Tuesday, June 30, 2009

How do you choose?

As a parent, you don't have to wonder why our children want certain toys. They see the bright colors, shiny pieces or they way they make noise (boys love noise).

Lot choose where to go in a similar fashion. He liked what he saw, it looked good.

Gen 13:10-13 10 Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere — this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah — like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord. NASU

So I ask you, how do you decide what to choose? Seek God's direction BEFORE you make a decision. Just because something "looks good" does not mean this is the best choice to make.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Deciding to Get Along

When we live in a world with other people we must always be making choices. Choices that help us avoid conflict. For me and my brother the choices we had to make was how to avoid "killing" each other. Now, don't miss understand, I love my brother but during our growing up years I was always trying to be better then him. He could run faster, jump higher, play sports better, you name it he did almost everything better and I tried every which way to bet him. Unfortunately, it cause lots do discussions and not getting along because I tried so hard. That is until somewhere in my high school years, I realized we were different and I needed to be me and stop trying to bet him.

The herdsman of Lot and Abram just couldn't find enough space and ways to get along. They fought hard and often. Abram provide that solution. He let Lot choose where to go and he would go the opposite direction.


Gen 13:5-10
5 Now A Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 And A the land could not 1 sustain them 2 while dwelling together, B for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. 7 A And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. Now B the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land. 8 A So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. 9 "Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left." NAS

Abram's desire was to avoid strife and so he gave up "his rights" so that Lot could choose.

I gave up on my desire to be better than my brother (it wasn't going to happen anyway) and chose to be the person God want me to become.

Who are you fighting with? What choice can you make in order that you two will get along? Then I want to encourage you...make the right choice.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

What do you rely on?

We work hard! We become successful. Is that what we rely on though? It is easy to depend on the things that we earn or even receive as gift to get through life but we need to be focused on something far greater than the here and now.

Abram had lots of wealth. But he went back to the place he previously had an altar to God and worshipped again. There he called on the Lord.

Gen 13:1-4 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him. 2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. 3 He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. NAS

There are times in our lives when we need to get refocused. Where do you go? God back to the Word of God and seek Him.

Monday, June 22, 2009

How did that happen?

The first winter after receiving my driving license I "slide" into a snow/dirt bank. I couldn't believe it happened. It came about so fast. Those where the thought that ran through my mind as I sat there and I began to decided what I would tell my dad. Fortunately, there wasn't much damage at all. Just one small light was broken. However, two thing went terribly wrong that day. First the slide didn't just happen. I was purposely sliding the car back and forth on the lane I was driving and second what I told my dad was (sadly and regrettably) a lie. Abram faced a similar challenge. Upon getting to Egypt, Abram decided to have Sari "stretch the truth". That "small lie" lead to greater trouble and serious consequences. At first we see things seem to go well but later...........

Gen 12:11-20 11 It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 "Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you." 14 It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 Pharaoh's officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16 Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.
17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, " What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 "Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go." 20 Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him. NASU

Abram's willingness to lie resulted in breaking a friendship with Pharoah. Pharoah had to send Abram and Sarai away.

My friend, please know that when we are face with challenges we must always make a choice. We can be truthful or we can lie and suffer sometime in the future. Learn from Abram (and me) and be truthful from the start.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

To Hard to Endure?

One of the biggest challenge we face when making a change in our life is knowing if we did the right thing. To me, it seems like often when making a switch, struggles come and we want to quickly switch again.

After Abram completed his journey to Canaan, being lead by God, he abandon Canaan for a trip to Egypt and the land of food.

Gen 12:10 Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. NASU

What we need to ask ourselves when face with these challenges is "what does God want me to learn?" When we make decisions in obedience to God's will, then we can find peace and comfort in knowing that what comes our way has been allowed by God to work in our lives.

Are you willing to leave your "promised land" for "Egypt". Don't leave where God sent you until He sends you to the next station in your life. Only then will God truly teach you the valuable lessons that you need.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Never to Old

Why do we assume that when we reach a certain age we don't need to listen. It doesn't matter the age we are, teens feel they are to old to listen to adults. Adults don't want to listen to those who retired. Retired folks don't care to listen to the young adults. Find an age and you can find another age group to whom they won't want to listen.

Now, before I go to Abram's beginning journey, I do realize that people tended to live much longer than they do today.

When I was young (no wise cracks as to how long ago that was), my parents would pile my brother, sister and me into the car and we start on a trip to no where in particular. The trip went like this, at each intersection, one person got to choose which way to go, right, left and straight ahead. We would travel like that for an hour or so until my dad decide it was time to go home...then he would figure out where we were and get us back home. (no GPS then either).

The trip that Abram begins reminds me of those day except God was deciding and telling Abram how to go until he arrived at Canaan. Notice the trip begins with Abram's obedience to the Lord's instruction to go.

Gen 12:4-9
4 So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, " To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev. NASU

The Lord does not need to tell us where our trip will wind up or what awaits us at the end of the journey. We are just expected to obey and let the details and results to the Lord.

Do not use your age as an excuse to be obedient to God. "I am to old"..."I am to young"... "We bought a house"...."I am close to retiring".. All these are not reasons to avoid being obedient to the Lord command on your life.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Back Up a Moment

I realize that when you start reading a book or letter you don't tend to start part way through and then go back to the beginning. Yesterday, though I started with God call to Abram but I do want us to go back a few verses and see something before we go to far.

Gen 11:27-32 27 Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran became the father of Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there. 32 The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran. NASU

We can see that Abram's father, Terah had begun his own journey to Canaan. We are not told why he began that journey. Whether it was a nice place to live, good work place, great place to retire. We will never know but what we do see missing is God's call for him to go.

This is what I want us to see and understand, unless God calls us and enables us, we will not have the strength or ability to complete the task.

Are you trying to do "good things" in your own strength or do you know God has called and commanded you to do them. If God has commanded/called then you will have all you need to do what He wants.

Don't go it alone, do what God wants in His strength and get the job done completely. Terah only got so far on his own, Abram completed all God commanded because God commanded and provided the strength.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Go Where?

Having moved a number of times in my life (with my family) I can tell you the thought of moving was never exciting. For most of the moves it was something that came with a small level of resistance. Perhaps the only move that we were excited about from the start was the idea moving closer to family and friends after being away for a number of years. When God began to burden us to become missionaries our biggest resistance came from the idea of moving far away from our "current" family and friends.

I can only imagine the feeling and emotions that Abram experience when God came to him with this message.

Gen 12:1-3 1 Now the Lord said to Abram, " Go forth from your country,And from your relatives And from your father's house,To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation,And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." NASU

I would want to know the where, when, how to God command. But God says, "To a land which I will show you". Not now, but during the journey, when you are ready. I will make you a great nation.....when I have you prepared..... These things I marked in red are something that I think is implied in God's statements and I think they are the very things that God has applied in my life and perhaps in yours.

I never would have been ready for oversea service if I hadn't lived in Virginia. I never would have considered being a pastor had I not been a missionary. I never would have allowed to be stretched so far if God hadn't done it in small doses.

What about your life? I God wanting to stretch you? One way to see how God is working is to look backwards in your life and see what God has taken you through already. God know what we can handle. He is the one who strengthens our spiritual muscles.

If I had stayed in Pennsylvania and never obeyed God's command to go I would have missed making many wonderful new friends and lost wonderful blessings.

Don't be afraid to go when God directs. Obedience to God is the greatest blessing of all.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Wow! No one knew but God

When God is at work we have know idea where the blessing may go. Boaz did not marry Ruth to become part of the lineage of Christ. He had no idea. When we talk to someone and share the message of salvation we have no idea what God may do with that individuals. The individual that witnessed to David Jeremiah, or D. L. Moody never knew what God was planning and we should never assume that God will make that individual great but neither should we limit what God may choose to do either.

Ruth 4:13-22
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. 15 "May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him." 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. 17 The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi!" So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, 19 and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, 20 and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, 21 and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, 22 and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David. NASU

Do what ever God commands of you and let Him work out the details of that obedience.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Sealing the Deal

After Boaz "offered" the right of redemption to the closer relative and he refused Boaz followed teh custom of the day and completed the redemption of Naomi and Ruth. He was willing to do what God required without consideration of what was in it for him.

Ruth 4:7-12
7 Now this wasthe custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel. 8 So the closest relative said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." And he removed his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10 "Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today." 11 All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. 12 "Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman." NASU

Boaz received some wonderful blessings. Not because that was what he was after but because he was willing to do what God required.

Why do you do what you do? Teaching Bible Studies, sharing your faith, attending worship, do you do these because you "must" or because your love for God give you a desire to obey.

Ps 51:16-17 16 For You (God) do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. NASU

What are you giving to God today and Why?