Genesis 14
August 10, 2011 at 10:12 am | Posted in Bible Study | Leave a commentTags: abortion, Abram, altar, Amalekite, America, Amorite, Amraphel, Ariock, army, ateasetees, battle, Bela, Bible, caveat, Chedorlaomer, Christian, church, compromise, country, Damascus, death, earth, Egypt, Elam, enemy, Eshcol, evangelism, evil, faith, Father, fugitive, genealogy, God, Gomorrah, goods, gospel, grace, hair, heaven, Hebrew, Hebrews, hell, hill, holy, hope, Israel, Jesus, judgment, king, law, life, Lord, Lot, love, Mamre, marriage, Melchizedek, mercy, money, Most High, mother, Mount Seir, murder, no, oak, oath, pastor, peace, people, Pharaoh, prayer, profit, rebel, repent, righteousness, Salem, salvation, Sarai, scripture, Shaveh, Shinar, sin, Sodom, tar pit, ten commandments, Tidal, truth, vow, war, yes
And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). All these came as allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness. Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar. And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim, against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar–four kings against five. Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country. Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom. Continue Reading Genesis 14…
Genesis 13:13-18
July 18, 2011 at 5:27 pm | Posted in Bible Study | Leave a commentTags: abortion, Abram, agape, altar, America, ateasetees, Bethel, Bible, bless, Canaanites, Chaldees, Christian, church, city, compromise, death, descendant, dust, earth, Egypt, evangelism, evil, faith, family, Genesis, God, Gomorrah, gospel, grace, hell, holy, hope, Israel, Jesus, judgment, law, life, Lord, Lot, love, Mamre, marriage, mercy, money, moral, Moses, murder, nation, Negev, oak, obedient, pastor, peace, Pharaoh, plague, prayer, promise, repent, sacrifice, salvation, Sarai, scripture, sin, Sinner, Sodom, standard, ten commandments, tent, Terah, truth, Ur, wicked, wife, will
Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the LORD. The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. “I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. “Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.
This week, we will be taking a look at a smaller passage of scripture in the life of Abram. Before we do though, let’s recap. Continue Reading Genesis 13:13-18…
Genesis 13:2-12
June 27, 2011 at 7:10 pm | Posted in Bible Study | Leave a commentTags: abortion, Abram, Ai, altar, America, ateasetees, beauty, Bethel, Bible, bless, brother, Canaan, Chaldees, Christian, church, compromise, country, death, desire, Egypt, evangelism, faith, famine, Father, flock, Genesis, God, gold, Gomorrah, gospel, grace, grazing, hell, herd, holy, hope, house, Israel, Jesus, Jordan, judgment, land, law, life, livestock, Lord, Lot, love, marriage, mercy, money, murder, Negev, nephew, obey, pastor, peace, Perizzite, Pharaoh, plague, pray, prayer, promise, repent, salvation, Sarai, scripture, separate, servant, silver, sin, Sodom, ten commandments, tent, truth, Ur, water, wife, Zoar
Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD. Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land. So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere–this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah–like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom.
Today, we’re going to continue following Abram as he follows God. Abram has been called out of Ur of the Chaldees, away from his family. He has followed his father Terah to Haran. There, Terah died and Abram continued on his own, with his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. They traveled to Bethel and then south through the Negev. A severe famine caused them to move into Egypt and live there for a little while.
As they entered Egypt, Abram had told his wife that she was to tell everyone that she was his sister (which we saw is actually true) so that they wouldn’t kill him and take his wife. The Egyptians told Pharaoh of Sarai’s beauty and he took her to be his wife. Because of her beauty, Pharaoh gave Abram livestock and servants. But, God struck Pharaoh and his household with “great plagues” because of this. Pharaoh seems to know why the plagues came and Who brought them. He rebuked Abram, gave Sarai back to him, and sent them out of Egypt.
Now, Abram is rich in livestock, silver, and gold. He retraces his steps through the Negev and back to Bethel where he built the altar. As he reaches this place, Abram must have remembered calling out to God and been reminded of Who it was that had blessed and protected him. We also see that Lot has been blessed because of Abram. He too has flocks and herds and tents. This brings about a problem for nephew and uncle. The land that they are both dwelling on cannot sustain both of them. Both of them had so many possessions that it brought strife between their herdsmen as they fought for grazing land. We find out that the Canaanite and the Perizzite are dwelling in the same land. In these stressful conditions, Abram approaches Lot with a request. His desire is to be at peace with his nephew, so he asks Lot to separate from him. Abram, being the elder one, should have had the choice of land, but he instead gives that to Lot.
When Lot looks up, he sees that the valley of the Jordan is well-watered. The text says that it was as well watered as the garden of the Lord. It doesn’t say in the text, but I can’t help but wonder if this view of the valley was enhanced by Lot’s desire to increase? Just a thought. In the end, Lot moves to the valley of the Jordan. But, he doesn’t stop there. He takes his tents as far as Sodom.
Meanwhile, scripture says that Abram settled in Canaan. It is interesting that it is only now that God’s command is obeyed. You might be asking what I’m talking about. Let’s take another look at it:
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; (Genesis 12:1)
God told Abram to go forth out of his country, which he did. But, he also told him to go away from his relatives and his father’s house. This would include his nephew Lot. Now that Lot is gone, God can begin to work with him and prepare him for what’s to come.
This brings to mind something that I want to ask you. Has God commanded something of you? If so, have you obeyed completely? Or, is there still something that you need to get rid of/let go of so that He can work in you? Prayerfully ask the Lord to show you what the case may be and He will show you. Just be ready to obey…
Next week, we’ll see how God adds to His promise! Hope to see you there!
Persecution Fridays – Pakistan
June 17, 2011 at 6:30 am | Posted in VOM Fridays | Leave a commentTags: abortion, altar, America, apologize, Ashraf Masih, Asia Bibi, ateasetees, bamboo, Bible, blasphemy, Christian, church, complaint, compromise, courage, criminal, cross, damage, death, defile, desecrate, destroy, elderly, evangelism, faith, false, forgive, gang, glass, God, gospel, grace, gun, hell, holy, hope, insult, Islam, Israel, Jesus, Lahore, law, life, love, marriage, mercy, minority, money, mosque, Muhammad Shoaib, murder, Numseoul, Pakistan, pastor, peace, peaceful, police, prayer, Presbyterian, prison, prophet, protest, public, Quran, repent, salvation, scripture, sermon, sin, ten commandments, truth, warrant
For more news on what’s really happening to Christians around the world go to the Voice of the Martyrs website: www.persecution.com
Pakistan: The Power to Forgive
Shaken and still feeling the effects from an attack on their service, Numseoul Presbyterian Church publicly forgave the men who attacked them on Wednesday, June 1, 2011. Armed with guns, the nephew of a former legislator, Muhammad Shoaib, and four other men disrupted the church service three days earlier. “They were just out of control,” Pastor Ashraf Masih told Compass Direct News. “Shoaib and his men broke the glass altar of the church, threw copies of the Bible towards the wall and desecrated the cross.” The gang also beat three elderly Christians with bamboo sticks.
The attackers cursed the congregation for disrupting the peace by worshipping on loudspeakers, Masih said. However, the church uses loudspeakers only inside the church building, located in a rural area outside Lahore. “The loudspeakers on mosques are used all day long for prayers and sermons,” he said. “I fail to understand why this man has turned against us in the last few months.” Continue Reading Persecution Fridays – Pakistan…
Genesis 12: 1-9
June 13, 2011 at 11:06 am | Posted in Bible Study | Leave a commentTags: abortion, Abram, Adam, Ai, altar, America, ateasetees, Bethel, Bible, blessing, call on the name of the Lord, Canaan, Chaldeans, Christian, church, compromise, country, creation, curse, death, descendant, earth, Egypt, evangelism, faith, Fall, family, flood, friend, Genesis, God, gospel, grace, Haran, hell, holy, hope, Islam, Israel, Jesus, Jew, judgment, law, life, Lord, Lot, love, marriage, mercy, money, Moreh, murder, name, nation, Negev, nephew, Noah, pastor, peace, perfection, prayer, promise, repent, revere, salvation, Sarai, Schehem, scripture, Seth, Shem, sin, slave, ten commandments, tent, Terah, truth, Ur, violence, wife, worship
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.
We have looked at the Creation of the world, how man fell from perfection and grace and ushered sin into the world, how the world grew to be filled with so much violence that God brought a global Flood to destroy all but one family of eight people, how the descendants of these people rebelled against God by building a tower and were scattered through the confusion of languages. We have followed the line of Adam/Noah from the beginning and have narrowed it down along the way to the descendants of Terah. Now, we will narrow it a little more to focus on Abram.
As we begin chapter 12 of Genesis, it is important to remember what has happened. Abram’s father Terah has moved from Ur of the Chaldeans with his family (except Haran who died in Ur) to the city of Haran (coincidence?). They were on their way to enter the land of Canaan, but Terah died in the city of Haran. At some time while Abram was in Haran, the Lord God spoke to Abram and told him to leave his country and his father’s house and go to the land that He would show him. He then makes a promise to Abram that He will make Abram a great nation, will bless him, and make his name great. God says that in Abram, all families of the earth will be blessed.
Immediately, we see that Abram obeyed God and went forth out of Haran toward Canaan; and Lot went with him. This will be a problem later. We then find out a little bit of information about Abram. He was seventy-five years old, had his wife Sarai and he nephew Lot and all their possessions (including slaves) and set out for the land of Canaan. He enters the land of Canaan and goes as far as Shechem and the oak of Moreh. As he rests in Shechem, God appears to him and reiterates the promise that He gave Abram in Haran. The land is promised to Abram’s descendants, which he doesn’t have at this point (75 years old).
Abram’s immediate response is to build an altar to the Lord that he doesn’t know intimately yet. He then leaves Shechem and goes toward Bethel where he rests again and pitches his tent. On his west is the city of Bethel. On his east is the city of Ai. As he pitches his tent, he builds another altar to the Lord and then calls on His name. I think that it is interesting that Abram calls on the name of the Lord. It makes me wonder what all went on with the Lord up to this point. Was part of this because Terah taught him to do this? Was it something passed on from Shem? We don’t know. The only other time that the phrase “call upon the name of the Lord” is used up to this point is when scripture talks about Seth and his descendants doing the same thing. For whatever reason, Abram reveres God to the point that he builds him an altar in a few places (a way of worship) and calls on the name of the Lord. After this, we end up with Abram journeying on from Bethel to the Negev. The Negev is a region in Southern Israel close to Egypt. It is here that we will leave Abram for this week.
As we continue our look at the life of the father of the Jews and a friend of God, we will find out things about God and ourselves as well! Please join us next week as we continue our look at Abram!
Genesis 8:13-22
March 7, 2011 at 8:12 pm | Posted in Bible Study | Leave a commentTags: abortion, account, alone, altar, America, Ararat, ark, aroma, assurance, ateasetees, Bible, bird, Born Again, Christian, church, clean, cold, compromise, Day, death, depravity, dinosaurs, dove, drink, eat, Eden, evangelism, evil, faith, Fall, favor, fire, flood, fountain, Genesis, global, God, gospel, grace, Harvest, heat, heaven, hell, holy, hope, Israel, Jesus, judgment, law, life, love, marriage, mercy, mock, money, multiply, murder, night, Noah, offering, onslaught, pastor, peace, perish, plead, prayer, promise, rain, raven, repent, righteousness, salvation, scripture, seed, sin, study, summer, ten commandments, TIME, today, tomorrow, truth, unclean, violence, window, winter, wood
Now it came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. Then God spoke to Noah, saying, “Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. “Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by their families from the ark. Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.”
This week, we see the after effects of the Flood as well as a promise from the Lord. Before we look at that, let’s review a little bit. Since the Fall of man in the garden of Eden, man had been spiraling downward into violence. In recent times, it had gotten so bad that man’s only thoughts were evil continually. The earth was full of violence. Because of man’s depravity, God decided to give him 120 years to repent and return to Him. If man didn’t do this, God was going to judge the earth with a global Flood. In the midst of all of the evil lived Noah and his sons and their wives. Noah was a preacher of righteousness and found favor with God. Because of this, God revealed to Noah that a Flood was coming and that he should build a great ark for protection. God revealed the plans for the ark to Noah and they began to build it. At this time, no one had ever seen rain so the idea of a global Flood was preposterous. While building the ark, Noah also spent time preaching righteousness to those around him, warning them of the coming judgment in hopes that they might be saved.
About a week before the Flood, the animals that would spend time on the ark started arriving and boarding the now-finished ship. There were two of every unclean animal (including dinosaurs) and seven pairs of every clean animal. As the day of judgment approached, God told Noah and his family to board the ark and God shut the door behind them. Then, in a sudden onslaught, the fountains of the great deep burst and the windows of heaven opened up and water the likes of which had never been seen before rained down upon the entire planet. For forty days and nights it rained non-stop until the water rose over the highest mountains to a depth of about 20 feet. Every living land animal and many of the water dwelling ones perished in those forty days. All of the people who once mocked Noah for his proclamation now lay dead in the floodwaters. For a year, Noah and his family lived on the ark riding out the high waves and the storms as the Flood raged across the planet. Finally, things began to subside and the waters began to recede. Noah sent out a few birds to test the level of the waters. Finally, when the last dove didn’t return, Noah knew that land was visible. It is here that we pick up our study.
It has been a year and seventeen days since they boarded the ark. They had been through a lot, but God finally told them that it was time for them to disembark. Noah opened the ark of his salvation and he and his family, along with every animal on the ark, came out into a world that was very different from the one that they had seen when they entered the ark. The animals were given the command to multiply upon the earth. This was the purpose for which the animals were saved. It is interesting that they obeyed God in this. What is even more interesting to me, is Noah’s response.
After being saved from certain death by the grace of God and spending a year on a ship with at least two representatives of every animal known, Noah didn’t think about eating or drinking. Instead, he thought of God. Verse 20 says that Noah built an altar to the Lord and made an offering of every clean animal that they had brought with them. I find it interesting that those who search for the ark or believe that it may be found in the mountains of Ararat today seem to overlook this simple statement. They forget that Noah made an offering to the Lord. You may be wondering why this strikes me funny and what it has to do with those looking for the ark? Well, to make an offering to the Lord, you would have had to have fire. To have a fire, you must have wood – dry wood. The only likely source of dry wood at the time would have been the ark. The land may have been dry but it is doubtful that the wood was. I seriously doubt that the ark still exists today. I would imagine that Noah used the wood in his daily life.
Noah remembered the God who had remembered him. He offered to the Lord a small pittance of what was owed, but God accepted the offering. Not only that, God made a promise that still stands today. The Lord promised that He would never again curse the ground on the account of man, nor destroy every living thing like He had just done. While the earth remains, the Lord has promised that seedtime and harvest, winter and summer, cold and heat, day and night will never cease. God has kept His promise. He has never destroyed every living thing from the earth. Seedtime and harvest have continued. So have summer and winter, cold and heat, and day and night. Everything has been done according to God’s plans.
It is the same with man. The Bible says that it is God’s will that none should perish but that all should come to repentance. It says that if a man will repent of his sins and put his faith in Jesus Christ alone to save him, the man will be born again. He can know without a shadow of a doubt that he will go to heaven when he dies. Not only that, but God will give him a new heart with new desires. He will be changed from the inside out. This promise has come true for millions, including me. If you will repent of your sins, turn away from the lying, the stealing, the lusting, the hatred, the gossip, the adultery, and all the other sins in your life; and if you will put your faith in Christ to save you from the wrath of God; then this very minute, as you read these words, God can save you. He will save you! And you can have assurance that you will go to heaven when you die.
Please consider where you stand and what will happen when you stand before God to give an account of your life. If you are not sure your saved, or you know for a fact that you’re not, then please understand that I plead with you right now to make it right with God before you die. You don’t know if you have tomorrow. You only are guaranteed this minute. Please be honest with yourself and repent….while there is still time…..
Revival (long)
April 26, 2010 at 4:51 pm | Posted in Christianity | Leave a commentTags: Abinadab, affliction, Ahab, altar, America, ark, Ashteroth, asleep, Assyria, ateasetees, attack, Baal, Babylon, Benjamin, Beth-shemesh, Bethel, Bible, burden, captive, change, Christian, church, compromise, covenant, cow, cut, daily grind, David, death, deceive, denomination, drought, Edom, Egypt, Elijah, emotional, evangelism, evangelist, excitement, faith, fast, fire, foreign, forsake, God, gospel, grace, guilt, harlot, harm, heart, hell, holy, hope, idol, idolatry, immoral, incense, Israel, Jacob, Jerusalem, Jesus, Judah, Judge, judgment, kill, king, Laban, lament, law, life, love, meeting, mercy, Milcom, ministry, Mizpah, Moab, mock, Molech, Mount Carmel, offering, Ohio, outreach, ox, peace, Philistines, plan, prayer, preacher, prophet, rain, refresh, Rehoboam, repent, revival, sacrifice, salvation, Samaria, Samuel, Saul, scripture, serve, sin, Solomon, South, stone, temple, ten commandments, topical, trench, tribe, tribulation, truth, tumor, turn, voice, water, wisdom, witness, wrath
The sound of heresy…
February 16, 2011 at 9:51 pm | Posted in Christianity | Leave a commentTags: 1 Kings 18, abortion, abundance, Ahab, altar, America, Asa, Asherah, ateasetees, Baal, bash, believe, Benny Hinn, Bible, bitter, blessing, breakthrough, bright, celebrate, chariot, Christian, church, cling, cloud, commandments, comments, Compaq Center, compromise, confidence, contest, context, criticize, dare, dark, dead, death, declare, defeat, depressed, divine, doctrine, doubt, dress, drink, drought, dustbowl, eat, Elijah, eternity, evangelism, evil, excuse, faith, false, false teacher, favor, feast, feed, finances, fire, forsake, gall, giddy, Gilead, glory, God, gospel, grace, Greek, hate, health, heaven, hell, holiness, holy, homosexual, homosexuality, hope, Houston Rockets, illiterate, Jericho, Jeroboam, Jesse Duplantis, Jesus, Jezebel, Joel Osteen, John MacArthur, joy, Joyce Meyer, Judah, judgment, Kenneth Copeland, kill, Kishon, Lakewood Church, law, law of attraction, life, life coach, love, marriage, meal, mercy, message, ministry, mock, money, Mount Carmel, murder, negative, New Testament, ninja, Northern Kingdom, Omri, pastor, peace, persecuted, Ponzi, positive, possum, pray, prayer, preach, promise, prophet, prosperity, protect, provoke, rain, reason, reference, relationship, repent, Romans 10:17, rottenness, sadness, salvation, Samaria, scheme, scripture, sense, sermon, shepherd, shiny, shower, sick, simple, sin, Slaughter, sound, sovereign, Spirit, squishy, stink, stone, surprise, talk, teacher, ten commandments, think, Tishbite, trial, tribulation, trouble, troubler, truth, twist, Victoria Osteen, walk, wealth, welfare, winner, Word of Faith, world, wrapper, wrath
I know that it’s been awhile since I wrote something other than the Bible study, newslinks, or Persecution Friday spots. I’ve been kinda busy, but I haven’t forgotten. Something I saw the other day made me have to write this though. It’s going to be a long read, so if you have to take a potty break or get a cup of coffee, do it now…:)
I heard about something the other day that just about made me sick, but I didn’t want to say anything about it until I had some proof from the horse’s mouth. Now I have it and this needs to be put out in the open.
For a long time, I’ve been talking about false teachers and men who call themselves pastors. I see many both locally in my home town, nationally in the U.S., and (unfortunately) they are now spreading to other countries. Not that there weren’t false teachers there already, but the American style of prosperity gospel preachers is sadly reaching into other parts of the world that are just now opening up to real Christianity. It is one of these types of people that I am writing about today. Continue Reading The sound of heresy……
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