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Today’s reading:  Genesis 16:1-15; 18:1-15; 21:1-7

Pragmatic – relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters; practical as opposed to idealistic (Miriam Webster).

As I was updating my resume a couple years ago, I was looking for ten key words that described me and how I approach my work.  One of my friends suggested the word pragmatic.  While it wasn’t on my original list, I decided it describes me pretty well.  I am a practical, figure out a way to get stuff done, kind of person.

My friend Amy called me last week.  She had been asked to lead a big project and wanted my advice on how to approach it.  So, we went to lunch on Friday to discuss it.  My reaction after listening to the assignment she’d be given was, “well they’ve asked you to boil the ocean, but here is how I’d approach it”.   It didn’t take long for us to come up with a plan for how she could clarify/prioritize objectives with her sponsors, then gather/analyze current state data to figure out the problem areas to solve first.  A practical approach to start getting stuff done.

The Biblical person we are studying today is Sarah, Abraham’s wife.  I think pragmatic is a good way to describe her.

God had promised Abraham and Sarah a child of their own.  They had faith, and trusted God would do what he promised.  Then they waited, and waited, and waited.  By the time she was in her mid-eighties, Sarah’s pragmatism took over.  Perhaps Sarah was tired of waiting or, what seems more likely to me, she decided God needed her help to make progress.  At around 85 or 86, she decided to come up with a practical approach to start making things happen.

Since Sarah couldn’t have children of her own, her plan was for Abraham to conceive a child with her servant Hagar.  This type of surrogate arrangement was not uncommon at this point in history.  Married women who could not have children were shamed by their peers and often gave their servants to their husbands in order to produce heirs.  Children born to the servant in this type of an arrangement were considered children of the wife.   Ah ha, this plan would work for Abraham and Sarah’s situation.  Good thing God had Sarah to help him along, right?

Wrong.  Sarah’s plan initially worked.  Abraham slept with Hagar and she became pregnant with a son.  But because this wasn’t God’s plan, things started to unravel.  Sarah became frustrated with Abraham and began taking her frustrations out by mistreating Hagar.  Eventually, Hagar ran away from Sarah. An angel of the Lord intercepted her and turned her around to return to Sarah.  Hagar eventually gave birth to Ishmael who, as the angel foretold, was wild and lived at odds with everyone.  Hmm, maybe helping God’s plan along didn’t turn out so well after all.

Fourteen years after Ishmael was born, Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah.  Sarah was 90 or 91 years old when she gave birth to the child God had promised many years earlier.  I could go on about the remaining 36 years of Sarah’s life, but I am going to stop here and draw your attention to two key lessons from Sarah’s life that spoke to me this week.

#1 – God keeps his promises even when we mess things up.

Sarah took matters into her own hands and created a mess.  It strained her relationship with Abraham, ruined her relationship with Hagar, and produced a wild child that wreaked all kinds of havoc.  But, God still followed through on his promise.  Take a look at the first two verses of Genesis 21.

Then the Lord did exactly what he had promised.  Sarah became pregnant, and she gave a son to Abraham in his old age.  It all happened at the time God said it would (Genesis 21:1-2).

#2 – God is not bound by earthly limitations, he is capable of making unbelievable things happen.

As a woman in her early nineties, Sarah was way beyond child bearing years.  Giving birth to a healthy child was not physically possible…without the miraculous work of God.  Nothing is beyond the realm of possibility with him.

My challenge for us today is this – what areas of your life are you selling God short?  Have you messed things up so bad that you no longer think he’ll work in your life?  Are there things you think he can’t make happen?  After studying the life of Sarah today, do you want to reconsider?  Do you need to get on your knees, confess your lack of faith and recommit to fully trusting God?

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Today’s reading is Genesis 15,17,22; Romans 4:1-5, 9-25

The Lord spoke to Abram and told him he would be the “father of many nations” even though he had no children and was quite old.  “And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord declared him righteous because of his FAITH” (Genesis 15:16). God then made a covenant with Abram and told him that he would make him into a mighty nation. This covenant was not merely one sided, there was a part Abram (now changed to Abraham) had to obey. In Genesis 17:10 God said, This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. It was a tall order but definitely a mark that set them apart and Abraham faithfully obeyed. Then in Genesis 22 Abraham’s faith is tested again when God asks him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Again, Abraham obeyed and got as far as lifting the knife to complete the sacrifice when an angel of the Lord stopped him in Genesis 22:12,  “Lay down the knife”, the angel said. “Do not hurt the boy in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from me.”  And the Lord provided an alternative sacrifice in response to his faith and he promised to bless him and multiply his descendants just as he said he would do in the beginning. .

Fast forward to the New Testament and Paul is sharing the story of Abraham with the Christians in Rome in Romans 4. His theme is FAITH. God used Abraham because he first “believed”.  Romans 4:13 It is clear then that God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was not based on obedience to God’s law, but on the new relationship with God that comes by FAITH. And through our faith, God blesses us beyond what we could even imagine. Did Abraham grasp the depth of God’s promise to him?  Did he have any idea that he would be the beginning of the line to Jesus, the savior of the world? God did not use Abraham because he was perfect. It was his FAITH that made him righteous, not his good works. Because of his faith he was able to act in obedience when God told him to circumcise the males and then go on to sacrifice his son.  God will also ask us to do things in response to our faith but those things do not save us, it is our faith that saves us. Rest today in the fact that Gods promise of salvation is a free gift that only requires our belief, not our perfect performance.

Romans 4:23-25 Now this wonderful truth- that God declared him to be righteous-wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was for us, too, assuring us that God will also declare us to be righteous if we believe in God, who brought Jesus our Lord back from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God.

Shelly

Have you ever been intrigued about your family tree?  There are so many ways these days to discover our family heritage and where so many of our traits come from.  Today while reading our passage, Genesis 4:1-16, I was struck with the fact that the Family Tree is only 4 people long!  That is it!  There is no need for the internet or any amount of searching for finding the background of this family.  They are all right there in front of each other.  

• Father – Adam
• Mother – Eve
• Brother – Cain
• Brother – Abel

Abel is our focus today.

Abel was the second son born to Adam and Eve.  He was the first martyr in the Bible as well as the first shepherd.  Very little is known about Abel, except that he found favor in God’s eyes by offering him a pleasing sacrifice.  As a result, Abel was murdered by his older brother Cain, whose sacrifice did not please God.

When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground.  When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord.  Able also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock.  The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift.  This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

Genesis 4:2-5

Why did God look with favor on Abel and why did Cain feel dejected?  Genesis 4:6-7 explains why…

“Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain.  “Why do you look so dejected?  You will be accepted if you do what is right.  But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out!  Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you.  But you must subdue it and be its master.”

Cain should not have been angry, both he and Abel knew what God expected as the “right” offering.  Both Cain and God knew that he had given an unacceptable offering.  God knew that Cain had given his offering with a wrong attitude of the heart.  But, God offered Cain a chance to make it right and warned him that the sin of anger would destroy him if he did not master it.

The story ends with Cain killing his brother Able because of jealousy.  Able became the first man to be martyred for his obedience to God.  

Even though Abel died a martyr, his life speaks today of his faith.  He is the first name mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11.

It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did.  Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts.  Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.

Hebrews 11:4

Abel teaches us what it takes to have a right relationship with God.  Abel was not considered to be righteous because he was good.  He was considered to be righteous because he believed that if he offered God a proper sacrifice, God would forgive him of his sins.  

Abel and Cain grew up in the same family.  They were brothers and taught by the same parents.  But, it is apparent from Genesis 4 how different they were.  These two brothers show us that obeying god is a choice.  We all face these choices everyday.  Most often we know the right thing that God would have us do.  But, sometimes we (just as Cain did) choose to go against the will of God.  Cain already knew the way to life because his parents taught him.  Nevertheless, he chose to rebel against God and kill his brother.

Abel made a choice to become a righteous man.  He committed his life to the way of God no matter what happened.  

Both of these brothers made a different choice.  Abel chose life.  Cain chose death.  We all have a choice to make.  May we all be like Abel and have the faith to endure and choose to please Jesus.

Looking back to the beginning of the Bible now as we study the people of the Bible, we look at Eve. Helper to Adam, mother of all humanity, and archetype of the biblical woman, she can offer a view into God’s infallible knowledge of our hearts. But through her temptation and introduction of sin into humanity, we can also get our first glimpse of God’s great grace.

In Genesis 2:18, the Lord, in the midst of his creative phase, sees fit to provide a helper for Adam. But in all the creatures of the world that he creates, he sees nothing fit to satisfy the deep, personal connection man needs. So in Adam’s sleep, he pulls out a rib and crafts in into Eve, whom he presents to Adam to great appreciation.

Adam’s declaration of thanks in Genesis 2:23 paints a good picture of what this means to Adam. He says, “This at last is the bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”. Not just an ordinary “thank you” or “woah, cool!” Adam here immediately understands what Eve is; thoughtfully and personally designed by God to provide assistance beyond simple help, but Godly love. He exclaims “At last!”, recognizing that God has provided a spiritual partner, a deeper support and love, more fulfilling and gratifying than possible with any other creature on Earth. Of course, this points to the magnificence of the Lord that marriage mirrors, but even beyond that for those who may not be married, Eve is a symbol of God’s deeply intimate knowledge of us. He knows exactly what help we need, and exactly how we can be provided to best suit us individually and most effectively.

But as chapter 3 begins, we see not even God’s symbol of covenant love is exempt from human error. As Eve is tempted by Satan and shares in her temptation with Adam, they become aware of their human nature and become ashamed with the sin they have newfound knowledge of. Instead of coming to God and confronting their sin, they instead try to hide and obscure their shame from the Lord.

I always have the imagery here of a toddler playing hide-and-seek, standing behind a curtain with their legs visible, or with just a pillow held in front of their face as an attempt at hiding. And as we walk around, humoring them by asking wherever they might have gone to, we can see them clear as day. I imagine that is similar to how the Lord sees Adam and Eve hiding here: very poorly hiding their shame, yet very clearly visible to Him. How could they imagine that hiding behind some bushes, fig leaves crudely sewn together to make a makeshift covering, would fool the Lord of all creation, powerful enough to have just crafted everything from nothing?

We ourselves often try to hide our shame and sin from the Lord. We receive instructions for every walk of life, every difficulty we come across, all in the form of Scripture. Yet when we find ourselves living errantly against what God wants for us, do we find ourselves obeying Scripture and surrendering our sins to Him, or do we convince ourselves that we can hide it away, keeping it from the Lord, not having to confront our own sinful nature? The Lord is just and fair in disciplining us when we fall and refuse to confront him, but when Adam and Eve come forward, we see Him clothing and sending them on their way. In Eve’s actions, we see here the first example of God’s grace and forgiveness: that no matter what, when we come to Him to ask for forgiveness, even if we may be rebuked for our sins, He will always pick us up, clean us off, and help us back on the path towards Him. For he loves us beyond the bounds of sin and death.

From Eve, we can see the beginning of a beautiful, God-ordained relationship between man and woman, one of the most beautiful gifts of this life, pointing towards His love and glory. But we also see a fallible human, vulnerable to sin and temptation as the rest of us. Ultimately, Eve acts as a reminder to all of us of the beauty of grace, that the Lord’s love and care for us endures no matter our actions. So pray today for discernment in understanding when we have sinned and the wisdom and strength to confront our sin and come to the Lord immediately, without hiding and without shame, as we learn from Eve.

-Ross B.

Today’s reading is Rev 21. I’m not sure if this is true for everyone, but I think that a good number of us think about and maybe even talk about heaven quite a bit throughout our lives. When life feels hard, when there are too many deaths in our circle of friends and family, or when natural disasters strike fear into our hearts we long for the relief and perfection of heaven. Certainly at funerals we comfort ourselves with the hope of being re-united with loved ones who have ended their time on earth before us. But what are the facts? What do we really know about eternity from the Bible?

God gave us way less information in the Bible about eternity than He did about the path we take to get to spend eternity with Him. A lot of what we do read about heaven in God’s word should be labeled “hints” rather than facts because God had the writers use words, ideas and dreams that we understand from earthly experience to describe what we cannot fully grasp until we are actually there. Below is a list of some of the truths we do know from scripture about eternity.

A place prepared for us                       John 14:2-3

Unlimited by physical properties        John 20;19,26

Like Jesus                                               1 John 3:2

New bodies                                            1 Cor 15:35-49

A wonderful experience                       1 Cor 2:9

A new environment                              Rev 21

A new experience of God’s Presents  Rev 21:3

New emotions                                        Rev 21:4

No more death                                      Rev 21:4

It is clear from our list that Rev 21 gives us a lot of information about heaven. This book is written by John and this chapter is a description of a dream or a scene that God gave to John to give us a window of understanding into our eternity if we have believed in Jesus and accepted His gift of payment for our sin. Verse 3 brings the most thrilling truth of heaven to life for us. “God is home now, among His people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.” I don’t know how to expound on this fact, as I have no idea how this will play out. I can only imagine what it will be like to have a different experience and a different type of relationship than I do right now with God and it sounds amazing. We get to live with God in the same “world”. God Himself will be with us! This change from what we know now is enough to make heaven perfection! But God doesn’t stop there. He goes on to promise,“He will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever!” Wherever God reigns, there is peace, security, and love. Can you wrap your head around life with peace, security, and love instead of tears, death, sorrow, crying, and pain?

From verse 10 on John describes for us the stunning beauty of the new city of God, the place we will spend eternity. John’s vision is symbolic and shows us that our new home with God will defy description in earthly terms. We will not be disappointed by it in any way. Truthfully when I think of the beauty that I have experienced around the world when traveling, I cannot imagine how God can top Himself. I don’t have one idea how He could create a place more beautiful than mountains, oceans, lakes, forests, deserts, flowers, animals, stars, glaciers, rivers…think of the most beautiful place you have experienced and try to imagine something better. All I can do is recognize His creation, His goodness, His perfection, His attention to detail, His trustworthiness and His omniscience that we experience here on earth, and then add on His hints in the Bible about heaven and I am blown away with excitement, amazement, and longing to get to my new home!

Today’s reading is Revelation 12

I particularly like verse 11.  I find it extremely powerful and motivating.

“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” (Revelation 12:11)

Verse 11 points out to all of us that the critical blow for Satan came when the Lamb – Jesus Christ – shed His blood for our sins. This means that the ultimate victory was won and continues to be won by sacrifice – Christ’s death in our place to pay the penalty for our sins, and the sacrifices we are obligated to make when we are faithful followers of Christ.

I believe Satan is real and exists in the world today. Satan presents temptations to us and encourages us to act upon those temptations. As we face the battle with Satan we should not fear it but we should follow the example of Christ. Jesus Christ provides us the power to resist Satan’s temptations.

By resisting Satan, our testimony can be inspirational to others. Our actions can influence the actions of others, and this can help draw others into a relationship with Christ.