Month: October 2015

From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Yahweh there and he called on the name of Yahweh. Genesis 12:8 HCSB

I have seen many times how God has blessed those who faithfully follow Him and are obedient to obey Him and His laws. I don’t understand why some people are blessed more than others, but we must trust God that He knows what is best in every situation. God promised to bless Abram if he would be obedient and go where He told him to go. Abram packed up all of his possessions and faithfully followed God’s plan for his life. God has a plan for your life and wants you to be obedient and follow, even if it means leaving your comfort zone.

More than once, Abram built and altar and worshiped God. This verse tells us that Abram built an altar in Bethel and called on the name of Yahweh. The name Yahweh is the sacred name for God. The town of Bethel was about 20 miles from the city of Shechem. It became the center of worship for the Israelites. The Hebrew meaning of Bethel is “House of God”.

Challenge: Worshiping God is one way to indicate your dependence on Him and your willingness to obey and follow His plan for your life. Spend time worshiping God today and plan to be in the “House of God” on Sunday to worship with other believers.

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. Genesis 12:7 HCSB

We commonly call the front center of our worship center an altar. Often, people will come to the front and pray at the “altar”. We ordain men to become deacons and ministers of the Gospel at the altar. Men and women make commitments to be faithful to each other in marriage at the altar. Parents bring their children and commit to raise them in the ways of the Lord at the altar. It is at the altar where the elements of the Lord’s Supper are served to believers as they remember what Christ has done for them on the cross. Our altar today is not like the one built by Abram, but it serves the same purpose.

Along the way Abram built altars to God and worshiped Him. Altars were used in many parts of the world and in many different religions, but for God’s people, the altar was more than a place of worship and sacrifice: it was a place to encounter God and have communion with Him. Built of stones, these altars often remained for years and were a constant reminder of God’s protection and faithfulness to keep His promises.

Challenge: You can have an altar in your home where you regularly go and encounter God through prayer and reading His Word. We all need to regularly renew our love and loyalty to God at the altar. The altar is a reminder that God is at the center of our lives. Regular worship helps us remember how good God is and motivates us to obey Him.

He took his wife Saria, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people he had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Genesis 12:5-6 HCSB

The land of Canaan was the land that we now know as the land of Israel. It was a small section of land located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The Promised Land was a fertile land where God could establish a new nation of people that would faithfully follow Him and His directions. God called Abram to leave a godless land where the people worshiped idols and pagan gods. Abram traveled from Ur to the land of Canaan by way of Haran. This would not have been the most direct route, but it did follow the rivers. A direct route would have taken them across a vast desert land.

By taking “all” of his possessions, Abram was making a total commitment to God’s plan and direction in his life. When we make a commitment to Christ, we should give Him all that we have, all that we are, and all that we hope to be. As believers, everything we have (time, talents, and money) should be committed to God and His glory. As we surrender everything to God, He will take it, bless it, and use it for His glory.

Challenge: Have you committed your “all” to God? Does He own everything you have? God still desires for a people who will faithfully follow Him and His directions. Who are you faithfully following?

I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. Genesis 12:2 HCSB

Over the years I have had people ask me, “How can I know God’s will for my life?” That is a hard question to answer, but I have found four ways that help in discerning God’s plan and will for one’s life. If you are faced with an important decision, I would suggest the following:
1. Seek God in prayer and ask for His leadership and for Him to impress upon you what would bring honor and glory to His kingdom.
2. Read God’s Word and ask Him to reveal His will for your life.
3. Seek the wise counsel of Christian friends and family who love you and want only the best for you. They can provide some insights that you may not have perceived or understood.
4. Examine what your instincts tell you to do. If you are in God’s will, you will feel or sense a “rightness” and peace about the situation. You will not experience looming doubts. If you do not feel at peace about your decision, wait for a period of time and revisit the possibility until you have a good feeling about the decision you are making.

If you follow God’s plan and direction for your life, He will bless you and you will be a blessing to others just as God promised to Abram. As you obey and do what God is calling you to do, you will succeed. You may not become famous like Abram, but you can feel confident knowing that you are following God’s plan for your life and He is using you to bless those around you.

Challenge: Seek God’s will in every situation. He wants to be involved in every aspect of your life and give you direction. The next time you have a major decision to make, consider the four steps suggested above.

The Lord said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. Genesis 12:1 HCSB

As a minister I have moved several times over the last 39 years following God’s call and direction in my life. Debbie and I have lived in seven different towns. Each time we have moved it has been difficult, but we have felt God’s call to move to a new location and assume a new challenge in ministry. We have felt anxious and uncertain at times, but we knew that as we followed God’s will for our lives everything would work out.

God spoke directly to Abram and told him to pack up his possessions and move to a foreign land. There is no indication God spoke to him in a dream or vision. Many times I have wished God would talk to me audibly or write on the wall so I would know His will without any doubt. That has never happened for me, but each time I have felt a sense that it was right and what God wanted me to do.

God called Abram out of his comfort zone. By the standards of that day, Abram had achieved great success. He had wealth, was surrounded by his family, and had animals and slaves. It was a monumental task to pack up everything and move, especially since Abram could not call the moving company to pack everything up and move his possessions like we can today. Also, he would have had to travel to his new home by foot, and it would have taken months to get there. He would not have known what he would encounter along the way. The easiest thing for Abram to say was, “No way!” Instead he faithfully followed God’s directions.

Challenge: God sometimes calls us out of our comfort zone so we can learn to depend upon Him and become more effective for His glory. What is God calling you to do today? Is He calling you out of your comfort zone? Step out in faith and depend on God to provide for your needs.

They said to each other, “Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky.” Let us make a name for ourselves; Otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:3-4 HCSB

God has graciously given me four wonderful children. I could not ask for any better. God is good. As obedient as they generally were, there were memorable times that I would give them instructions and rules and they would elect to disobey me and do what they wanted rather than follow my directions. When they disobeyed, it often resulted in negative consequences.

From the beginning of time man has disobeyed God. God provides rules and direction just like a parent gives direction to a child. Because of God’s great love, He provided rules to protect and care for His children. Just like a child who disobeys his parents, man has chosen to disobey God. Adam and Eve willfully disobeyed God’s directions. Now the people of earth disobeyed God’s command to be fruitful and fill the earth. The people wanted to band together and build a big tower so as to make a name for themselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth. This was in direct rebellion against God’s command.

Challenge: Have you willfully disobeyed God? Seek to know and follow God’s rules and directions; they exists for your benefit.

Therefore its name is called Babylon, for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. Genesis 11:9 HCSB

Have you ever heard a group of people speaking a different language and wish you could understand what they were saying? Recently at the grocery store there were three people speaking Spanish. I overheard their conversation, but I could not understand anything they were saying. They were laughing and enjoying being together, but I could not join in their laughter because I did not understand what they were laughing about.

God confused the language of the whole earth. One person could not understand another. It was only natural for all of those speaking the same language to band together because they could communicate with each other. Babylon was originally called Babel, which is the Hebrew word for “confuse”.

Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2 is the reversal of the “Tower of Babel”. The people from many different nations and languages were in Jerusalem for the Passover meal when they suddenly were able to understand the message and Good News of Jesus Christ because it was being spoken in his or her own tongue. Each one miraculously heard and understood the truth of Jesus Christ.

Challenge: Sometimes people hear the message of Christ and they do not understand or accept it. It is not because it is in a different language, but it is because they have hardened their hearts and minds and refuse to accept the free gift of God – forgiveness of sin – through His Son, Jesus Christ. Do you have ears to hear the Good News?

So from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. Genesis 11:8 HCSB

No matter what man does he cannot thwart the plans of God. He will use people and circumstances to bring about His will in each and every situation. God scattered the people over the face of the whole earth to accomplish His plan for man to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. Even though scattering is seen as a negative activity in this passage – in a sense it was punishment for man’s prideful attitude. God used the scattering to accomplish His plan for all mankind.

God scattered and sent all of mankind to every area of the earth. Throughout the Bible we find that God sent people to accomplish His will. God sent Moses to lead the Israelites from Egypt. God sent Jonah to proclaim His message to Nineveh. God sent Ananias to find Saul to prepare him for ministry. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die and pay the price for the sins of men to be forgiven. God used persecution to scatter the people and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Challenge: Where is God sending you? To your neighbor? To a work associate? To a relative? Or to a foreign country? Sometimes God uses negative experience to accomplish His plan. Praise God that He is always working His will and direction in every person’s life. God has a plan and is working it in your life. Read Jeremiah 29:11.

Then the Lord came down to look over the city and the tower that the men were building. The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech. Genesis 11:5-7 HCSB

God has allowed me to travel to many different countries. I traveled across Europe as a senior in college and have taken groups to Israel twice. God has given me the opportunity to participate in mission trips to Mexico and Belarus. I have had trouble communicating with those who do not speak English. While in Mexico and Belarus, I had an interpreter who translated what I said and told me what others were saying.

God came down and observed the prideful attitude of men who thought they could accomplish anything and did not need God. Man basically felt that he could be his own God. God realized that man was willfully disobeying Him and had no desire to fill the earth as He had commanded. God’s solution to this problem was to create numerous languages so the people would have to scatter and fill the earth. Years later there are 6,909 living languages in the world.

Challenge: Obey God’s commands. Try learning a new language. Consider teaching English as a second language. Remember that God loves all the people of the world – He deliberately created many different nationalities and languages.

They said to each other, “Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky.” Let us make a name for ourselves; Otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:3-4 HCSB

I had the opportunity to visit the Twin Towers before 9/11 and to actually go up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building in New York City. These buildings were impressive and are a testimony of the skills and abilities of man to build great skyscrapers. I have also toured the stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play football. The big screen in the middle of the building is seven stories tall and even the smaller televisions on each end are 52 feet tall. It is amazing what man can build.

The people of earth had become very accomplished. They could make bricks for building structures. They decided to build a great tower to themselves to show how great they were. The tower was probably a Ziggurat, a common building of that day. A Ziggurat was built like a pyramid with steps or ramps leading up the sides to the top of the structure. They would often reach heights of 300 feet high and 300 feet wide. Naturally, these structures were the focal point of the city. They could be seen for miles away. The Tower of Babel was a monument to human greatness. The focus was on the people themselves rather than on God and His greatness.

Challenge: Are you gathering expensive cars, clothes, and houses to prove your greatness? Does your job and status in life determine who you are as a person? These interests are not necessarily wrong, but when they take the place of God such acquisitions becomes sin. We are free to accomplish great things, but we are not free to think we can replace God with “towers” or “things” in our lives. Pray that God will help you to keep Him first place in your life.