What do they see?

"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.

Look UP!

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.

Perfect timing!

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!

Looking back...

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!

If there are 10?

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?

Age doesn't matter!

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!

What are your desires - are they Gods?

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.

God of the impossible!

On reading today's passage from Genesis 15, it's amazing to think that even though we let God down, He is still true to His word.
If we think about this story, it's the story of God revealing His covenant with Abram. In my previous blogg Abram hadn't really done the right thing, but like I said last time, we all make mistakes and God still forgives us.
We need to come to a realisation that when God tells us something then He will bring it into being - even if it seems impossible to us. Abram was promised that he would have offspring as countless as the stars. At this point in his life he didn't have any children and both he and his wife were ageing. God had promised what seemed to be the impossible, but for God nothing is impossible.
When we know this truth for ourselves it will set us free. So often we are worried about this and that and don't believe in our hearts that the situation can be changed. Our God is a  God of the impossible, our God is a God that can do more than we can ask or imagine, our God is the creator of the Universe. Let's put our trust in Him today and know that He will bring His plans and His purposes into fruition.

Mistakes - we all make them!

In Genesis 12 we find the start of Abram's journey to Canaan. God tells him to leave his father's household and go to the land of Canaan and Abram obeys without question. The problem with this story for me comes after this. Famine comes over the land and so Abram and his wife end up taking a detour to Egypt. Abram is afraid that Pharaoh will take his wife Sarai and kill him and so Abram comes up with a plan. He tells Sarai to lie and say that they are brother and sister, and that way they would both be safe.
This is obviously a lie, however, when Pharaoh finds out he is not too impressed with Abram, however he doesn't kill him but does ask him to take his wife and leave.
It's amazing to think that this man that God chooses to bless still makes mistakes. He tells a lie to save himself. We all make mistakes, we all do things that are not right, but no matter what, we have a God that loves us. God still blessed Abram, He kept His word and blessed the offspring of Abram because He'd made His covenant with Him. Abram wasn't perfect, but God looked beyond that and blessed him anyway.
I praise God that He sees beyond my weaknesses, beyond my mistakes. He loves me no matter what. That's not to say that He agrees with the things I do wrong, but He still loves me mistakes and all! He loves us all no matter what.

GOD LOVES YOU & ME SO MUCH THAT HE SENT HIS SON TO DIE!

The place of Blessing!

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.

This passage is found in Genesis 11 and to be honest even though I've read it many times before I didn't see this as important before today. I knew that Abram's family left Ur to go to Canaan, however I hadn't thought before that he and his family settled somewhere else first. In fact it was Abram's father that moved the family towards Canaan, but it was Abram that actually got there.
I think this story is really important to our lives today. We so often head off in the direction God wants us to go and end up settling in the comfort zone. It is so easy in our Christian walks to get complacent, to allow the comfortableness to keep us where we are, or living the way we live, or even doing what we are doing when God actually wants us to move into the land of blessing. Terah knew that Canaan was the direction to head for, he must have done, but he got to Harran and stayed put instead of moving to where God wanted the family to go. It was in fact Abram that took the move further, it was Abram that left Harran and moved to Canaan into the land of blessing and it is through Abram that God makes the covenant.
When we choose to follow God's lead and move into the place of promise, then that will be the place of blessing. We need to make sure that we don't settle for second best, just because its comfortable doesn't mean that it's the place that God wants us to be in. We need to make sure that we move with God and not stay still in the places that man puts us.

God's promise

After the flood, and the earth is dry again, God allows Noah and his family out of the ark. They are the only people left and God makes a covenant with them. God promises that He will never ever flood the world again and as a reminder of that promise God places a rainbow in the sky.
I saw a rainbow this morning on my way into work, which seems really apt especially on reading chapters 8 & 9 of Genesis this morning. I love rainbows. Not just because they look nice, but because I always feel God is showing me that He's there, that He'll never leave me, that I can trust in Him to have my back. 
God made this promise to Noah, but I believe that we can rely on that promise today. We can rely on all the promises of God today. God's word is final, and so when I see the rainbow, I know that God is showing me that He is still in control and that His word is His bond. 
Rely on the promises of God today. Man may let you down, family and friends may let you down, even the church may let you down - but God won't. He keeps His promises and always will!

The Power of God!

Genesis chapters 6 & 7 tell the story of the flood. This is probably one of the most famous of the OT bible stories as children learn this story from an early age.
On reading these two chapters again, I realise how fortunate we are. God was so fed up with mankind that He decided enough was enough, and so He wiped out most of humanity. I look at the world today, and I can pretty much guarantee that the world is in the same place now as it was then, if not worst. We live in a society that doesn't care, we live in a world that is power crazy, where the human race thinks about itself - the power of ME!
We can thank God that He allows us to continue, when He could very easily choose to make everything stop. We need to realise that our God is the very same God in the bible that sent the flood, that wiped out the people that were not living in a manner that was honouring to Him. We should be thankful that God gives us a second chance, third chance etc...I praise God that He forgives me when I mess up and is so patient with me to allow me to continue to try. He hasn't given up on me yet, so I need to do everything I can to glorify Him.

Live for God!

Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
This verse is hidden amongst the other verses in Genesis 5 which tell us about the lives of Adams family. I think its a great verse and an important one. Enoch was so faithful to God that he never died. In all the other accounts of the family of Adam, they lived so many years and then it says they died. In the case of Enoch this is not the case.
I wonder what does it mean to walk faithfully with God? Personally I think it means that Enoch just lived to please God. He wasn't worried about what the world thought, he wanted only to please his Heavenly Father.
I think this is something that we should all want to strive to do. I know that is what I would like to live like. However, this is not always the case. In fact I can honestly say that even though this is what I want, I often do what I want instead of what God wants.
If we choose to live for God, if we choose to honour Him then this is the kind of life we should live. Let's choose to imitate Enoch and walk faithfully with God, or even better, let's choose to imitate Jesus and live for God!

I want - its not fair!

I want what he has! This is how I would sum up Genesis chapter 4. Cain is jealous of his brother Abel, in fact he is so jealous of him that he gets rid of him, he commits the first murder. He's not jealous of what Abel has though, he is jealous that God accepts Able's gift and not his. The reason for this problem is that Cain decides not to give God his best, unlike his brother Abel who gives God the best of what he has. God wasn't pleased with Cain and so Cain takes this out on his brother. It's not Abel's fault! It's Cain's fault that God is not happy with him.
So often in life we look at our lot and think that we are hard done by. Just because someone else has more, or is different or has a bigger house or better job we get all out of shape about it. We need to remember that no matter what our situation or what we have, we are still fortunate to have a Saviour that loves us in spite of everything. We are blessed to be a blessing, so therefore we should always give our best to God and not worry about it being any less than anyone else. As long as we have done our best for God, He will never ask more of us.

The blame game

Genesis 3 is the fall of man. It retells the story of how we came to be in the mess we're in by disobeying God and putting ourselves first.The way we behave is still the same. We are selfish by nature and that is because of what happened in the garden all those years ago. 
Looking at the story closer we can see that there is something else happening too - the Blame game! After Satan tricks the woman into wanting to eat the fruit and then the man eats it too, God comes along and asks them what have they done? They don't deny what they've done, but they do blame one another! Adam blames Eve, and Eve blames the snake.
We are still like this today - no change! When we do something stupid we always have an answer, we even try and blame someone else. I'm not saying that sometimes its not someone else's fault, however, we have a mind of our own and a will of our own and so with that in mind we have to make a choice whether we follow someone else or whether we choose to do the right thing.
Eve was deceived by the snake, Adam copied Eve. I've often wondered what would have happened if Adam had said no? What about us? We have freewill, we have a Saviour that died for us for us to pay the price for sin. We need to choose to do the will of God and not our own deceptive will. Are we going to play the blame game or are we going to choose freedom in Christ? Its a big question, but a question that could change eternity for each of us. 

Every breath you take!

Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis chapter 2 continues the story of creation. This verse is how God created man - He breathed into him and he became a living being. I love this - God breathed the breath of life into man and man lived! Let's think about this a little more. God's breath is the breath of life, and its that breath that enables us to live. Without the breath of God we would be lifeless, but with the breath of God we live. This goes for everyone on the planet, whether they believe in Him or not. How amazing is that? Even those that don't believe in God have the breath of God keeping them alive! WOW!
A few years ago I was at a conference. I can still remember something that one of the speakers said and it was about the breath of God. The speaker said that when God breathed into the man He spoke His name or the sound of His name - Yahweh. If this is the case, as I believe it is, then this means that with every breath we take, with every word we speak, we say the name of God! This also means that with every breath they take and with EVERY word they speak non believers also speak the name of God, and so with that in mind they are proving the existence of God.
I love this thought. I love the fact that I say the name of God every time I open my mouth to breath or speak. 
If you don't believe in the creator of everything, and you are reading this - your breath believes in Him, even your words believe in Him, as every time you speak you utter the name of God. Make a real difference to your life at the start of 2012 - believe in the one that created you, make the greatest decision you will ever make at the start of this year and accept Jesus into your life. After all, He is your every breath!

It was good!

Well the start of the year brings the start of the Bible, and the beginning of time itself. What a great chapter Genesis 1 is. It tells us exactly how God created the world and everything in it.
What an amazing God, what a creative God I serve.
I guess the thing that always strikes me as strange is many Christians don't actually believe the first chapter of the book! What is that about? I believe that if you don't believe the first chapter, then how can you believe the rest? By disputing one part of God's word you are in fact putting the rest into disrepute too!
Then there are others that think its not important how the earth was created and that the facts in this chapter are not worth arguing about. If it's not important then why is it in the book? As far as I'm concerned, if God said He created the world in 6 days then that is good enough for me. If God had made the earth in 1 day then I'd accept that too, as my God can do immeasurably more than I could ever ask or think - He can do all things - nothing is impossible for my God.
With this in mind, at the very start of 2012, lets put our faith in the God of the impossible. Let's allow Him to be glorified by allowing Him to work through us. Put your trust in Him - it will be a roller coaster of a ride - but a good one!