Tag Archives: Jesus

genesis 15: covenant

Let’s listen to just the conversation between God and Abram –

God: Don’t worry, I will shield you, and your reward will be great.

Abram: What reward will You give me, since You have not given me an heir? In fact, a servant is going to inherit everything I have.

God: No he won’t. You will father a child. In fact, come outside. Look up. Can you count the stars? No? Neither will you be able to count your offspring, there will be so many of them.

And Abram believed that the Creator of all things, the Holy One of Heaven, had just made him a promise that He would keep.

And then He made the promise even bigger.

“See this land? I’m giving it to you and to yours for always.”

“How can I be sure that I’m really going to possess this land?”

“Go get the animals.”

In the Old Testament, when two people wanted to enter into an agreement or contract, they “cut covenant”. They would cut the sacrificial animals into two halves, and then they would both walk between the pieces together, as a way of “signing a contract”.

Abram would have known what was coming next. He and God were about to “cut covenant” and it was not unfamiliar. But he didn’t know that God cuts covenant like no other.

As Abram slept, God walked alone through the pieces.

And as we were dead in our sins, Jesus hung alone on a cross.

Cutting covenant with us.

What kind of God is this who walks alone through the sacrifice to be in covenant with me?

What do I do with such goodness? How do I hold this kind of mercy? What, dear Lord, is the response that heaven is looking for from earth?

And Abram believed that the Creator of all things, the Holy One of Heaven, had just made him a promise that He would keep.

“…and He counted it to him as righteousness.”

genesis 14: rescue

Sat with this chapter for a long time, letting hard to pronounce names wash over me. I wanted to see God, so I sat and read and waited.

Four kings went against five kings and four kings won. They took everything, including Lot and all of his possessions.

Lot had chosen to pitch his tent in Sodom. Bad choice, it turns out. I’m sure he didn’t know the wickedness that went on there. At first. But what about when he did know, and he still chose to stay?

Sometimes, we stay where we are long after we should have left.

I kept reading, searching for the heart of my King. I think it’s right here:

“When Abram heard that his relative had been taken prisoner, he assembled his 318 trained men, born in his household, and they went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he and his servants deployed against them by night, attacked them, and pursued them as far as Hobah to the north of Damascus. He brought back all the goods and also his relative Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the other people.”

Lot had been taken captive. Didn’t matter why. Didn’t matter if it was partly his fault. He was a captive, and Abram went to set him free and bring him back. Because Lot belonged to the family of Abram.

And Abram’s heart is not kinder than God’s.

Maybe you need to hear that today. To remember that no man’s compassion and mercy and love and willingness to come after you is greater than God’s. I don’t know what foolish choices you have made, or how those choices may have led you into captivity, but I do know this:  If you are His child, He has in no way abandoned you to that captivity. His heart toward you is loving and full of compassion, and He will come for you in your captivity.

The Bible, with all of it’s hard to pronounce names and places and all the details that fascinate and confuse and make us ponder, is ultimately the story of rescue. Of the people held captive, and the Rescuer who came for them, no matter what.

genesis 12: trust

We have to put ourselves in a place called Haran, which is now in ruins in Turkey. We have to stand with a man named Abram and hear God tell him to go. To leave his home, his father, leave what is familiar and go to what is unknown.

Now pretend that God has told you to go. Pack up, leave what you’ve known and go to, literally, God only knows where. Would you do it? Right now, would you do it? Leave your home, parents, friends? Or would you have to think about it, turning that command over and over in your hands, looking for some other meaning to the word ‘go’?

I know. We’re all saying something like, “if God told me to go, I’d go!” aren’t we?

But let’s look at some of the things God has already told us:

Do not worry. Do not be afraid. Do not be anxious. Give generously to those in need. Lay down your lives for others. Die to yourself.

So do we still insist that if God told us to go, to leave all that we know and go somewhere unknown we would do it? We can’t even do what He has already told us to do that doesn’t require nearly the level of faith that it required for Abraham to obey the call of God.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10)

Abraham could have obeyed out of fear. He could have obeyed out of a sense of duty. But one of the reasons that Abraham is held out to us as an example is because of those two little words – “by faith”.

For the sake of my point today, I want to change out the word faith for trust. For faith to fully be faith, trust must be present. But we so often equate faith with believing in God that we don’t always see our lack of faith in certain areas. But if we call it trust, it sort of stands out like flies on rice. I’ll show you.

Because I fully trust God:

  • I do not worry about anything.
  • I do not live in fear.
  • I am not anxious.
  • I freely give out of all of my resources, including my money and my time.

Because I trust God, I love my enemies and pray for them. Because I trust God, I willingly serve others, put others first, and consider others above myself. Because I trust God, I will lay down my life for His sake and for the sake of His Kingdom. Because I trust God, I will leave everything to go.

For most of us, very few of those statements are actually true. We want them to be true, wish they were true, and would probably never admit to others that they aren’t true. But they aren’t.

We must lay aside whatever keeps us from fully trusting God’s goodness, His ways, and His heart. We cannot continue to compare Him to man, keeping our guard up, watching and waiting for Him to betray us. We can’t continue to trust Him for salvation, but not for financial provision or employment, or a spouse. We trust Him to save us but we struggle to trust His sovereignty over all things.

We trust the blood of Jesus, but not the heart of the Father who sent Him to shed that blood on our behalf.

Questions:

  • How honest am I with myself regarding my trust in God? Am I willing to admit that I do not fully trust Him in certain areas?
  • Do I actually trust that His plan for me is good, or am I working my own plan, just in case?
  • Do I trust God’s heart for me, or am I just agreeing with what other people say?

I urge us into the Word of God to know the One who is utterly trustworthy.

genesis 11: rebellion

He told them to be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth. Instead, they migrated together and decided to build a city and a tower, so that they would not be scattered over the earth.

So God scattered them over the earth.

Because nothing – no city, no tower, no people, no rebellion, will stop God’s plans and purposes.

Think of the Israelites and their shiny golden calf. Their grumbling and complaining and refusal to trust God. It took 40 years and the death of a generation, but He got His people to the promised land.

Think Jonah. Sent to Ninevah. Went the other way. Big fish swallows him. He went to Ninevah.

Remember Saul. Chosen by God to be king. Hiding in the baggage hoping not to be seen. But God saw him. Saul was anointed as king.

Another Saul, killing the Church. God knocked him down then picked him up and used him to build that same Church.

So, who do you know that’s living in rebellion, running from God, building their own tower? Have you despaired? Have you given up? Don’t. Get up and get yourself before the throne of God and continue to intercede for them and believe God for them.

Think of you and me. Rebels all the way. But look at us now – children of God. Because our rebellion did not stop Him from coming for us.

Thank You, Jesus. Just, thank You.

Exodus 32; Jonah; 1st Samuel 10:20-24; Acts 9

genesis 10: origins

“These are the generations of the sons of Noah…”

Just nine words. Words that no doubt most of us just skim past. But you and I are in those words. Generations. Sons of Noah.

Japheth: Often referred to as the Father of Europeans. His descendants were French, German, Celtic, Russian, and Spanish, among others. Some of his sons’ descendants inhabited Iran and Iraq, India and Armenia.

Ham: His descendants inhabited Africa and the Far East. They founded both Babylon and Ethiopia. They lived in Libya, Egypt, and Israel. It is also widely believed that the Asian peoples descended from sons of Ham.

Shem was an ancestor of Persians, Assyrians and the Syrians, and various Arabic peoples.

You and I fall somewhere in there, as descendants of the sons of Noah, a descendant of Adam and Eve.

It’s good to know and remember where you came from.

I was the first person in my immediate family (parents, siblings) to become a Christian. I met a guy in a bar and eventually married him. He came from a Christian family and told me about Jesus. Not a lot, but the basics. Years later I would surrender my life to that Jesus and never look back. But I learned that there were members of my dad’s family (grandmother, grandfather (eventually) uncles, aunts) who were Christians. I can’t help but wonder where it began. I would love to discover who was my point of origin for the gospel in my family.

After I got saved, most of my family members became Christians, one at a time. I’m still believing for those who have not yet surrendered to the Lordship of Christ.

The covenants God made with both Abraham and Noah included their descendants. God’s purposes and His heart are for families, for lineage and legacy. He doesn’t bless one man, He blesses a man and his descendants. He doesn’t just save one man, He saves a man and his entire household.

And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

That doesn’t mean that when one person is saved, his whole household is automatically saved. It means that one person getting saved then opens the door for the gospel to his whole family.

In a very roundabout way, I am coming to my point, which is this:

God is about family. Descendants. Legacy. Households. Keep going. Keep praying. Keep believing. Keep walking with Jesus. You are opening doors. You are walking in the blessings of God that are being passed down from one generation to the next.

You could very well be someone’s point of origin for the gospel.

genesis 9: multiply

“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”

Remember when He said the same thing to Adam and Eve?

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…”

And then when Jesus said it to His disciples?

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…”

Bringing forth many from few. Reproducing His Kingdom through His people is the way of God.

Both darkness and light are increasing in our world today. The part we don’t always pay attention to is which one are we multiplying?

“…for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…”

The instruction to walk as children of light indicates that it may not be a natural response to our identity in Christ. Even though we are now light, we can still walk as though we are in darkness.

We can still gossip with our co-workers, respond to circumstances with fear and anxiety, react to our children in anger, sulk when we’re overlooked, be obnoxiously prideful, and continually express discontentment with our lives, among other things.

And people are watching. Our kids and grandkids are imitating us. Co-workers, neighbors, family members, employees, younger Christians, and unbelievers could all possibly be looking at us to see what it looks like to follow Jesus.

Questions:

  • When I survey the way I am living my life, the attitudes I display, the values I live by – do I want it reproduced in others?
  • Who is watching my life? Who is becoming the kind of Christian they see in me?
  • How can I be more intentional in multiplying the Kingdom of God around me?

Go, make disciples. Walk as children of Light.

Genesis 9:1; Genesis 1:28; Matthew 28:19; Ephesians 5:8

genesis 7: faith

It was in Noah’s 600th year, in the 2nd month, on the 17th day. God knows precisely when He began the flooding of the earth in order to eradicate the wickedness that permeated it. It was the exact same day that He saved the one speck of righteousness that existed on the earth – Noah. Interestingly, it never states that Noah’s sons, wife, or daughters-in-law were righteous. It only tells us that Noah found favor, Noah walked with God, Noah was righteous. Yet his entire family was saved from the flood. Reminds me of this:

“They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household.” – Acts 16:31

{Maybe today you needed to hear that God likes to save whole families. Maybe you needed to hear that God’s timing is precise. Maybe you needed encouragement to continue to pray, continue to believe God for your family.}

But that’s not all that caught my eye in this chapter.

Noah did all that God commanded. All. Not most. Not some. All. But these were not just obedient actions. Listen to Hebrews 11:7:

“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.“

Noah’s obedience came through faith. He believed God would do what He said He would do. He most likely did not understand exactly what that would look like, but He believed it would happen. He trusted God to keep His Word.

People with a religious spirit will often follow the rules out of trust in the rules, not the rule giver. Rules provide order and some measure of control and even superiority to the one who religiously follows them, but the people who follow the rules apart from faith are not the ones who are commended in scripture.

Rules are necessary, and obedience is good. But God will always want to take us below the surface of our obedience so we can discover why we are obeying, and where faith comes into it. For instance, the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:

“And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

The man kept the commands until his obedience required Him to trust God by giving away what he actually trusted. His money. His obedience to the commandments came from his own ability to follow rules. But as in all things, God is looking for faith. From the beginning to the end, it will always be about faith. We enter salvation through faith, not obedience to rules. We can obey every rule written in the scriptures, every commandment given by God – (which we can’t, but for argument’s sake, let’s say we could) but if we do not obey the gospel, we will still be lost, and the gospel is obeyed solely by faith.

By faith, we all have to give up what we’ve been trusting in, and trust God alone.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God…” – Hebrews 11:6

No matter how many rules we follow.