"Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as
righteousness." Now to one who works, his wage is not credited as a
favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes
in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness"
(Rom. 4:3-5).
Hey Gang: I am blessed this morning. O that does not
mean my heart is not heavy because of what I see happening all around me that
is tearing the very heart out of our country. But, as I sat here in the
quietness of my study I was able to see the sun peak through the trees and once
again realized that God is so very faithful. No matter how tough the day
may be, if we take a moment or two and really look, we can find the wonders
that only He (God) can give to us.
I have just completed a review of the story of Abraham, who
some say is responsible for a goodly portion of the woes of our day and
age. He did listen to his bride, rather than God, and sired Ishmael - and
we know the problems that decision has lead to. (Gen 16:1-4).
God did say "…you
will have a son that will come forth from your own body" (15:4)?
Keep in mind that Sarah was dealing with a double whammy, to not be able to
give your husband a son, in the Hebrew household, was indeed the absolute put
down. But add that God made a promise to Abram - He was going to give him
a son, bone of his bone. I suspect she saw Hagar as a way out of both of
these dilemmas. Was it best? In no
way! God said He will give them a son - Sarah just wanted to help God!
.
As most know, our grandson recently lost his two year battle
with cancer. Never before in my lifetime have I asked God "why"
so many times. I was talking with our pastor and mentioned I have a
list of things I want to ask God when I see Him face to face, but he responded,
“I believe when we come into His presence the list will not even be a remote
thing in our minds.” I tend to agree with him on that point. And
the more I think about that the more excited I get, for we will be washed clean
of all the memories of the tough and disappointing experiences we were forced
to endure while traversing this early existence.
In a recent morning message I mentioned that God placed a
death sentence on placing our dependence on human resources. Remember the
change process that God introduced through Paul in Colossians 3? The first step,
"we must die to self". I am speaking here of the
deadness of human possibilities, or being able to do things in our own
strength. I certainly tried that far too many times in my life and can
tell you -it just does not work!
It is a place where man-made plans flourish at first, but like
the seed planter parable, most seeds fail due to rocky, shallow, crowded or
weedy soil, and soon die. It is a place where human hopes bring temporary
relief but soon crash, adding a sense of helplessness.
Have you been at this place of deadness? Has it seemed you
have no options left? It seems the heavens are like brass and, when you
pray, your requests fall to the ground.? I certainly have.
Sooooo, friends and neighbors, you might want to consider that
this is God at work trying to move you from your comfort zone. His Spirit
is working to get you to stop considering the impossibilities - to stop looking
to human ways and means - to stop trying to think your way out of your situations
and “…die to self, go fishing, and let God! (Col 3:15-16)
Blessings,
Gramps
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