Who's out there???

Hi. Anyone out there??? Are you still reading??? Anybody posting???

Let me know if you've run into trouble or have questions. I'm still reading and will be posting, but may change my schedule if everyone's on "vacation"! :)

Thanks.

Ten Plagues

I did some extra research into the 10 plagues against Egypt and found this great article:

http://www.gotquestions.org/ten-plagues-Egypt.html

One thing to note -- the plague of gnats? They may actually have been lice! The Egyptians were sticklers for cleanliness; actually obsessive. The priests often shaved all of their hair from their bodies daily in order to protect against vermin invading. A plague of lice would have been detestable to them and we all know how difficult it is to get rid of lice! Imagine swarms of them.

God's actions overwhelmed the Egyptians and He showed them just how powerful He was compared to their supposed gods. Moses was His man and later we'll read how he was God's friend as well.

Father Abraham

Father Abraham had many sons

Many sons had Father Abraham
I am one of them and so are you
So let's all praise the Lord.

How many sons DID Abraham have? Ishmael was Abram’s son with Hagar. Even though Ishmael was Abram’s first born, he was not meant to receive Abram’s legacy. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham to mean “father of many nations”. And at the age of 100 Abraham and Sarah had Isaac.

That was it, right?

Abraham actually had many more children. Genesis 25 lists the sons of Abraham, born to “another wife” Keturah – Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. But who do we remember?

Isaac.

Isaac was the promise to Abraham from God. Through Isaac Abraham was the father of many nations. Genesis 25:5 says, “Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.” Isaac became the father of Jacob who fathered the 12 tribes of Israel – and who God eventually renamed “Israel”.

What kind of man was Abraham?

A man of great faith. He left his country to follow God’s plan and promise. He waited for a son who took 100 years to come. He was willing to KILL his beloved son to obey God. He bargained with God to save righteous people. He sacrificed and humbled himself to his family members and acquaintances – why? Because he believed in God and he trusted what God commanded him to do. 

Unconditionally.

Genesis 12:2-3 details God’s promises to Abram, “I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Verse 4 details Abram’s response to God, “So Abram left…”

WAIT!

That’s it??? Abram just picked up and left??? No questions asked???

When we read further into Genesis 22, we see how God tested Abraham. Verse 2 says, “Then God said, Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” Abraham’s response to God is in verse 3, “Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac…”

WAIT! HUH???

He was ready to sacrifice his beloved son based on God’s word??? Again – no questions asked???

A man of great faith.

How is our faith? If God came to us personally would we do as He asked – with no questions asked? Are we willing to even open our mouths? Are we willing to come to church on Sunday morning when we’re particularly tired? Are we willing to offer our money to the offering basket?

What are we willing to sacrifice?

In the Beginning...

One of my favorite aspects of Genesis is the richness of narrative – its stories. Genesis tells the story of Creation and the beginning of the human race. It tells the story of the patriarchs and the start of the Hebrew nation. It also displays the power of God.

The first book of the Bible sets the stage for God’s relationship with mankind. It also shows how that relationship disintegrated due to sin and our willful choice to disobey God’s commands. It begins the story of why we needed Jesus Christ to come to Earth to save us.

When…did Jesus begin?

Well, when we go back to God’s creation of man in Genesis 1:26, He said, “Let US make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air…”

Who is the “us”?

All of God…the Trinity…God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In other words – Jesus was alive with God at the Creation of the world. He was and is a separate person, as well as being God. Yes, the Trinity is one of the most complex theological ideas. It’s one of those aspects of faith that I simply leave to God’s prominence – my brain is insufficient to totally understand how the Trinity is possible!

So, why exactly did Jesus have to come to Earth so save us?

Sin.

The curse.

Genesis begins the narrative of mankind’s fall into sin and rejection of the God who created it. It displays the nature of God as ultimately unconditional love – that He would create humans with free will and the freedom to make choices, even bad ones, proves that He loves. He did not create beings who act as puppets and do His bidding. Our God loves the relationship with us, the fellowship, the uniqueness of each of us.

If only we would realize that.

That’s where Jesus comes in...

Today is Day 4. For the remainder of the week I will post “a little something” each day. If the reading is challenging and you are behind, here are some tips:

1.      Before you begin to read, pray. Pray for God’s Holy Spirit to anoint your reading and give you the message God wants you to have.

2.     Remember that this is not a “study” – this is an opportunity to read the Bible in 90 days.

3.      Post questions to the blog – even the “stupid” questions. Sometimes, those provoke the most discussion! J

4.      Read in small chunks during the day. Read for 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there. Before you know it, 12 pages a day and you’re done.

5.      Don’t feel you have to know how to pronounce every ancient name and remember every geographical river, mountain, rock and city. It’s not important to the message of this group – to get to know God and His word better.

I will “see” you tomorrow.