Knowing God Will and Can?

Yesterday I attended my weekly Bible Study with the folks on Tuesday morning. We are going through the book of Genesis. I have read through Genesis before but this time it hit a cord with my soul. I am so amazed how we still find things in the Bible even if we have read cover to cover a thousand times.  I have noticed that Bible speaks differently to me depending on what stage of life I am in. God is so good and today I wanted to share some thoughts and questions. I hope you enjoy...

The study yesterday was Genesis 22:1-14

 

22 After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” ³ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. ⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” ⁶ Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. ⁷ Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

⁹ When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹² He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” ¹³ And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided."

Questions to ponder about to think about:

What was Abraham thinking when God said give up your only son Isaac as a burnt sacrifice?

Could you give that up?

What has following God cost you? 

What does Abraham's commitment say to you about his faith and trust to God?

What do these verses say about Isaac during all these events going on?

How has God tested you in your commitment towards him?

Today I want you to sit and reflect on these things. Ask yourself, am I committed to God fully! Do I hear His calling for me? Am I willing to lay it all down for Him? Do I truly believe that God will provide?

Prayer: God help me have eyes to see your will for my life. God give the boldness and the audacity to stand up for you and to know that you will provide for me at all times. God it may not be easy or what I may want to do, but God I know you have a purpose for what "IT" is. God I relinquish control and you have the wheel; lead me where you would have me go or do Lord. AMEN...

Jesus is Love



Somedays I go through this life and wonder if God hears me or loves me anymore. Then I take look around I see my beautiful family, my wonderful wife who puts up with me. Then I take time to get in His readings, take time to hear His sweet voice, THEN THE NEWS FLASH; I am reminded His Love is abundant and it is sufficient.

This was on my heart today so I hope you enjoy the reading!

Many Blessings!
 
Jesus says,
"I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples."
 
Please take note that love is not an option for those who follow Jesus. Jesus says, "I give you a new commandment ...".  Notice Jesus says, commandment not a suggestion! This is not just a command to love like our mother or father but to love in the same way that Jesus loves us. Jesus said, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Today I want you to pay attention to the little word "must". Just as there was no getting around our mother when she told you, "You must wash your hands before eating", likewise there is no way around this command of Jesus, "You must love one another."

Why does Jesus command us to love? He gives this command because there is a part of every one of us that rebels against the idea of pure, unconditional love. Despite the example that we have in Jesus’ undeserved and unconditional love for us - there is a part of us that says such love is out of place in the world in which we live. There is a part of us that says –"sure, loving others is great - up to a point...."

Isn’t that what we do all the time?

We draw a line and say, "That’s how much we are prepared to love the next person".
We draw a line and say, "That’s how far we are prepared to do a kind deed for someone else".
We draw a line and say, "Those are the people we are prepared to love".

I am reminded all the time Jesus didn’t draw a line and say that going beyond that line was too much to ask. His love knew no limits.

That’s how he commanded us to love – willingly and sacrificially. In fact, that’s why Jesus commands us to love, because he knew that we are happy with a love that is anything but unconditional and sacrificial.

In a lot of way I think it is easier for us to be selfish, to ignore the person who needs our love, to offer up any kind of excuse why we shouldn’t get involved in other people’s lives. It would seem that to love as Jesus has loved us is humanly impossible. I might be generous enough to say that we might manage it on the odd occasions but loving others unconditionally and sacrificially all the time is a bit of a tall order.

The Bible states that our ability to love comes from our relationship with Jesus Christ. "We love because he first loved us", says the Apostle John. We are able to love because he loves us. Understanding this is critical to our ability to live out the Christian life of love. The more the love of Jesus fills our lives, the more we will be able to love other with the same kind of love that he shows to us.

Love  wasn't meant to be like a vacuum; to be all sucked up. Love was meant to pass from one person to another. This is one reason Christian parents are so important.

I once read somewhere, that a child who does not receive love, psychologists believe they will be unable to give love. On the other hand, a child who has received the proper amount of nurturing as an infant and as a toddler will have a sense of security and trust that will last them all their lives. You see how the love that children show is dependent of the love they receive from their parents. In order to show Christlike love, we need to receive that love from Christ

Jesus today I choose to love. I choose to be willing to care for others more than myself. Lord want to be genuine, and love unconditionally as you did. I choose to look to you as my compass that way you direct me on what I am suppose to do to glorify you.

I hope you have a very blessed weekend and a wonderful rest of the week!

Choose to Love and know you are Loved!