Genesis 12 1- 3 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

This is an ambitious title for a blog because volumes can be written about these men and their relationship with God. However, what I want to focus on is the God who keeps his promises. To each of these men God made promises and kept them even though it took generations for some of those promises to be fulfilled. The major promise that God made to each of these men in their turn was that through their offspring all nations of the earth would be blessed. (Read the accounts in Genesis, chapters 12, 26, and 28). We are the recipients of that promise as Jesus Christ is that offspring through whom everyone has access to God and every believer can embrace the joy of living a God-directed life.

The other soul-gripping aspect of God’s promises to these men is how emphatic God was that he would be the one to guarantee the realization of these promises. I challenge you to count how many times God said “I will” to these men. Why is that? (a) Because God is Sovereign and there are things which he does in defense of his own name; (b) He knows we are not perfect and neither were these men.

Lastly, the passage of time did not negate God’s promises. The blessings he promised to these men were to them and their descendants. Are you a parent like myself and are there things you have prayed to God about in regard to your children and God promised to sort them out? Time has passed. Are you now looking at the situation they are in and thinking it’s not making any sense?  I hear you. But “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19) Go to God in prayer and tell him you remember what he has promised and that you will continue to wait on his timing. I’m right there with you.

Psalm 119:1 Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.

If you hate what you do for a living or where you do it, quit. Find something else to do or find a new employer if it is the environment that is diminishing you. This is so important because as long as you continue to be miserable, you will have no testimony at all.

What one believes is tested in the work one does and where it is done. You cannot separate your natural life from your spiritual life. Rather your natural life is to be enhanced by your spiritual life. There can be no such thing as a spiritual employee who is always late, or who is sloppy regarding his/her quality of work or consistently missing deadlines. Your faith in God is a call to excellence in every area of your life.

Your advancement on the job is not your employer’s responsibility it is yours first and foremost. While it is true that there are circumstances where no matter how hard one tries, the fruit of one’s efforts are not always recognized, at least not as swiftly as one would wish, that is no excuse to lower your standards or to despair. If you decide to stay put, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.” (Ephesians 6:7). It has been my experience that if you are faithful, there comes a time when God will move in your behalf to engineer change in ways you could not have imagined.

Psalm 8:3-5 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

The Psalmist David asks a valid question. There is nothing so wonderful about our nature that can commend us to God, yet he cares about us so deeply.

In human relationships the same is often true. God has placed within many of us the ability to love people who, in practical terms, are unworthy of the love being bestowed on them. In some cases we conclude that a relationship is unequal because of a difference in social status, education, race, riches or the lack thereof. Yet, strictly speaking, none of these perceived impediments will automatically cripple the happiness of the couple concerned. How come? My own conclusion is the concept of redemptive love – where one partner’s love for the other is so overwhelming, it becomes a catalyst and provides security and safety for the other. In other words, grace flows freely and the partner which might have felt unequal at some point begins to thrive. The result is that the union becomes something sacred.

God is the one who took the first step toward us: “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). Having accepted this love, it is necessary to allow yourself to explore the length, breadth, height and depth of it. Not by testing it but by embracing and yielding to it so that it transforms you into the person God meant for you to be – full of purpose and his kind of love.

Luke 18:7-8 “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Luke 18 verses 1 to 8 records a parable which Jesus told to his disciples to emphasize the need for consistent, persistent prayer. There have been times when I tell myself that God is not deaf and therefore I should not keep pestering him with the same requests in prayer. But here in this passage Jesus tells his disciples that that is exactly what they need to do sometimes.

Jesus uses a natural circumstance to illustrate the posture we should take. The widow in the parable had issues and felt that she was unfairly treated and the only person who had the power to change the situation was this judge even though he had a bad reputation. Nevertheless, she was determined to get him to act.

I had been part of a prayer circle for several months for a member of our Sunday School class who was very ill at the time. Just over a year ago, the doctors printed out a report about the results of her most recent tests. There was not a shred of hope in that report, and looking at her I could only come to the conclusion that if God did not raise her up, she would succumb to her illness.  The widening prayer circle included our pastor and church family and we came face to face with the reality that God was the only one who could do the impossible. When another urgent call came for prayer, I remember saying “God I know I am beginning to sound like the persistent widow, but please do something.”

God is not unjust and he defines who we are to him: “his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night.” He is righteous and he defends his own name. Prayer is one of the ways we express our faith in God to do the impossible. Thus Paul, in writing to the believers in Thessalonica urged them: “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Our prayer circle broke out in praise when this lady was raised up and sent home.  I personally stand amazed and overwhelmed with joy every time I see her smiling face.

Psalm 100:1-2 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

“How can I say thanks for the things you have done for me. Things so undeserved, yet you give to prove your love for me. The voices of a million angels cannot express my gratitude. All that I am or ever hope to be I owe it all to Thee.”

I could end this blog right here. The lines above are borrowed of course, but they express what I felt following successful cataract surgery. This song sums up my whole life, every step, every stumble, every success, every stage and the joy of knowing Jesus as Lord.

I wish I could sing, really sing! When I get to heaven the Lord will fix that. I firmly believe so. Then I will be able to participate in what I call transcendent praise – worship that we can only imitate beautifully in the earth. For now I have to be content to make a joyful noise unto my Lord. How about you?

1 Corinthians 13:12  Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

The first part of this verse in the King James Version is rendered as follows: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face”. This verse took on new meaning for me a year or so ago when I had cataract surgery. The doctor had explained that cataracts had the same effect on vision as trying to see through a windshield that is foggy. In that case, you put on your window defoggers and, presto, the fog goes away. In like manner the lens of the eye becomes dirty by the growth of the cataracts and, if it were possible, the lens could be taken out and cleaned. Since that is not possible, the natural lenses are dissolved and removed and replaced with new lenses.

I hope you never need this surgery but if you have had it done, you know the result is amazing! You suddenly realize how limited your vision was before as blues, whites and greens become brighter and everything around you becomes seemingly more alive, even things at a distance.

Our faith at the moment can be like that – limited just as our natural vision can be limited. But in our hearts we have such certainty that what God reveals about himself in his Word is absolutely true. That he loves us; that he spared not his only Son but gave him up for us all to make it possible for us to be restored to the original state of fellowship he desired with us at creation. That he has glorified his Son as a result of his obedience and seated him at his right hand as our Intercessor. From that position he will come again as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.   We shall behold him, face to face! Then our faith will be made perfect as everything becomes real, clear as crystal.

Genesis 26: 24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

In Spring of 2017 the phrase “do not be afraid” played in my head for two weeks after the Ophthalmologist told me I needed cataract surgery in both eyes. How do you spell terrified?!  I began to focus on the fact that Jesus often addressed fear in his followers. He scolded the disciples about their fear and lack of faith in the midst of a storm (Matthew 8:26), but in John 14:27 he comforted them as his departure loomed. He even addressed Jairus’ fear concerning the death of his daughter. (Mark 5:36) For these people their fear was genuine and the circumstances were real. So as I faced my own reality I claimed Jesus’ assurance for myself.

I also decided to find where in the Old Testament these words were first spoken and to whom. It turned out that God told Abram in Genesis 15:1 “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield and your very great reward.” Next, in Genesis 26, after Isaac had lied to King Abimelech of the Philistines that Rebekah was his sister and not his wife, and was found out, the King though he felt betrayed, assigned land and decreed protection for them. Isaac lived and prospered to the point where the Philistines began to envy him. As a result the King ordered him to pack up and move with his family and all his possessions out of his land because he had become too rich and powerful.

Isaac moved to Gerar but faced new challenges. Every time his herdsmen opened up a well the local herdsmen battled them for it. Finally their third attempt was not opposed so Isaac named the well Rehoboth saying: “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” With no explanation the Word says “From there he went on to Beersheba.” That was where God appeared to him at night and gave him the promise in verse 24 quoted above.

There is something about night-time – not only is it physically dark but it is often the time when our deep-seated fears are magnified and often it becomes impossible to silence our thoughts. I believe God reads our thoughts and even when we don’t voice them, the Holy Spirit breaks in upon us to bring rebuke, guidance, and most often reassurance. God sees the struggles, the fears, and the hopes we each have. At night, even in the dark, I think he just wants to remind us that as he was the God of Abraham and Isaac he is our covenant-keeping God, the Great I AM. He is with us and we need not be afraid.

1 John 3:2-3  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like him for we shall see him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Young children reflect the attitudes, behaviors and beliefs their parents model for them, teach or demand. It is interesting that as they grow older they go through phases, and display behaviors which seem to scream “I don’t want to be you, I don’t want to be like you, I want to be myself.”  This is heart wrenching for parents to watch and cope with, but it is a necessary phase. Take heart. Your teen and twenties offspring will morph into a much more reasonable individual as he/she matures.

When we are born into the family of God however, the process is in the reverse. The Holy Spirit works in our hearts to create a hunger to be like Jesus. As we become more conscious of the magnitude of the love God has lavished on us that begins to re-order our priorities, change our behaviors and transform our appetites.  “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:9).

The capstone of our faith is that Jesus is coming again. It is that hope that purifies us. When he comes our transformation will be complete and we will be like him.

Revelation 4: 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is, and is to come.”

In this fourth chapter of the Book of Revelation, John is attempting to describe for us a scene in heaven. He wrote of hearing a voice that sounded like a trumpet, a throne with someone who had the appearance of jasper and carnelian sitting on it. The throne was encircled by a rainbow resembling an emerald. He described flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder coming from the throne, and seven blazing lamps which are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne a sea of glass, clear as crystal. He wrote of the twenty-four elders, dressed in white with crowns of gold on their heads, all seated on their individual thrones. Then there were four living creatures resembling a lion, an ox, a man and a flying eagle. Their endless refrain was: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”

The picture he is painting is one of splendor, strength and grandeur that inspire awe and wonder – and you get the feeling that words are not enough. Everything he described had one purpose – to magnify the One who sat on the throne. The imagery of this scene staggers the imagination, but to those who believe, it brings encouragement concerning the ultimate triumph of God’s program. We have hope that fills us with joy unspeakable. As I finished reading Revelation  4, the Holy Spirit spoke:

It is Christ that died, yea that is risen again to sit at the right hand of God from where he shall come to judge the living and the dead. Time has not dissipated the reality of his coming again in glory and majesty to snatch away his own – those who call him Lord and have humbled themselves and obeyed his leading. In his due time, he will come and men shall accord him the praise and honor due to his name.”

Galatians 2:20-21 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.

Do you become frustrated at times at how easy you either deliberately do or get tripped up by the things you were so sure you had overcome? I do. The Apostle Paul had the same experience and he confessed the level of frustration it caused him: “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep doing.” (Romans 7:18-19) This caused him to exclaim: “What a wretched man I am. Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24).

Paul identified this state of affairs as war – because, though in his mind and inner being he delighted in God’s law, his physical being was subject to the law of sin. Is there hope? Yes, through Jesus Christ. Paul did come to the point where he could say: “I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” This calls for the ascendancy of the Spirit of God in our lives. It is not a battle we can fight by making repeated pledges to do better, it calls for conscious submission to the power of the Spirit in the moment of temptation. We are not meant to be slaves of sin.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8: 1- 4).