Month: January 2020

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Presumptuous Sins

Opinion Concept in WordsGenesis 20  Abraham, what were you thinking when you told Abimelech that Sarah was your sister? Did you not learn from your foray into Egypt? How often do we find ourselves doing another lap around the wilderness like the Israelites because we fail to learn from the first mistake and just keep repeating it? It is no wonder unbelievers call us hypocrites. Our walk and talk do not match. Maybe that is why God had the Israelites come to the Tabernacle at least 3 times a year to offer sacrifices. Those were visual reminders of men’s failure to walk circumspectly. We too need constant reminding to keep short accounts with God.

Abraham surmised forgetting the foray into Egypt when he said: “surely I thought no one fears God in this place.” Without firsthand knowledge he presumed. Because David saw that as his weakness he wrote:  “Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me;” [Ps 19] There is a warning here that Abraham should have known; do not assume without facts.

Abraham said he believed God but his life revealed that he feared men more than God. Beware of this sin! The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted. [Prov 29:25]

God was gracious to both Abraham and Abimelech but think of what could have been avoided had Abraham just trusted God! Fear God and trust Him only.

Has someone ever called you a hypocrite?  Maybe they, like Abimelech, feared God more than you?  Is what others think about you more important than your relationship with God?

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Cinderella & the Gospel

 

Gen 16b to 19 god seeas

Genesis 16 to 19 I love the story of little Cinderella. By no fault of her own, she was treated unrighteously by her wicked stepmother and stepsisters. Her life was one of drudgery day in and day out. Her fairy godmother came and gave her a reprieve for one night and in the end, she was loved by the prince who searched for her when she fled the ball at midnight. In our reading today,  we find a true Cinderella named Hagar.

It all began when Abraham didn’t trust God; went to Egypt, and bought a slave girl for Sarah. Sarah, in many ways, resembles Cinderella’s wicked stepmother in attitude and character. Impatient Sarah decided it was too hard to wait for God to give her a child and convinced Abraham to impregnate Hagar according to the custom of the culture. We wonder how long Sarah had to nag before Abraham fulfilled that order.

When Hagar obeyed and then conceived, guess what?  Sarah became disenchanted and despised her and began to treat her harshly. There was no fairy godmother, no pumpkin carriage, no glass slipper, no Prince Charming, and no ball to attend. Instead, day after day Hagar worked with no relief and so she ran away. This is where God steps in and the gospel is presented.

Hagar is a picture of us before salvation. God saw her condition, heard her plea and promised that He would multiply her descendants. She responded, “The God who sees–SEES me.”  Yes, like Cinderella, she returned to the dust and ashes but now she knew that God cared for her and her unborn child.

At one time we were slaves of the unrighteous wicked Satan. We may have run away from the “wicked stepmother” but God sees beyond our circumstances to what will be. He sent His beloved Son to walk with us through those circumstances. Even though we might not be able to change those, we can trust that Jesus died that we might be saved from our sins and live a life that is full and rewarding.

Are you Cinderella? Trust God to be with you. Hagar’s story is the gospel message in a nutshell.

 

 

 

 

 

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Whom do you fear?

 

Gen 11 fear God not manEvil Hearts Fear Men Not God – Gen 10-11

When God made the decision to flood the earth and remove mankind, He noted that although men’s hearts are inclined to evil, He would be gracious and not destroy them again. The rainbow is His sign to men that He is a promise keeper. If only men would see that and remember but *sigh* they do not! And so we find them in the plains of Shinar planning to disobey God’s explicit command to be fruitful, multiply and fill the whole earth. “Come let’s build a city and a tower with its top in the heavens. Let’s make a name for ourselves.” They feared being scattered instead of trusting the Lord. They sought self-protection rather than God’s protection.  Their hearts were self-centered—and today men are the same! God noted that “nothing they plan to do will be beyond them.”

Because they intentionally disobeyed God’s command, He confounded their language and scattered them across the face of the earth. And that, in a nutshell, is the story behind the word “Babel.”

There are some lessons we can glean from this incident. One “they hated moral knowledge, and did not choose to fear the Lord,” [Prov 1] Secondly, just like in the Garden, they heeded the words of our adversary: “you will not die but be like God.” His motive is always to get men to not believe God but to elevate self above God. Fearing the Lord is the beginning of discernment, but fools have despised wisdom and moral instruction.

2kings test herat.jpgProverbs 3:5 reminds us to Trust God! “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.”

This is a lesson we need to heed. Whom do you fear? Men or God?

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Climate Change?

Gen 6 6o 9 climate change2a Gen 6 to 9 The story of Noah presents some serious challenges to the thinking of today that our planet is doomed and will self-destruct in six years. Enter into our story righteous and blameless Noah. God chose to save him and his family from the destruction he had planned because the wickedness of man was very great on the earth. In fact, every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was evil—ALL THE TIME! While Noah was blameless, God was patient. He delayed the destruction for some time and in that time righteous Noah built an Ark for the preservation of animal life along with himself and family.

God did indeed flood the earth and when Noah emerged the earth had been restored. God established a covenant with Noah that promised that He would never again curse and destroy the earth because of man’s sin—even though men are evil from childhood on. We are the recipients of that promise.

“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.” [Gen. 8:22]

Why does God remain so patient?  “The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” [2Pet 3]

So while God has promised to do His part what about us? God has left the earth in our care. Are we taking care of the earth? Are we repentant when we sin? Are we blameless as Noah? These are questions we need to be asking.

 

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He Said, She Said

His Her Their and Not Me Fault Concept

Gen 3 to 5 “He said, She said”

The present-day soap operas and even in our gov’t we find that people are prone to blameshifting rather than taking responsibility for their actions. Satan takes advantage of this behavior because he is a liar and we are weak because we have not studied to show ourselves approved. Thus, we are unable to discern truth from error thus leaving us immature believers.

How easily we forget what God commands just as Eve did. God said: you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die. Satan said: Is it really true?”  Then Eve said: God said yes but added just not eat of it but you must not touch it, or else you will die.’  What an opening for Satan!

His response: Surely you will not die! (Liar, liar, pants on fire!)

When God appears on the scene we find Adam blaming Eve! “The woman whom you gave me,” She made me do it did not sit well with God. And when God asked Eve her response was “the serpent tricked me.” We find ourselves in this picture. God commands. Satan seeks to deceive. He is successful and we pass off the responsibility to another.

To protect us we must do as the psalmist said: Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Then we must meditate upon it day and night! Why do we need to do that? Because of what we know of Satan’s tools and because of what we know of God’s truth: inspired scripture prepares us to be equipped for every good work.

How are you coming in memorizing 2Tim 3:16 so you are prepared?

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