These thoughts touched!!
Selections from Genesis 22
"Abraham! ... Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." When they arrived at the place ... Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham! Abraham! ... Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me."
Just when we think we have God figured out, just when our future seems to stretch out before us with perfect predictability, that's when God has a way of pressing a new wrinkle into our neat, ironed-out ideas.
Abraham's testing foreshadowed the key event on which all Christianity turns, which was the atoning death of Jesus Christ when the Lamb of God was provided as the substitute for the sins of the world. In the same way, God often has more than just us in mind when he allows difficult seasons to move into our lives. He also has his eye on our unbelieving coworkers, our doubting relatives, our faltering friends. Our testimony through tough times may be the way God has chosen to speak so that those around us will listen.
Look At It This Way ...
Abraham loved God. But he also loved Isaac, the child of promise. This young lad had become the center of his life. Perhaps at this moment in his experience, if he were asked whom he loved more - Isaac or God - it may have been difficult for him to answer. Get the picture? God tested Abraham in the most emotionally sensitive area of his life. Was he willing to put his Lord before Isaac? Was he willing to obey God rather than following his own desires? You, of course, know what happened. Abraham passed the test. His love for God was stronger than his love for Isaac. He demonstrated this love through unwavering trust and confidence in his heavenly Father. Today God often tests us in these sensitive areas of our lives. What is most important to us? Where does our security lie? We mustn't be surprised if we're sud-denly confronted with a choice between our dearest possessions and the God we also love. It's in moments like these that we begin to understand how deep our love for God really is - or isn't.
Pray Right, Think Right and Do Right
Pastor Mike
Selections from Genesis 22
"Abraham! ... Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." When they arrived at the place ... Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham! Abraham! ... Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me."
Just when we think we have God figured out, just when our future seems to stretch out before us with perfect predictability, that's when God has a way of pressing a new wrinkle into our neat, ironed-out ideas.
Abraham's testing foreshadowed the key event on which all Christianity turns, which was the atoning death of Jesus Christ when the Lamb of God was provided as the substitute for the sins of the world. In the same way, God often has more than just us in mind when he allows difficult seasons to move into our lives. He also has his eye on our unbelieving coworkers, our doubting relatives, our faltering friends. Our testimony through tough times may be the way God has chosen to speak so that those around us will listen.
Look At It This Way ...
Abraham loved God. But he also loved Isaac, the child of promise. This young lad had become the center of his life. Perhaps at this moment in his experience, if he were asked whom he loved more - Isaac or God - it may have been difficult for him to answer. Get the picture? God tested Abraham in the most emotionally sensitive area of his life. Was he willing to put his Lord before Isaac? Was he willing to obey God rather than following his own desires? You, of course, know what happened. Abraham passed the test. His love for God was stronger than his love for Isaac. He demonstrated this love through unwavering trust and confidence in his heavenly Father. Today God often tests us in these sensitive areas of our lives. What is most important to us? Where does our security lie? We mustn't be surprised if we're sud-denly confronted with a choice between our dearest possessions and the God we also love. It's in moments like these that we begin to understand how deep our love for God really is - or isn't.
Pray Right, Think Right and Do Right
Pastor Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment