"We saw clearly that the LORD was with you" This verse is found in Genesis 26, and is part of a conversation between Abimelek and Isaac.
God has made Isaac very wealthy, and has blessed him in every way. Abimelek sees this and decides to go and see Isaac so that he can make peace with him.
When we walk closely with the Lord others notice. They see our attitude, our behaviour and our reactions. We should be different, we should lead others to Christ with our words and with our actions.
Abimelek was afraid of Isaac because he knew that God was with him. I'm not saying that people should fear us, but they should see a difference in us that makes them think. When was the last time someone asked you about your faith? When was the last time someone apologise to you for swearing in front of you? When was the last time that someone said, "There's something different about you - what is it?"
We need to make sue that the world sees that we are not of the world. We need to make sure that when the world sees us, they really see Jesus.
In the next few chapters of Genesis I believe there is a theme of trust. In chapter 22, Abraham is tested by being told to sacrifice his son, in chapter 24 Abraham asks his servant to go and get a wife for Isaac from his own people, and in chapter 25 after the death of Abraham, Isaac prays to God for his wife who cannot have children.
In life we all go through tough times, whether it be family issues, financial problems or even health issues. But we can learn a lot from these few chapters of Genesis. In all of these situations, God was consulted.
Abraham trusted God so much that he was willing to kill his own son knowing that God would sort things out; Abraham's servant was unsure about the task of finding Isaac a wife, and so he prayed that God would find the right woman for him to approach and so God sorted that too; Isaac's wife was unable to have children, so Isaac prayed and then Rebekah became pregnant with twins - the Lord provided more than was asked for.
When we are going through difficult situations, we need to stop looking at the floor and look UP. Where does my help come from? FROM THE LORD! We need to turn to Jesus, we need to trust in Him, we need to understand that God is with us, all we have to ask.
Genesis 21 starts with these verses, The Lord was good to Sarah and kept His promise. Although Abraham was very old, Sarah had a son exactly at the tome God had said. God had made a promise to Abraham that he would have a son by Sarah, and he did! But the part of this story I think is brilliant is that Sarah had a son exactly at the time God had said, God was spot on for timing.
We often want things now, or we pray that God will sort out this and that and want Him to do what we ask instantly. We live in a world of instant! We drink instant coffee, use instant tea bags, we shop and pay on a card so that we can have the item now, we don't want to wait for anything! God's timing is spot on. If He says He'll so something then He will do it, maybe not in the way we think, ro at the time we think, but nevertheless, He will still do it!
We need to realise that God's timing is perfect and that no matter what else is going on around, He knows exactly what He's doing.
Let's make sure that we fully understand this truth and fully rely on God today. he won't let us down, He knows what He's doing - He's God not us!
Genesis 19 is the story of the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah. Once again God is not happy with the way people are living, so He has to sort it out. These cities are doing such bad things that God has lost His patience with them. However, He remembers Abraham, and so saves his nephew Lot and his family. On leaving, Lot and his family are told to go quickly and not look back. The problem occurs when Lot's wife looks back and she is turned into a pillar of salt.
How often do we look back? I'm not saying that looking back and reminiscing is bad, but if we are constantly living in the past or on past experiences then that is not living in the fullness of God.
It's great to talk about things that have happened in the past with family and friends, we all enjoy recalling things that have happened in our past, but this is not what I'm talking about. I believe if we have past hurt, or problems that we hold onto then that will stop us from living in the blessings of God.
Jesus came to the world so that we could have life in all its fullness, so if we are living in the past then that is not living life to the full. I know that some people have had terrible things happen in their past and so it would be difficult to let them go. The good news is this - with Jesus in your life then you can receive healing from a broken past.
If you are reading this today, and you have got things in your past that you still haven't dealt with, stop looking over your shoulder and give them to Jesus. He will heal, restore and allow you to move into a life full of peace, love and newness of life. Do it today - you'll never look back again!
In chapter 18 of Genesis we find Abraham pleading with God to save the evil city of Sodom. This place was so bad that God had decided to get rid, but Abraham chose to stand in the gap. He pleads with God asking if God found 10 good people would He not destroy the city? God agrees that if 10 good people are found then the city would remain.
What a great story. This shows me that there is always a last chance with God. He was more than within His rights to destroy the city, but He chose to listen to Abraham and think about it before He actually did it. We will read tomorrow that in fact God didn't find anyone in the city to save, so Abraham's plea was in vain, but at least he tried!
How often do we find ourselves not praying for someone because we think they are a lost cause? How often do we not pray because we don't think God will do anything with our prayer? We need to make sure that we stand in the gap no matter what the outcome. We need to make sure that we get on our knees even though we don't really know if God will do what we ask. It's not our job to answer the prayer, its our job to pray them. Let's make sure that we stand in the gap today for someone - who knows what God will do? I know one thing for sure - if we don't pray who will?
As I began reading Genesis 17, it struck me that Abram at that time was 99 years old. Even in those days that was classed as OLD! However, this did not stop God making His covenant with him. God didn't look at Abram's age, He just looked at Abram's heart.
I think this is so important for us today. We so often forget about the children because we think they are too young, and we forget about our older and wiser members of our churches thinking they are too old!
This is not Kingdom building, this is not how God sees things. He calls us all young and old and everything in between to "Make disciples of all nations" It doesn't say in scripture that we only do this if we are between the ages of 18 and 65! It is a command to all of us.
We need to make sure that our children and young people have the tools to go and do, whilst we also allow our older saints to full-fill their calling too. They have been on the planet longer than us, so we need to honour them and look to them for wisdom and discernment.
Let's make sure that we don't stop anyone from moving in their gifting. Let's equip those that need equipping and encourage those that need encouraging. God never stops anyone from doing Kingdom work - let's make sure we don't either!
Today's reading comes from Genesis 16, and is the story of Abram and Hagai. God has already promised Abram that he will be the 'Father of Nations' BUT Sarai, his wife is in a hurry. She still has no children and so she tells Abram to take her servant girl to be his wife. Abram does as Sarai asks and so Hagai becomes pregnant with Abram's son.
How often does God say something to us and someone else will take that dream away? I know personally I've had this happen. When God says He will do something then we can stand on that promise! God will ALWAYS come through. In this passage Sarai got impatient and so wanted to move things along in her way and not in God's way.
A few years ago I really felt the Lord tell me about a bus ministry that He wanted me to start. Here I am years later and there is still no bus ministry. Now that could be because God's timing is not my timing, or it could be because someone laughed at me when I told them about it and so I got disheartened, or it could be a combination of the two. All I do know is that I have to trust in the Lord that His timing is perfect and that if He wants this to happen then it will.
If you are in a situation where God had told you something, then hold onto it; don't be disheartened when others laugh; don't loose the dream; pray into it and even get others to pray into it. God gives us the desires of our heart - that doesn't mean that He gives us what we want - it does mean that He gives His desires to us and puts them in our hearts. For me this means that God put that bus ministry in my heart, and so if that is the case then its still in the offering!
What are the desires of your heart? What are Gods desires for you? Do they match up? Pray about it - who knows what you'll find.
