust God’s promises? If you’re like me, you do, and you don’t. Abram, who became Abraham, the man through whom God created the Hebrew nation, believed God. And then he didn’t.
Abram believed God enough to leave his home and go to a new land. That’s a big thing! But then things got tough. There was a drought. Food was scarce. What to do? Let’s go to Egypt and see if they have food for us. But, Sara, you pretend you’re my sister. Or else they’ll kill me.
Abram was protecting himself, and he put Sara at risk.. He didn’t say, “Let’s go to Egypt and see what God will do here.” He said in effect, “Let’s go to Egypt, and I’ll take matters into my own hands.”
Yes. That’s how we are. Sometimes our faith goes a distance. Sometimes it even goes a long distance, but does it go “the distance”? Does your trust keep you going when things get a bit tough or a lot rough?
God had to step in and show Abram that he could trust him with the big things—even with his life. Open your heart to God today to pray for faith to trust him in all matters—even when your life is on the line for him.
Pause and Consider: who you will trust with the crisis in your life.
Read Genesis 11-13
Genesis 12: 13 Tell them you are my sister so that things will go well with me and I 5 be allowed to live because of you.
TRUST IS A big deal here! Do you trust God’s promises? If you’re like me, you do, and you don’t. Abram, who became Abraham, the man through whom God created the Hebrew nation, believed God. And then he didn’t.
Abram believed God enough to leave his home and go to a new land. That’s a big thing! But then things got tough. There was a drought. Food was scarce. What to do? Let’s go to Egypt and see if they have food for us. But, Sara, you pretend you’re my sister. Or else they’ll kill me.
Abram was protecting himself, and he put Sara at risk.. He didn’t say, “Let’s go to Egypt and see what God will do here.” He said in effect, “Let’s go to Egypt, and I’ll take matters into my own hands.”
Yes. That’s how we are. Sometimes our faith goes a distance. Sometimes it even goes a long distance, but does it go “the distance”? Does your trust keep you going when things get a bit tough or a lot rough?
God had to step in and show Abram that he could trust him with the big things—even with his life. Open your heart to God today to pray for faith to trust him in all matters—even when your life is on the line for him.
Pause and Consider: who you will trust with the crisis in your life.
Monday, January 3, 2011
January 4, 2011 Crazy Obedience
Crazy Obedience
Read Genesis 4-6
Genesis 6:22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
LOOKING ahead, to picture our lives in the future—and even a year from now can be a bit scary. The future can even be more uncertain if you feel God is calling you to do something new and different. In fact, God can call us into something that is so new and different, it may even cause us to turn from God.
Do you think Noah was scared? Such an enormous task! Noah was 500 years old, and God told him to build an ark over 450 feet long! On this ark will be two of every living creature and 8 people--Noah’s family. It would have been easier to run away and tell God, “No!”
But where would he go? For the rest of his life, Noah would have been in a spiritual battle with God because he didn’t trust God’s command. That spiritual battle would have been much more difficult than building an ark. You can’t battle God and win. You may think you have escaped him, but it is he who will leave you if you say, “No, LORD.” And you lose your relationship with him.
Noah chose instead to be obedient and to have spiritual rest in God. He was unsure how he would complete the task. But he worked with God and learned to trust God for something very radical and different.
What is the task God has called you to do? I encourage you to begin your journey with him by taking some small steps. Noah had to pick up a hammer to begin. What do you have to pick up?
Pause and Consider: Where are your fears holding you back? What will you do with them?
Read Genesis 4-6
Genesis 6:22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
LOOKING ahead, to picture our lives in the future—and even a year from now can be a bit scary. The future can even be more uncertain if you feel God is calling you to do something new and different. In fact, God can call us into something that is so new and different, it may even cause us to turn from God.
Do you think Noah was scared? Such an enormous task! Noah was 500 years old, and God told him to build an ark over 450 feet long! On this ark will be two of every living creature and 8 people--Noah’s family. It would have been easier to run away and tell God, “No!”
But where would he go? For the rest of his life, Noah would have been in a spiritual battle with God because he didn’t trust God’s command. That spiritual battle would have been much more difficult than building an ark. You can’t battle God and win. You may think you have escaped him, but it is he who will leave you if you say, “No, LORD.” And you lose your relationship with him.
Noah chose instead to be obedient and to have spiritual rest in God. He was unsure how he would complete the task. But he worked with God and learned to trust God for something very radical and different.
What is the task God has called you to do? I encourage you to begin your journey with him by taking some small steps. Noah had to pick up a hammer to begin. What do you have to pick up?
Pause and Consider: Where are your fears holding you back? What will you do with them?
Sunday, January 2, 2011
January 3, 2011 The Sin of "More"
The Sin of “More”
Read Genesis 3
Gen 3:1 One day (the serpent) asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
ALL THE world is so good, so right and so wonderful. As Chapter 2 concludes, how can life be any better than for the man and woman to be in complete union with God and with one another? Life was awesome!
But isn’t there something more? Could it be even better if we just ignore that one simple rule, the one command God gave Adam and Eve? The serpent came and created doubt with a simple question: “Did God really…?” Doubt dived into the trust relationship Adam and Eve had with God. Doubt said, “God didn’t mean it.” Doubt said, “God is keeping something from you.” Doubt said, “The serpent’s suggestion is more true than the Creator’s Command.” Doubt said, “Go for it. It’s your life and you deserve it.” Doubt said, “You can’t trust the one who makes the rules. He just wants to stifle you.”
Like a homicide bomber, doubt walked into the crowded market place, pulled the pin and destroyed life. And the naked, unashamed couple’s eyes opened to shame and sin. They saw doubt’s deception. They saw God’s goodness. And they hid.
How would God erase the doubt and get his creation to trust him again?
Pause and Consider: Are you satisfied with what you have? Is the pursuit of “more” keeping you from God?
Read Genesis 3
Gen 3:1 One day (the serpent) asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
ALL THE world is so good, so right and so wonderful. As Chapter 2 concludes, how can life be any better than for the man and woman to be in complete union with God and with one another? Life was awesome!
But isn’t there something more? Could it be even better if we just ignore that one simple rule, the one command God gave Adam and Eve? The serpent came and created doubt with a simple question: “Did God really…?” Doubt dived into the trust relationship Adam and Eve had with God. Doubt said, “God didn’t mean it.” Doubt said, “God is keeping something from you.” Doubt said, “The serpent’s suggestion is more true than the Creator’s Command.” Doubt said, “Go for it. It’s your life and you deserve it.” Doubt said, “You can’t trust the one who makes the rules. He just wants to stifle you.”
Like a homicide bomber, doubt walked into the crowded market place, pulled the pin and destroyed life. And the naked, unashamed couple’s eyes opened to shame and sin. They saw doubt’s deception. They saw God’s goodness. And they hid.
How would God erase the doubt and get his creation to trust him again?
Pause and Consider: Are you satisfied with what you have? Is the pursuit of “more” keeping you from God?
Saturday, January 1, 2011
January 2, 2011 The First Marriage
The First Marriage
Read Genesis 2
Genesis 2:18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
ONE of the great misconceptions about the Old Testament is that God is an angry, vengeful God. That is the view of the darkness and mistrust. People look at the judgments he places on his people, and they think God judges on a whim—and he finds delight in being cruel. This distrust prevents us from seeing God’s love.
God IS love, and he demonstrates his great love all the way through the bible. Here is one of the first times.
The Creation is God offering his ingenious creativity to his created man and woman. He creates a partner for the man. And he doesn’t put the couple in a black and white world of toil and tribulation. He creates an astonishingly beautiful world and gives them a life of ease.
Notice, too, that he gives them each other. He knew the joy of loving and receiving love. He, the Father, is relational with his new human children. He created them to enjoy the fellowship of life with each other and with him.
And joyfully, God has given you the same opportunities. You are made to desire true and loving relationships you can trust.
For you, God extends his heart to offer himself to you. Extend your heart to him. Seek him. Get to know him, and you will enjoy a rich relationship of creative wonder with him. Knowing God, you will find yourself walking through life with a trusted friend who loves you—even to the point he will die for you.
Pause and Consider: Are you married? How will you treasure your spouse today? Are you single? How will you honor your friends who are married?
Read Genesis 2
Genesis 2:18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
ONE of the great misconceptions about the Old Testament is that God is an angry, vengeful God. That is the view of the darkness and mistrust. People look at the judgments he places on his people, and they think God judges on a whim—and he finds delight in being cruel. This distrust prevents us from seeing God’s love.
God IS love, and he demonstrates his great love all the way through the bible. Here is one of the first times.
The Creation is God offering his ingenious creativity to his created man and woman. He creates a partner for the man. And he doesn’t put the couple in a black and white world of toil and tribulation. He creates an astonishingly beautiful world and gives them a life of ease.
Notice, too, that he gives them each other. He knew the joy of loving and receiving love. He, the Father, is relational with his new human children. He created them to enjoy the fellowship of life with each other and with him.
And joyfully, God has given you the same opportunities. You are made to desire true and loving relationships you can trust.
For you, God extends his heart to offer himself to you. Extend your heart to him. Seek him. Get to know him, and you will enjoy a rich relationship of creative wonder with him. Knowing God, you will find yourself walking through life with a trusted friend who loves you—even to the point he will die for you.
Pause and Consider: Are you married? How will you treasure your spouse today? Are you single? How will you honor your friends who are married?
January 1, 2011 God's Light Into the World
The Light into the World
Read Genesis 1
Genesis 1:1-3 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
WHERE’S a better place to begin our trust journey than at the beginning of time as we know it? Genesis is the Beginning, a time for “new”.
Here is the moment when God began to form the world with his marvelous creativity. Out of a void, he created the wondrous variety of plant and animal life, vibrant displays of colors and spectacular landscapes we enjoy today. And what is the foundational element of all God’s beauty? It is light.
Light is the symbol of awakening. It is the sign of a new day. Light gives you the ability to see, and it is a symbol of truth.
When you shine light into a darkened room, you will see if it is safe to go into the room or not. When your eyes gaze upon the dark-lighted room, the light displays true reality. When you see it is safe, you will enter.
God shined his light into the formless void, and his light changed everything. When we understand that our Creator God is the Light Giver, we will clearly see the truth. And we trust we will be safe in his place.
Pause and Consider: Look around you today. How do you see God’s light shining into your life?
Read Genesis 1
Genesis 1:1-3 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
WHERE’S a better place to begin our trust journey than at the beginning of time as we know it? Genesis is the Beginning, a time for “new”.
Here is the moment when God began to form the world with his marvelous creativity. Out of a void, he created the wondrous variety of plant and animal life, vibrant displays of colors and spectacular landscapes we enjoy today. And what is the foundational element of all God’s beauty? It is light.
Light is the symbol of awakening. It is the sign of a new day. Light gives you the ability to see, and it is a symbol of truth.
When you shine light into a darkened room, you will see if it is safe to go into the room or not. When your eyes gaze upon the dark-lighted room, the light displays true reality. When you see it is safe, you will enter.
God shined his light into the formless void, and his light changed everything. When we understand that our Creator God is the Light Giver, we will clearly see the truth. And we trust we will be safe in his place.
Pause and Consider: Look around you today. How do you see God’s light shining into your life?
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