Separated, Where do we Go From Here

Genesis 13- 

Our adventure in the life of Abram continues with him and lot seperating.  Abram is accumulating  mass amounts of gold and silver as well as livestock. During this part of history you were considered wealthy because of how much livestock as well as stuff you have (well maybe life has not changed that much). Lot, who was Abram’s nephew, was also getting larger with his livestock and possessions. In verse 6 tells us that the land that they were living on could not support both of them and also their herdsmen were fighting as a result of where to get food for the livestock. Due to these circumstances Abram said, looks like we will need to part ways, I would rather have that happen so there would be no strife between us. Abram gave Lot the choice of where to go for land and Abram would go the opposite way. Lot chose to go the area that was resided in and looked good.  He moved his tent as far as Sodom, which in verse 13 tells us that they were great sinners of the Lord.

We can learn many different things from Genesis 13,  but the one thing that needs highlighting is that Lot never tried to make things work out between Abram and himself. It was as if he wanted to separate himself from Abram’s presence. Then he chose what was appealing to his eyes and saw these great cities and dwelt among them. We see that he even moved his tent where he would sleep and spend most of his time close to the worst city Sodom.

When you are in SIN

Have you ever noticed that whenever you are in sin you first start separating yourself from the people that make you feel convicted. People that are there to help you not sin but for some reason you get away from them.  Then you find yourself associating with people that do not make you convicted and are more likely influencing you to sin more. Lot not only separated himself but decided to move next to and eventually live among those of Sodom and he even took leadership amongst the people. 

Psalm 1 Warns us- Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. All which Lot was doing.  

Psalm 1:2-6 But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.  

Wake Up

Genesis 12- The Father of many

I love when I get a call from someone I have not talked to you in a while. It is nice to hear their voice and to see what they are up to in life. It is nice to be able to remember some good memories. That is when I like to answer the phone but I hate when I get phone calls from a wonderful telemarketer. They require me to listen to them and they want usually some kind of money from me and I tell them I do not have any to give them, they usually do not believe me. In Genesis 12 Abram (who we know as Abraham) gets a call from God. Now it was not a phone call and it was not someone trying to sell him something, but it was God wanting to show someone his great plan for this universe. He tells Abram to leave the land of Ur and he will make him a great nation and he will bless him and make his name great, so that he will be a blessing.

The thing that is amazing at this passage of Scripture is that Abram took his wife Sarai and all his possessions and left like God asked. The only thing is the journey that Abram went on required him to go to Egypt. Abram was somewhat afraid of this and he lied about Sarai being his wife. He said she was his sister. Why did Abram lie about who Sarai was? Sarai was beautiful and he thought Pharaoh would have him killed because his wife was so pretty. It is so funny that he would be so afraid of Pharaoh and yet God spoke to him and let him know of this plan which none of it happened yet. Well, Pharaoh wanted Sarai as his wife but God stepped in and gave Pharaoh some very bad heart-burn and he realized something is not right. God had a plan and it so true that it was on God’s time. Abram became anxious and decided to go his own way but God who is in control stopped things for the time. We love to think we know what God wants in our life. We even have the tendency to jump start God’s plan  by making our decisions without asking God first what his plan is.

Think About It

God has called us according to his purpose. We may not have to leave our houses and countries but God does call us to move. This moving is different than leaving a location, this moving is doing the work that God has called us to do. Matthew 28:19 tells us to go and make disciples of all nations. We need to be going and not just sitting and doing nothing. God personally has called you.I always need to ask myself, “God what do have me to do in this life?” and “How do you want me to do it?” If God has me to do something or go somewhere and I do not do it, it is sin.  James 4:17 says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Sometimes this moving is just also waiting on God. Do you find it hard to wait on God’s time? You know, his timing is always the best timing.  Just read Philippians 4:6-7.

We need to be patient on God but also willing to move when he tells us to.  

The Tower of Babel–Sounds Fishy

Genesis 11 

Have you ever heard someone give a fish story. How they caught a fish and it was so big, somehow the story soon gets exaggerated so the fish that was caught was 10 lb. then grows to be 15 lb. and so on. We live in a culture that promotes certain prideful actions. We want to be the best at everything. For example, being the best sports star, being the best singer, being the prettiest person alive, having the most of something. Whatever it is pride is evident in humans. Pride was what made Satan fall as he wanted to be better than God and he passed that prideful thought to Adam and Eve and to us. We see that Pride did not die in the garden but just exploded as Cain killed his brother because of jealousy which is the brother of pride. The world was so prideful that it rejected God. The only righteous ones were Noah and his family. There is a new start in human history but pride points its ugly little head up again. 

Babel-

Babel was a city which we also get the word for Babylon. This city is known throughout the Bible and especially in the book of Revelation as a city that is has everything against God. Babel wanted to be better and higher than God, so they built a tower. Because of their pride their came the swift judgment of causing confusion among the people.

The Answer to Pride is Humility

At the root of all sin is pride. Pride is what causes us to rebel from God. Pride has many different forms, whether it is jealousy or desire of something that you cannot have. Pride causes us to put ourselves first in all things. The message of Christ is this unconditional love of God which has nothing to do with pride. In order for us to be forgiven of sin we must let go of our pride and wanting to do things our way. I have seen marriages broken, families split, jobs lost, and dreams thrown down the tubes all because of pride. To be humble means that you deny yourself before God. It is saying that you don’t know everything but God does. You are allowing him to be in control. 

Ask yourself:

• What areas do I have pride in? 
• What areas have I not surrendered over to God in my life?  

We must HUMBLE ourselves so God can get the PRIDE out of our lives. Pride is nasty because we can start becoming bitter at someone. Do you have pride in your life? 

Verses dealing with pride:

• 2^nd Chronicles 26:16 
• James 4:6
• Proverbs 21:4
• 2^nd Timothy 3:2-4
• 1^st John 2:16
• Proverbs 11:2
• Acts 12:23
• Romans 12:3
• Philippians 2:5-8
• Proverbs 16:18
• Proverbs 15:33

Family History

Genesis 10

The family history of someone is important to know because one finds out where their family came from or what struggles one may have had. The Bible gives certain genealogies for not only history but also where the origin of someone important comes in. The Bible has many genealogies throughout it and we just looked at the family history of Adam to Noah. Mankind has been washed away and history now follows Noah and his family. This particular chapter is called the “Table of Nations” because it is the NEW beginning of history and where the different races came from.For example: Japheth sons moved to present day Europe. Gomer is present day Germany, Magog is Russia, Madai refers to the Medes or Persians, and Javan is Greece. The sons of Ham, Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan moved to the area of Africa and some of the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia. The sons of Shem are many but one group particular is Eber, who will be the line were Abraham is from and the children of Israel. Somehow Adam we see in verse 6 says he was with her but no one stopped anyone. 

THE SHADY CHARACTERS

Just like your family there are some not so good characters that your family may not be so proud of and some that are outstanding. Here we see that one of the grandsons of Ham was Nimrod. Nimrod became a powerful leader. This man was also a great hunter against the Lord, which means he rebelled against God and made it so other people rebelled. Because of him we will see the story of the “Tower of Babel.” The story goes that the area of Babel wanted to build a tower so high that they could reach the heavens and make a name for themselves, not for God. How will you stand out in history? Will you cause others to rebel and build a tower that is against God or will you be an example for others to follow after? Ephesians 5:15-16~Look carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. 

Legacy

In the midst of life weare in death- From theBook of Common Prayer.

He whose head is in heaven need not fear to put his feet into the grave- Matthew Henry

Are there any shady people inyour families history that youare not so proud of?

Relief!

Genesis  9

Oh, So Thankful!

I hate going to the dentist. I don’t know what it is! Maybe it is the scraping or the picking or just that my mouth has to be open for an extended amount of time. I get so anxious about the trip and then I cannot wait until I am done with that place and do not have to see it for a few more months. Has there ever been anything that you had to endure that you could not wait for it to be over? Maybe it was a surgery or maybe having to tell someone some bad news?

In our continuation of the Genesis Noah finally gets off this big, smelly boat. Remember he was on this boat for over a year. I have been on a cruise before that lasted 15 days and by the 10th day I was itching to get off and I was not even around stinky animals.Noah gets off with his family and the first thing he does was build an altar and sacrifice to God in thanks for keeping him and his family alive. After a long trip on a confined boat what would you do? Because Noah was righteous and God saved Noah and his family there is a covenant that God makes with him. A covenant is like a binding contract that a king would make with a subject. Today we have contracts between two or more people that states what they are agreeing on. The contract that God makes with Noah is, “Never again will I destroy the earth with a flood.” The sign is a rainbow as his promise. The rainbow, which sometimes is abused, shows that God desired for his word to be true and that he would never go back on it. What he said to Noah is something you can count on. God never goes back on his word. Today we have the Bible which shows how God keeps his promises to us. When we read the Bible we see that God loves us, he cares for us, he will never leave us, he is faithful to us, and we see that he has a plan for our lives. God loves his creation and he is gracious and patient with us as well. His love never ends, and that is God’s unconditional love. We soon will see that God has a greater plan for creation as it points to Jesus Christ. I encourage you as you read through Genesis ask the question does this point to Christ and how? 

FUTURE THOUGHTS:

• Do you thank God everyday for giving you life?
• Do you thank God everyday for creating you in his image?
• Do you thank God for his grace and mercy    everyday?
• Do you thank God for Jesus Christ who is our ark?
• In what ways do you see God’s promises trough his word?
• As soon as Noah was off the boat he thanked God. Think of a time that you were maybe rescued or relieved of something and you made sure and thanked God right away.

Jesus is our Ark

Genesis 7 

Noah was told to go into the ark with his family which was his wife and his sons and their wives and with all the animals. By this time Noah was 600 years old when the flood waters started to come. It rained on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights. That is a lot of water to be able to cover the entire earth. It says that the entire earth was covered and so much so that even all the high mountains were covered in water.

 He Blotted them out from the Earth!

God destroyed every living thing and every person that was not on the ark. It says in verse 23 that he blotted them out from the earth, to be remembered no more. Noah was on the ark for a long time. It says the waters prevailed 150 days, when you ready Chapter 8 you see that it was even longer with them waiting for the water to reside where they could get off the ark.

God Provides an Ark For Us

The word “Ark” is used as a term of security or a place of refuge. It is like something that saves you from destruction. Your house serves somewhat as a ark when there is rain or like the older brother that brings salvation from that bully at school. Today we have our own ark in this dark world of sin and that answer is Jesus Christ, true salvation is found in Him and in no one else. He rescues us from the flood waters of sin and we have security in this salvation that he offers because he paid the price for our sins on the cross.

Jesus’ Return

The Bible tell us about how the world will be like the days of Noah before the rapture of the church. These days will be filled with people willingly rejecting God and living for themselves and even false gods. Beware of these times and what the Bible gives us as warning of what is to be expected. Matthew 24:36-38 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and  drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” Our goal should be to make the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:16). We should  want to share the Gospel to everyone we come into contact with. We need to be a light to this world (Matthew 5:13). Until the day that Jesus establishes  his Kingdom on earth we need to seek after him every chance we have on this earth and share that he is the way to salvation.

Scientific Evidence for the flood

Majority of the Earth’s Crust is Sedimentary Rocks

Over 70% of the earth’s surface rock is sedimentary. This type of rock is formed under water. It is formed by other pieces of rock or other material coming together. This type of rock results from moving water. This means the whole earth’s crust had a great movement of water.

Mt. Everest

Sedimentary rock is clearly visible near the top of Mt. Everest. This would mean that the mountain had to be submerged under water at one time.

The enormous number of fossils

They have found marine animal fossils in the Himalayan Mountains. There were fossilized oysters found atop the Andes Mountains. For more information go to www.calvaryag.org/apologetics/