Biblical Chronology Genesis 11
This is the account of Shem’s family line.
Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
Genesis 11:10-26
There are 10 generations mentioned in this passage but only one person’s life story is recorded in detail. Think about this a minute. Have you ever heard the name Arphaxad kicked around in conversation? Have you ever heard or read anything about Reu? Neither have I.
It’s Abram (later renamed Abraham) who we read about, who we hear about, and who we talk about. I believe there are two reasons for this. 1) Abram/Abraham had faith in God. 2) God blessed Abram with a life that was filled with adventure.
A famous comedian once said, “Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die.” This speaks toward how you and I perceive adventure and stress. The great difficulties we see in the lives of others we tend to perceive as adventure but the same or even lesser events in our own lives we tend to perceive as stress.
Stress is a terrible thing, we think. Something to be avoided we say. We’re always looking for ways to reduce it.
We’re always seeking ways to make life,
…easier,
…more convenient,
…more comfortable.
Living like this just makes sense, right?
To the degree that we can, let’s take a look from God’s perspective. What does He think of stress? What were the lives like of those who’s stories He tells in His scriptures? People like Abram, David, Joshua, Joseph, Noah, Moses, Samson, Paul, and Jesus.
Let’s take just one of these men and examine his life a bit. Let’s talk about David, the man who the Bible says was a man after God’s own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14) Other than Jesus Himself, who might God want to give a better life to than David, the man after His own heart? Let’s see what God sent David’s way.
Apparently God had in mind for David’s flock to be attacked by bears and lions while providing David with only a sling for defense. (1 Samuel 17:34) David’s people were attacked by the giant Goliath and God chose David as the one to defeat him — again God, and David’s, weapon of choice was a simple sling. (1 Samuel Ch 17) David’s king, who David loved, pursued him with resources from the king’s army in a relentless attempt to end David’s life. (1 Samuel Chapters 18-26) A band of raiders kidnapped the families of David and his men and stole everything they had at Ziklag. (1 Samuel Ch 30) And there’s plenty more beyond these adventures — read 1 and 2 Samuel if you’re interested in hearing more.
There’s no disputing that God loved David dearly, yet He sent a myriad of adventures David’s way. And He recorded David’s story in detail.
Now here’s a bit of news for you: God has the same thing in mind for you and for me.
He’s writing His story of your life and of my life as He allows us to go through difficulties and trials. It’s not a matter of if you’ll go through trials, it’s just a matter of when. We’ll all experience failure, we’ll all be touched by serious health problems, we’ll all experience the death of people we love. All of us. It’s when not if. And keep in mind that this is just a partial list.
Knowing this, how are we to handle our adventures? A couple of thoughts:
1) Your Perception
G.K. Chesterton said, “An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.” When we perceive something as a negative we reduce our capacity to handle it. Recognize that problems and challenges in life are part of God’s design. God has it in His mind to send you adventures. So in your own thinking and speaking, call them what they are: adventures.
2) Your Sabbath
God tells us to practice the principle of the Sabbath for a reason. Adventures won’t break you but failing to create sufficient waves of recovery can. High levels of adventure without recovery can be lethal but high adventure with relief is not only manageable but will actually strengthen you and your faith in the Lord. Had David’s flocks not been attacked by bears and lions it’s doubtful that he would have had the strength to defeat Goliath.
“You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
(1 Samuel 17:33-37)
3) Your Physicality
The young man sought from his dad an opportunity to borrow the car. The young man’s dad saw an opportunity for his son to get a hair cut.
“Tell you what,” the dad said. “I’ll loan you the car if you get your hair cut.”
“But what about Jesus,” the son countered. “He had long hair.”
“Jesus walked everywhere He went,” the dad replied wryly.
Paul tells us that physical training is of some value. (1 Timothy 4:8)
I once heard Woodburn Fire Chief Kevin Hendricks tell the story of his involvement in the response to the tragic December, 2008 terrorist bombing incident that “killed Senior Trooper William Hakim, who worked as a bomb squad technician for Oregon State Police, and Capt. Tom Tennant of the Woodburn Police Department.” http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/12/police_identify_colleagues_kil.html When Chief Hendricks arrived efforts were being made to set up a command post across the street from the bank that was now in ruins as a result of the bomb. Hendricks was horrified because he knew the victims personally. In spite of his depression and stress he managed to think clearly enough to realize that no one had taken into consideration that there might be a secondary explosive device. Chief Hendricks directed emergency personnel to move the command post to the Woodburn Fire Station, a twenty minute walk, up the street. Only problem was, in his effort to get everyone out of the hot zone, Hendricks missed his ride so he had to walk. Hendricks recalled, “I’ll tell you what, that twenty minute walk did my head more good than I would have imagined.”
While experiencing an adventure it’s important to take time to do something physical. God designed us to be physical. We weren’t designed to be sedentary.
4) Your Refuge
Instead of succumbing to your anxiety, come to God. Surround yourself with the body of Christ — your brothers in Christ if you’re a man, your sisters in Christ if you’re a woman. Fellowship with Jesus at church. Read His word. Pray. Know where to go when things get tough.
Resist the urge to succumb to your emotions, or even worse, alcohol or drugs. In Matthew 6:27 Jesus asks, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life ?”
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.(Philippians 4:6-7)
Say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:2)
5) Your Actions
Of course it’s essential that we pray for God’s direction in everything, however also notice that in every one of David’s adventures, David took action. With God’s help, David fought the bear, the lion, and Goliath. With God’s help David encouraged himself at Ziklag, rallied his men, and recovered their families and belongings. Notice also that these actions often involved helping others. David was defending the flock when he fought the bear and the lion. David was rescuing his family and friends at Ziklag. And David defended all of Israel when he defeated Goliath. Wherever you can, make your actions count on behalf of others.
Without God you can’t, but without you God won’t.
After prayerfully considering your adventure, it may be time to take action.
6) Your Thanksgiving
…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Give thanks for your adventure. Find the blessings that God has wrought from the adventure that you’re experiencing. I’ve never experienced or heard of a life challenge that wasn’t also lined with blessings from God.
What a difference thanksgiving makes.
7) Your Story
Keep in mind that people are watching. As you go through the trials and challenges that God allows in your life, people are watching to see how you handle it. It’s essential to remember that your story and my story are for God’s glory. God in His sovereignty has decided to allow the various trials in your life so He can provide a testimony of His greatness to those around us.
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
(Philippians 1:27)
References:
Bible Gateway
Categories
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Surrender Yourself to God: Joshua 1:1-7
The following is a guest post by Don Bennett.
Joshua was truly honored to be chosen to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. What an incredibly strong endorsement. By this time, inspite of wandering in the desert for 40 years, Israel had grown to be 3 million strong. No sooner had they begun their trip to the promised land than they encountered the incredibly powerful fortified city of Jericho. Joshua sent 3 men to Jericho to find out what the situation was there. With the help of a woman who believed that the God of Israel was the true God they found that rather than come out and fight, the people of Jericho were going to hide behind the incredibly strong walls of the city. Most Christians know the story of God’s angel appearing as a warrior to Joshua and giving him instruction to lead the people around the walls 7 days in a row. On the 7th day they were instructed to have the priests blow the ram’s horn and have all of the people shout at the same time. As the song says, “…the walls came tumbling down.”
The next obstacle confronting Joshua and his people was the city of Ai. Without praying or consulting the LORD, Joshua sent several men in to assess the situation. They returned and reported that “This should be easy. They don’t look very strong.” They didn’t know that three Kings, who feared the Israelis, were allied with Ai. Because of this alliance the fighting forces of Ai were much more powerful than they appeared. Perhaps even more powerful than Jericho’s. Again, without consulting or praying, Joshua sent only 3,000 men to engage Ai and they were routed. The survivors came running back and told Joshua that they had been met with a powerful force. Joshua, being a man of the LORD, lay prone on the ground, covered himself with dust, and prayed for GOD’s forgiveness for his, Joshua’s, being so arrogant. God forgave Joshua with a strong warning to remember who the authority was and to check in with the LORD before going off on his own. Obviously, Joshua learned very quickly to respect the LORD and to be grateful for his blessings.
In my life, from an early age, I did not always respect authority, and I always found that there was a price to pay. Growing up in Kansas, sports were always very important to me. In the 8th grade I was the quarterback on our football team. We had a coach named Mr. Burnett. He was young and easy to relate to. In fact at that time, he still often wore his letterman’s sweater from Coffeeville College. One day he asked me to stay after practice to talk.
He first asked me how I was doing.
I answered “I think I’m doing pretty well.”
He asked, “Why do you think you’re doing well?”
I said, “I really don’t know.”
He said, “I know why you are doing well. God gave you the ability to run fast and throw a ball fast, but you have a problem. You will never become a better player and teammate unless you work at improving yourself rather than just relying on your God-given ability.”
I was crestfallen! But I really didn’t learn much of anything from our talk. Because Coach Burnett continued to allow me to play quarterback, I was still getting what I wanted and didn’t learn the lesson that it’s a good idea to pay attention to those in authority.
In Proverbs 24:21 God tells us, “My son, fear thou the LORD and the king…” Coach Burnett was my “king” but I didn’t fear or respect him.
After 8th grade, my father was transferred to Chicago, Illinois. I went out for football. The first day of Freshman practice, Coach Ritchoff blew the whistle and came up to me. “You can’t play quarterback because you’re left-handed.” I informed Coach Ritchoff that that did not make any sense at all. All that earned me was running 10 extra laps and I got switched to running back anyway. Obviously, I had not learned my lesson.
I was very fortunate to be born into a family of good Christians and at the age of 3 I was singing “Jesus loves me this I know because the Bible tells me so” with my Sunday School class. I still think that’s a good song. I have always considered myself a Christian but it was a long time before I got the idea of what it was to be a Christian.
When things were easy, and I did well, I was very quick to feel prideful and superior as opposed to thanking God for my successes. When things didn’t go well, rather than assessing my own performance, I usually blamed my failure on someone else or general circumstances. Obviously, unlike Joshua, I was not quick to understand that my successes were all the result of God’s gifts and my failures came about when I strayed from the word of God.
I have found that when I attend church regularly and continue to read my Bible things go very well for me.
Jesus came and not only died to wash away our sins but was the perfect example of humility and selflessness. It isn’t easy in today’s crazy world to follow the example which Jesus set. When we focus on His example and love God, and love our neighbors as we love ourselves, we find ourselves so busy helping others that we won’t have time to be arrogant.
[Image via: Andre Bohrer – Creative Commons]
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Posted on May 14, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study
Authority, Christian living, Humility, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Joshua, Joshua 1, Surrender yourself to Christ, Surrender Yourself to God, Surrender yourself to Jesus
Genesis 14:1-12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom
The person you become is determined by the company you keep.
Trouble Seems To Follow Lot
Chapter 14 starts out with a battle. In fact, this is the first mention of war in the Bible. Five kingdoms, or city-kingdoms if you will, were subject to Kedorlaomer the king of Elam. This had been the situation for twelve years until the five kingdoms decided to rebel. Kedorlaomer the king of Elam and three of his allies, the city-kingdoms of Shinar, Ellasar, and Goyim entered into battle against the five rebelling kingdoms, two of which were Sodom and Gomorrah, and defeated them. In the process they also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. (v.12)
Poor Lot. Trouble seems to follow him wherever he goes. Over the years I’ve heard that phrase used concerning celebrities who repeatedly find themselves in trouble, with the law, or in their marriage, or with alcohol and drugs. “Trouble seems to follow him (or her) wherever he goes.” Or does it? When you examine these celebrity’s lives more closely you find that the company they keep includes people who repeatedly get into trouble.
It was the same with Lot. Genesis 13:13 tells us that Lot chose to live with people who were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD. Their battles became his battles. Their losses became his losses. Their problems became his problem.
Praying For God’s Crew
I was 22 years old. Kathy was 19, and eight and one half months pregnant. My job at the cabinet shop was cut back from 40 hours a week to 8 hours a week. We were living in a rented 8′ x 28′ trailer on a friend’s property deep in the woods of Oregon. The trailer was heated with a wood stove and was so small that you either boiled in the living room where the wood stove was or you froze in the only bedroom at the other end of the trailer. The shower was so small that if Kathy, pregnant with our first son, dropped the bar of soap, she had to ask me to come pick it up because there wasn’t enough room in the shower to stoop down to grab it.
Growing up I made poor choices when it came to friends. In middle school I hung out with an older boy who liked to burglarize houses which resulted in me getting in trouble with local law enforcement. In high school and college I liked to hang with the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll crowd. So it was as much of a surprise to me as it was to anyone else when, desperate for a job to support my wife and my first born son only a few weeks from arriving, I started going for walks in the woods outside our tiny trailer and praying for a workplace where I’d find Christians to hang with. The amazing thing is, I wasn’t yet a Christian myself. The only explanation I can come up with is that God had His hand on my life in a very intimate and personal way.
At the same time I was praying in the woods outside our trailer, I was applying for jobs — everywhere. The lumber mill, orderly jobs at nursing homes, McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell. The economy was in a terrible recession at the time and I was rejected by all of them, except one. The fire department was hiring and that turned out to be the only job offer I had. The first crew I was assigned to had a firefighter on it who invited me to join a Bible study that the crew held in the station at the end of each work day.
I could hardly believe it.
God used the Christian men I was exposed to on the fire department to completely change who I was. I went from being a burglar who loved sex and drugs to a firefighter who loved Jesus Christ.
Your Ideal You
All this brings us to the question: What is your ideal image of yourself? If someone were describing who you’re ideal self, what would they say?
“He’s a man who loves Jesus so much, he lives to do His will.”
“He’s a man who loves Jesus with everything he has, and loves others as himself.”
“She’s a woman who is a great blessing to her Lord, her family, and her friends.”
“He’s a man full of God’s wisdom.”
“She’s a woman who never says a bad word about anybody.”
“He’s a man full of God’s grace.”
I have a secret: You can become that person.
All it takes is a few simple actions on your part.
1) Petition Jesus to make you into that person — petition Him daily.
2) Find people who fit your description of who you want to become.
3) Find ways to spend time with those people and don’t give up until you do.
You Become Who You Hang With
I once set a goal for myself to become ranked in the top 5 as an amateur tennis player in my age group in the Pacific Northwest. The town I lived in has a good junior program. At the time they had a number of regionally ranked players and even a few nationally ranked players who were bound for division 1 college tennis programs and had a chance to become professionals. At age 43, my strategy was to join the junior tennis program and do whatever they did. When they practiced, I tried to practice. When they took a lesson, I tried to take a lesson. When they played a tournament, I tried to play a tournament. At 43 and working full time I was far from perfect in matching all of the activities of the ranked juniors. I didn’t do it completely but for the most part I prioritized my relationship with Christ, my family, and my work ahead of tennis. But even with these priorities in place, this principle is so powerful that at the end of the year I was ranked #2.
Do you want to follow Jesus more closely? Find people who love him with everything they have and connect with them.
Do you want to spend more time in God’s word? Find people who love God’s word and hang with them.
Do you desire more godly wisdom? Find wise godly people to spend time with.
The Most Important Person
Nothing will influence who you become more than spending time with Jesus.
Spend time with Jesus in prayer, in worship, in his word, in fellowship with His followers both inside and outside of church. Spend time with him regularly. Make your time with him as deep and meaningful as possible. Invest yourself in him, imitate him, and over time, you’ll become more like him.
References:
Bible Gateway
Jon Courson
David Guzik
Traveler and the Chaplain
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Posted on May 7, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
choose friends wisely, Genesis, Genesis 14 Bible Study, Genesis 14 Commentary, Genesis 14:1-12, how to choose a friend, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love, Sodom and Gomorrah, They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions since he was living in Sodom, you are who you hang with
Lot’s Choice: Genesis 13:10-18
…in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6 (photo courtesy of bibleinayearandbeyond.blogspot.com)
Decisions. I wonder if Lot prayed through his decision to set himself up in the greater Sodom and Gomorrah metropolitan area. I wonder if he sought God’s will for his life before he pulled the trigger on where to move himself and his family.
The plain was well watered. It looked like the garden of the Lord. It looked like the irrigated areas of the land of Egypt.
It looked good. It looked like an obvious choice.
But Lot wound up keeping company with those who were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD. (Genesis 13:13)
We do the same thing today. We make decisions, often times important decisions, based on how things look.
“They pay the most,” he says.
“If you work there we won’t have to move,” she says.
“He looks so cute,” she says.
“She’s smokin hot,” he says.
Some people said that he looked a little like Leonardo DiCaprio. He was older, charming, handsome, witty. She was young and impressionable. She liked his good looks and his big personality. He liked her youthful beauty. She went away with him in January of 2004. When she was only 21. He was 33.
“What an adventure this will be,” he said.
“I know he’s much older but we’re in love,” she said, answering her parent’s objections.
And it was a great adventure — at first. He was talented and landed a good job in the first town they moved to. She worked part time to help out. They enjoyed their first few months together. But he lost his job and they had to move again. New town, new job, fresh start, no problem. But less than a year later he lost his job once more. Off they went to another town. He took another job. It was there that she started to learn more about her new husband. As it turns out, he enjoyed gambling.
“This cuts into our budget,” she said.
“It’s just entertainment, what’s the big deal?” he said.
“You’re borrowing money from people at work,” she said.
“This is the last time, I promise,” he said.
Another job, another town. In this town she learned about his addiction to internet porn. She also learned that he can get abusive at times.
She also learned she’s pregnant.
The plain may look well watered, the choice may look appealing, the decision might appear to be obvious, but what does the Lord want?
Think about what you can know about a person. You can know how he or she looks and sounds. You can’t know what’s in his mind. You can’t know her intent. You can’t know what she plans for the future. You can’t know his heart.
But God knows everything there is to know about a person.
Think of what you can know about your environment. You can only know what’s happened in the past based on recorded history and your own memory. You can only know what’s in the present based on your senses — if you’re inside right now, with the drapes drawn, you can only know what’s happening inside the four walls of the room you’re in. And the future — you can’t know for sure what might happen even one second into the future.
But nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)
Why not tap into that?
Abram did. Abram tapped into that. Abram built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:8) And look at the results! God told Abram “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.” (Genesis 13:14-15)
And what’s Abram’s response to this news? We see in verse 18 that he builds another altar to the Lord! By the way, nowhere in scripture do we find Lot building an altar to God.
So often when we find ourselves in a position of having to make an important life decision, we do so based on our own impressions. It may feel awkward, it may feel different, but like it did for Abram, it will result in tremendous blessing when we seek the Lord before making important decisions.
The way to do that is to…
Study scripture, fast unto the Lord, pray through your decision. Then pull the trigger on your decision and trust the Lord to be with you and to help you and to never forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)
Of course the most important choice you can make is to choose to accept Jesus Christ as your savior. This is the choice with eternal consequences.
Eternity is a long time.
Choose Jesus. (see So Your Life Is Falling Apart)
References:
(The story in this post about choosing a husband without seeking God is based on true events)
Bible Gateway
JonCourson.com
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Posted on April 30, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
bad choice, Genesis 13, good choice, Lot's Choice, make good choice, why do I make bad decisions
Stop doubting and believe: John 20:24-29
Missing Sunday Meeting
It’s Sunday and the disciples have assembled together. The disciples had met the Sunday before but Thomas wasn’t with them. Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus appeared to them. The disciples shared the good news of Jesus’ resurrection but Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25)
Too bad Thomas missed that meeting. Had he made it, he would have experienced the bodily presence of Jesus and believed a week early. His doubt would have been erased and his faith would have been increased. But because Thomas missed that last meeting his doubt endured.
You know, if you think about it, something similar happened when Jesus appeared to the 500 after the resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:6 tells us there were 500 present when Jesus commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised… …in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5)
Yet in Acts 1:15 it appears that only 120 of them listened and obeyed Jesus’ words. That’s huge! That means 380 missed the meeting in the upper room described in Acts 1:15. That also means 380 missed out on the blessing of the Holy Spirit. 120 had tongues of fire on their heads and spoke powerfully in foreign languages they didn’t know. 120 were used to save the souls of 3,000 people. (Acts chapter 2) 380 were left out–because they missed the meeting.
Verse 24 of John 20 says that Thomas was also known as Didymus. Didymus means twin in the Greek, so who’s twin is he?
He’s the twin of you and he’s the twin of me.
Have you ever missed a meeting with the Lord? I know I have. Missing meetings means missing out. Missing out on experiencing fellowship with the body of Christ. Missing out on believing. Missing out on increased faith. Had Thomas made it to the first meeting he would have seen Jesus and believed. His doubt would have been erased and his faith would have been increased!
That’s what happens to us when we make meetings.
Because Thomas missed the last meeting his doubt endured. It’s the same with you and the same with me. When we miss meetings, when we miss hearing the word of God whatever doubts we have endure.
No doubt Thomas and the 380 had their reasons for missing. They worked hard all week so they were too tired, or they didn’t care for someone who they knew would be attending that meeting, or there was a good game on TV that morning. But whatever their reason, when they missed the meeting they missed out on experiencing the presence of Jesus in a unique way. They missed out on the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. They missed out on a tremendous blessing.
Oh twin of doubting Thomas, don’t you see that Thomas didn’t believe until he touched Jesus? Don’t you see it’s the same for you today? You won’t believe until you touch Him.
So touch him. Study Jesus’ life in the scriptures. Encounter Jesus with His believers. Do these things and you too will believe! Like Thomas, you too will find yourself responding to him, saying, “My Lord and my God!”
You’ll never regret it, I promise you!
Make the meeting.
Go to church.
References:
Bible Gateway
Jon Courson Sermon, 4/10/2011
The image is of the painting Doubting Thomas by Caravaggio circa 1600, Wikimedia.org, Public Domain
Newly released book by Kurt Bennett, now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus.
(Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon.)
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Posted on April 23, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young
Believe, Doubt, go church, go to church, Jesus Christ, John 20:24-29, Put your finger here; see my hands, Stop Doubting and Believe, Unless I see the nail marks
Genesis 13:1-9 If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.
Original photo courtesy of RomansNewsletter.Blogspot.com
Most people don’t recognize it but what we’re seeing here is one of Abram’s greatest moments! As the elder man and as Lot’s uncle, Abram could have had his own way in this matter. But he showed Lot grace and allowed him to choose his own way. Perhaps this was in response to the grace recently shown to Abram by God in Genesis chapter 12. In chapter 12 we saw that Abram lied and put his wife Sarai in a terrible and vulnerable position yet the Lord spared Sarai and Abram and sent them away with riches. (see previous post Genesis 12:10-20)
Abram allowed Lot to have it his way.
How often does this moment of truth happen upon you and me?
In the car with family I want to take the route that I think is the best.
When we’re going to a movie I want to see the one I think is best.
When we’re deciding where to vacation I want to go to the destination I think is best.
We need to do it my way!
My way is the right way!
My way is the best way!
Why can’t people see that — it’s so obvious.
But wait just a minute. Let’s take a closer look at these examples. What actually happens if we take a slower route in the car? What actually happens if we arrive two minutes later? What damage is actually done if we see a chick flick? What if we vacation in some other nice place? What problem has been caused by these outcomes? I mean really, does it make a difference that’s significant or important in any way whatsoever? Most of the time, getting your own way isn’t nearly as big a deal as it seems.
So why do we think, feel, and behave this way?
When I was younger I played some amateur competitive tennis. Oh, how I wanted to make it as a pro. Several people close to me believed that there were better paths for me to follow. I didn’t give much consideration to their wise words. I didn’t give much consideration to the path that the Lord wanted me to walk in life either. I practiced. I worked hard. I disciplined myself. I studied books on tennis technique and strategy.
I prayed for God to do it my way.
“Please Lord, help me to win this tournament.”
“Please Lord help me to get a college scholarship.”
“Lord, that other guy isn’t even a Christian, why are you allowing him to be successful? That doesn’t make sense. Lord, You’re allowing him to enjoy success and accolades while You’re allowing me to flounder! Why?
Looking back I can see now that this was my flesh speaking loud and clear. Our flesh is the reason we think, feel, and behave this way.
Ironically, today I have many friends who have been successful in tournaments. I have quite a a number of friends and acquaintances who have gone to NCAA Division 1 schools on tennis scholarships. But as it turns out, the chance of becoming a successful professional tennis player is somewhere around 1 in 13 million! Most of those guys are teaching tennis for a living. For those of you who have never tried it, that means they spend all day at work pushing tennis balls at little old ladies and at young kids that are only there because their parents make them take tennis lessons. The few rest of these that I know who aren’t teaching tennis are struggling to figure out what they want to do for a living.
I thank God I didn’t get my way. Had things gone my way I would never have entered into the fire service. My thirty years in the fire service has been a tremendous blessing. I wouldn’t trade it for a career in tennis for anything.
Getting our way. It’s interesting to me that in our culture today, getting one’s own way is associated with wealth. Yet here we have Abram, who had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold (v.2), allowing Lot to have it his way. I do believe that God sometimes bestows wealth on people who show grace to others–I’ve seen that happen repeatedly. But even if you don’t receive wealth here on earth, think of the treasure you’ll receive in heaven! (Matthew 6:20 — see previous post) Jesus told his disciples, “…he that is greatest among you let him be as the younger…” (Luke 22:26) And that is precisely what Abraham did with Lot.
Remember back in Genesis chapter 12 when Abram lied to the Egyptians and allowed his wife to be put at risk in Pharaoh’s harem? God showed Abraham incredible grace and mercy by sparing Sarah and Abraham and even enriching them in the process. In the very next chapter we see Abram showing grace to Lot. Remember the grace that’s been shown to you. “…my blood which is shed for you,” Jesus said. He spilled his blood for you, he died for you. In spite of what you’ve done, God, in His grace and mercy, has provided a way for you to enter into heaven.
So show grace to people even as God has shown grace to you by sending His only Son to die on your behalf.
Getting your own way is usually less important than you think. And most importantly, showing grace to others as Abram did to Lot is the way God desires for you.
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Posted on April 17, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis, Marriage
Abraham and Lot, Genesis 13, Genesis 13:1-9, Grace Changes Everything
Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife?–Genesis 12:10-20
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe
Suspicion and Imaginings
Have you ever known someone that you suspected had ill will toward you?
Have you ever been in a situation where you had no choice but to encounter someone who you suspect has bad feelings toward you?
“Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” (v.18-19) Fear of man is a snare (Proverbs 29:25)–apparently, even for Abram the father of faith. Based on speculation that the Egyptians had intentions of stealing Sarai and killing Abram, Abram told a half-truth about his half-sister. What if Abram had told Pharoah the complete truth about his relationship with Sarai? How much better would that have been. Imagining what others are thinking and feeling is one of the chief causes of sin. It was that way for Abram and it’s that way today for you and for me. How many sins are caused by our imaginings? Abram imagined that the Egyptians would kill him if they knew that Sarai was his wife. A man imagines that his co-worker would throw him under the bus to advance his career. A daughter-in-law imagines that her husband’s mother thinks she’s not worthy of her son.
Imaginings.
Imaginings such as these result in all kinds of destructive thinking and behavior. And here’s a surprising element of this dynamic. Imaginings such as these result in destructive thinking and behavior–even when they’re accurate! Even if Abram was correct in his assumption that the Eqyptians would attempt to kill him and take Sarai, that wouldn’t have changed the fact that Abram lied and put his wife in a very vulnerable position. Whether his imaginings were accurate or not, Abram would have been better off honoring God by telling the truth. Would not God have intervened and rescued Abram, the father of faith, and his wife?
Watch and See
Watch and see. In your life and in the lives of others, where there are assumptions and imaginings about what others are thinking and feeling, you’ll see love for others quenched, squashed, and extinguished. When she entertains thoughts that her close friend is trying to put her down because she’s jealous; when he thinks he has insight that his boss is giving him a garbage assignment to discount him; when she thinks her husband believes that she looks fat in that new dress, the love that God desires for us to show these people becomes smothered in our thoughts and imaginings of the possible ill will that they may be feeling.
If my assumption is wrong, and there is no ill will then I’m outside of God’s will by not loving that person. Because He told us to “love our neighbor.” (Matthew 22:36-40) He told us to “love one another.” (John 13:34)
If my assumption is right, and there is ill will, then I’m still outside of God’s will by not loving that person! Because He told us to “Love your enemies.” (Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27, Luke 6:35)
4 Blessings From the Benefit of the Doubt
Give people the benefit of the doubt. Assume the best in others through their good days and their bad, through thick and thin, and watch what happens to your interactions with them:
Cynicism, Suspicion, and the Container That Carries Them
Will people sometimes take advantage of you? Sure, that might happen occasionally. But consider the following story.
When I was a new Captain on the fire department an older more senior firefighter who hadn’t yet made Captain used to enjoy taking shots at me. I either ignored him or took it good naturedly, until a well meaning supervisor shared that he was concerned that I didn’t realize this older firefighter was putting me down. Wow! Did that ever mess with my head! Instead of giving the older firefighter the benefit of the doubt I began to read things into every word, every facial expression, of not just the older firefighter, but of several other department members as well. I was miserable!
What kind of a life do you want to lead? Would you like to live a life with an attitude of cynicism and suspicion? An approach to life that says, “Nobody gets anything past me!” Or would you rather live a life filled with love towards others, in obedience to God’s commands for us to love our neighbors, one another, and even our enemies? We perplex and ensnare ourselves with this suspicious approach–even when we’re right.
Cynicism and suspicion rot the container that carries them.
You’ll be blessed if you choose God’s way!
Did God Give Abram a Free Pass?
He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. (v.16) Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. (v.20) What’s this? Was Abram’s half-truth about his half-sister not counted as a lie, resulting in blessings instead of consequences? While it’s true that Sarai was his half-sister, Abram neglected to share that Sarai was also his wife. Abram gave true information with false implication and that’s a lie. Those bearing false witness against Jesus in Matthew 26:61 did the same when they said that Jesus claimed He was able to destroy the temple and raise it in three days. Of course Jesus was speaking of his own body, not the temple made of stone in Jerusalem. True information with wrong implication–it was a lie.
So Abram lied and put Sarai in a terrible and vulnerable position. Does this happen without consequence? Surely God’s grace is in play here as evidenced by how Sarai and Abram are spared and sent away with riches. But though it may appear on the surface that Abram’s sin is without consequence, we should remember that one of the maidservants that Abram leaves with is an Egyptian girl named Hagar. A girl who we’ll later see break Abram’s heart and divide his family.
References:
Blue Letter Bible
Bible Gateway
Matthew Henry
John Wesley
25 Ways to Win with People, by Maxwell and Parrott
Jon Courson
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Posted on April 9, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Christian, Christian living, Genesis, Genesis 12, Genesis 12:10-20, give the benefit of the doubt, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jon Courson, trust, Why did you say ‘She is my sister’ so that I took her to be my wife?
5 Things You’ll Experience in Your Life With Christ: Genesis 12:1-9
It’s important to remember that in addition to the Old Testament events being true and literal (see previous post How Does Jesus View the Old Testament), these accounts are also illustrations of New Testament principles. Referring to the Old Testament scriptures Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:6 that these things occurred as examples for us. With that in mind let’s have a look at five ways that Abram’s story in Genesis 12:1-9 has application for you and for me today.
Five Things You’ll Experience in Your Life with Christ
1) Continual strength from instruction
Genesis 12:6 says that Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. The name Shechem means shoulder — the shoulder was a symbol of strength in the Jewish culture, similar to what the bicep symbolizes in our culture today (The shoulder makes more sense if you think about it, if you want something to move put your shoulder into it). The name Moreh means instruction.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth God’s word tells us in 2 Timothy 2:15. This makes perfect sense if you think it through. God’s ways are higher than our ways, better than our ways, and different than our ways. It’s not natural for us to understand the ways of the God who is so big that the scripture says He measures the universe with the span between His thumb and His little finger. (Isaiah 40:12) A God as big, as powerful, and as amazing as ours requires that we study His ways to learn them.
It’s essential that you and I recognize God’s Bible for what it is, a supernatural book that has a supernatural effect on our lives as we study His word. As we learn God’s ways in His scriptures we’re strengthened by Him.
2) Constant Conflict
At that time the Canaanites were in the land. (v.6) We’ll see throughout much of the Old Testament that the enemy of the Jewish people, the Canaanites, were allowed to live alongside the Israelites for centuries, which resulted in constant conflict in the lives of the Jews. We experience constant conflict today in that the Lord allows our flesh to live alongside His Spirit in our lives. We too experience a life of conflict between our Spirit and our flesh. Jealousy, envy, lust, intemperance, a short temper, sharp words, selfishness, greed — what I desire to do in God’s Spirit I sometimes find so very difficult to do, and what I don’t desire to do in my flesh, I sometimes find myself doing. Paul said in Romans 7: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25)
This side of heaven, you’ll always have your flesh with you. But thank God for Christ who strengthens your Spirit and in whom you can do all things. (1 Corinthians 4:13) You shall overcome! (1 John 5:1-6)
3) Continual Cleansing
Twice in chapter 12 we see Abram build an alter. (v.7-8) When we build an altar to the Lord, or in your life and my life, when we go to the altar, that’s when we’re altered. That’s when I’m changed into the man God desires me to become. That’s when you’re changed. That’s when you’re cleansed. That’s where you’re renewed!
For you young father of a family, it’s interesting to see here the beginning of a pattern in Abram/Abraham’s life. Pretty much wherever Abraham had a tent, God had an altar. That’s a great model for you and for me to set up and keep up the worship of God in our family, wherever we may be and in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves.
4) Continual Choice
From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. (v.8) The name Bethel means house of God. The name Ai means house of ruin, heap, or dump. Abram had choices before him as we all do, every day. The house of God on the West, and the house of ruin on the East.
In Acts 7:2-3 Stephen tells us that God originally commanded Abram to leave his original home of Ur 25 years before Abram set out from Harran. In Ur Abram had a very comfortable life. He was rich materially. He was likely well respected for his wealth, his position in his father’s household, and his beautiful wife Sarah. He likely was comfortable in the habit of worshiping the moon god as did his father Terah and most of the rest of the culture there in Ur. (Joshua 24:2) Yet comfortable as he was, Abram chose to obey God’s command to travel to a yet to be identified location.
So often I see this issue of comfort in peoples’ lives today. A person in a comfortable situation who knows in his or her heart what God would have him do and yet he resists. I have a close friend, a Christian young man, who was very comfortable with his girlfriend of several years. During the second year of their relationship this poor girl began to struggle. Her personality began to change. She became angry, depressed, and self destructive. The young man began to recognize that this wasn’t the person that God desired for him to marry, but, he was comfortable in the relationship. He’d already been with her for two years. There were expectations on him to continue the relationship. Expectations not only from his girlfriend but from their mutual friends and from her family as well.
“Besides, I feel sorry for her,” he confided. “Wouldn’t God have me remain in this relationship to help her? Surely God wouldn’t have me abandon her in her time of need, would He?”
After much prayer the young man ultimately decided to leave the relationship. He felt that, awkward and difficult though it may be, God would have him end it. In the years to come this poor young woman continued to struggle.
My young friend is now very happily married to a different young woman, a bright and beautiful young woman who loves Christ. Today, with the advantage of 20-20 hindsight, he fully recognizes the wisdom of his decision to follow what God had in mind for him.
What are you comfortable with? Like my friend the young man are you comfortable in a relationship that God would have you leave? Are you comfortable with being unemployed? Are you comfortable with your dependency on alcohol? Are you comfortable with your dependency on prescription drugs?
Are you comfortable with sleeping in on Sundays rather than leaving your home and spending time with God over at His house?
Perhaps you’ve been in your comfort zone now for a number of years. Take heart: By Stephens account in Acts 7 Abram failed to respond to God’s calling for 25 years. But God in His grace patiently stuck with Abram through every one of those 25 years of procrastination. Our God is the God of second chances.
5) Continual Blessings
People tend to want to stay in their current, familiar, comfortable situation, even if it’s destructive or less than God’s best. Abram was comfortable with his life in Ur yet he chose to do what he knew God would have him do. Let’s see what the result was.
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;” God said in verse 2 of Genesis 12. Abram was blessed with the gift of bearing abundant fruit. He who was without a child, who’s wife had been barren for decades, was promised the gift of bearing abundant fruit.
“I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” (v.2) Abram was blessed with a great name as well as the privilege of being a blessing to others.
“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;” (v.3) Abram was blessed with the security of God’s protection.
“and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (v.3) This last part of verse three speaks of the greatest blessing of all — through Abraham the Messiah, Jesus Christ, would come, imparting the blessing of salvation to all peoples on earth. (Matthew ch.1, Luke ch.3)
Abram’s choice to act on what he knew God wanted him to do resulted in the blessing of primacy in that it would be from Abraham that the Savior of the world would come (v.3); the blessing of identity in that he was given a great name (v.2); and the blessing of security in that God promised to protect him (v.3).
Interestingly, in the previous chapter of Genesis the builders of the Tower of Babel attempted to attain the same blessings, but not through acting on what God wanted them to do, but rather through the energy of their own flesh. They said in Genesis 11:4 “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens (primacy), so that we may make a name for ourselves (identity); otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth (security).”
Every day you and I face the same choice. To travel the path of those in Genesis chapter 11, or to follow the example of Abram in chapter 12. It didn’t work out very well for those who attempted the tower of Babel. But if you follow Abram’s example and leave your comfort zone, awkward and difficult though it may be, and act on what you know God would have you to do, you too will experience God’s blessings.
Choose God’s way.
You’ll never regret it.
In case you’re interested, there’s a map of Abram’s travel route from Ur to the promised land available on BibleStudy.org.
References:
This post was inspired by Ray Stedman’s excellent teaching: The Beginning of Faith
Blue Letter Bible
Bible Gateway
Wesley’s Explanatory Notes
Jon Courson
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Posted on April 2, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
5 things you'll experience, Abraham left his country, Christian life, Faith, life with Christ
Life is Short: Genesis 11:27-32
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.
Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.
Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.
Genesis 11:27-32
God’s Focus
In chapter 11 we see God bring His focus down from all of mankind to the family of Terah. You may recall that back in Genesis chapter 2 God moved us from an overview of creation to the account of man by rotating His telephoto lens from wide angle to zoom, so to speak. In chapter 1 of Genesis God’s word is at wide angle focused on all of creation — in Genesis chapter 2, verse 8 the Bible zooms in to record that part of God’s creation that is mankind. (bennett’s blog Genesis 2:4-7)
Now in Genesis chapter 11 we’ll see God narrow His focus even further until we will find ourselves reading the story of Abram and his descendants.
As God’s focus narrows we learn about Abram’s father Terah’s family, which provides important background to several of the stories we’ll read later in Genesis.
Nahor is Abram’s brother. From the descendants of Nahor and Milkah (Milkah was Nahor’s wife) will come the wives of Isaac and Jacob. (See Terah’s Family Tree at the bottom of this post)
Abram’s other brother, Haran, the father of Lot, dies unexpectedly. Lot was apparently under Abram’s care in the absence of Haran. Abram appears to be involved in his nephew Lot’s life right up until the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (verses 27-28)
Friends Leave Unexpectedly
Haran’s unexpected death reminds me of two friends of mine John and Gale. Both firefighters known for their physical strength. Both blessed with beautiful families. Both known for their sense of humor. Both talented firefighters, veterans who were savvy at surviving the dangers they faced at work fighting fire. Both loved by their firefighter friends.
One day, on a day off, they decided to take John’s two seat Polaris RZR ATV onto some nearby mountain trails. Finding a trail through a large but steep meadow they decided to attempt to make it to the top. They were both confident that they’d be OK. They were skilled at negotiating such terrain, and besides, the ATV had seatbelts to hold them in their seats.
Up they went, the tires of the ATV slipping at times but mostly biting into the dirt and rocks, carrying John and Gale up and up and up until they reached the end of the purely vertical part of the climb.
Then at the end of the vertical part of the trail they bore to the right which took them along the top of the meadow. Not as easy as it looked, side hill and uphill at the same time, but they were handling it, continuing up until they were almost 1,000 feet above their starting point.
At which time–their left front tire hit a rock. A rock about the size of a bowling ball half submerged in the ground. The left front of the ATV bounced and lifted up until the ATV rolled over. Not so bad at first, strapped in, rolling. But as they continued down the 1,000 foot vertical meadow they gained speed. They rolled and they bounced. More speed–they bounced higher and further. Even more speed–they flew through the air. The forces from the impacts exerted upon their bodies were more than any human being could withstand, even two human beings like John and Gale, known for their physical strength, and skilled at surviving the dangers of fighting fire.
They finally came to rest against a tree.
Like Haran, they died–unexpectedly. (To learn more about John and Gale, go to MedfordFirefighters.com)
Daughter Departs Without Warning
On a rainy day, on a curvy road, my friend’s young daughter who was also my family’s baby-sitter, died in a car accident right in front of me. That same friend lost his wife in a car accident a few years earlier.
A Simple Flu Bug
A few weeks ago another friend’s teen-age son died suddenly and unexpectedly–of the flu.
Living for What Counts
While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died… (v. 28)
The fact is none of us knows when we might die. If you think you’ll get around to focusing on your relationship with God later, well… think again. Not one of us knows the day of his death.
It could happen tomorrow.
So invest in that which will will have value when you’re living in eternity, because each of us will spend eternity living with the consequences of how we spend our time and energy here, now, in this life.
Just for today, just one day, just this day–live for Christ.
You’ll spend eternity glad that you did.
References:
[Hour glass image via: bhermans – Creative Commons]
Blue Letter Bible
Bible Gateway
MedfordFirefighters.com
Matthew Henry
Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: Volume 1
Whiffs of the Bread of Life
Faith and Family Man Blog
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Posted on March 26, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Abram, Genesis 11, Haran, life is short, live for Christ, unexpected death
Genesis 11:10-26 Abram
Biblical Chronology Genesis 11
There are 10 generations mentioned in this passage but only one person’s life story is recorded in detail. Think about this a minute. Have you ever heard the name Arphaxad kicked around in conversation? Have you ever heard or read anything about Reu? Neither have I.
It’s Abram (later renamed Abraham) who we read about, who we hear about, and who we talk about. I believe there are two reasons for this. 1) Abram/Abraham had faith in God. 2) God blessed Abram with a life that was filled with adventure.
A famous comedian once said, “Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die.” This speaks toward how you and I perceive adventure and stress. The great difficulties we see in the lives of others we tend to perceive as adventure but the same or even lesser events in our own lives we tend to perceive as stress.
Stress is a terrible thing, we think. Something to be avoided we say. We’re always looking for ways to reduce it.
We’re always seeking ways to make life,
…easier,
…more convenient,
…more comfortable.
Living like this just makes sense, right?
To the degree that we can, let’s take a look from God’s perspective. What does He think of stress? What were the lives like of those who’s stories He tells in His scriptures? People like Abram, David, Joshua, Joseph, Noah, Moses, Samson, Paul, and Jesus.
Let’s take just one of these men and examine his life a bit. Let’s talk about David, the man who the Bible says was a man after God’s own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14) Other than Jesus Himself, who might God want to give a better life to than David, the man after His own heart? Let’s see what God sent David’s way.
Apparently God had in mind for David’s flock to be attacked by bears and lions while providing David with only a sling for defense. (1 Samuel 17:34) David’s people were attacked by the giant Goliath and God chose David as the one to defeat him — again God, and David’s, weapon of choice was a simple sling. (1 Samuel Ch 17) David’s king, who David loved, pursued him with resources from the king’s army in a relentless attempt to end David’s life. (1 Samuel Chapters 18-26) A band of raiders kidnapped the families of David and his men and stole everything they had at Ziklag. (1 Samuel Ch 30) And there’s plenty more beyond these adventures — read 1 and 2 Samuel if you’re interested in hearing more.
There’s no disputing that God loved David dearly, yet He sent a myriad of adventures David’s way. And He recorded David’s story in detail.
Now here’s a bit of news for you: God has the same thing in mind for you and for me.
He’s writing His story of your life and of my life as He allows us to go through difficulties and trials. It’s not a matter of if you’ll go through trials, it’s just a matter of when. We’ll all experience failure, we’ll all be touched by serious health problems, we’ll all experience the death of people we love. All of us. It’s when not if. And keep in mind that this is just a partial list.
Knowing this, how are we to handle our adventures? A couple of thoughts:
1) Your Perception
G.K. Chesterton said, “An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.” When we perceive something as a negative we reduce our capacity to handle it. Recognize that problems and challenges in life are part of God’s design. God has it in His mind to send you adventures. So in your own thinking and speaking, call them what they are: adventures.
2) Your Sabbath
God tells us to practice the principle of the Sabbath for a reason. Adventures won’t break you but failing to create sufficient waves of recovery can. High levels of adventure without recovery can be lethal but high adventure with relief is not only manageable but will actually strengthen you and your faith in the Lord. Had David’s flocks not been attacked by bears and lions it’s doubtful that he would have had the strength to defeat Goliath.
“You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
(1 Samuel 17:33-37)
3) Your Physicality
The young man sought from his dad an opportunity to borrow the car. The young man’s dad saw an opportunity for his son to get a hair cut.
“Tell you what,” the dad said. “I’ll loan you the car if you get your hair cut.”
“But what about Jesus,” the son countered. “He had long hair.”
“Jesus walked everywhere He went,” the dad replied wryly.
Paul tells us that physical training is of some value. (1 Timothy 4:8)
I once heard Woodburn Fire Chief Kevin Hendricks tell the story of his involvement in the response to the tragic December, 2008 terrorist bombing incident that “killed Senior Trooper William Hakim, who worked as a bomb squad technician for Oregon State Police, and Capt. Tom Tennant of the Woodburn Police Department.” http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/12/police_identify_colleagues_kil.html When Chief Hendricks arrived efforts were being made to set up a command post across the street from the bank that was now in ruins as a result of the bomb. Hendricks was horrified because he knew the victims personally. In spite of his depression and stress he managed to think clearly enough to realize that no one had taken into consideration that there might be a secondary explosive device. Chief Hendricks directed emergency personnel to move the command post to the Woodburn Fire Station, a twenty minute walk, up the street. Only problem was, in his effort to get everyone out of the hot zone, Hendricks missed his ride so he had to walk. Hendricks recalled, “I’ll tell you what, that twenty minute walk did my head more good than I would have imagined.”
While experiencing an adventure it’s important to take time to do something physical. God designed us to be physical. We weren’t designed to be sedentary.
4) Your Refuge
Instead of succumbing to your anxiety, come to God. Surround yourself with the body of Christ — your brothers in Christ if you’re a man, your sisters in Christ if you’re a woman. Fellowship with Jesus at church. Read His word. Pray. Know where to go when things get tough.
Resist the urge to succumb to your emotions, or even worse, alcohol or drugs. In Matthew 6:27 Jesus asks, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life ?”
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.(Philippians 4:6-7)
Say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:2)
5) Your Actions
Of course it’s essential that we pray for God’s direction in everything, however also notice that in every one of David’s adventures, David took action. With God’s help, David fought the bear, the lion, and Goliath. With God’s help David encouraged himself at Ziklag, rallied his men, and recovered their families and belongings. Notice also that these actions often involved helping others. David was defending the flock when he fought the bear and the lion. David was rescuing his family and friends at Ziklag. And David defended all of Israel when he defeated Goliath. Wherever you can, make your actions count on behalf of others.
Without God you can’t, but without you God won’t.
After prayerfully considering your adventure, it may be time to take action.
6) Your Thanksgiving
…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Give thanks for your adventure. Find the blessings that God has wrought from the adventure that you’re experiencing. I’ve never experienced or heard of a life challenge that wasn’t also lined with blessings from God.
What a difference thanksgiving makes.
7) Your Story
Keep in mind that people are watching. As you go through the trials and challenges that God allows in your life, people are watching to see how you handle it. It’s essential to remember that your story and my story are for God’s glory. God in His sovereignty has decided to allow the various trials in your life so He can provide a testimony of His greatness to those around us.
References:
Bible Gateway
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Posted on March 19, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
After Terah had lived 70 years he became the father of Abram Nahor and Haran, Christian living, Genesis, Genesis 11, Genesis 11:10-26, Jesus, Jesus Christ, This is the account of Shem's family line
The Tower of Babel: Let’s make a name for ourselves–Genesis 11:1-9
They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 11:1-9
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. (v.1) The descendants of Noah are those who are populating the earth and at this point in history they’re all of one language.
They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks…” (v.3) Man builds with bricks. Bricks that flake, chip, and crumble. 1 Kings 6:7 and 1 Peter 2:5 both tell us that God builds with stones. 1 Kings 6:7 says that, In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built. When God had Solomon build His temple all the stone blocks were hammered into shape at the quarry and then transported to the temple site so that the noise of the sculpting of the stones would not have to be heard.
It’s the same in life with you and with me. Here on earth God allows us to be hammered into shape by the people He surrounds us with. It’s part of His plan to have you and your in-law rub against each other — in order to knock off your rough edges. It’s part of His plan to allow that person at work to chip at me — in order to hammer me into the shape that God wants me to take. We can get so emotional over relational friction in life but it’s friction that causes furniture to be sanded smooth and made beautiful. So relax — it’s normal, it’s intentional, it’s part of God’s plan. As long as you’re this side of heaven God will continue to allow people in your life that rub off your rough edges. It’s your job, and it’s my job to pray through it and to show as much love and grace toward these hammers and chisels as we possibly can. Recognize that you and I, we’re in the quarry.
At the temple site, the stones of God’s temple were among the largest and most perfectly fitted in the history of architecture. In fact the stones of the temple fit together so perfectly that no mortar was used whatsoever — it was completely unnecessary. When God allows us to go through difficulties in our relationships He does so, so that when we’re in heaven we’ll fit together perfectly without any of the noise associated with our rubbing against each other so to speak. All the noise from the chipping and sculpting is happening now, down here, in the quarry that we call life on earth.
1 Peter 2:5 tells us directly that you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (v.4) It appears that making a name for themselves was one of the purposes of building the great tower. This was a trap for them, and is for you and for me as well. Whenever we set out to make a name for ourselves we’re flirting with the sin of sharing glory with God which is the very same sin that brought Satan down. (Isaiah 14:12-14) We also see in this verse an apparent act of rebellion in that God directed them in Genesis 9:7 to replenish the earth but the idea here in chapter 11, verse 4 is to avoid being scattered over the face of the earth. It’s probably not coincidence that these two sins are found together in the same verse. Watch people in rebellion against God long enough and you’ll often see them attempt to make a name for themselves in some fashion. And watch someone who is trying to make a name for themselves long enough and you’ll often see them turn to rebellion against God. God lead us away from both of these.
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. (v.5-6) Verse 6 is true. Speaking the same language enables mankind to accomplish amazing things. In a way, today we’re living in an age when once again we all speak the same language, the language of binary code. Using combinations of 1’s and 0’s nearly every computer in the world has the capability of communicating with every other computer in the world. And because of that, what we’re accomplishing today is amazing. But along with that capability comes a cost. The evil imaginations of man are so very readily available to us that it’s causing people to fall into sin at an alarming rate. I have several friends who would never buy a pornographic magazine yet their lives have been damaged by pornography on the internet. Like me, you probably know of someone, or several someones, whose marriage has ended because of a relationship that started on the internet. And I’m not even counting just plain old wasting of time with first person shooter games or RPG’s. Imposed limitation usually carries with it a negative connotation but if you think it through, limitations are often positive. God in His mercy and grace won’t hesitate to limit you or me if He knows that without limitation, what’s to come will be destructive to us. He’s much more concerned with our eternal condition than He is with our short term comfort. I thank God for that. I thank God that He hasn’t given me everything I’ve prayed for over the years.
“Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (v.7) Notice that the plural us is used here in verse 7. Who is God talking to? I believe this to be another reference to the Trinity. He’s communicating with His Son and His Holy Spirit.
So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (v.8-9) The good news is that we see this reversed in Acts chapter 2 when the mixed crowd that included Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Cappadocians, Asians, Phrygians, Egyptians, Libyans, and Romans were amazed because they each heard the disciples speak of Christ in their native tongue. This was made possible by the disciples seeking and receiving the Holy Spirit. Asking God to pour out His Holy Spirit upon you is the key to unity in Jesus Christ. Jesus commanded us to “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35) But without His Spirit we’re powerless to carry out Jesus’ command — at least I know I am. Without God’s Spirit we’re but dust.
In God’s Spirit is where…
References:
Blue Letter Bible
Bible Gateway
Ray Stedman
JonCourson.com
Matthew Henry
The Top-50 Megaliths:(The largest cut-stones of all time)
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Posted on March 13, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
Genesis, Genesis 11:1-9, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Now the whole world had one language and a common speech, Pentacost, tongues, tower of Babel, who was god talking to when he said let us confuse there language
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God
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Posted on March 9, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study
Dave Mazzella, In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God, John 1:1
Drunk and Naked–Love Covers a Multitude: Genesis 9:18-29
Love Covers a Multitude of Sins by {studiobeerhorst}-bbmarie
Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. (v.20) Noah spent most of the last 120+ years as a carpenter. He built the ark and, presumably, he built his house after the ark came to rest. He spent more than a year as a zoo keeper during his time in the ark with the animals. Yet verse 20 tells us that Noah is a man of the soil. It’s interesting how God sometimes gives us our work assignment for a season, then the season changes and we’re to work in a different field. If you’re not working at your church consider Noah’s seasons of carpentry and zoo keeping. He didn’t build forever — he built for a season. He didn’t care for the animals forever — he cared for them for a season. If you’re reluctant to volunteer in the children’s ministry at your church because you don’t want to be locked in, look at it as a season. Volunteer for a year or a month. See how it goes. It’s not forever. It’s just for a season. Noah’s season of carpentry saved all of humanity. Your season of ministry will also bear fruit. Noah helped for a season and was used by God. Help for a season and see how God uses you.
When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. (v.21) I’m currently reading a book about Billy Graham titled The Preacher and the Presidents. This is a fascinating book about Graham’s considerable influence on every president from Harry Truman to George W. Bush. As I read I’m blown away by two seemingly contradictory messages. The first is how mightily God used the man Billy Graham to influence the world for Jesus. The second is how human Billy Graham is. I won’t share any of the humanity of God’s annointed. And Mr. Graham certainly never fell into drunkeness. Yet he had his frailties and faults just like the rest of us. If you’re interested in learning about the remarkable life of Billy Graham and his relationship with the presidents check out The Preacher and the Presidents by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy.
In verse 21 we see Noah, “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time,” we see Noah, the one who “walked faithfully with God,” we see Noah: sin. (Genesis 6:9) Noah, the great man of God drinks in excess. The one who avoided the temptation to drink in excess while living among a people who likely indulged in drunkeness, now, separated from the debauch influences of the pre-flood society, falls into sin. Sometimes, just when we think we’ve successfully navigated through the season of temptation is when we’re most vulnerable. That’s an important time to keep in mind how much we need God’s help to walk the path God has in mind for us.
And notice that as a result of Noah’s drunkeness he lay uncovered. That’s how it always is with drinking. No one disputes it. People are uncovered when they drink. Inhibitions are reduced when under the influence of alcohol. People say things, people do things that would make them blush were they sober. The likelihood of sin increases proportionately with the amount of alcohol we consume. The Bible doesn’t say it’s wrong to drink but from this point forward the Bible says it’s wrong to be drunk. It’s undeniable that where alcohol abounds sin abounds in greater measure.
Both the account of Billy Graham and the account of Noah are a source of great hope for you and for me. Here are two men who were mightily used by God. And you and I have something in common with them both: we’re human, we sin, we fail. Perhaps God will use you and I mightily as well, for all these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. (1 Corinthians 12:11) I pray God’s Holy Spirit will determine to choose you, and to choose me to be used by God.
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. (v.22) The King James Version puts it this way And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. (v.22 KJV) Some scholars believe that the words saw the nakedness are used as a euphemism for a sexual act as similar words are used in Leviticus 18:6. Others believe that it’s more along the lines of what’s described in Habakkuk 2:15, Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies! What’s not in question is that there was some type of sexual sin committed here on the part of Ham. Something damaging happened for verse 24 says that Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him.
Then we see that Ham follows up with a proclamation of his father’s nakedness. Ham told his two brothers. But why? Why did Ham feel compelled to talk about his father’s nakedness? Why do you and I feel compelled to talk about the weaknesses and shortcomings of those who are close to us? It’s our sin nature surfacing. “But I see it so clearly,” we think. “I just need to get this off my chest,” we say. “Others need to know the truth,” we reason. But oh the damage we do when we share about the weaknesses of others. We experience damage to relationships. We even experience damage to the trust of the person we’re sharing with. Because if I talk about the weaknesses of others who’s to say that later I won’t talk about the weaknesses of the one I’m sharing with. Exposing the problems and weaknesses of others is damaging on so many levels.
Lord keep us from the temptation of gossip.
But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. (v.23) In contrast to Ham, Shem and Japheth went to the trouble of taking a garment, laying it across their shoulders, then walking backwards to avoid looking upon their father’s nakedness. They didn’t want to look upon their father’s nakedness as Ham did. And they desired to cover their father so others wouldn’t see his nakedness as well. This is love in action. This is 1 Peter 4:8 being lived out by Shem and Japheth before 1 Peter 4:8 was written. God tells us above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8) When a loved one sins we have choices to make. We can join them (as Adam did with Eve), we can expose their sin to others through talk (or texts, or emails, or . . .), or we can, like Shem and Japheth, turn our face the other way so we won’t see the weaknesses of others. We can, like Shem and Japheth cover the weaknesses of others. Shem and Japheth chose to cover their father’s sin. And as we’ll see, they were blessed for it.
“Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.” (v.24) Before we see Shem and Japheth blessed, we see Ham cursed. “But it’s Canaan, Ham’s son that’s being cursed,” you might say. I don’t know about Ham, but I’d rather be cursed myself than have one of my sons cursed. That’s how it is with sin. We might think that when we sin we’ll bear the consequences on our own but one of the many problems with sin is that it doesn’t just effect the sinner. The sin of Ham resulted in the culture of the Canaanites becoming one of the most debauch and perverse in the history of mankind. And as we’ve seen in the previous post Because You Have Done This the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23) There was death to the relationship between Ham and his father. And ultimately death to the entire Canaanite culture as they were wiped out due to their strangely perverse society.
He also said,“Praise be to the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.” (v.26-27) Would you like to be associated with praise to the LORD like Shem? Would you like to see your territory extended like Japheth’s? Then live out 1 Peter 4:8 and cover your brother, cover your sister, cover your father and mother. Speak of peoples’ strengths. Cover their weaknesses. Over time people will notice. Over time people will associate you with God’s love. And over time your territory of influencing others for God’s kingdom will increase. Who doesn’t want that?
References:
Newly released book by Kurt Bennett, now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus.
(Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon.)
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Posted on February 26, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Genesis 9, Ham cursed, Jesus, love covers a multitude of sins, Noah drunk, Shem Japheth covered, shem Japheth garment
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