QT 11 Jun 19, Gen 18:32-33, Decisions have consequences

Genesis 18:32–33 (ESV) — 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

NOTE: Abraham's prayer involves a series of the same request -- 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10 -- before stopping at ten righteous. He was probably thinking that Lot must have had an effect on some of the people in Sodom. I suppose going to 5 would not have worked either, since only 4 people were saved. And to be true to the story, those 4 were taken out of the city, although one turned back. So whatever the number, God knew it, and he was determined to destroy the city for their sins of sexual immorality (homosexuality, sex outside of marriage, adultery, and in other passages we also read of 'greed'). Lot's righteous life, while tormented by the sin, did little to change the surrounding culture. There was not one single convert in the city. Lot went to Sodom rich, and he left with only his children and the clothes on his back. It all goes back to a decision he made when he was allowed to live in the north or the south of the land, and he chose east, out of the land and toward the rich land of Sodom and Gomorrah. Decisions have consequences. God saves us, but he does not always save us from the consequences of our choices. Some decisions have irrevocable consequences.

PRAYER: Father protect me, and protect my family from poor decisions. Help us to be wise, and help us to know your best. If we need to wait, help us wait. If we need to move, help us to get moving.

QT 10 Jun 19, Gen 18:22, Interceding on a grander scale

Genesis 18:22 (ESV) — So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.

REFERENCE: Gen. 18:22.—“But Abraham stood yet before the LORD.” The primitive text was “The LORD stood yet before Abraham.” It was felt to be derogatory for the Lord to stand and wait Abraham’s pleasure; and so the text was altered, as we have it in the present Hebrew Bible and all its versions. (Bullinger, E. W. (1898). Figures of speech used in the Bible (p. 1018). London; New York: Eyre & Spottiswoode; E. & J. B. Young & Co.)

NOTE: God was waiting for Abraham to intercede. That is why the original structure makes more sense than what we have in our bibles. Either way, Abraham intercedes for Sodom and for Lot. But it does raise an interesting question -- what is God waiting upon us to intercede before he acts? Certainly his plan will be accomplished no matter what. But what does God want us to be a part of by our intercession? And what we are we missing out on because of our lack of prayer? Another thought: Abraham fellowships with God over a meal, God reveals his plans for Abraham and Sarah, and the scene ends with Abraham interceding for things outside his circle. It is a nice picture and template of meeting with God.

PRAYER: Lord, what and for whom do I need to intercede? Bring to my mind the things I should pray. I don't want my prayers to be health prayers, but prayers of activity and work and calling. I pray you would protect us all from just praying about our sister's friend's cousin who fell. Yes, they need prayer. They need to know Jesus and they need to seek you with all of their heart, but we have a world to conquer and a great commission to fulfill. May those prayers be our true focus.

QT 6 Jun 19, Gen 18:14-15, The pattern of fellowship, revelation, and supplication

Genesis 18:14–15 (ESV) — 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

NOTE: The phrase "about this time next year" gives a time-frame for this visit. It could not have been more than a few weeks to a few months after the last visit. "About this time" probably refers to the season, as opposed to an exact date. Sarah's response of "laughter" is clearly not joy at the news as some have suggested, because she denies it. She laughed because she disbelieved, much as Abraham laughed in disbelief a short time earlier. I'm sure that later, the laughter turned to joy. The interesting aspect is that after a time of fellowship, represented by the food, God reveals his plan. I think our problem is that we want the plan without spending time in fellowship. Also, after revealing his plan, God will next listen to Abraham's prayer and pleading for the people of Sodom. There is a pattern -- fellowship, revelation, and confirming prayer. It is a pattern that we would be well advised to follow.

PRAYER: Father, continue to reveal your plan to me. Give me eyes to see what you are doing and to respond in obedience.

QT 5 Jun 19, Gen 17:21, Life is a long series of Faith challenges

Genesis 17:21 (ESV) — But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”

NOTE: Abraham now has a date, well, at least a time-frame--"this time next year." So, does having a time-frame make faith easier? I'm not sure. I guess a time-frame is much better than an indefinite "it will happen." But time-frames have their own problems. They become too much the focus of our life to the point where we wish so much for the day to come that we stop enjoying the days we have now. I like to phrase it - "we wish part of our life away." Each day is a day that will never come again. Children are older, things are different. Every day changes everything. There are times, especially in great pain, where we might wish days of pain to pass quickly -- that is, it is worth it to get out from under whatever hangs over us. But, in general, waiting for a date to come has its own challenges. God gives him a whole year to wait. That is hard. Can we trust God and wait? Or do we try to speed things up? New challenges and new ways to trust God. Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 90. I'm sure for the next 4 to 6 months, they wondered if anything was really going to happen. Their faith was challenged even with a promise and a time-frame. Life is one long series of faith challenges. It is not blind faith or even faith without any intellectual basis, as Atheists might argue. Everyone lives by faith in something, if they are intelligent enough to admit it.

PRAYER: Father, strengthen my faith. Help me to enjoy each day that you give me. Protect me from getting ahead of you. Help me to relax in you -- "my lines have fallen in pleasant places (Psalm)."

QT 4 Jun 19, Gen 17:18, Change forces us to trust God, complacency allows us to ignore God

Genesis 17:18 (ESV) — And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”

NOTE: The question of an heir has dominated most of Abraham's and Sarah's life. God comes again to Abraham and tells him again that he will soon have an heir. At this point, we are about a year away, but Abraham does not know that. Instead, Abraham suggests Ishmael as the promise. Ishmael was the result of Abraham and Sarah taking things into their own hands. That decision caused great pain and would continue to cause pain to Hagar, Ishmael, Sarah, and Abraham. Usually when we take things into our own hands, it's result is pain. Abraham was 99 years old and set in his ways. He wasn't very excited about change. He was probably scared. But he still needed to trust God even in change.

PRAYER: God, it is hard when everything is changing. It is stressful. We want to run back to the comfortable life that we are familiar. Give us grace to accept change, even to welcome change, and to appreciate the new chapter you are writing in our life.

QT 3 Jun 19, Gen 17:17, Isaac--the true son of promise

Genesis 17:17 (ESV) —

17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

NOTE: The name "Isaac" means, "He laughed." Abraham (newly renamed) laughed and Sarah (also a new name) would laugh a little later. Abraham and Sarah initially laughed in disbelief, but later would laugh in joy. They were 99 and 90 years old respectively. They were out of options to get an heir. And previous schemes had not turned out well. Abraham did not even want to go forward with God's plan and was quite content if Ishmael would be the child of promise (as Muslims insist). But God said no to Ishmael. The blessing to all nations would come through Isaac. Ishmael would be a wild donkey who would be everyone's enemy. Isaac's birth led to Jesus, the author of life and the new covenant. Ishmael's life led to the Arab nations, Islam, and world war against everyone else. Isaac is the one. The true promise of God, not the result of man's scheming.

PRAYER: Father, thank you that I am a recipient of the blessing. I do not deserve to live in a country where the gospel is freely preached. I am blessed because of many other's sacrifices. My prayer is for those in the dark countries where the gospel is actively opposed, even to death. Open the eyes of people to truth. May they see and understand the good news that gives real life. Thwart the plans of the enemy in this world.

QT 30 May 19, Gen 16:2, Some ideas are just bad, especially when they ignore God's commands

Genesis 16:2 (ESV) — 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

NOTE: There is a reason God forbids certain actions, and there a reason certain activities are called sin. There are direct consequences: relational, emotional, spiritual, etc. And then there are indirect and unintended consequences to sin. God gives us his word and commands for our good, not for our hurt. When we disobey his rule, we suffer needlessly, because we are not designed that way. Unfortunately, in our human way of thinking, we discount God's wisdom in his commands. We think of ways to solve problems and justify the activity based on what we see as the outcome. Somehow, we think it will work, just this one time.

PRAYER: Father, protect us from ourselves, from our sinful flesh that wages war against the spirit. Forgive us when we let the flesh control our thinking or actions. Give us strength through your spirit and the power of your word to stay true to your commands for our lives. We are weak and stupid vessels otherwise.

QT 28 May 19, Gen 15:7-8, God's graciousness with our weaknesses

Genesis 15:7–8 (ESV) —

7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

NOTE: God had just told Abram what he was going to do, and Abram asks the question, "how am I to know?" In one sense, we might question Abram's faith. When shown the stars as the number of his offspring, he believes, but when shown the land, he is not so believing. Abram is a bit of a mystery, showing great faith, peaks of excellence, and then following it up with weak faith, valleys of despair. He is just like us. The best part of this verse is that he questions God, and God in his patience answers his "how" question graciously by performing a human covenant transaction with some modifications to include God as one of the party.

PRAYER: Father, there are days when I do well and live in faith, and then there are those where I struggle. Thank you so much for your patience with me.

QT 27 May 19, Gen 15:12,18, The unconditional land covenant that gives Israel the land between the Nile and the Euphrates

Genesis 15:12 (ESV) — As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.

Genesis 15:18 (ESV) — On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

NOTE: This is really the best of agreements--Abram is asleep as God cuts the contract. God places the burden for fulfillment completely upon himself. It is unconditional. The land is Israel's. It is not the churches or to be dismissed in some metaphorical sense as some reformed theologians do. This is Israel's land because of God's contract with Abram and his descendants (represented in Abram). And he will fulfill it just as he promised. Even now it is not fulfilled as it is intended to be the land from the Nile to the Euphrates, and that has only happened for a short time during David's reign. It matters not who lives there now. God has given the land to Israel and it is theirs. In the millennial kingdom when Christ rules on the earth, the promise will be completely fulfilled.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you that I am a part of the church, an entity made of Jews and Gentiles who have believed in Jesus. We are not Israel and you are not finished with Israel. I am part of the body of Christ and I am part of the bride of Christ. I have a special place in your kingdom. Thank you for the gift of salvation that has secured such a wonderful future for me.

QT 23 May 19, Gen 14:24, Listening to God's spirit

Genesis 14:24 (ESV) — 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”

NOTE: Abram was entitled to the loot. It was an assumed practice in warfare that the conquering force looted the defeated force. Abram shows shrewdness because looting creates the roots of future warfare. Abram gives back everything except the food they have eaten and the share of loot that his "soldiers" (servants) would have expected for risking their life in battle. It is a very fair deal. It prevents any source of future misgiving from the battle from resurfacing years later. Included in the amount that is held back appears to be 10 percent which is given to Melchizedek.

This also would have been the opportunity for Lot to reconsider his living arrangements. Instead, Lot returns to Sodom. God gives us wakeup calls routinely in life. But do we listen before we lose everything?

PRAYER: Father, open my eyes to see what you are doing. Help me to be sensitive to the work of your Spirit in my life. I do not want to be like Lot. I want to obey the gentle whisper of the Spirit. Help me to have open ears.

QT 22 May 19, Phil 23-24, Christianity has nothing in common with the lone ranger

Philemon 23–24 (ESV) — 23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

NOTE: So much for the idea of Christianity as the business of lone rangers. I can only think of one time in Paul's entire life when he was actually alone. I believe it was when he was in Athens and it was a rather short period. Paul recognized that Christianity has nothing to do with the idea of a lone ranger. Christianity is about fellowship, the body of Christ, and reaching out to the world. Staying home because your faith is "private" is a copout, an error, and an affront to the idea of the bride of Christ. Yes, the bride has a number of warts, and we contribute to those warts, but the healthy growing church is one where the people meet, worship, fellowship, and reach out to friends and neighbors.

PRAYER: Father, I am by nature a loner. I know I could easily barricade up in my little bubble. Protect me from Satan's evil strategies. Give me a love for the unlovely and a desire to help others rather than just helping me help myself.

QT 21 May 19, Phil 22, The softer side of Paul

Philemon 22 (ESV) — At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.

NOTE: We get a little insight into the personal side of Paul. I seriously doubt that Philemon was going to start preparing a guest room for Paul or even to leave it open for the next year. More likely, Philemon had a guest room that was always open for visitors. While that may not have been true of most people, we have indications that Philemon was wealthy. The church met in his home and he apparently had servants. Also, since Paul never directly visited Colossae and he knew Philemon well, suggesting that he had met him while Philemon was traveling.  And so the statement is made almost tongue in cheek. Paul didn't need to say anything, but his humorous comment tells Philemon that he is hoping to visit if released. Of course, he is also hoping to go to Spain as well. Paul had a lot of dreams and not all of them were fulfilled, showing that dreams and desires are not necessarily indicators of God's will.

PRAYER: Father, help me to separate dreams and your will. Give me contentment in the place that you have "placed" me.

QT 20 May 19, Phil 19-20, Do we really live up to the standards of our faith?

Philemon 19–20 (ESV) — 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

NOTE: This seems a little harsh or strong for Paul, and yet he must have known Philemon well enough to say it. His challenge to Philemon is to forget the loss and expense that was incurred by Onesimus actions. Rather, see the eternal gain of a new brother in Christ. If Paul's ministry has had any effect--yes, Paul should expect actions consistent with the gospel and not the world. Philemon needs to act as Christ would and accept back his brother in Christ. That is our problem in the church today. The love of Christ is not shown. There is anger and bitterness when people don't get their way. Jesus said, "by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Rather than focusing on ourselves, our loss, our embarrassment, our whatever …, we need to act in a manner consistent with the life of Jesus Christ who gladly was mistreated for the benefit of all.

PRAYER: Father, it is easy for me to get mad at personal assaults or affronts. I know it is wrong and I ask your forgiveness. Far more important is to love others and forget the hurts. Help me to live as you want me to live and to love as you want me to love.

QT 16 May 19, Phil 17-18, Loving first

Philemon 17–18 (ESV) — 17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

NOTE: Paul displayed the Christian attitude to loss, anger, and misunderstanding. He took it upon himself. He was not in the wrong, but he was willing to bear the burden of the wrong. It did not matter who paid the loss. It was just money. It was just an internal sense of right and wrong that isn't even always biblical. The bigger issue was healing hurts and reconciling people. I find it is a lot easier to assume the fault to rectify a relationship than to get the other person to admit their error. So what? God will reveal it to them in time. It is not my job to play junior Holy Spirit. Now if it is a regular pattern, I may need to reevaluate that position. But God says, it is His to judge and to repay a person for their actions.

PRAYER: Father, help me to let go of hurts quickly. Help me to love others independently of how they might act. My job is to love first. Work in all of our lives to change us and to make us more like Jesus Christ.

QT 15 May 19, Phil 14, Giving is never to be under compulsion

Philemon 14 (ESV) — but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.

NOTE: Onesimus is a runaway servant of Philemon. He comes to Christ through Paul's witness. And now, Paul is sending him back to fulfill his obligations as a bond-servant. There is no teaching of slavery in this passage, but rather the typical Christian teaching of obeying government authorities according to the culture and time. I don't know if Onesimus was a forced slave or one who sold himself into slavery to pay off debts. In the latter case, that is no different than many professional sport contracts where a person sells his services for a certain number of years. In our culture, it pays very well to be a servant to a wealthy land owner. The main point Paul argues is that while Paul might be able to use him as payment for Paul's ministry to Onesimus, he argues that giving should not be by compulsion but rather a person's choice. There is no discussion of tithing or the law's requirements. The New Testament teaches that each person gives as he has made up his own mind, not under compulsion, for God loves cheerful givers.

PRAYER: Father, thank you for the mercy and grace of the new covenant. Thank you that we are not compelled to give. Thank you that giving is truly giving from the heart. I pray my heart for giving might continue to grow.

QT 14 May 19, Phil 6, Living like Christ all the time

Philemon 6 (ESV) — and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.

NOTE: I think we share our faith in two ways and in two directions. In general our faith is shared in words and also in actions (where action is a very broad category to include love, acts of mercy, service, kindness, gentleness, compassion, etc.). The two directions are toward unbelievers and believers. In the first case, unbelievers are left to question their pre-conceived ideas of faith because of the representation of our life. Hopefully, the opportunities where we live out our faith will lead to opportunities to express words, answering questions about our faith. For believers, we tend to call this direction fellowship and it is equally important. Many people live worldly lives in the church -- they really aren't any different than the world around us, and they don't encourage people to live upright and godly lives. They don't build up the faith of believers. The end result is sterile Christianity.

PRAYER: Father, wake us up to the extreme importance of a witness that truly reflects a loving Jesus Christ to believer and unbeliever alike.

QT 13 May 19, Philemon 1-2, We need close church relationships

Philemon 1–2 (ESV) — 1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:

NOTE: At first I thought I could make out who was who, but on further thought, I am not sure of the relationship of the three to each other. I am pretty sure Archippus is an elder and leads the church, but that is based on Col 4:18. Apphia appears to be married to one of the two, but could be a daughter to one and a sister to the other. While the letter is primarily to Philemon, it directly affects the other two, either because they are leaders in the church or because they are related to Philemon. In any event, it is nice to see ministry in the home and to see Paul's acknowledgment of such (as he does often in his letters). Sometimes our big building and large congregations cause us to miss out on the intimacy of the early church. A small group, of some kind, or small bible study, brings us back to the spiritual relationships that existed in the first century.

PRAYER: Father, thank you for fellowship and the friendship and relationships of  close brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that others might experience the close of a small group within their church and not settle for just Church and Sunday School.

QT 7 May 19, Jude 23-24, Someday -- I will be blameless

Jude 24–25 (ESV) — 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

NOTE: He is able to keep me from stumbling and my part is to turn to him and seek him. Needless to say, I fail at the latter far too often. There is a combination of effort and grace in walking with God. Some might call that heresy, but it is true. We need to work out our salvation. We need like Paul, to work harder than everyone else. We need to put on the armor of God. We need to take off our sinful habits, replacing them with godly behavior. We need to pray and meet with God in his word every day. And as we take these steps, as we put effort into our walk with God, God provides grace. Both are true. God changes us, and we work to see change happen. Failure is doing it all in our strength and failure is believing God will do everything.

PRAYER: Father, I'm far more comfortable living in this reality then either of the other two extremes. I will fail. I will struggle all my life. But by your grace, something beautiful will emerge.

QT 6 May 19, Jude 23, Sin is deadly

Jude 23 (ESV) — … save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

NOTE: The verse seems to suggest that these "people" do not know the savior, and they need salvation. I think this "fire" is hell, but there are other cases in scripture where it is a physical fire, like the one that would destroy Jerusalem (which this letter precedes by only a few years). Still others are to be shown mercy, but why? Is it because they are believers, just deceived by Satan? That would seem to make the most sense, since the first part of the verse deals with the unbelieving "Church attendees," and this part deals with the believing but misguided "Church members." The warning is to be careful, that is to be fearful, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. These members are in terrible sin. The sin is tempting, and getting too close can even affect the rescuer.

PRAYER: Father, give me wisdom as I try to help believers and unbelievers escape the clutches of the evil one.

QT 2 May 19, Jude 22, We are so impudent in our non-understanding

Jude 22 (ESV) — 22 And have mercy on those who doubt;

NOTE: In one sense, I do this well, but in another sense, I am quite poor at it. I feel a lot of sympathy and mercy to those who are being bombarded by the world and its worldview. And I feel it is my job to dispel the false conclusions of the world and the myths that it creates in its attempt to destroy the word of God or people who believe in the God of the bible (the only true God). But when it comes to teachers who doubt, I am not merciful. I distaste teachers who breed doubt because they add their own human understanding into their teaching. In my mind, these are false teachers. I realize that not everything can be known and understood. But there are certainly better explanations than to question the authority of the scriptures. My rule is that the bible is true, so therefore how do I understand this truth in light of other biblical evidence and outside evidence. It will fit together, although not always in my feeble, less than one cubic foot, brain. God is infinite in his knowledge and understanding. The fact that I might not understand something that he understands should not at all be surprisingly. And my knowledge or even the cumulative knowledge of the world is not enough to find God at fault.

PRAYER: Father, forgive us for our impudence. We are so stupid despite being so cocky and arrogant. Have mercy on us. Open the eyes of our believing teachers to dig deeper into you word. I pray they would reverence your word.  Your word is truth, absolute truth.