Tuesday, January 5, 2010
January 6 ... Genesis 19 - 21 "Kind to Strangers But Distant At Home"
Gen 19:3 - Lot was way-too-kind to the angels only to offer his virgin daughters to mongrels to protect the angels. Whoa. God's patience in these chapters is overwhelming. And it happens today too...it's easy to be kind to strangers and yet distant at home not willing to work through things---silent but not very loving. Gen 19:16 - Lot was dragging his feet to do what was true. Will I drag my feet today? God have mercy on all of our sin. Something so stirred deeply in me when Hagar got thrown out of Abraham's entourage. Wow. What moved me was Gen 21:19 - God opened her eyes to see in the midst of her desert. And as for her boy, God was on his side. Wouldn't we all love to know that God is on the side of our kids---WELL HE IS! Still thinking about yesterday's verse Gen 16:13 - YOU are the God Who sees me. YOU are the God Who opens our eyes. I think I'll pray that God open our eyes to see what's really going on in our deserts.
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The timing of God is always perfect. We may see it immediately, or in hingsight, but it is always perfect.
ReplyDeleteLot was dragging his feet. The men grabbed Lot's arm, and the arms of his wife and daughters—God was so merciful to them!—and dragged them to safety outside the city. When they had them outside, Lot was told, "Now run for your life! Don't look back! Don't stop anywhere on the plain—run for the hills or you'll be swept away."
ReplyDeleteHow often do I drag my feet when I have heard from the Lord. Lot also wanted to go somewhere other than where the Lord instructed him to go. How often to I deviate from the Lord's plan for me?
Wow, Bev. I hadn't thought to compare Lot offering his daughters to protect the angels with how kind we are to strangers yet unloving to our "loved ones."
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I always get stuck on Lot doing that - it's horrifying. But you're right, we do similar things in our own families, don't we? Whether it's in our family of origin or our spiritual family. Very convicting.
I pray that God will open my eyes in my desert today and that I will choose to do what is true, regardless of difficulty.
The part about how Abraham asked God to spare lives from Sodom and Gomorrah always strikes me... He was so bold, and he kept asking and asking. I wonder how he knew it was ok to ask God for something so bold...
ReplyDeleteThe last couple of days, I've focused on Abraham's old sin nature. After saying once that Sarai was his sister, he does it again to Abimelech, and when A. asks him, he says, "Well she sort of is my sister, my half-sister anyway..."justifying his lie. By this time, God had told him Sarah would have his child and he was still so quick to "throw her to the wolves." But God, in His mercy, protected her. I wonder if this was so there'd be no question as to whose child she was carrying, (if things happened in sequence the way they were recorded) because Abraham had already had the angelic visit and prophetic words that he'd be a daddy by the same time the next year. Same theme, merciful God, sinful man, and yet God uses them mightily. Same encouraging word for me again today--the old washed up, sin-repeating nature of our sin-sick souls are worth redeeming by our loving Lord.
ReplyDeleteThe other blessing for me was Hagar's words, "He saw me and then I saw Him.' He always sees us, but, oh, for eyes to see Him, taking care of every detail in our stories! That will be my prayer for each of us this day.
Annette G.