Abraham’s incentives

Heb. 11:8-10:  “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance.  And he went out, not knowing where he was going.  By faith he dwelt in the land of promise like a foreigner living in tents; and so did Issac and Jacob, who inherited the same promised.  For Abraham waited for a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.”  

Abraham leaving his country, family, and his father’s house to go dwell in tents in a land he didn’t know…as a foreigner…does take great faith.  There is even more to his faith story, but for today…

When I went back to Genesis this morning to read the beginning, I saw the mention of the fact that Abraham’s wife Sarai was barren; she had no child.  (Gen. 11:30)  Then, in Gen. 12:1-3, the Lord tells Abraham to leave his country and go to a land He would show Him.  But God gave him an incentive.  Well, several incentives, actually.

Remember, his wife is barren.  The Lord said, “I will make you a great nation.”  Wow!  That’s a pretty great incentive to leave.  Ok.  “I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.”  Goodness!  Really?  I mean, me?  “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  Boom!

So, not only was the Lord promising to bless Abraham, but He was going to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham.  I mean, come on!!!!  How can anyone resist that!?  And so, Abraham obeyed.  And so God did as He promised.  God blessed Abraham and his wife.  And God has blessed us all because through Abraham and his descendants came our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ!!

Drop the mic.

If we trust in anything in this life, let it be the Lord.  He does what He says He will do.

Last night we had a soup dinner at church.  I had this amazing new recipe for cornbread casserole that I had eaten the day before.  I also have a great crock pot.  I put all the ingredients in my crock pot and mixed it all up.  When it was time to leave for the dinner, I simply unplugged the crock pot and we headed out the door.  When my pastor’s wife took the lid off the crock pot and stuck a serving spoon inside the casserole was more like soup.

I’d trusted in my recipe and my crock pot, and didn’t even check the results before we left home.  Fail.

Abraham trusted in the Lord who promised to bless him and all the families of the earth through him, living in tents and waiting for a city with eternal foundations.  Win!

In God we can always trust.  He will never let us down.

Served,

jamie

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On helping God

Pr. 19:2:  “Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, and he sins who hastens with his feet.”

For the about a month, we have been looking for a new home to purchase.  We put in an offer on 1 lovely place and someone else beat us out with no chance for us to counter.  We have come across a few other places that, before we could gather our thoughts, have gone under contract.  All the while, we have been saying that those properties were clearly not the ones God wanted for us and that we want His will.

Meanwhile, our own home has gone under contract and we still have no new home to which we can move.

Yesterday, we drove by a home that has most of the checklist items we desire.  We told our agent that we want to go see it, knowing that barring some hidden issue, we will be putting in an offer.

Getting to see the house today did not work out at all…and not for a lack of trying.  It was a very frustrating experience, and we got nervous that someone else would get it before us.  We then seriously entertained the thought of putting in an offer without seeing the inside.  Terrible idea, of course, but we need a place to live!

As we were entertaining this idea, I remembered Abraham and Sarah.  God promised Abraham an heir from his own body.  When it didn’t happen right away Sarah and Abraham got nervous.  Sarah gave Abraham her maidservant, Hagar, so that he could have children by her.  God didn’t stop them, but this was certainly not God’s perfect plan for them.

We can read their story and, from the comfort of our reading spot, surmise that if they would have just waited on God there would have been a lot less trouble.  When it comes to our own life; however, we can easily make the same mistake.

Today, instead of waiting on God and trusting in His perfect plan, we thought we’d just speed things up and help Him accomplish the goal.  What a mess we would have made.  Thank God for the knowledge in His Word that the Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance.

If this property is the one God wants for us, then He will take care of the details and work it out for us.  If it’s not, then He will give us the right property and things will work out much more beautifully in the end.

It’s the waiting that’s hard.  When we begin to hasten with our feet we can make a big mess out of things.  When we wait on the Lord; however, He renews our strength and has the true promise waiting for us just around the corner.

When we find ourselves growing weary while waiting on the promise, we don’t need to step in and take over, we need to wait a little longer.  What God has in store will be better than anything we could ever create on our own.

Looking forward to the promise,

jamie

Don’t forget who He is

When going through trials and tribulations, if we have no refuge to which we can run, how can we stand?  If there is no shield in which we can trust to guard us, how do we keep moving?  Without a Comforter to overwhelm us and bring the peace that passes understanding, how do we not lose all hope?  With no solid foundation on which to make a stand, what keeps our feet from slipping into calamity, misery, or death?

God was the Restorer for Joseph.  He was then the Deliverer of the Israelites from the hands of Pharoah.  He was the Promise-Keeper for Abraham and Sarah.  The power of God was a cloak for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the fiery furnace, heated 7x hotter than usual, so that their clothes did not even smell of smoke.  God was mighty enough to shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel, delivering him from certain death.  David counted on the Refuge, that was God.

God was the Salvation of the people in Ninevah.  Jesus is Savior of the world, and the Forgiver of the woman at the well.  He was the Comforter of Peter.  He was the Healer of the centurion’s servant.  God was the Redeemer of Saul, who then become the apostle Paul.  He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.  He is the one who is coming quickly, bringing His reward with Him.

God is zealous for His people, saying that, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  Without the hope that comes from knowing and trusting in God, how can we have any endurance for this life.

He has been my Healer, my Savior, my Deliverer, my Shield, my Refuge, my mighty Defender, my Strength, my Comforter, my Hope, my Provider, my Forgiver, and so much more.  Who has He been for you?

Allow Him to be more,

jamie