Hard Choice: Stew or God. Hmmm…

Today’s Reading:

• Genesis 25:27-28:5

Faith-Stretching Verse(s):

• “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” – Genesis 25:32, NLT

• Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn. – Genesis 25:34, NLT

• “May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.” – Isaac to Jacob. – Genesis 28:4, NLT

Thoughts:
Faith is a matter of life and death.

Esau’s dying. Or at least he feels like he’s dying. Of starvation. And Jacob has stew simmering over the fire, ready to eat. Esau asks for stew. Jacob says, “I’ll trade you—my stew for your birthright.” And Esau agrees, saying, “What good is my birthright to me NOW?”

What exactly was this birthright?

In that culture, the firstborn son was the primary heir of his father’s estate. The bulk of his father’s assets became his when his father died. If your father was poor, inheriting his possessions wasn’t too helpful.

But Esau and Jacob’s father Isaac was wealthy. And even if he’d been poor, he possessed a treasure no money could buy: God’s promises. God had promised Abraham to make him into a great nation, to bless him, to make his name great, to make him a blessing, to bless those who blessed him, to curse those who cursed him, and to bless all peoples on earth through him (Genesis 12:2-3). And God had promised to give Abraham’s descendants the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:7; 13:14-17). In fact, God had promised Abraham Himself, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1).

All of these blessings from God were part of the birthright. They were meant to be passed on to Abraham’s heirs (Genesis 17:7-8).

But Abraham’s firstborn son, Ishmael, did not inherit these blessings. The birthright went instead to the promised son, Isaac (Genesis 17:18-22). And it was only passed on to Isaac after Abraham was asked to choose between God and His promises, on the one hand, and Isaac, on the other. Abraham’s choice was clear: Isaac faced death because Abraham valued God and His promises above even his own son (Genesis 22:1-18)! That’s how priceless a treasure God and His promises are.

Esau, Isaac’s son, threw this birthright away over a bowlful of stew! In exchange for stew, Jacob received the family’s primary relationship with God and His blessings!

Faith is a matter of life and death. Esau almost certainly would not have died without that stew. But even if he had literally been on the brink of death, he would have been better off to clutch his birthright promises jealously to his chest and die, trusting that God would bring him back to life and fulfill His promises (as Abraham trusted God would do with Isaac – Hebrews 11:17-19).

So perhaps this isn’t why I believe. It’s more why I cling to my faith so tightly. Given the fact that I believe in God and look forward to the day He fulfills His promises, there’s nothing that could replace Him. Nothing.

For an overview of this year’s blog, please see http://threequartertank.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-do-believers-believe.html.

Faith-Based Risks

Today’s Reading:

• Genesis 21:8-23:20
• Genesis 11:32
• Genesis 24:1-67

Faith-Stretching Verse(s):

• So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba. – Genesis 21:14, NLT

Thoughts:
How on earth could Abraham send his firstborn son away?

I don’t think Abraham could have done it without his faith in God—the same faith that enabled him to be willing to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac, a little while later.

Both events sound awful. We’re used to thinking about how terrible it would be for God to ask us to sacrifice a son because we hear the story of Isaac all the time. But it’s not as if being asked to send a son out into wilderness and never to see him again would be much easier. How could Abraham do it?

Here’s how: Abraham could only send his son Ishmael away if he was 100% convinced that God would truly care for his boy.

Abraham sent Ishmael away knowing he would survive…at least, if God was real and trustworthy. Just before sending Ishmael away, Abraham at least thought that he heard this message from God: “But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.” So Abraham acted in line with the promise he heard from God. And do you know what? Ishmael survived. And although not all Arabs are necessarily descended directly from him (at least, according to http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/OnlineDiscipleship/UnderstandingIslam/Is_the_Arab_nation_descended_from_Ishmael.aspx; and please note that I do not necessarily endorse the sites on which I find things like this), their culture is considered to be his legacy. So there’s at least some evidence that God fulfilled His promises yet again.

But the point I really want to make is this: the steps Abraham took were the steps of a man convinced that He was hearing from God. And things worked out the way Abraham trusted that they would.

So another reason I believe is that men like Abraham, throughout the Bible and throughout extra-biblical history, have been willing to risk everything on God’s promises. People don’t take such big risks without being completely convinced that someone has their back. When that Someone is God, and when He comes through like this, their conviction seems to be validated. And trusting their God seems reasonable.

For an overview of this year’s blog, please see http://threequartertank.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-do-believers-believe.html.

I Trust the One I Hear

Today’s Reading:

• Genesis 15:1-17:27

Faith-Stretching Verse(s):

• Then the LORD said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith. – Genesis 15:4-6, NLT

Thoughts:
I’m playing catch-up, so I’ll be brief.

Part of the reason I believe what I believe, to be honest, is personal experience. I believe the God I hear.

No, I don’t hear God’s voice audibly. And if I did, I would probably double-guess my hearing so often that the experience would be more painful than blissful. But when I’m reading the Old and New Testament Scriptures, I hear God. And just as some would argue that I can prove my existence because “I think, therefore I am,” I would argue that, “I hear, therefore He is.” Let alone, “I am, therefore He is.” But I won’t get into that argument here.

I hear. Therefore He is. When I read this passage, where God announces the incredible to an aging, childless man, I hear God announcing the incredible for me. Not the same incredible. I’m not going to be the father of celestial numbers of descendants. But all the same, that promise was for me because I am one of the descendants who gets to receive God’s blessings.

People are still hearing God today. I’m one of them. And because I hear, I believe. Do you hear Him?

For an overview of this year’s blog, please see http://threequartertank.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-do-believers-believe.html.

Nothing Changes?

ALL – Psalm 119:129-152
ALL – Proverbs 28:21-22
OT – Daniel 6:1-28
NT – 2 Peter 3:1-18

Interesting passage for the day: This will be their line of argument: “So Jesus promised to come back, did he? Then where is he ? He’ll never come! Why, as far back as anyone can remember everything has remained exactly as it was since the first day of creation.” – 2 Peter 3:4, The Living Bible

Thought: We’re on the brink of 2011. And Jesus still hasn’t returned. Our expectation for His return is getting laughed at more and more in this modern/post-modern world, especially as the news highlights various “prophetic” claims to know the date of Jesus’ return. Of course, each date flies right by with no fulfillment.

Generations of Christians have passed away, waiting for our Lord’s return. It can be easy to question His promises, and it’s certainly tempting to believe scientists, philosophers and other scholars who announce to us that everything has simply followed the earth’s natural processes pretty much forever—since whenever the world was formed, anyways (and not by God, they say).

I love how the next verse begins in 2 Peter: “They deliberately forget this fact…” Peter mentions one unnatural change the world went through: the flood. When God sent His flood on the earth to cover the whole globe, that was a supernatural act of judgment. Secular people don’t want to believe it ever happened.

Here’s another event they deny: the Son of God’s incarnation, life, death and resurrection. The way that God entered human history certainly didn’t seem to change the world on the outside. Jesus looked like any other man, and His death looked like any other crucifixion. But His death was a history-changer, another of God’s acts of judgment against sin. The flood destroyed all humanity with our sins, except for Noah and his seven family members. But it could not conquer sin, because Noah himself was not pure. But Jesus’ death destroyed and judged all sin while leaving men and women around the world untouched—except for Jesus Himself, who died for us. Yes, we still experience sin today, but the cross was Part 1 of God’s judgment on sin, removing sin from everyone who trusts in Jesus without removing us from life. That’s a pretty significant historical change that those without faith deliberately forget.

And why do they forget it? Because they want to continue in their sins without remember Part 2 of God’s judgment on sin, when Jesus comes back. On that day, it will again be like the flood. God will send a flood of fire as a judgment to finally exterminate sin from among all the living. The fire will consume all sinners. Men and women will survive, but not sinners. The only survivors will be those whose sins were judged when Jesus died on the cross, those who will be transformed when Jesus returns so that not even a trace of sin remains in them. There will be no one to carry sin forward into the new creation at all.

Jesus is coming back. For sure. History has changed. All is not the same as it has always been. God has interacted with men. God has judged our sins before, and He’s planning one more major act of earthly judgment. Let’s not deliberately forget anything God tells us. Let’s listen. And let’s live accordingly.

Question: Does Jesus’ promised return scare you? Delight you? Trouble you? Bore you? How is your life different because Jesus has promised to return? If your life’s not different, why not?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Fulfilled Bones

ALL – Psalm 111:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 27:15-16
OT – Ezekiel 27:1-28:26
NT – Hebrews 11:17-31

Interesting passage for the day: And it was by faith that Joseph, as he neared the end of his life, confidently spoke of God bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt; and he was so sure of it that he made them promise to carry his bones with them when they left! – Hebrews 11:22, The Living Bible

Thought: “If you’re not going to fulfill your promise while I’m alive, what’s the use?”

Most of us have a hard time waiting for people to fulfill their promises. We have a hard time waiting a week or a month, let alone any longer time frames. If we’re hoping to get a new iPod for Christmas, but Christmas is still three months away, sometimes we’re so impatient that we’ll go ahead and buy what we’re hoping for even if someone promises to get it for us and takes away our fear that we won’t get it.

Joseph trusted in God’s promise to give Abraham’s descendants the land He had promised to them. For that promise to be fulfilled, the Hebrews had to leave Egypt—so in Joseph’s mind, the day was coming. They would leave Egypt. And even though he would be dead, Joseph still wanted to be part of it. He wanted to “see” God’s promise fulfilled. God’s promise was for him, too. So he made the other Hebrews promise to carry his bones out of Egypt and to bury them in the promised land. And four hundred years later, when they finally left, they carried his bones around the desert with them for 40 years until they were finally able to lay them at rest. Though dead, Joseph came home to the place God had promised.

It’s been a long time since Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, promising to come back and take us home. Many believers have died through the years—through the centuries. But that doesn’t make His promise worthless. It’s going to happen. And when He comes, it won’t be just our bones that benefit. He’s going to raise us to life again. It might be a long time coming, but let’s live for that promise.

Question: What pleasures in this life make you forget the promises of God and live as though it’s not worth waiting for them? What trials make your life feel so overwhelming that you would rather sin and dishonor your Savior than wait for Him to return and make things right?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Trust or Bust

ALL – Psalm 110:1-7
ALL – Proverbs 27:14
OT – Ezekiel 24:1-26:21
NT – Hebrews 11:1-16

Interesting passage for the day: Noah was another who trusted God. When he heard God’s warning about the future, Noah believed him even though there was then no sign of a flood, and wasting no time, he built the ark and saved his family. Noah’s belief in God was in direct contrast to the sin and disbelief of the rest of the world—which refused to obey—and because of his faith he became one of those whom God has accepted. – Hebrews 11:7, The Living Bible

Thought: Usually it’s the people who are preparing for some unconfirmed future disaster who are considered to be crazy. They build bunkers, store up years’ worth of food and, with eyes that dart suspiciously to and fro, they hiss dogmatic warnings of doom for all mankind. But Noah, the man who built the most epic floating bunker ever, storing up enough food for eight humans and for multiple specimens of the entire planet’s wildlife to survive for about a year, was not crazy. He had heard from and believed the one true and living God. And because Noah believed what God said about a coming flood, he took appropriate action (also with guidance from above).

And we thought we had nothing in common with Noah.

Noah heard God promise to destroy the earth with a flood. We’ve heard from God that, when Jesus comes back, the earth will be destroyed by fire.

Noah received instructions from God about escaping death. We’ve received instructions from God about escaping death (for example, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and your household.” – Acts 16:31, NIV).

Noah responded wholeheartedly to God’s instructions. … How about us?

Question: What does it look like to respond wholeheartedly to God’s command to “believe in the Lord Jesus”? Is it enough to say, “I believe,” or should our lives be different somehow, too? Would you say that your life is being spent wholeheartedly responding to God’s warnings, promises and instructions? Why or why not?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

The God Who Swore

ALL – Psalm 105:16-36
ALL – Proverbs 27:1-2
OT – Ezekiel 10:1-11:25
NT – Hebrews 6:1-20

Interesting passage for the day: God also bound himself with an oath, so that those he promised to help would be perfectly sure and never need to wonder whether he might change his plans. – Hebrews 6:17, The Living Bible

Thought: “Cross my heart and hope to die.” Remember being a kid, when we told so many tall tales and tried so often to trick one another that any time we were being serious, we had to promise we were telling the truth on pain of death? Maybe you’re still there…

So perhaps we’re not the most trustworthy people in the world. But there are some trustworthy people. My grandmas, for instance. I trust them. When they tell me something, it’s true, and if it’s not true, at least I know that they believe it’s true.

As trustworthy as my grandmas are, God is much more trustworthy. And He has made some pretty amazing promises—promises about saving His enemies and those who have rebelled against Him. Promises about forgiving us, counting Jesus’ death on the cross as the punishment for our sins, restoring our relationship with Him. Promises about raising us from the dead and giving us eternal life with Him. Promises about living in us through His Holy Spirit.

How can people not trust Him? Yet the reality is that people struggle to trust God.

So even God has backed up His promises. Even God has essentially said, “Cross my heart and hope to die.” Even God has given an oath: “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me” (Gen. 22:16-18, NIV).

Are you a part of “all nations on earth”? Then you are among those whom God has not only promised, but sworn, to bless through Abraham’s offspring. And that offspring who brings us God’s blessing is Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16).

Question: What more does God have to do to earn your trust? If you can admit that God is completely trustworthy, then what leads you to live as though you don’t believe that all of God’s blessings for you come to you through Jesus Christ? How can you look for the good life anywhere else?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Promise-Motivated Life

ALL – Psalm 47:1-9
ALL – Proverbs 22:16
OT – Ecclesiastes 4:1-6:12
NT – 2 Cor. 6:14-7:7

Interesting passage for the day: And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For you are God’s temple, the home of the living God, and God has said of you, “I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” – 2 Corinthians 6:16, The Living Bible

Thought: We all know that we’re supposed to do good. But what makes us want to do good? We recognize that God’s commands are right. But what makes us want to obey them?

How about God’s promises?

Take the one above, where God says that He shall live in us and walk among us, that He shall be our God, that we will be His people. He’s fulfilling that promise already! He’s already sent His Holy Spirit to live in us. He’s already become our God; we’ve already become His people. What a great God is ours! And we have more to look forward to. When Jesus comes again, this promise gets fulfilled in even more wonderful ways!

Doesn’t that make you yearn to please God? Looking forward to being with Him as fully as possible takes the concept of obeying Him and turns it from a “have to” into a “get to,” from a drudgery into a desire. I want God to be my God. He’s promised to be my God. So I want to please Him. God is so good.

Question: Which of God’s promises are especially inspiring and motivating for you? Please share them with us.

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

For Yourselves and For the Aliens

Ezekiel 47-48; Psalm 119:89-120; Proverbs 28:19-20

I’m an alien. I admit it.

No, not an outer-space alien (though my citizenship is in heaven). An earthly alien. A foreigner to Israel. A Gentile.

Yet these words of promise and hope shine out to me from the midst of Ezekiel’s description of the new Israel, restored and revived by God:

"You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who have settled among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe the alien settles, there you are to give him his inheritance,” declares the LORD. – Ezekiel 47:21-23

God’s promises to Israel include even aliens—Gentiles, like me. Praise the LORD!

Father, thank You for including Gentiles in Your rejuvenated kingdom!