![Read The Bible Through, Day 18]()
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Genesis 43-45
Is he playing with them or is he testing them? I think a little of both.
In either case, Joseph really has his brothers squirming, doesn’t he? He keeps putting money in the bags of the brothers, then his silver cup, causing great fear to come upon them. But it becomes more than he can stand.
As Joseph reveals his true identity, you can almost feel the astonishment of his brothers – and of the Egyptians who are serving in the house.
So what started out as the most devastating circumstances for Joseph, and his father, turn out gloriously. The Pharoah hears of it and showers the family with gifts. The best land in Egypt will be theirs, if they move over. He also provides carts to bring the entourage, ten donkeys loaded with the best goods of Egypt, and ten donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father’s journey.
Talk about “paid moving expenses!” This Pharoah obviously loves Joseph! (more…)
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Genesis 22-24
Today we encounter one of the toughest stories to understand. I have heard all sorts of ideas about what God was doing when he asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. A lot of them don’t line up with God’s character. God doesn’t “pull tricks” on us. So what was the big idea?
I believe that I have some understanding about this, so I’ll share it and you can see what you think.
In the first place, you know that God was not planning for there to be a human sacrifice to Him. (His own Son, Jesus, would be the only one of those). So what was going on?
God was working on His plan, which would take many years to accomplish – even centuries. It was the biggest plan the world had ever known – to bring His own Son into the world. But first He had to find a human family who would cooperate with the plan. A family who would listen to Him and stay faithful. A family to whom God would show His nature. A family who could righteously handle the Law which he would bring – the “tutor” to lead us to Christ. (Galatians 3:24).
He was looking for a man who was totally sold out to Him; one who would honor and teach his children about God. Abraham was that man, and over the years God had developed a relationship with him. There had been increasing commitment as time went on.
Do you remember a few days ago we talked about the “law of measure?” We determine the level of our experience with God. The more of ourselves we give to Him, the more of Himself he gives back to us? That’s covenant.
Well, I believe that for God to send His Son to die for us, He had to find someone who was willing to do the same.
Now look at what Abraham said. He told his son they were going up to worship. Isaac said, “Where is the lamb?” Abraham said, “My son, God will provide the lamb.” He obviously knew that he was not going to sacrifice his son.
I think that in Genesis 15: 12 -17 when Abraham fell into a deep sleep and God showed him what was to happen to his descendants, God also showed Him the resurrection of Jesus. When God called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, he thought he had seen his own son’s resurrection. And he thought that even if Isaac died, God would resurrect him.
Why do I say that? In Hebrews 11: 17-19, it talks about this episode. (Remember, the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed). It mentions that Abraham knew that God had promised through Isaac all of the nations would be blessed. And it goes on to say that Abraham believed God would raise his son from the dead, if necessary – “from which he also received him in a figure ( or type, or similitude).”
I believe that Abraham saw a vision of someone being raised from the dead. (That was the “figure”). He had come to trust God so completely that he knew that Isaac would be just fine while he was obeying God.
Whew!! Heavy stuff, but so significant.
So many today are running around, calling themselves Christians, but without any understanding of their God. He wants more – and He is looking for those who want more of Him. We get to decide how big our covenant will be.
I want to have a covenant as big and complete as it can be. I want to have a life that is “all in.”” Don’t you?
Matthew 8: 18-33
Well, here is Jesus taking us into deeper water also.
In the first few verses, Jesus says some interesting things. When someone says that they “will follow Him wherever He goes,” He pokes them a little. Jesus knows that it’s really easy to “say” what you are going to do. “Doing it,” on the other hand can be hard. But that’s what’s important.
My husband and I have pastored for 20 years, and over the years, there have been quite a few people who have made mighty statements about what they were going to do for God. Sometimes, that statement was the last of it. They said it, but never did anything much.
Then there have been others who have made commitments and kept them. That’s who God is looking for. Those who will do what they say.
Next Jesus admonishes his disciples for being afraid of the storm. When they were in the boat and a strong gale came up, they awoke Jesus to calm the storm.
What did He say? Did He say, “Oh you poor people. I’m sure that was frightful?” No. He said, “Why are you fearful, you of little faith?”
Are you going through a storm in some area of your life? I have had seasons when I felt like my entire life was a rocky boat in the middle of a big storm. You may have, too.
When these times come, think about these verses. Let our hearts be in tune with Him, and let us speak what He speaks, knowing that the storm will subside as we speak what He says. And as we do what he says.
Fear is never from God. Faith is. Throughout the Gospels, you will see Jesus over and over “marvel” at the fear or unbelief of His disciples. Those things were foreign to Jesus. He was full of faith – always – regardless of the circumstances.
What would Jesus do? That’s what He would do. He would have faith.
Blessings. Hope your day is great. We have a lot to chew on, don’t we?
Suellen
Photo by Mickey Estes Photography http:www.mickeyestes.com
by Suellen | Successful Living
There are many people who say that they believe in God. They try to live clean, righteous lives. But are they God’s friend? Not all of them. What about you? Are you His friend?
So why would someone who said they believed in God and lived a good life not be God’s friend? Well, let’s look at two men who lived long ago – probably within the same century.
One of these men ended up becoming the patriarch of the Jews, he was in the lineage of Jesus, and is often called the “Father of Faith.” He had such a close walk with God, that Jehoshaphat referred to him as “God’s friend.”(II Chron 20:7)
The other is known for his patience (James 5:11), but that’s about it. He wasn’t in the lineage of Jesus, he wasn’t ever referred to as God’s friend – and his descendants were never mentioned as followers of God.
I’m sure you know these two men I’m talking about: Abraham and Job.
So what’s the difference? There are several.
Abraham was humble in his relationship with God. As you read his story in Genesis 12-25, you never see anything but a humble man. Because of that humility, Abraham always looked to God’s grace – and not his own goodness. Thus he had great faith. On the other hand, Job was very proud. In the start of Job’s story he was a blessed man, but he depended on his own goodness to keep his blessings. Instead of humbly trusting in God, he was always performing sacrifices to God just in case his children had done something wrong.
Humility caused Abraham to have great faith, because his focus was on God. Pride caused Job to have great fear, because his focus was on his own goodness.
The bottom line was that God cut a covenant with Abraham. This was a freewill thing. Abraham was willing to leave his family and friends and go into a land he knew nothing about – just because God told him to do it. In fact, when he got to the new land, there was a famine there, and Abraham had to go to Egypt for awhile. But he stayed faithful.
Then when God promised him a son, Abraham believed God, even though he was well advanced in years. Many years transpired before the fulfillment of this promise, and Abraham made many mistakes during that time. But his faith was not in his own goodness; it was in God’s goodness. Genesis 15:6 says that “Abraham believed God, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”
One of the keys to being in covenant with God is that we believe in God’s greatness, and not in our own. We realize that however good we get, God is still better. However smart we think we are, God is smarter. Trust in Him grows out of that attitude.
And out of that humility, faith, and trust, grows obedience. When we see in God’s word direction which may seem strange, we are willing to follow it anyway. We know Him, we trust Him, and we obey Him. For instance, when the Word says to “forgive,” even though we have been treated injustly, we humbly obey. (Pride will try to justify our unforgivenenss).
God is looking for a people who will have this kind of “friendship” with Him. People who will be humble enough to want to know Him better and want to be in covenant with Him.
Are you one of those people? Think about it. Only you can answer that question.
Forever Upward!
Suellen Estes
PS In case you are wondering why I show so many eagles in my posts. First, I believe that they are wonderful symbols of the Christian walk which causes us to soar with God. Secondly, my husband is a photographer and his specialty is eagles.
![Read The Bible Through, Day 18]()
by Suellen | Successful Living, The Church Awakening
In the days to come, I am going to be talking about our covenant with God through Jesus. That is something that many people either push aside or don’t understand. As Christians, we are in a “spiritual agreement” with God which opens up doors for us to live above many negative circumstances which come our way.
This covenant has been compared to a will which might have been left for us. If you are a beneficiary of a will, you don’t receive the inheritance until the will is probated. If you don’t know the will is available, you might go through your life without receiving your inheritance.
Our inheritance from Jesus is much the same. If we don’t even know that we have this covenant with Him, we may go through life without ever receiving all that He paid for. So what is in our covenant? Many things, and I will be talking about these in the next posts.
To give a picture of this inheritance, I want to bring attention to a study done by a man named Richard Dugdale in 1877. His study addressed the lineage that goes with righteous heritage. There has been much discussion about the details of the study, but there are enough undisputed facts that it seems that definite conclusions can be drawn.
The first man was Jonathan Edwards, who was born October 5, 1703. At age 13, he entered Yale University and graduated with honors. Entering the ministry, Edwards was largely responsible for the Great Awakening that swept across America, uniting the colonies prior to the Revolution. His famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” was sent across the land, bringing repentance to many. Later, Edwards became President of Princeton College.
Jonathan Edwards married Sarah Pierrepont, and according to A Study in Education and Heredity by A.E. Winship (1900), their descendants were incredible. They included:
1 U.S. Vice-President
3 U.S. Senators
3 governors
3 mayors
13 college presidents
65 professors
30 judges
80 public office holders
100 lawyers
100 missionaries.
This same study examined a family known as “Jukes.” In 1877, while visiting New York’s prisons, Richard Dugdale found inmates with 42 different last names all descending from one man, called “Max Jukes.” Born around 1720 of Dutch stock, Max was a hard drinker, idle, irreverent, and uneducated. He would spend many days not working, but drinking and fighting. Dugdale considered this man an atheist.
His descendants included
310 paupers
50 prostitutes
40 “physically wrecked by indulgent living”
7 murderers
60 thieves
130 other convicts.
The “Jukes” descendants cost the state more than $1,250,000.
Now some people will look at this and conclude that education, hard work, and good morals contributed to the stark contrast in the two families. I agree that those things contributed, but I see the source of those attributes coming from God Himself. When people honor God and His word, they will be hard working, educated, moral, – and blessed.
Now am I saying that when your family has problems you are not being blessed? Absolutely not! Everyone has problems, but as we continue in our covenant with God, we will be able to overcome the problems. And we will see God’s hand on our children and grandchildren.
It’s something to think about, isn’t it?
Forever Upward
Suellen Estes
by Suellen | The Church Awakening
Christians have often stayed away from politics. The process can be so negative, with all of the mud-slinging, each side seeming to slander the opponent with impunity. It often creates strife – even in families. When debate starts, people seem to dig in their heels on their point of view, and the divide gets stronger than ever.
When it’s so negative, some people just “stay out of it.” They want peace at all costs, so they just ignore the dialogue and pretend that nothing unusual is going on. After all, they say, “This is the world, not God’s kingdom.”
I have a different view. In fact, when I wake up every morning and count my blessings, one of the greatest is that I live in a free society. I don’t have to be concerned about the authorities stopping my Christian worship. I don’t have to dress a certain way, or limit the number of my children, or worry about my daughters and granddaughters being able to attend schools and pursue their dreams.
Because our nation has been blessed by God, their are many more perks we can list. Warm or cool houses, running water, electricity, good sanitation, ample food…the list goes on and on. We are truly a blessed people.
I’m quite sure that the reason for this is that our God has had His hand on our nation from the beginning. Even Christopher Columbus noted in his diary that He felt that Providence had miraculously allowed his small crew to make the journey to the new world. Later, when the first adventurers started coming to the new country, they were seeking a place where they could worship their Christian God freely. Then, when the first settlers signed the Mayflower Compact dedicating the new country to God, our nation was started in covenant with God Himself. What a significant foundation.
The ingenuity and creativity we have enjoyed, the entrepreneurial spirit we have demonstrated, and the standard of living we have come to expect, all have come from God’s blessing. We have had His guidance and protection from the beginning.
So why is it so important to involve ourselves with politics? We have been entrusted with a tremendous responsibility. In our free society, we have the right and responsibility to vote for the people who will lead us, make laws, and activate other decisions which affect our lives. For us not to vote, indicates that we don’t honor our freedom to do so. And for us to vote the way God wants us to, we need to know what the candidates stand for.
Successful democracy depends on an educated populace. We can’t afford to stick our heads in the sand and just hope that “God’s will is being done.” He is counting on us to pay attention and vote for His will.
So go beyond the surface, and find out what the candidates believe. Don’t just look at what they say, look at what they do.
As you do your research, ask yourself these questions. Do they honor this great country and the constitution, which many believe was inspired by God? Do they honor religious freedom? Do they honor all life – even the defenseless, like unborn babies? (Oops, I’m giving myself away). Do they want to provide opportunities for people to pursue their dreams, or do they want to control the process?
Listen to the debates, and take a look behind the rhetoric to assess the truth.
Then, make your plans to vote for God’s candidate on November 6. We need to exercise our right to vote. We don’t want to lose the privilege God has given us to live in this free country. A country which is free to strive for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
