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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. SEE the world around you, and you’ll quickly find people who think that God is joking when he speaks of judgment and destruction. Cartoons, comedians and Halloween costumes trivialize and give a light-heartedness to Satan, demons, Hell and their eternal horrors. We Christians sometimes trivialize Hell, too. Making Hell smaller takes away our urgent responsibility to tell people about the destination of destruction. If we think, “It’s not so bad.” then we can excuse ourselves for keeping the gospel’s saving message to ourselves. After all, why would we want to offend someone to talk of sin, judgment, destruction and punishment? They will just laugh and mock us, won’t they? Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t . Maybe they will say, “Thank you for telling me of sin’s penalty. Thank you for pointing me to Jesus’ saving grace.” Know and remember that God is the God of salvation. He demonstrates this in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Yes, just as surely as God gave the warning message to Lot, God has given to us his warning of destruction. 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. And in his true judgment, he destroyed the unrepentant, mocking cities. God’s will is to rescue us broken, sin-dead people from Hell. God has sent Jesus to warn us and to save us unto heaven’s joy. Are you a Christian? Then thank God the Holy Spirit has awakened you to hear and believe the warning. Confessing Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are saved from Hell. Now you have the Good News to tell the world, “Jesus saves!” Pause and Consider: the horrors of Hell…do you believe Jesus saves us from that horror? What will you do? Whom will you tell? Read Genesis 17-18
Genesis 18:12-14 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?” 13 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. See his cause as above all. Like Sarah, we may doubt his ability to do something far beyond our understanding. We may question why he wants to use us. Often our excuse is to believe we’re the wrong person for the task. But God knows all – even how to do the remarkable through you. It’s really difficult, though, to release our doubts and become confident in God’s ordained future, isn’t it? 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 does see the future. He sees his light piercing the darkness and his promises reshaping your life. You could say he has a perfect photo of the future. And he will make it happen with or without us. So let’s go into today, tomorrow, with Spirit-empowered vision. Release your doubts, limitations and suspicions. Open yourself to God’s will for you. Believe in the future view God gives to you. 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. Remember: God formed the world. He forms your life, too. Read Genesis 14-16
Genesis 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.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 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 is that God is at work in people “outside of” the main characters. Abram, of course, is the central figure in God’s salvation story here. But this brief interlude 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, a new work or a new gift, then you can know this: The Lord God 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, so you may accomplish his kingdom purposes as he has called you. This truth is illustrated throughout the Bible in each person God calls to his work, even in Jesus Christ. Often, we question, “What is God’s will for my life?” I think this can be a question to delay our going into his will. We see the road ahead, but we’re very unsure, “I can do that.” There is actually joy in the uncertainty. Trusting only in our own ability causes too much stress. But going with God is to know he is helping, guiding and empowering you. Seeing him work far above your expectations enlivens your faith. You get to learn more of God’s love in your life as he blesses your obedience. Yes, God’s will can be a mystery to you. Abram needed to walk with God for more than 25 years until he saw the total picture of God’s purpose for his life. And he did see through the victories and trials because he kept going forward. But be of faith to go and see what God is showing you to do. Be Glad and Know: God has already gone where he’s calling you to go. Read Genesis 11-13
Genesis 12:13-14 “Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” 14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. AS people called to Christ, do we see God’s promises within life’s challenges – some of them even very big trials? If we’re as Abram, we do, and we don’t. For example, Abram believed God when the Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) That’s a big faith in that culture to leave the safety of your family and travel nearly 1,000 miles to an unknown territory! But then came a famine in the new land. Where did Abram look? Although Abram had faithfully obeyed God to travel to a new land, he now turns to see his fears. Even in God’s promise that Abram would father a great nation, the man fearfully focused on imagined threats from other men. If he looked to God, would he have stayed in Canaan to discover the Lord’s provision? Instead, his attitude was self-focused, “Let’s go to Egypt and see what we can do.” But then he became more self-centered. Abram’s self-protection plan threatened Sarai. Yes, that is how we are. Sometimes our faith sees deeply into God’s power. But too often, our faith is mirror-focused as we seek solutions in self. Despite the Bible’s evidence, we believe God is only caring for us when things are good. But as we have seen in Daniel and many other scriptures, God displays his power to the world. To protect his chosen couple and his salvation plan to the nations, God revealed himself in Egypt and to the pagan Pharaoh. Abram would slowly learn throughout his walk with God that trials and challenges are opportunities to more clearly and personally keep our eyes on God. What About You? Looking in the mirror or looking to God? Read Genesis 9-10
Gen 9:6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.” MOST people cannot understand that capital punishment originated with God. A primary reason for the Great Flood was mankind’s growing tendency to murder one another. Remember, too, Cain’s murder of his brother Abel is mankind’s first sin against another person. Murder is a direct assault on God and his children. Thus, we can see this post-flood command in the light of God’s love for you. Thus, he made a rule. We don’t like it, but history and the daily news tells us how vital this rule is. As a parent loves a child who has come from the parent, God loves you because you have come from him. His will is to protect you from harm and murder because you are created in his image. What does that mean? It means you have many of his traits. A child has his parents’ traits. And you have the traits of your Father in heaven. He’s given of himself to you. For example, you have the ability and desire to love and be loved. That comes from your Father God, the One who is love and the one who loves. You have the ability at some level to create. That comes from God. When you forgive someone, that is God’s forgiveness reflecting in you. And there are more. Knowing the profound truth that God has intimately given of himself to you and all people, your only response is to love God and love one another – to honor, not destroy, another’s life. Know, also, good parents will do anything to protect their children who are “made in their image”. Your Father God enacts a deep, eternal love to protect you from Hell. When you believe in Jesus’ crucifixion, death, resurrection and ascension, you are his child. He has saved you from sin’s death. No power apart from God will change that. In what seems to be a harsh command, see the love and mercy of the one who has created you in his image. See and Know: You carry God’s image; let the world know His tender love. God Rules
Read Genesis 7-8 Gen 7:4 “Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” GOD’s story of the Great Flood is very difficult, isn’t it? Is this a God you want to know? As he warned Noah of the judgment, do you think Noah had some sleepless nights? Do you think he asked, “Why, God?” Do you think Noah wondered, “Who are you, God, to do such a thing?” That would have been my response. Scared, questioning, wondering, “How could you destroy all these people, Lord?” Looking through Scripture, though, we will see God’s good rule. Think about it. Do you ever trust one who says, “No rules here!” Of course not. In a like manner, we could not trust a God who said, “Whatever!” With no rules there is no way to the true way. That’s why we praise and thank God his rules direct our “no-rules” hearts to himself. In the Great Flood, God cleansed the world with water. But mankind’s sin nature would still carry into the renewed world creation. Our righteous God then enacted his rule to cleanse the world with the blood of his one and only Son. In Christ, God’s judgment rules we are sinless. This is God’s eternal rule, with us forever into the New Creation. Think about that; when Jesus’ blood floods your soul, God’s rule saves you. Rejoice! Your rule-making God rules your heart forever. Crazy Obedience
Read Genesis 4-6 Genesis 6:21-22 “You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.” 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him. LOOKING to the future can be very uncertain. There are many ways our lives can quickly change from our expected pathway. The future may even be more difficult to see if you clearly hear God calling you to do something entirely new in your life. In fact, God may direct us into something so new and different, our response is a fearful, “Not me, Lord.” Do you think Noah was afraid? 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 the 8 people of Noah’s family. Yes, the easy thing to do would certainly be, “No! I won’t do it.” But where would Noah go? For the remaining years of his life, Noah, who “walked with God” (verse 9b) would have been walking alone. “No, God.” Is saying, “You are not by God. I follow my own voice. I don’t see your power, Lord. I have no idea why you want me to do such a thing.” That’s what God too often hears from mankind’s sinful nature. Our spirits oppose God’s commands, and we end up walking alone. Such conflict in Noah’s life – and in our own – would have been much more difficult than building an ark. You can’t run from God and win. He knows where you are. He knows where you are going. Just ask Jonah. (Jonah 1-4) Noah, though, was a righteous man blameless among the people of his time (verse 9a). He received God’s command and faithfully, righteously obeyed. In his labor, Noah would spiritually rest in God’s care. He certainly could not see how this enormous task would be done. Walking with God, though, he began working with God. God gave him the physical and mental tools to build. Noah’s faithful labor would open his eyes to see God more clearly. He learned he could believe the Lord of Heaven and Earth to direct his path to the journey’s end. Noah’s first task would be to pick up a hammer. What is your first thing to answer God’s call with, “Yes, Lord.” Good to Know: God calls, equips and empowers you to his work. 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 Genesis 2 concludes, how can life be any better than it is for the man and woman who live in complete union with God and with one another? This is the embodiment of the two great commands to love God and to love one another. This is our Lord’s will and purpose for our lives. This is how we are created to be. “But isn’t there something more? Could life be even better if we just ignore that one simple rule God commanded?” That is the doubt that came into Adam and Eve’s mind when the serpent created doubt with a simple question: “Did God really say …?” Doubt too quickly clouded Adam and Eve’s view of their holy God and loving friend. Doubt suggested, “God didn’t mean it.” Doubt said, “God is keeping something from you.” Doubt called, “The serpent’s suggestion is more true than the Creator’s Command.” Doubt urged, “Go for it. It’s your life and you deserve it.” Doubt lied, “You can’t trust the one who makes the rules. He just wants to stifle you.” Like a homicide bomber, doubt walked into Adam’s and Eve’s hearts, pulled the pin and destroyed God’s righteous perfection. But then the naked, unashamed couple’s eyes were opened in a new, disturbing way. They saw doubt’s deception. Shame and sin clouded God’s goodness and love. So they hid, suddenly afraid of their generous Creator. How would God erase the doubt and get his creation to see him again as our loving friend? Verse 15 begins God’s plan to save the world. One day, out of a woman will come one to crush Satan’s head – his authority over the earth and our hearts. This is the promise we will see throughout the Scripture. Keep your eyes focused on God’s saving plan for the world. It is the hope of our lives now and forever. Pause and Consider: Are you satisfied with what you have? Is the pursuit of “more” keeping you from God? 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 dim view prevents us from seeing God’s love. After all, we are repeatedly taught through his actions and his words, “God is love.” (1 John 4:8). Our heavenly Father demonstrates his great love through the entire Bible. He first does so in Genesis 1 as he creates man and woman in his image. Here in Genesis 2 is the second time. In love, he creates a partner for the man. Notice, in reading Genesis 2, that he gives them each other. He is the Holy Trinity who knows the joy of loving and receiving love in intimate relationship. God transcends that relationship with his new human children. He created them to enjoy the fellowship of life with each other and with him. Even more, with a deep and abiding love, God gives them a grand wedding present – the world. He creates an astonishingly beautiful world and gives them a life of ease. And joyfully, you must know God has given you the same opportunities. You are made to desire true and loving relationships you can trust. He has given us the image of marriage as a foundational relationship between man and woman to form God-like families. We will see that throughout the Old Testament and into the New – and into the future – God extends his heart to offer himself to you. In return, 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 loving friend who shows you the clear pathway to a full life. What Do You Think? Are you single? How will you extend your heart to God, to your spouse, to others? |
AuthorBob James Archives
January 2025
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