Sons in the Bible

I'm sure we all have things we ponder from the Word. I've often wondered why so many of the godly men in the Bible have produced so few godly sons. As you read throught the Bible, most of them spawned offspring that were even downright wicked! This is such a shame! So many of the kings that were good were succeeded by their sons that were noted as 'evil' in the Word. We know that Abraham had Isaac, who was godly, but he also fathered Ishmael! We also know he SHOULD NOT have fathered Ishmael, so that was a big part of the problem! But, I also wonder how much of that may have been true of the others.

Look how many children David fathered. LOTS!!! And many were by concubines. God was exceedingly gracious to David, but His highest and best would have been for David to have had ONE wife and NO concubines, thereby producing far less children...and perhaps he'd have taken more time to instill his love of God in all of them.

Even in the beginning, Adam fathered Abel and Cain...well we know how THAT turned out! Cain slew Abel! This was only the second generation of man. We didn't get off to a very good start, did we?

Then there was Jacob, later renamed Israel by God as a recognition of changed character. He fathered the 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel and out of 12, only one was of outstanding character, with a deep love of God. That's a poor statistic, wouldn't you agree? One out of 12...sigh...

I could go on...there's Aaaron, Moses's brother, Solomon and many more. It might make a good study some time. It makes me pray: Lord, teach our men how to be fathers who will teach their sons to love and obey You that they might become the men you designed them to be.

Continual Surrender...

For at least a year now, I've been praying and others have been praying for me, for a new job...one that will fit me like a glove. Now, I KNOW He can do this, as He's done it for me before. But, it's been over a year now, and nothing has appeared! Hmmm...has He become deaf? What is the problem???

Well, during the sermon yesterday, a thought came to my mind...a 'new saying,' if you will. Here 'tis...how much of our lives do we spend 'waiting on the Lord,' when it's really Him waiting on us? We can think we're being so 'spiritual' and/or patient, 'waiting on the Lord.' But, if we could get an email from Him, how many times would He tell us that HE's waiting on US??? Waiting for us to let go of 'that' particular sin, waiting on us to forgive someone, waiting on us to believe Him, and I'm sure there are countless other things He's waiting on...ad infinitum! I have to wonder how many of us think about THAT! After all, it seems much more 'spiritual' for us to be waiting on Him, right? "Wretched (wo)man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Rom 7:24)

I've often told others that most Christians can quote part of Romans 8:28, but when times become difficult, do we really believe it? Most Christians will 'quote' it as, 'God works all things together for good.' But this omits the beginning and the end of the verse! Here is the WHOLE verse: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Let's break the verse down. It starts off with 'we KNOW!' Do we? We 'know' the verse, but do we really know the truth of the verse? I'm often much better at believing it for others than for myself! That's unbelief, or at least hypocrisy, if I don't believe it for me as well! Then, after 'the good part' that we all can recite, it says 'to those who love God.' Then, I have to ask myself, does it apply to those who DON'T love God? The verse doesn't say it does. We have to then consider the verses about reaping what you've sown. Now, THAT can be painful! I think many of us are guilty of reciting this verse on behalf of another believer when, in fact, they are reaping what they've sown. Not always, of course, but then we have to be careful of being like Job's friends! aarrgh...

Anyway, I'm not saying He's not waiting on me to let go of certain sin(s), but I also believe He's waiting for a deeper surrender to Him. Am I willing to trust Him for that job that will really fulfill me and allow me to function in the gifts and/or passions He's put within me? Do I trust Him that when He brings it, it will be enough to actually live on? I want to, but am not sure I'm there yet. So, I might be waiting a little longer...while He waits on me...

Watch the path of your feet

I don't read the Proverbs as much as I should, but I was reading Proverb 4 this morning. Verse 26 says, "Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established." It reminded me of an incident from many years ago.

I'd asked a friend what she wanted to do for her birthday. She said she wanted to go for a little hike on Turkey Mountain. That sounded like fun to me, too, so that's what we did. Back in those days, I did a modest amount of hiking and she was one of my hiking buddies. Well, we were walking along, and I told her, "You know, I probably miss a lot of fun things when I'm hiking, because I'm usually looking at the ground (where I would be soon walking) instead of the things more on the horizontal level." Having said that, I'd determined to not spend so much time looking down on this hike. Well, about that time, she made a sound I don't know how to describe other than to replicate it, turned in the opposite direction and took off running! This was not her usual behavior, so I looked ahead, and on the ground, only a few feet ahead of us, were two snakes!!! And they weren't little, either! These guys were probably 2-3 inches in diameter and coral colored with diamond patterns on them! Therefore, I quickly followed her lead! We ran as far as we could until we were both so out of breath we had to stop! Needless to say, we headed for the car! And we never went back to Turkey Mountain, either! No, thank you!

Anyway, you might now be able to understand why this verse reminded me of this incident! So, I had established a good habit, then decided to change my mind. It was bad timing, for sure! But, then, is it ever good timing to deviate from a good habit and 'take a break?' Or give in to doubt that it's really a good habit? How many ways do we do this? How often do we do this? I've had a lot of good habits in my adult life, as a believer, then derailed for one reason or another, never to return. aarrgh...may we continue to set up good habits, then maintain them! These are good paths!

His Joy

I love it when I read the Word and something jumps out at me, like I've never seen it before. (must be why Heb 4:12 says It's 'living and active') I've read Psalm 126 many, many times, but today, I decided to get a little help from my friend, C.H. Spurgeon. (Yes, he's my friend, even though I've never met him in person. I will officially meet him when I shed my earthly body and after I meet the Lord face to face!) (Oh, we have SO MANY exciting things ahead!)

Anyway, Ps 126:3 says, "The Lord has done great things for us; We are glad." Now, I am glad a lot, for which I am thankful. But, it doesn't mean I don't forget to remember all the great things He's done for me from time to time. I love Spurgeon's comment on verse 3: It is a poor modesty which is ashamed to own its joys in the Lord. Call it rather a robbery of God. Ouch! We certainly wouldn't consider not expressing our joy 'robbing God,' would we? It reminds me of Malachi 3:8, in which God says to Israel, "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings" Ok...God was talking about tithes and offerings, but how many other ways can/do we rob Him? Maybe we should start keeping track, except I suspect it might cause us to hang our heads in shame. He deserves so much more than I/we give Him...

Spurgeon also comments on verse 6: "...for when our own soul is revived the souls of others are blessed by our labours." When our soul is revived, does this not produce joy? And isn't joy infectious? Well, it's also strengthening! Yes! Nehemiah 8:10 says, "Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." WOW! I LOVE that verse! My strength doesn't come from MY joy, but from HIS! Do we often think of Him as being joyful? He is! And He wants us to be strengthened by and in HIS JOY! Isn't that a marvelous thought? How often do we connect joy to strength? I never did until I read that verse. May you experience His joy as your strength!

His Pleasure

About six years ago, I was in a different church than I'm in now. I can't recall how it came up, but mention was made of the movie, 'Chariots of Fire.' The crowd was probably, overall, several years younger than I am, and they all had the 'deer in the headlights' look. They didn't even know about this classic movie! I was shocked! I guess I thought every believer had seen this movie! (not realizing, of course, at the time, the age difference)

All this to get to one line in the movie that has always stuck with me, and which I love. The movie is about Eric Liddell, a Scottish Christian who ran for the glory of God. In a conversation with his sister, he says, "I believe that God made me for a purpose. But He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure."

Isn't that WONDERFUL??? to do something and feel His pleasure? Have you ever? Or, have you, and then given into the enemy's condemnation, instead feeling GUILTY for feeling that pleasure and mistakenly labeling it as your own, and not His? Oh, such robbery! God has placed gifts and talents within EACH of His children and when we operate in these, why would we NOT feel His pleasure? Maybe it's a craft you love, but consider it 'non-spiritual.' If you love doing it and are good at it, why should you consider it as NOT something He has put within you? Or maybe you love doing it, but never share it with others so they can benefit from it. Well, then, maybe you are 'hiding your light under a basket.' As Mark 4:21 says, 'Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?' Do you consider running 'spiritual?' Well, most people probably don't, but Eric Liddell did, because he felt God's pleasure when he did it!

I have had the thrill of feeling His pleasure and I am thankful. We are called to be co-laborers with Him, are we not? And He is full of grace. So, wouldn't it make sense that He would allow us to feel His pleasure when operating in the gifts and talents that He has placed in us? Oh, may you feel His pleasure! Ask Him what you can do that would allow you to feel His pleasure as you do it! (I dare you!)

Without Excuse

About six years before I invited Jesus Christ to come into my heart, I saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time. Now, I had started to read the Bible when I was about 11, but I didn't get too far (certainly didn't make it to Romans!) It was Greek to me! (pun intended) But, I didn't have the Holy Spirit, so, of course it didn't make any sense to me! (but I didn't know that at the time) In my childhood, I'd decided, 'How could God answer everybody praying at the same time?' It didn't make sense to me, so I decided God couldn't be real. Then, in my early twenties, as I contemplated different things, I realized there HAD to be 'a higher power.' I just wasn't sure what or who that was, so I labeled myself an agnostic. But when I saw the Rockies for the first time, I said aloud, 'There just might be a God!' (and I wasn't joking)

Then, about a year before I became a believer, I saw the ocean for the first time. I wouldn't go out too far, as I'd seen HALF a fish on the beach, back end bitten off by another fish! But I walked out a little more than waist-high. I watched the mighty ocean, rolling in, then rolling back out, over and over again, and thought to myself, 'There is nothing man can do to stop this!' And I was impressed, but again, didn't know Who to be impressed by!

The Lord has always allowed me to remember these two incidents, and I am thankful. They are both very clear pictures to me of Romans 1:19 & 20 ~ 'because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.' I have since come to know Him and love Him. But, those verses apply to every person, whether they ever accept His free gift or not. NOBODY will be able to stand before God and say, 'But...' But my parents were abusive, but my husband was a jerk, but...fill in the blank. We can all fill in the blank with something or someone, but none of it will stand when we stand before Him. We are 'without excuse.'

His Eyes

In one of my recent quiet times, I asked Him to let me see into His eyes. Now, He doesn't always (seem to) respond to inquiries like this, (or perhaps I just don't hang around long enough), but this particular morning, He did. What I saw was much light...and people. Now, isn't that just like Him? In Matthew 6:22, He said, 'The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.' Well, Whose body could be more full of light than His? And in Ephesians 1:18, Paul prayed that 'the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,' so obviously, if He desires that our eyes be enlightened, certainly His are.

This was a beautiful thing to me. If someone really lets you look into their eyes, do you not see into their heart? Not fully, of course, but you can see a glimpse of their heart. And what could be more in His heart than people? He is the Light of the world and He died for the world...past, present and future. (to us, that is...He is not locked into time, as we presently are). It was a macrocosmic glimpse of His deep, deep love for every person who has ever been born and ever will be. It was also a conviction and an invitation. He desires that I love people the way He does. aarrgghh...I'm still so conditional in my love for others. I've gotten better at loving the unlovable, but how many people do I actually let into my life who are TRULY unlovable? sigh...I don't want to answer that question! Perhaps He's setting me up!

Are you brave enough to look into others' eyes? Are they brave enough to let you? I don't think it's that common. When we're in pain, do we allow others to look into our eyes? Rarely, would be my guess. It's actually a pretty intimate undertaking, looking into someone's eyes. And sometimes, when we do, and we see pain, we quit looking, don't we? We are afraid they might want us to help them and we feel inadequate for the task. It makes us uncomfortable. Heaven forbid that we should feel uncomfortable! Let that person wallow in their pain! I don't know how to help him/her! Sometimes, they are content with you just crying with them. You don't HAVE to have great words of wisdom or 'The Answer' to their problem. The Word says we are to weep with those who weep.

Yes, looking into another's eyes can be scary, can't it? It might take us out of our comfort zone! Well, is He not big enough? If we are afraid to look into others' eyes, does it mean we're afraid to look into His? Maybe that's the cure. His eyes are beautiful. If we will look into His eyes, more and more often, we'll be less afraid to look into the eyes of those He brings across our path. Go ahead, take a chance. It'll be worth it!