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Tag Archives: Abraham

No Turning Back – Part 3

22 Jul

Genesis 12:7-8
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.”  So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.  There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

In all his traveling through the wilderness, Abram kept his focus upon the true purpose of life; to be a worshipper of God.  This is the highest calling we could attain to.

Just thinking about the miles that he traveled is daunting.  I Don’t say that because of the great distance he traveled.  There are many long-distance hikers who do an incredible amount of miles each year.  Following the trail is the easy part.

Here we have a man who left all to follow God on a trail that he didn’t know where it ended.  When he got there – he was a stranger.  Yet the first task he set for himself was to build an altar and worship God.

Where has the path of your life taken you?  What kind of place do you find yourself at right now?  No matter what your answers to those questions might be, follow the example of Abram.

Make this place your altar.  Take some time right now to worship God.  Without asking for anything, simply exalt Him for who He is and where He has brought you to – even if it is not the best of situations.  Let the Lord know that He is the central focus of your life.

 
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Posted by on July 22, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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No Turning Back – Part 2

21 Jul

Genesis 12:4-6
So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him.  Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.  He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem.  At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

The story of Abram’s life always amazes me.  The Word of God was not in written form yet, so he had no Bible.  He had nothing written, upon which to base his trust of God.  Yet, with open arms, he received the promise of God as the path for his life.

Not only was he convinced of the Lord’s faithfulness himself, but it spilled over.  A whole host of others were willing to put their future into the hands of his God based solely upon Abram’s word.  Two whole households moved to a new country in response to the call of God.

Is your faith that evident?  Are there people that have trusted God based upon your word and the testimony of your life?  We need to walk in the things we believe.  Our faith needs to be seen and felt by those around us.

We have the written Word of God.  We have thousands of years of history to view the faithfulness of God.  How can we ever doubt Him?

If you have never made a decision to set the Word of God as the path for your life, today is the day for you.  Spend time, today, placing your destiny firmly in the hands of the Lord.

 
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Posted by on July 21, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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No Turning Back – Part 1

20 Jul

Genesis 12:1-3
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.
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

I sometimes wonder what might have been running through Abram’s mind as he was listening to the Lord?  These are some incredible promises that he was given.  God says that He will make Abram’s family into a great nation.  He also promises to make Abram famous and to bestow a blessing upon whoever helps him.

But the toughest part, at least for me, would be to step out based on this simple statement.  Our first reaction today is: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.”

We need to be more like Abram.  We must stop assigning God the role of the Madison Avenue hustler, whose only goal is to get your money into his pocket by selling you something you don’t need.

God knows and wants only the best for our lives.  His Word contains everything we need for an abundant life.  All we need to do is to accept it as true.  If we embrace God’s Word as truth, then we will not be afraid to step out on it.

Spend some time today meditating upon the truth of God’s Word to you.  Maybe there are some things you have never obeyed because of fear.  Use this day to settle the matter before God.

 
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Posted by on July 20, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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Walking With God

09 Jun

What is God’s greatest call on your life?  What does He want you to do more than anything else?

Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

This is probably one of the most important concepts for any Christian to understand.  It is God’s greatest desire for His people.  It’s for them to come into relationship with Him.  It’s not just about going to Him when we need help, but to simply spend time with Him – to walk with the Lord.

If you read the beginning of Genesis you will find that God walked regularly with Adam before the fall.  Great men of faith, like Enoch, Abraham, and Moses walked with God.  That’s His desire for us as well.

Walking with someone assumes certain things.  It means that you have agreed to go in the same direction.  You’re also going the same speed.  In order for this to happen in the spiritual, we need to spend time with the Lord to get to know His heart.  What direction is He going, and how quickly?

There is another key word in this verse – humbly.  I am not the one setting the pace for this walk.  I must yield my will to His.  It’s unfortunate that so much of our time in prayer is spent trying to get God to walk in our direction and at our speed.  No wonder there are so many frustrated Christians.  We must learn that it’s God’s plan that’s important.  I must pick up His plan if I want to succeed in this life.

Take the time today to humble yourself before God.  Lay your plans at His feet.  Let the Lord know that you’re willing to let Him set the pace for your life.  Then you can go forward in the security that your destination is the one that God has planned out for you.

 
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Posted by on June 9, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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Intercession

25 May

Abraham was an intercessor.  He was concerned about people he didn’t even know.  The following passage takes place when the Lord told Abraham about His plans to judge the cities around Sodom.

Genesis 18:22-24
The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.  Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?  What if there are fifty righteous people in the city?  Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?”

There was a Bible scholar, Dr, Joseph Parker, who had some insightful things to say about the intercession of Abraham.  He made four observations (I will put them in bold type) that I think are very applicable to the church today.

1. “God holds inquest upon the moral conditions of cities.”  I believe that even though we, as individuals, live under grace, God treats cities and nations differently.  Many times a city will sow injustice and reap disaster.  That’s why I call all believers to pray for the USA.  As a nation we cannot keep telling God to keep out, and then expect Him to protect us from catastrophe.

2. “God is accessible to earnest human appeal.”  That is the basis of intercession.  We need to be spending quality time in prayer for our families, friends, neighbors, and officials.  That’s when we see the miraculous happen.  When God’s people join with God in His work.

3. “The few can serve the many.”  Sure, there are very few Christians that take the call to prayer seriously.  Just look at the difference in attendance between a church dinner and a prayer meeting.  The fact is, it doesn’t take a lot.  God only looks for a few committed intercessors who are willing to “stand in the gap” for those around them.

4. “Human prayers fall below Divine resources.”  One thing I know beyond a doubt – our prayers never even scratch the surface of God’s ability.  From our perspective the task looks so daunting.  The problem seems insurmountable.  Yet to God, it is a simple thing for Him.  He specializes in the impossible.  Our prayers don’t even come close to challenging Him.

Answer the call to intercession.  Our cities and nation are in desperate need of a move of God.  Be on the cutting edge of the Lord’s work.  Cry out to Him and see His power manifest in our lifetime.

 
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Posted by on May 25, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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Footsteps of Faith

08 Mar

Faith is not a one-time thing.  It is a way of living.

Romans 4:12
And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
(NIV)

The word footsteps in this passage actually means a path that was created by many people walking the same way over time.  Over and over again there were men and women who followed the same path of faith that Abraham used.

God is not a respecter of persons.  He doesn’t ask everybody to do something different.  He requires the same from all of us – faith.  We must learn to trust God in all things, just like Abraham had to.  Each new generation of believers can see where others have walked before.

Sure, the technology changes.  We use new words and have new concerns to deal with.  But our God doesn’t change.  The same God who took care of Abraham in the wilderness, is the God who will see us through the challenges of the times we live in.  Only He knows the end from the beginning and can safely take us through to an abundant life.

Think about it!  This path of faith that we are walking is the same path that Abraham trod thousands of years ago.  Over time, with each new believer adding their steps, the path has become clearer and clearer.  It led them to see the glory of God and it will take us to the same location.

How unfortunate that so many believers don’t look at the path in that way.  They think it is too narrow and constrictive.  They want to see more than just the view from this trail.  We must keep reminding ourselves that this path is the one that can truly lead us to the abundant life.  If it brought Abraham there, then with God’s help, I can reach that destination as well.

 
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Posted by on March 8, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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