Quote for the Day

Thoughts from Genesis 22

A few days ago I read Genesis 22 in my devotion time and a few things stood out to me:

In verse 1 the Bible says that, "God did tempt Abraham," but in James 1 we are told that God does not tempt any man, so I looked at the Hebrew word behind "tempt" and it basically means to test or try (Heather helps explain this in her recent post on the Lord's Prayer). In other words, God does not try to get us to sin, but He does allow situations in our lives that test or try us, I believe, sometimes just so we will know where we are at spiritually.

Twice prior to this testing Abraham had lied about Sarah being his sister (not his wife) evidencing a lack of faith in God's capability to protect him and Sarah from harm; but when this testing comes verse 3 tells us that "Abraham rose up early in the morning." There is no recorded discussion (pleading or arguing) with God from Abraham, rather he does as he is instructed quickly. A friend of mine says, "Slow obedience is no obedience." Abraham obeyed God quickly and completely, trusting Him fully with everything.  I think many of us, were we in Abraham's shoes, would be tempted to try and give God a "way out" thinking that surely this couldn't really be His will because Isaac was the promised seed and if he were dead how could God fulfill His promise (trying to fit God into a box we can understand--not a good idea) How could He ask us to do this? Surely there's a mistake in our understanding of what He wants. But Abraham had come to the place where He, by faith, quickly obeyed God's command without question. I wonder what our reaction would be if God were to ask us do something equivalent in our life to this?

Abraham's confidence in God is reiterated in verse eight in his response to Isaac, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering."

Also in verse nine we see that Isaac trusted his father, but more importantly he had faith in God. He allowed his father to bind him and lay him on the altar. It is important to remember here that Isaac was not so young a lad at this point that he could not have resisted if he wanted to; at this point he was likely in his 20s or 30s, well old and strong enough to resist his father if he had so desired, but he didn't. He submitted to his father just as Jesus did when He offered Himself as a sacrifice. When I read this it makes me think of something that my pastor has said: In Romans 12 we are told to present our bodies as a living sacrifice; the word living is key here as a living sacrifice can get back off of the altar or decide not to get on in the first place. A dead sacrifice has no choice whatsoever, but a living sacrifice chooses daily, sometimes more often, to stay or get back on the altar.

In verses 16-18 the LORD tells Abraham through an angel that, "For because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."

When we are obedient to God, no matter what, He does bless. Sometimes we don't see His blessing here, but you can never out-give God--He will bless your obedience. Besides, obedience should come from love and faith in God more than a desire for His blessing us. We can never repay what He has done for us, but we can show our love and gratitude by immediate, unquestioning obedience.

"When obedience to God contradicts what I think will give me pleasure, let me ask myself if I love Him."~Elisabeth Elliot

After This Manner Pray Ye:

I’ve been contemplating a study on the Lord’s Prayer for a while now, and I finally got around to typing up some thoughts I’d jotted down on paper. In Matthew chapter 6 the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. So the prayer Christ gave them was an example for each one of us to follow. And by that I don’t think the Lord wants us to repeat it verbatim every single day. Examples give us a starting point – and something to fall back on. The word example means a thing characteristic of its kind or illustrating a general rule. If I am to model my prayers after the Lord’s Prayer, I first want to look at it and see what is to be learned from it. First let me throw out there that I’m not sharpest knife in the drawer or the brightest bulb on the string, so these are merely some notes I took while studying it. All right, enough of that and let’s get started.

“Our Father which art in heaven.” Recognizes His position and authority. A father’s role is to protect, provide, and correct. Unlike earthly fathers, our Heavenly Father is always able to fulfill our needs. And unlike man, who sometimes punishes out of anger, our Father always corrects out of pure judgment and justice. The opening line reminds us of His position.

“Hallowed be Thy name.” Oh how fast and how freely does the name of the Most High pour vainly out of the lips of man! And how much worse the case when the offense is committed by His own children. Where did the fear of the Lord go? If we’re to honor our earthly fathers and mothers, how much more our heavenly Father? I love how reverently the psalmists used the name of the Lord. They reserved its use to fitting things, like praise, petition, and honored titles, not for a fill-in word when things surprised them or didn’t go their way. Ex 20:7 – “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.”

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” Above everything else, Jesus was submitted to the will of His Father-even unto death. Have you ever thought about the angels in heaven mentioned in the Bible? They seem completely satisfied to do the will of God all their days. Psalm 103: 20-21 says, “Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.” The will of God may not lead you to great fame, riches, or station, but abiding in His will fulfills the deepest yearning of the soul and leaves no spot untouched by His love and grace.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” How many times have I worried about the future? Have you ever lost sleep thinking about tomorrow? Well don’t! The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7) has a lot to say about God meeting our needs. Jesus says the lilies and the sparrows aren’t worried about tomorrow’s clothing and provisions. God esteems us above sparrows and lilies, and if He knows the very number of the hairs on our heads, doesn’t it seem foolish to worry about needs He is more than able to meet? The Scripture says, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Focus today on today’s cares and needs.

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Matt 11:25, “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Forgiveness is important. Matt 18:21-22, “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.” Failure to forgive hinders our prayers, destroys our relationships, and separates us from a closer walk with God. “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Matt 5:7.

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” For a while I struggled to fully grasp this verse, because I knew Scripture didn’t contradict Itself. The problem was in my understanding, or lack thereof. The first part of verse 13 reads, “And leads us not into temptation…” To English ears it kind of sounds like Jesus is saying we need to ask the Lord not lead us into temptation, but that’s not right. God won’t tempt us to sin; in His Word He says in Jas 1:13, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:” Clearly then, this verse must mean something different than God leading us into sin! I did some research on the Greek words (the blue letter Bible is a very useful tool) and here is what I learned. The Greek word for “temptation” (peirasmos) actually refers to a “trial,” an “affliction” and to a “proving.” Temptation itself isn’t sin, yielding is sin. If temptation was sin what about the 40 days and nights Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness? He certainly was tempted by Satan then. The word is also used for “difficulties” and “psychical ailments” (used by Paul in Galatians). During testings and trials of life (temptations) there is always ample opportunity to sin, but we’re the ones who fall into sin-it’s not the Lord leading us into it. Let’s get the context of Jas 1:12-14 “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” Remember Job? Satan did the tempting, not God. God allowed Satan to tempt Job but God Himself never tempted Job or his friends to sin. The next part of Matthew 6:13 says, “But deliver us from evil.” The Greek word used here for deliver (Rhoumai) “deliver,” “rescue,” “save,” “snatch,” “guard,” or “free.” Jesus used the definite article before the word “evil” meaning “save us from the evil (one)-“Rescue us from Satan. This shed a new light on the matter for me. Jesus is telling us to ask for help from evil. I need help fighting evil-my own lusts and Satan. Psalm 91 has a lot to say about the Lord’s deliverance, and it’s always been one of my favorite Psalms. The Lord is our Deliverer. Pro 18:10, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Matt 28:18, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Rom 1:4 “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:”

In summary, these things stick out to me:

Position and Authority as our Heavenly Father.

Respect His name.

His will must come first-over everything else!

God will meet daily needs on a daily basis-why should we ask for more?

Forgiveness. To those to whom everything has been forgiven, God requires us to forgive one another.

Deliverer. He is our Fortress. Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him.”