On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram saying, To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates..."

and Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children; go into my maid; it may be that I shall obtain children through her." And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Genesis 15:18; 16:2, RSV 

 

Through Hagar, the maidservant of Sarai whom Abram took as a second wife, Ishmael was born. From Ishmael came twelve sons who became a mighty nation. The Ismaelites became enemies of Abram's (soon to be called Abraham) other descendants - the Jews. They fought down through the centuries and, if you believe Mohammed's claim to be a descendant of Ishmael, are still fighting one another to this day.

 

What do you suppose would have happened if Abraham and Sarah had just trusted God in the first place?

 

Now think about us in our day. Just look at how many "improvements" men have made to Christ's church. They have "improved" God's plan of salvation, they have "improved" the way the church worships, and they have "improved" God's commands for our everyday lives when it comes to identifying what sin is or is not.

 

How do you think that all of these "improvements" will turn out? How did Abram and Sarai's "improvements" work out for them?

 

This is why we study. It's so that we can see what has happened to others so that perhaps we will not repeat their errors. This is how Jesus put it:

 

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord", will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 7:21, NIV

 

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord", and do not do what I say?

Luke 6:46, NIV

 

Today is the 4th day of the 120 day challenge to study through the Old Testament, with Genesis 13-16 being the text for today. May God richly bless you as you seek to do His will, without "improvements", in His way!

The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?'

Is anything too hard for the LORD?"

Genesis 18:13-14, RSV 

 

The setting for the above exchange is this: God has just promised Abraham that he and Sarah would have a child. The only problem with this is that Abraham was 99 years old and Sarah was 89 years old. So when Sarah heard the promise, she laughed. You and I might have done the same had we been in her position. After all, she was past the age of childbearing, so having a child was physically impossible for her. The thing that Sarah was not taking into account was that God Himself was the one who had created physics, and nothing is impossible for God.

 

How can that help us today? For one thing, we look around this world and we see a lot of sin. Sometimes because we see so much, we get discouraged and think that it is all over. Our economy is over, our nation is over, our entire way of life is over! That's what many of us think when we are being honest with ourselves, and quite frankly we are right when looking from a purely physical point of view.

 

That's when we need to learn the lesson that 89 year-old Sarah had too learn: Nothing is too hard for God!

 

We all know that things are indeed not right with the world in which we live. The question is will we try to change it with the help of God, or we wallow in self-pity saying that there is nothing we can do? On our own, perhaps, the problems that we face are insurmountable. But with God, nothing is impossible.

 

How can we know this? It's because He has proven it over and over in the past. It is because His very creation literally screams that nothing is too hard for Him - if we will only open our eyes and see it. Some will indeed refuse to open their eyes... and they will wallow and whimper in their anger and frustration. But those of us who believe in God and Christ and in their promises know! We know that nothing that they want to accomplish is impossible!

 

Are we ready to believe this... or do we want to wallow and whimper with the masses of disbelievers who truly believe that some things are just too hard for God?

 

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,

'Move from here to there' and it will move. 

Nothing will be impossible for you.

Matthew 17:20, NIV

 

Today is day 5 of the 120 day challenge to study through the Old Testament, with Genesis 17-20 being the text for today. May God richly bless you as you learn the eternal truth that nothing is too hard for Him! 

I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My requirements, My commands, My decrees and My laws.

Genesis 26:4-5, NIV 

 

What do you think of when you think of the legacy that a parent leaves for his children? Do you think of a substantial inheritance? Maybe you think of the notoriety that a famous or powerful parent leaves to his or her children. Perhaps you lean towards the more noble and consider a parent's good name and reputation to be the greatest legacy.

 

While all of these are areas that one could correctly associate with legacy, Isaac had something even more important than that: He had a father who obeyed God, kept His commands and decrees and requirements and laws. In other words, Abraham's legacy to Isaac was one of serving God.

 

When you think about it, what could be better? Would you rather have a dad who lives for money, or one who lives for God? Would you rather have a mom who lives for fame and reputation in the eyes of her peers, or one who serves the Lord? The reason that I ask is because someday you will leave a legacy for those you leave behind. If it is one of worldly accomplishment, it will soon fade and your children will be left with nothing but things that collect dust. But if you live for God, then your legacy is different - it is eternal!

 

And, while the spiritual and physical legacies are not always mutually exclusive, they do have to have a priority. Abraham was able to leave both because he left a physical legacy that came as a result of the blessings stemming from a faithful life. However, had he tried to leave a spiritual blessing from a physically motivated life, he could not have done it, for while spiritual pursuits often have physical blessings attached to them, physical pursuits without placing God first can never result in spiritual blessings.

 

And so we are left with this encouragement: Your legacy is important. If you can, it is good and proper to leave both a spiritual and a physical legacy to your children. But, if you can only leave one, let it be a spiritual legacy, for when you place God first, everything else will be taken care of!

 

I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread.

Psalms 37:25, NIV

 

Today is the 7th day of the 120 day challenge to study through the Old Testament, with Genesis 25-28 being the text for today. May God richly bless you as you seek to provide the legacy that only a servant of God can leave for those he loves!  

After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

Genesis 22:1-2, RSV 

 

What would you have done? I've thought a lot about this passage over the years, and I still don't know. Maybe that's why God chose Abraham to be the father of this great nation - it was because Abraham loved God more than anything else.

 

I've also wondered why God would issue such a command in the first place. It is clear from the sequence of events that He never intended for Abraham to actually sacrifice his son as a burnt offering, but Abraham didn't know this. We can only imagine what went through Abraham's mind in the events that unfolded from the moment of that command, but there are some things that we don't have to wonder about. The first is this: These was no hesitation in Abraham when it came to fulfilling the LORD's commands. Here is the very next thing we are told, after the command was issued:

 

Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac, When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. Genesis 22:3, NIV 

 

Abraham got up early! He took his son! He cut the wood for the offering! And he set out for the place that God had told him about! We are soon told that when they arrived, Abraham left his servants behind and took his son, built the alter, arranged the wood, laid his son down on the alter and raised his knife to slay his son. I don't pretend to understand all that Abraham went through and I certainly do not pretend to understand all of the reasoning behind God's command, but I do know this: After Abraham did all of that, God stopped his hand from bringing down that knife, and He said the following words:

 

"Do not lay a hand on the boy," He said. "Do not do anything to him.

Now I know that you fear God,

because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son."

Genesis 22:12, NIV 

 

"Now I know"! That's what God Himself said upon His seeing Abraham attempt to carry out one of the most difficult commands ever issued. We indeed know that God never intended for Abraham to actually sacrifice his son, but He did expect him to obey His commands. And while God will not likely ever ask any one of us to sacrifice our children on a fiery alter, there will be times in our lives when God will require us to make the difficult choice between those we love and obedience to Him.

 

And He will always require us to make the right decision! The good news is that He will always provide a way to acceptably fulfill all of His commands:

 

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place "The LORD will provide." Genesis 22:13-14, NIV 

 

There is one other thing that we might want to consider: Some 2,000 years after this event, in the same region of those same mountains in Moriah, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins. And though we may not understand everything there is about this situation, as Paul Harvey might have said, now you know the rest of the story. Today's reading is Genesis 21-24. May God richly bless your efforts to seek, understand, and obey His holy will! 

I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant.

Genesis 32:10, NIV 

 

Consider the prayer of Jacob: He had left his home shortly after deceiving his father, Isaac, in order to get the blessing that Isaac had intended to give to Jacob's brother Esau. Earlier in their lives, Jacob had "negotiated" his brother's birthright away from him as well. What's the big deal of  a blessing? Well, in this case it meant that Isaac was asking God to place one brother over another - in strength, in prominence, and in authority. What's the big deal of a birthright? Well, in this case it meant that Jacob got twice the inheritance from their father Isaac, and Isaac was a very wealthy man.

 

So now, thief and deceiver that he had been towards his brother, Jacob was coming back home to face him for the first time in over twenty years. And he was scared to death!

 

So Jacob prayed!

 

It is interesting to see how he begins that prayer. Instead of getting right to the point - "Save me", he begins as we all should begin, "I am unworthy". Then, and only then, Jacob asks God for His help - and God does help! In fact as you read through the unfolding of the events, you will see that this meeting that Jacob was so afraid of actually turned out to be a beautiful reunion of brothers who were once at enmity with one another.

 

What kind of help do you need in your life? What things are you most afraid of? Do you not think that Jacob's prayer is the pattern that you need for approaching God? The fact is that when we humble ourselves before our Maker and sincerely acknowledge that we do not deserve His kindness and faithfulness, it puts us in the proper frame of mind and lays the proper foundation for any requests that we may have.

 

It is true that none of us deserve the steadfast love and kindness of God - but we have it! It is also true that none of us deserve to the privilege of going before the Creator and asking Him for anything - but we have that as well. Since we do have this wonderful opportunity to ask the One being who not only has the right solution to every problem, but also has the ability to implement that solution, why not go to Him and humbly ask for the desires of your heart?

 

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him.

James 1:5, RSV

 

Today is day 8 of the 120 day challenge to study through the Old Testament, with Genesis 29-32 being the text for today. May God richly bless you as you humbly seek His help in every aspect of your life!