TALKING AND LISTENING TO SELF

Posted on October 11, 2024 by randscallawayffm

“So, I said to myself, this is how it really is and this is how I will fix it.”  How many times in our lives does the fear of the unknown drive us to think, say, and do things that are weirdly irrational and commonly false.  Fear drives us to do crazy things.  Abraham is strong enough in his faith to stop and listen to God, strong enough to worship God along the way in his journey, but weak when it comes to going to God first for the things that causes fear as he travels as a stranger through new lands.

We all do it.  Self-talk dangerously relies on our own wisdom that the writers of Proverbs so aptly point out. Self-talk is foolish and leads to folly in following God who made us in his own image.  When we do it again and again, how God must heave a huge sigh—but He never gives up on us!

Genesis 20

Abraham and Abimelek

Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”

4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”

6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”

8 Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”

11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

14 Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”

16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”

17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Though God’s people often forgot their God, God didn’t forget them. He kept his word. He could have given up. He could have turned his back. He could have walked away from the wretched mess, but he didn’t.  Even though Abraham did it again, saying his wife was his sister to avoid assumed trouble, God did not give up on his chosen prophet.  God led him through it to the other side.  God still does that.

“How great in our God”, we sing in worship with gladness; but stop to realize how really great is our God who does not give up on us!  Instead God sent His Son, Jesus, as the Way out of our foolish sins caused by self-talk and self-control.

When Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?” Abraham’s first, seeming lame response was, “I said to myself.”  We all do it.  We rationalize with pretense, with lies seen and unseen, resulting in behaviors which ultimately hinders our trust while highlighting our fears as we walk with God.  Our faith falters until God, who never gives up on us, bends down to intervene on the behalf of his beloved.

How great is our God?  Beyond what our minds can conceive!  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

God did not and does not give up on His beloved.  Instead, like a loving Father, He disciplines us with lessons the turn our messes into messages of Truth.  God sent His Son to clean up our mess as a demonstration of his love and everlasting faithfulness.  Max Lucado beautifully emphases God’s patience and faithfulness for us as he writes;

“When God (Jesus) became flesh and was the victim of an assassination attempt before he was two years old, he didn’t give up.

When the people from his own hometown tried to push him over a cliff, he didn’t give up.

When his brothers ridiculed him, he didn’t give up.

When he was accused of blaspheming God by people who didn’t fear God, he didn’t give up.

When Peter worshiped him at the supper and cursed him at the fire, he didn’t give up.

When people spat in his face, he didn’t spit back. When the bystanders slapped him, he didn’t slap them. When a whip ripped his sides, he didn’t turn and command the awaiting angels to stuff that whip down that soldier’s throat.

And when human hands fastened the divine hands to a cross with spikes, it wasn’t the soldiers who held the hands of Jesus steady. It was God who held them steady. For those wounded hands were the same hands that had brought light into thick and dreadful darkness. They had come to do it again.” Lucado, Encouraging Word Bible

Our response?

Trust God. Seriously and committedly, trust God. 

Avoid self-talk that hinders hearing the Voice of God. 

Possess a healthy fear and awe of God.  Come to Him with humbled obedience that grows our faith in God who knows us better than we know ourselves for it is He who created us—in His own image.

When we create a mess, admit it to yourself and confess it to God who forgives and disciplines His children in ways that are for our good and His glory.  Abraham’s lie cost him dearly. His character was damaged by loss of personal integrity. His testimony about God to his neighbors was severely damaged. And his ministry as someone who was to bring about God’s blessing in people’s lives was also hindered.  When believers sin, they are disciplined by God until they come to a place of repentance and confession. This discipline is not enjoyable, but it is profitable, and in the end, it produces peace, joy and holiness to the glory of God.

Lord,

I truly stand in awe of your unfailing love and faithfulness to us!  You are God—I am not.

Cleanse my heart of my sins.  Renew my mind with your higher ground Kingdom thinking.  Refresh my soul with your new mercies for today.  Restore the joy of you in me and me in you as you mold and shape me to be all you created me to be.  May I reflect your glory so others will know you, too.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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DON’T LOOK BACK…

Posted on October 10, 2024 by randscallawayffm

How bad can it get?  How worse will life get?  What will it take for things to turn around?  Will there be better days ahead?  When we find ourselves in the middle of raging wildfires of hate, arrogance, degradation, deprivation, perversion, horrific abuse of the weak brought on by selfishness and self-satisfaction, with no regard for anyone’s life but their own, evil seems to be an unsurmountable enemy. 

If you remember yesterday’s passage, Abraham had a discussion with the Lord about the city, Sodom, where is nephew Lot and his family resided.  The Lord and the men with him look toward Sodom before leaving Abraham.  The Lord turned to the men and said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (See Genesis 18) “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous…”

In a cautious rebuttal, knowing Lot lived there, Abraham became an advocate for his family, pleading for them to be spared.  “Will you spare the city of there a few who believe in you?”   The Lord assured him he would spare those who believed.  I wonder; Are we passionate advocates for those who need rescuing by Jesus?

Genesis 19

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”

“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”

3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”

18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! 19 Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

21 He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.)

23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

Lot and His Daughters

30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The Lord did indeed spare Lot and his immediate family but did not spare the city of evil perversion.  Evil was overcome by the Overcomer, God, while His angels of mercy protected Lot.  These hands of mercy reached out to grab the hands of Lot, his wife, and daughters when they hesitated!  How did this hit your heart?  What great compassion and love was extended through those hands! 

The command was to “Run and don’t look back!”  But one of them did. We don’t know why Lot’s wife turned to look back at this evil city.  Curiosity? Regret? Wonder over where their next meal would come from? Grieving the loss of friends?  Grieving over the loss of all their accumulated stuff of life as it was?  Even though living in this evil environment was extremely challenging and abusive; she looked back at what was her life, as evil was overcome and destroyed once and for all by the Overcomer. 

We are appalled at Lot’s wife’s response and judge her for looking back.  We might even think; “She deserved what she got—no life at all—just a salt statue!”  “Why didn’t she just obey what the Lord said?” Frankly, I’m surprised I wasn’t turned into a “salt lick” for animals when I looked back from time to time at what I thought was an easier life before following the call of God! We all do it.  Paul reminds us, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!” (Romans 3:23) The better life is to follow the Call of God.

Paul followed God’s call to leave sin behind and don’t look back with new goals:

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:7-14

The enemy is great but “greater is He (Jesus) who is in us than he (evil) who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)  Evil works hard to change our minds about God and what He says in His word to us.  It all began with Adam and Eve whose minds were changed about who God is and was.  Since the “fall” of deceptive manipulation, the battle has been raging between God and evil for our souls.  We needed a rescue!

Jesus was sent by God to earth to seek and to save the lost.  (Luke 19:10) Jesus is our Rescuer and Overcomer who daily reminds us to run from the Enemy of God whose goal is to distract, deceive and destroy our relationship with God.  God’s Holy Spirit is our constant Helper in this for we cannot do it alone.  We need God’s power to overcome.  He supplies all we need.

The call of God:

Believe in Jesus who died and rose again to rescue us. Colossians 1:13-14

Confess our sins to Jesus who redeems us from our sins “our sins to be remembered no more”! 1 John 1:9

Tell others that Jesus is the Savior and Lord they have been seeking.  Matthew 28:20

Live the Truth as we tell the Truth.  (Romans 12)  Don’t fake it.

How will we respond?

Jesus is reaching out to grab our hands and rescue us from the darkness of evil. 

Will we grab his hand and follow him out of darkness into the Light?  Will we obey His command to flee to higher ground Kingdom thinking?  Will we seek His protection and follow His plan for protection?  Or will we longingly look back at what was? 

“Resist the devil and he will flee from you” is the promise of overcoming. (James 4:7) 

Cling to the Hand who forgives, heals, renews, restores, and loves us forever.

Run from evil and don’t look back.

Lord,

Thank you for all the ways you have rescued me in my life over the years.  Many lessons were learned and there are more to come for I am a work in progress.  Thank you for saving my soul, making me whole, renewing my mind, cleansing my heart daily of what is not of you, while restoring the joy of you in me and me in you.  Thank you for opportunities, like this daily writing, to tell others about you.  Thank you for not giving up on me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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GOD KNOWS WHEN IS BEST!

Posted on October 9, 2024 by randscallawayffm

Sometimes I wonder if we put off God’s blessings by our delayed response or our arrogant disobedience.  Abram and Sarai wanted a son so badly that Sarai came up with a plan to help God’s plan be executed sooner rather than later.  After all, her biological clock is past ticking!  Abram agreed with the plan to sleep with Hagar the servant so a son could be produced—but it was not the son God promised to give them—according to His timing.  Misery followed the human response to God’s promise of taking the matter into their own hands.  But then God shows up…

God shows His unfailing, compassionate love by cleaning up the mess Abram and Sarai made along with the relationship between Hagar and Sarai.  God was faithful to His Chosen Abram and Sarai, even in their unfaithfulness.  On this new day, with new names and restored relationships with God, learning from the mistakes of the past, Abraham is found by the Lord who is ready to fulfill His promise. 

This conversation between the Lord and Abraham is precious to me and touches my heart deeply.  We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God! I’ve messed up from time to time, gone my own way while thinking I was helping God out. This only served to postponed what God wanted to do in and through me.  But there is a Way back to God.  God forgives with power given to us to change our ways in Jesus Name.  He resumes the work of turning ashes of defeat caused by arrogance into the beauty of loving and serving Him once more. 

Yes, this powerful, loving, informative conversation between Abraham and His Lord demonstrates God’s compassionate, merciful nature toward all who bow down before Him and serve Him with gladness.   

Genesis 18

The Three Visitors

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”

“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”

7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.

“There, in the tent,” he said.

10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”

But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The relationship between Abraham and his Lord—prompted by Lord as He appeared to Him—seems to be in restoration mode.  Abraham has learned a valuable lesson—He is not God.  Only God is God.  We bow down before Him.  We demonstrate our love for Him by serving Him.  We show our faith with believing and obeying what He says is best in His timing!

Speaking of timing; Abraham wasted no time in serving the Lord and the visitors with Him.  “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”  Was Abraham missing the communion of relationship with the Lord?  Did Abraham feel like he was in “time out” for misbehaving badly?  I know how I feel when a loved one we haven’t seen for a while comes to visit—we are giddy with excitement.  We pull food from the cabinets and fridge to serve them.  We put out fresh towels in the bathroom.  We do this naturally because of our love for them.  We have missed them and we want to know it as we show it!

Did Abraham’s response to quickly serve with obedience pleasing to the Lord?  Apparently so such so that the Lord warmed up to Abraham’s love and service and let him in on what He had planned—with a birth announcement!!  What a treat to be back in communion with the Lord and to be shown His favor and blessing once more.  Abraham walking faithfully with the Lord again. He went back to His tent a happy man.

This passage serves as reminders to us:

There is NOTHING we have done that God will not forgive in Jesus Name. 

There is NOTHING too hard for the Lord. 

There is NOTHING that God does not already know. 

Upon repenting of all our sins to God; There is NOTHING that stands in the way of a loving, growing, intimate relationship with God, the Father through Jesus, His Son.

There is NO ONE who can come to the Father, except through Jesus our Lord and Savior who died in our place for our sins then rose again to give us hope of eternal life with Him in relationship to Him—forever! 

So, there’s NOTHING better than a relationship with God!

All because of JESUS who truly turns “Graves into Gardens,” from ashes to beauty.  This is the relationship we all seek—unfailing, relentless, unconditional, unchanging love.  Let’s pause to bow down and praise Him…

… I searched the world
But it couldn’t fill me
Man’s empty praise
And treasures that fade
Are never enough

… Then You came along
And put me back together
And every desire
Is now satisfied
Here in Your love

… Oh, there’s nothing better than You
There’s nothing better than You
Lord, there’s nothing
Nothing is better than You

… I’m not afraid
To show You my weakness
My failures and flaws
Lord, You’ve seen ’em all
And You still call me friend

… ‘Cause the God of the mountain
Is the God of the valley
There’s not a place
Your mercy and grace
Won’t find me again

… Oh, there’s nothing better than You
There’s nothing better than You
Lord, there’s nothing
Nothing is better than You

… You turn mourning to dancing
You give beauty for ashes
You turn shame into glory
You’re the only one who can

… You turn graves into garden
You turn bones into armies
You turn seas into highways
You’re the only one who can
You’re the only one who can

… Oh, there’s nothing better than You
There’s nothing better than You…

(Graves Into Gardens, Brandon Lake, Elevation Worship, Songwriters: Christopher Joel Brown / Steven Furtick / Brandon Lake / Tiffany Hammer)

Lord,

Thank you for saving my soul and making me whole again.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

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THE COVENANT DETAILS REVEALED

Posted on October 8, 2024 by randscallawayffm

In the world of law and lawyers, contracts are written between two parties to assure fairness in the workplace, in business and in personal transactions.  Adherence is important in keeping the contract. Contracts have specific “line items” indicating how the contract must be adhered to for a contract is binding and irrevocable—unless you find a “loophole” which seems to be the main work of lawyers today—to find a way out of doing what was originally agreed upon. 

It seems to be human nature to look for loopholes in life with God and others.  There are tasks that we think are highly offensive, take up too much time, or requires just too much from us.  So, we question God with why along with, “God, is this really necessary?”  All because we do not want to do what it takes to fully trust and obey the One who has our best interests at heart. Yikes. I am so grateful that God forgive us when we think we know what is best for us and fail miserably.

God’s covenant with Aram has new “line items” that required of Abram’s adherence of obedience.  The Lord appears to Him.  God then declares who He is with the call to “walk before me faithfully and be blameless.”  No problem for Abram.  He has learned his faith lessons well and has succeed to grow in faith so far. 

But then God asks him to do a specific task as a sign of the covenant between God and Abram and all his descendants after him.  “You want me to do what, now?”  Did Abram look for a loophole in the contract that day?

Genesis 17

The Covenant of Circumcision

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”

19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Real faith doesn’t seek loopholes around God’s call or in the fulfillment of His call. “On that very day Abraham…” Abraham quickly obeyed the covenant promise between them without questioning the why of circumcision.  But, Abram did wonder how a child could be born in their advanced age—with a chuckle.    

Real faith walks humbly with God consistently.  The word “blameless” is sometimes translated “perfect,” but it does not mean “sinless,” for that would be an impossible goal for anyone to reach. It means “single-hearted, without blame, sincere, wholly devoted to the Lord.” It was a call for integrity.  Abraham’s proves his faith is sincere in his prompt obedience to God. God keeps his promises and rewards our obedient faith. When God promises to direct our paths, we can be confident he will carefully lead us.

Real faith is a relationship with God that is sincere as we respond to God.  The phrase “My covenant” is used often in this chapter and defines God’s relationship with Abram.  Imagine Abraham returning to his camp to inform the people of God’s covenant stipulations, (especially the men), that he had a new name with purpose and promise! Some of them must have smiled and said, “Father of a multitude! Why, he and his wife are too old to have children!”

No matter what others said or believed, he looked at the dust beneath his feet or the stars in the heavens, and whenever anyone called him by name, Abraham was reminded of God’s gracious promise to give him many descendants.

God’s covenant with Abraham also includes us! All who trust Jesus Christ as Savior are spiritual children of Abraham (Galatians 3:6–9), and that will be a vast multitude (Revelation 7:9). God’s covenant promises to redeem us and be with us always is accomplished in Jesus, His Son.  Jesus is the promise of salvation delivered by God to us.  God’s love and commitment to His created culminates and is demonstrated through His Son, Jesus. Why?  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  John 3:16-17

CIRCUMCISION’S DEEPER MEANING—

When God commanded Abraham to circumcise all the males, this wasn’t the shock we all think it was at that time.  Warren Wiersbe, theologian and Bible commentator writes;

“Circumcision was not a new rite, for other nations practiced it in Abraham’s time; but God now gave it new importance and special meaning. For the descendants of Abraham, circumcision was not an option; it was an obligation.”

“Since God’s covenant involved Abraham’s descendants or his ‘seed,’ it was fitting that the mark of the covenant was to be on the male organ of generation. Since all people are conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5), this special mark would remind them that they were accepted by God because of His gracious covenant.”

“The Jewish people eventually made this ritual a means of salvation; circumcision was a guarantee that they were accepted by God. They did not realize that circumcision stood for something much deeper: the person’s relationship to God. God wants to “circumcise our hearts” so that we are totally devoted to him in love and obedience (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4; Romans 2:28, 29; 4:9–12). This “spiritual circumcision” is accomplished at conversion when the sinner believes in Christ and is baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). This baptism identifies the believer with Christ in his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, and also in his circumcision (Colossians 2:11, 12; Luke 2:21). It is not ‘the circumcision of Moses’ but ‘the circumcision of Christ’ that is important to the Christian believer.”—Wiersbe, Wiersbe Study Bible

Later, the Jewish leaders were confronted by God’s Son, Jesus on this issue of the circumcision of the heart.  And they had Him killed.  God knew they would.  But through Jesus death AND resurrection, we are made new in our relationship to God!—God’s Plan all along.

Sarai got a new name with a promise, too.  She will now be called Sarah, the mother of many nations.”  How did she respond? –with a chuckle.  More to come…stay tuned!

Lord,

Cleanse our hearts by removing all that offends you by cutting away our sins by your love, mercy, and grace.  Renew our minds with your higher ground thinking.  Refresh our souls with your tender new mercies for today.  Restore the joy of your salvation at work within us as we enjoy a wholly committed relationship with you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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BLESSINGS DERAILED BY IMPATIENCE

Posted on October 7, 2024 by randscallawayffm

There shall be showers of blessing:
  This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
  Sent from the Savior above.

 Showers of blessing,
  Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
    But for the showers we plead.

How many times have we impatiently jumped in to humanly correct a problem that our Sovereign God has already promised to solve?  What are we thinking?  Do we think that our idea would save God time and move His work along a bit faster?  Maybe we even rationalized that our way is what God wanted all along?  Is this what prompts our arrogant prayers at times with the plea, “Lord, bless our plans;” instead of the humble prayer of, “Lord, what is your plan?”

We must learn to stick to the prayer Jesus taught us to pray believing that God will answer for our good and His glory.  We must pray to God, The Father with honest, sincere, patient hearts and plead, “May your will be done, in your time, in your way.”  Showers of blessings that our Father wants to pour out over us are derailed or postponed at times by our impatient self-will. Impatient living affects everyone around us.  Oh Lord, help us all, In Jesus Name, Amen.

There shall be showers of blessing—
  Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
  Sound of abundance of rain.

Showers of blessing,
  Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
    But for the showers we plead.

Not too long ago, Abram was assured and reminded by God that He would bless him with offspring.  (Genesis 15) But the aging Abram and Sarai faltered in their faith and just couldn’t see how, so they came up with a plan…a human plan.

Genesis 16

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”

6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward all his brothers.”

13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.


WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

There shall be showers of blessing;
  Send them upon us, O Lord!
Grant to us now a refreshing;
  Come, and now honor Thy Word.

Showers of blessing,
  Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
    But for the showers we plead.

In this story of God, God reveals His love and compassion to Hagar, who was used and abused by Sarai who she served with obedience.  Note that God sought her out and found her.  He saw her hurt and misery and gave her what no one else did—love, attention, and care with a way forward.  This Egyptian, who knew nothing of God except through Abram and Sarai, know knew God for herself— “I have now seen the One who sees me.”  God comes to all who call out for mercy. 

There shall be showers of blessing;
  O that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
  Now as on Jesus we call!

Showers of blessing,
  Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
    But for the showers we plead.

God gives purpose with a plan for Hagar who has run away.  “Where do you come from and where are you going?” Did that hit your heart?  It did mine.  What a God we have that helps us see the fruitlessness our plan that is no plan at all that can save us!  God gives direction to Hagar that won’t be easy but doable with His help.  “Go back to Sarai and submit to her.”  Wow, go back where the abuse began?  God, there must be a better way!  But Hagar did what “the God who sees her” said to do for she now has a relationship with God.  He is the God who saved her. God changes everything in Hagar.

God rescues those who are caught up in the human, sinful plans of others.  Then God steps in to correct and redirect His humans back to His perfect plan.  God loves us that much! God is unfailing even when we fail Him.  God’s love is unchanging even though we change our minds about how we love Him back.  God is faithful—always—even when we are not.  Our God is amazing!  To God be the glory! 

Abram and Sarai lost patience with God and decided to do life on their own for a time. We learn that life didn’t’ go well for them and all those around them. Peace alluded the household.  The relationship between Abram and Sarai was tense and intense.

But then God stepped in to do what He does best—He made a way through it all.  God displays His perfect patience and delivers what He promises no matter what humans try to do to derail His Plan.  The blessing over Abram is fulfilled.  Stay tuned…there’s more!

There shall be showers of blessing,
  If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
  If we let God have His way.

Lord,

Forgive us our sins of impatience that lead to bad behaviors that are not of you. Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, refresh our souls with your tender new mercies daily, and restore the joy of your salvation at work within us to be and do all that pleases you.  I believe for you have seen me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Showers of blessing,
  Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
    But for the showers we plead.

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GOD’S ASSURANCE

Posted on October 6, 2024 by randscallawayffm

It is much easier at the beginning of God’s call on our lives for we have yet to know all that we will need to be, do, provide, give, endure, protect, and conquer as overcomers with God in this world to fulfill His call.  We are giddy with excitement at first, just knowing that God, the Creator of the all, is inviting us to join Him in His work!  But as the days go by in actually doing what He asks; we wonder how will God’s will be accomplished in and through us as opposition builds against us as a response. Spiritual warfare is no “walk in the park” and is unavoidable.   

What if we don’t have what it takes to do all that God asks us to be and do?  The work can become so overwhelming, so incredibly hard to accomplish, with seemingly no way for certain things to happen given certain conditions, that we fall prey, like roadkill for crows, to being eaten alive in the process of fulfilling what God said would happen in and through us. Before it happens; we wonder.  Are we on the right road?  Are we getting closer?  Is it possible to even get there?

Abram is at this place on the journey with God.  Abram’s faith needs reassuring by the God who called him to leave home and all that he knew as “normal” behind him to follow God to a new land that is already occupied by all the “ites” who live there.  The call of God doesn’t make sense at the moment, especially to childless Abram so he asks for assurance—that blessed assurance—that can only come from God who called him.

Genesis 15

The Lord’s Covenant With Abram

15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.
    I am your shield,
    your very great reward.”

2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inheritmy estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”

8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”

10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God knows our hearts and knows what is on our minds.  Before Abram even asks for assurance, God begins the conversation with; “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” I love that about God, don’t you?  He knows our need before we express it.  He knows what’s on our minds before we say it out loud to Him.  This alone gives us confidence with assurance from our God who never leaves or forsakes us and is with us always—even to the very end of the age!

Our blessed assurance expands exponentially through Jesus.  Jesus, Son of God, came to earth, moved into the neighborhood of humanity, and demonstrated God’s love for us.  He showed the world how to commune, be one with God, listen for direction from God, follow what God says faithfully coupled with His relentless willingness to trust and obey God’s plan to save us!  It’s all verified and clarified in His prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray!  “May YOUR Kingdom come, May YOUR will be done…”

Lord,

Thank you for these thoughts that compel us to think beyond the words written to the deeper message of your love for us that prompted your gift of salvation.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for saving us, teaching us, and being with us always. May your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  I’m yours.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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TEST OF CHARACTER

Posted on October 5, 2024 by randscallawayffm

How far would we go to rescue a relative who has been less than fair and helpful to us?  What we believe about God will be known by our first response when trouble comes and a rescue is needed.  God is building His character in Abram.  Abram is a human created in the image of God, just like all of us. Because Abram’s faith is growing, he is now beginning to behave in ways that are like our compassionate God.

War breaks out on the earth as kings fight over power, land, and greater wealth.  Abram gets involved when his nephew, Lot, and his family, have been taken captive.  Abram could have said, “Well, that’s the land he chose, so too bad for him.”  “Lot made his bed and now he must lie in it.”  “This is payback from God because he took the best from me.”  These are all human responses we have heard and maybe said ourselves.  But Abram instead responded like God would have—He left immediately to rescue Lot.  Can we just pitch our tents on that thought for a while?  

Genesis 14

Abram Rescues Lot

14 At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, 2 these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley). 4 For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim 6 and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. 7 Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar.

8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. 11 The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

13 A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
    Creator of heaven and earth.
20 And praise be to God Most High,
    who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”

22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Martin Luther King, Jr said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”  Above all, this powerful preacher with a heart for God called on mankind to seek a change of thought that would in turn reflect God’s character in our response and behavior. What King taught was deeper than most people realize, deeper than the insane prejudices, deeper than unfairness and inequality—but in building the character of God in mankind.  It begins with believing God with faith to trust and obey what He says. When we believe and are led by God, we find ourselves responding quickly without thought to our own interests, comforts, and conveniences or to what others around us think. “The time is always right to do what is right.”—MLK

And what does God require of us?

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

Yes, Abram is showing all the signs of God impacting his life by building Godly character within him.  This is the story of God who works through ordinary, flawed humans who humbly walk with Him.  They seek God’s direction and help to do what He requires from all of us; “act justly and love mercy.” 

As we give our lives to Christ and repent of our sins, God’s grace-filled work begins.  After the rescue, we are safely brought into His Presence.  By the power of His Holy Spirit, a transformation of how we think begins take place as we walk humbly with God.  We discover that our decision to follow Jesus changes everything about us—beginning with our character.  We even amaze ourselves with our new response to daily challenges that used to stir anger and cause unwise behavior.

Believing in Jesus and His work on the cross, reconciles (reconnects) us to God, our Father and Creator—the most important relationship we will ever have!  Our new relationship with God is full of love, mercy, and grace as He goes to work on our character.  But it all begins with Jesus who went to hell and back to rescue us!

Abram left the comforts of his established home to go and rescue Lot.

Jesus left the comforts of heaven to come down to earth to rescue us.

This is the character of God.  This story is about God whose character traits form in all who believe and trust in Him.  Abram exercised faith in God and made right decisions. We can count on God to work through the patterns and roles in our lives, too.

Think about it…

Adam and Eve marred the image of God within them; but the good news is that when God redeems an individual, He begins to restore the original image of God, creating a “new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). That redemption is only available by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior from the sin that separates us from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Through Christ, we are made new creations in the likeness of God (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Grace wins.

Lord,

Thank you for your rescue, redemption, and restoration.  But I’m not finished yet in my transformation.  Thank you for not giving up on me.  My heart, mind and soul are in your beautiful hands. Thank you for loving us the way you do. May your Holy Spirit lead me to what is true with courage to live what is true.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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DECISION TO SEPARATE

Posted on October 4, 2024 by randscallawayffm

“This town ain’t big enough for the both of us!”  This is the line shouted by the “bad guy” to the “good guy” in most westerns right before a gun battle ensues between them.  The good guy doesn’t want to shoot it out with the bad guy but is ready to do so to protect himself, his town, and his family.  We watched and cheered for the good guy to win the battle. In the old westerns, the war between good and evil was nearly always won by the heroic good guys by the end of the movie.  All the quarreling, harassing, and fighting over possessions was solved when the good guy defeated the bad guy.  The towns people cheered and the world was set right once more—all in an hour and half. 

Truly the area in which Abram and Lot pitched their tents, raised stock, and invested in silver and gold, which provided wealth for their families was becoming too crowded!  But look what God is doing in Abram!  Abram is developing wisdom as he walks in faith with the Lord.  Notice what Abram did first—he went back to the place where he had met the Lord earlier and bows in front of an altar he had built to worship God. Could his prayer to the Lord have been about the overcrowding situation?  Did he ask God for how to solve the issue with his nephew, Lot? Could he have prayed, “Lord, he’s family, what do I do that will be best for all concerned?”

How many times have we bowed in an altar of prayer, asking the Lord to give us wisdom in family issues, quarrels, and misunderstandings?  God will provide help when we ask Him.  The answer might not be what we think should happen, if fact,most times it is not, “for God’s thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

But when we ask for wisdom, with a sincere heart and listening ears, God will answer with the right solution at the right time in the right Spirit.  I can testify of how God has done it over and over for me!

Genesis 13

Abram and Lot Separate

So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.

3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.

5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7 And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.

8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.

14 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

18 So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

  • Abram consulted God in prayer.  Abram’s relationship with God is growing his faith.  God is pleased and blesses Abram with wisdom for the journey.
  • Abram listens to God’s wisdom with a solution for the overcrowding problem that has cause an outbreak of quarrels among the family who fight for and defend their territory.
  • Abram set aside his own interests and gives Lot the honor to choose.  Lot looked around and chose what was best for him.  “Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.”
  • Abram is blessed by God for his obedience to God.  “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.”  ALL belongs to God.  ALL we need in the eyes of the Lord is given to us by God in His timing for our good. To God be the glory!
  • Abram moves on with God in the lead.  So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.

PAUSE TO PRAY AND REFLECT–

What family issue is troubling with seemingly no clear solution?

What financial dilemma looms in the horizon that seems impossible to resolve?

What do we do in the wait for resolution and peace?

Have we cried out for wisdom, insight and understanding—with willing hearts ready to receive it from God?  (take a deep dive into Proverbs 2)

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

Lord,

Your story strengthens our faith as we read and watch how Abram’s faith and focus on you grew on his journey.  Abram’s faith led Him to seek your wisdom in a troubling family situation.  Abram then willing set aside what he wanted for what you told him to do—give Lot the honor of choice.  When we trust and obey, you provide the way to peace.  Give us wisdom, Lord for our journey today.  Guide us in all we think, say, and do.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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GO—WITH PROMISES!

Posted on October 3, 2024 by randscallawayffm

Father Abraham had many sons
Many sons had Father Abraham
I am one of them and so are you
So let’s just praise the Lord

Admit it, if grew up in church you just sang those words and now the tune will be stuck in your head all day long!  But the truth is, God called Abram, gave him a new name Abraham, and then did exactly what the song said—God made Abraham the Father of the nation of Israel! “Many sons had Father Abraham…”

But first, Abram had to do his part, obey God’s call. Abram had to leave all he knew and go with God.  “So Abram went…”.  God blessed Abram to be a blessing as he trusted and obeyed God. But in his human nature, there were “hiccups” of faith following along the way.  May we learn from Abram as we read with hearts, minds, and souls guided by God’s Holy Spirit who leads us to all that is true.

Genesis 12

The Call of Abram

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 “I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.”[b]

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

Abram in Egypt

10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

17 But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Randy and I understand the call of God to leave home and all that you have known.  We have learned that life is harder not doing what God says because HE knows what lies ahead and we do not.  We “fly blindly” into the work if we only answer God’s call but do not consult God at each step of the journey.  The “call” includes surrender to God to trust and obey—wherever HE leads. 

We’ve all heard what other believers have experienced, “God does not call the equipped but equips the called.”  We must be careful not to use this as an excuse when we fail to follow God in all the details of life and throw up our hands with “oh, well”.  These words come from the mistakes we make on the journey of “GO” when we do not allow God to do what God does best—lead the way!  Humbly seek God, as Abram did.

Abram obeyed by faith (Hebrews 11:8). True faith is based on the Word of God and leads to obedience. God would not bless and use Abram and Sarai unless they were in the place of His designed Will for them.  This is still true for us today!  Are we where God wants us to be?

God called Abram out of unrighteous living.  God called and then began to work in Abram’s life. Salvation and rescue from evil to all that is God happens when grace is offered to sinner who respond in faith! (See Ephesians 2:8) God called Abram out of idolatry.  Abram was living in Ur of the Chaldees, a city devoted to Nannar, the moon-god. Abram did not know the true God, and had done nothing to deserve knowing Him, but God graciously called him. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16).

God called Abram by name to be what he was not—yet!  The remarkable thing about God’s call of Abram and Sarai was that they were childless!  Abram means “exalted father,” but he wasn’t a father at all! They were the least likely candidates to have a family and build a great nation. But God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8, 9), and by calling and blessing a barren couple, the Lord revealed the greatness of His power and His glory. Abram would be named “Abraham,” which means “father of many nations.”

God called imperfect people.  Imperfections do not negate the call of God.  Abram and Sarai were not perfect, but their walk was generally characterized by faith and faithfulness. When they sinned, they suffered for it; and the Lord was always ready to forgive when they repented.  Our imperfect lives are filled with a series of “new beginnings” by our gracious Father who perfectly forgives us in Jesus Name when we repent.  Accept failures as lessons on the journey with God.  Even though we fail him at times, He never fails us.  It is not in His nature or character.

God’s Mission will be accomplished and His Promises fulfilled.  It is not up to us but up to God who is always faithful.  Warren Wiersbe writes; “God did not give Abram reasons or explanations; He simply gave him promises: “I will show you . . . I will make you . . . I will bless you . . . I will bless those who bless you.” God promised to show him a land, to make him into a great nation, and to use that nation to bless the whole world. God blesses us that we might be a blessing to others, and His great concern is that the whole world might be blessed. The missional mandate of the church does not begin with John 3:16 or Matthew 28:18–20. It begins with God’s covenant with Abram. We are blessed that we might be a blessing.” –Wiersbe Study Bible

Abram’s Response to God

There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.  Abram learned to worship God while seeking His direction.  More than once, when God speaks; Abram learns to stop, listen, trust, and obey. 

When God intervenes in our lives—is it not monumental? When seeking God’s will for the next step, it is not wise to go to an altar of surrender and ask what HE wants, letting go of what we think?  I have found it helpful throughout my life to build a place in our home where I can commune with God.  I cannot do life without Him!  Only then can I stand on the promises of God—the greatest promise being, “I will be with you always.”  Always and forever.

Lord,

There is much to learn about YOU and your character from the life of Abram. Thank you for helping us grow closer in our walk with you reading about the faith of our “fathers”. 

I surrender this morning.  I give all of me to all of you.  Forgive me of my sins as I forgive others who have sinned against me.  Lead me to turn from evil and run to You.  Guide my thoughts by renewing my mind.  Thank you for saving me and setting me free from all that hinders our relationship.  Make me a blessing to others.  To you be the glory!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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THE DANGER OF UNITY

Posted on October 2, 2024 by randscallawayffm

Wait, what?  Yep, if you are lifer in the church, you have seen it happen more than once.  God works within the Body of Christ to grow and mature the people from the inside out and outside in.  People come because they are drawn to the smiling faces who are in awe of what God is doing in their church.  All kinds of people come because of who they first see when they arrive.  They see Jesus on the faces and feel the positive energy of the staff and volunteers—all of God’s work among them.  Let’s admit, there is great strength and encouragement in numbers. With the growing numbers of people attending come more opportunities to join God in the work He is doing among His people.  Lost people find Jesus who bring other lost people who are seeking what they are missing, too. 

The Enemy of God hates it when unity with God and with His people happens.  So, the old tricks of deceit and manipulation of how to think about God are pulled out the bag he continues to use.  Same bag, same tricks.  While God is work doing great things; the people become arrogant and believe the work being done is because of their efforts.  This is the first sign of danger.  Patting each other on the back; leaders think they no longer need God.  “Thank you, Lord God” we sing happily in worship. But later, in our everyday life of serving, we arrogantly think, “we’ve got this, God.”  “Thank you for helping us get started.”  God begins to be put aside to pursue what we want for ourselves—”making a name for ourselves.”  THIS is the danger of unity among a people who leave unity with God. 

We become just a bunch of “babbling” church goers in need of restoring our relationship with God through Jesus.  “Apart from Me, you can do nothing,” (John 15), words of Jesus echo in our minds as churches split because of arrogance, pride, selfish ambition, and greed. God’s work diminishes when His people think they have become God.

Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

From Shem to Abram

10 This is the account of Shem’s family line.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father[d] of Arphaxad. 11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.[e]

14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

Abram’s Family

27 This is the account of Terah’s family line.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. 29 Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. 30 Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.

31 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.

32 Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

It hasn’t been that long ago that the Enemy used his tricks for the first time to deceive Adam and Eve into thinking they could be God!  Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  (Read all of Genesis 3 to refresh our memories.) Since it worked the first time, he will keep using them.

But we have help! Jesus reminds us to stay in unity with Him!  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”—Jesus, John 15:5

Paul mentors Timothy with; “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” 1 Timothy 4:16

Paul warns all church leaders; “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:1-6

Jesus reveals the outcome of forgetting and leaving behind why we do what we do; “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” –Revelation 2:2-4 (To the Ephesus church)

We can do all the “things” but the main thing is why we do it and for Whom we do it.  We must be in unity with God, seeking Him and His will first, before doing anything of significance for God.  We join God; He does not join us.  God plans; we trust and obey His plan.  Jesus, Son of Man/Son of God trusted and obeyed God while staying in complete unity with God as our supreme example. 

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-8)

Pause, reflect, be still, let go, allow God’s Holy Spirit to convict, correct, console, comfort, and compel us to stay in unity with Him.

In Jesus Name, we pray, Amen

At the end of this passage, we are introduced to the next cast of characters in the story of God!  Abram and Sarai faithfully believe in God.  They will demonstrate a few wonders and doubts for they are human but they stay in unity with God.  God will work through this beautiful couple in ways that will amaze those around them.  But that’s how God works!  God—always at work on the behalf of those who believe, trust, and obey because of their unity with God.

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