Summer Days

So, I watched this anime movie yesterday called 'Summer Wars' and was totally blown away, not only because it was an awesome movie (which it is), but also because in it is a partial look at what my dream for a 24/7 church looks like. "What is a 24/7 church?" you say, well I'm glad you asked!! *Cheeky grin* It was a bit of an idea that evolved between me and my closest friends based on Acts 2:42-47:

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

Seriously, how beautiful is that? When I read that I asked, "Why don't we do church that way?" Why indeed, why indeed.. So me and my friends have a vision of a church that actually lives together, much like you see in this movie. Well in this movie it's not a church, but a big family over several generations in the same house, but add God to the picture and BAM! The dirt is gone.

So have a watch of it if you have time, see if this movie inspires you to live that same way with fellow believers.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!

Here's the link:

http://www.vidxden.com/v16qu76og9uc/Summer_Wars.mp4.html

John Piper on God's Sovereignty

So I think this is pretty cool, give it a watch guys, you won't regret it!

Genesis 18

THEOPHANIES!! THEOPHANIES!! Yes, that's right folks, it is time for Genesis 18! One of the most beautiful and most instructive of the theophanies! (Btw, a theophany is a visible manifestation of God) But whoa... we're getting ahead of ourselves a bit, we need a little context first!

As we know, Moses is writing this to the Israelites, like how he wrote the rest of the Pentateuch during the time his people were wandering the desert, searching for the promised land after he set them free from Egypt. His message to them in this chapter would have been to keep faith in the promise, like Abraham and Sarah did, even when they thought it was impossible.

So where are we? Oh yeah, the covenant. So the covenant is introduced to Abram in 12:1-3, actually made in 15:18-21, was just reaffirmed in 17:1-21, and will later be renewed with Isaac in 26:2-5. So why did God reaffirm this covenant to Abram (who was changed to Abraham)? Because it is most likely that Abram was thinking that Ishmael, who came from Hagar, was who the promise would come through, but God was like "dude, no." Abram laughed, God shut him down, circumcision was born, and here we are in chapter 18 :)

" And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place." Genesis 18:1-33

We see in Gen 18 that God came down and appeared before Abraham (Theophany), and the main thing I want to focus on here is Abraham's typical response of the gracious host who is in complete service to his guests, according to the Near Eastern customs of hospitality. God appeared in the "heat of the day", which was the appropriate time for people who were passing by, and Abraham ran... I just imagine this old wog who is trying to get you you stay for a bit and trying to stuff food down your throat (I love you Nonna)... he ran to greet them, got down on his face and flippin begged to serve them!

Now, did Abraham know that he was talking to God? There is evidence for either answer, and the reason why it is important to know is because of a different question; did he run to greet, get down on his face and beg to serve every traveler that appeared? I mean, am I really supposed to run to the butchers and get the finest cuts for a BBQ, just because Jo Blow came round? Do I really wash his feet, prepare a meal I wouldn't prepare for myself, and stand aside waiting for him to finish? Flippin heck, Abe was an old man, he would have had every reason to not go out of his way like that, he could have sat back because he was weak, or gotten one of his many servants to do it, or even demand respect because they were on his property and he was well respected because of how old he was! This guy is the housewife of the century!!

Yes, I do believe that he knew it was God, as the Hebrew word for 'O Lord' in verse 3 is 'Adonay', which is distinct for God in the OT, rather than the term for respect 'My Lord', which is 'adoni'. However, even though I think He knew it was God, or at least divine, there is still a lot that can be taken from these scriptures. We must ask ourselves, would we really do all this if we thought God or an angel came to us? Would we recognize our low position, even though we have a high position in society? And furthermore, Hebrews 13:2 is important for context on this issue, for even though it may not be referring to Abraham or Lot directly, it still links the idea that we should treat strangers like we would treat angels. Hospitality and generosity are important values for a Christian to have, and I would say not just when a stranger comes to his home, but whenever he meets a stranger in his everyday life.

Verse 9-15 is the main reason for the visit, which is a follow on from the covenant being reaffirmed in chapter 17. In chapter 17 we saw that God let Abraham know that Ishmael was never going to be who the promise would come through, but Isaac, his son with Sarah. Now we see that this promise is about to come true, the impossible is about to happen, and Sarah laughs, just as Abraham did in chapter 17. Seriously, who would have the nerve to laugh at something God said? That was how impossible this seemed for them, to Abraham and Sarah, the promise was already fulfilled in Ishmael, they didn't think that God could make Sarah give birth, but even with everything that they thought was impossible, they remained respectful and obedient. In chapter 17, when Abraham laughs, we see he stills listens to God and circumcises all in his household. Now, in chapter 18, when Sarah laughs, we see she still refers to Abraham as "my Lord", showing her faithfulness and respect to him and God, even though she thought what had been said to be impossible.

Verses 16-21 show God deciding to let Abraham know his plans for the destruction of Sodom because of Abraham's unique role in regards to his own decedents and (v. 18) all the nations of the world. God wished to teach Abraham the way of the Lord in regards to (v. 19) righteousness and justice, and also Abraham's intercession for the Gentile cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is parallel with his calling to be the vehicle of blessing to the whole world.

Verses 22-33 show Abraham interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah, maybe because of Lot, although this is not specified. We see the principle here that God will not destroy the righteous along with the wicked. The hypothetical number that Abraham puts forth to God reduces from 50 to 10, with the principal established that if there were 10 righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, God would not destroy it. But alas, not even ten were found, only three; Lot and his two daughters. So God shows His righteous judgement by (SPOILER) saving the righteous and destroying the wicked.

:)

Black Hole Destroying a Star

Is this not something to be inspired at? Not something to awe at? I look at this, and I imagine how small our earth is next to what is happening in this video, let alone how small I am. This video is a beautiful sight of destruction and God's power, and I pray that all who watch this will stop and think about how low, and even disgusting they are, and how big, powerful and benevolent our Father in heaven is.

Genesis 17

In this week’s bible chapter we’re going to be introduced to a practice that has haunted men for centuries. You can read the summary of last week’s chapter here and you can read Genesis 17 itself here.

Now the practice I just mentioned is indeed circumcision and in this weeks reading we find God commanding Abraham to take on this task. For the sake of context I’ll summarise where were coming from.

Moses, the author of Genesis, is chilling in the desert with the Israelites, fresh out of Egypt and he’s basically providing them with a history of their nation, while dropping some seriously theological themes. Therefore, we can see how Genesis 17 and its explanation of the origin of circumcision in Israel would have been important for the average Israelite to know. No doubt, the men in Israel had some serious questions about why they had a tradition involving the most vulnerable part of the male body. But that’s not all this chapter explains. Let’s walk through it together.

We start off with God appearing before Abraham. Now as far as we know, God hasn’t shown up for around 15 years. In fact Abraham hasn’t seen God since before the awkward turtle situation with Hagar, which resulted with little Ishmael. So apart from the problems that ensued when Abraham heeded ill advice of his wife (Genesis 16:2), Abraham probably had no reason to think that Ishmael was not the promised son. God had never said that his promised son would come from Sarah, so his child with Hagar probably seemed like a legit part of the covenant made in Genesis 15. Anyway, we’ll touch on this more later.

Now God basically starts with one of His spiels, restating much of what He’s said before. However, this time He changes Abram’s name to Abraham, which is great because up until now I’ve been crazy confused about which name to use in our weekly bible summaries. Now the meaning of his name has gone from “exalted father” to “father of many nations”. Now let’s stop and think about this. Abraham in the past would have introduced himself as “exalted father”. People would have heard this and asked how many children he had exactly. This was a question that could only be answered by an awkward silence on Abraham's part.

But NOW God amps it up a bit. Now Abraham is a father of NATIONS. How embarrassing would that be? I get the feeling the dialogue would go something like this.

Stranger: Hi, what’s your name?

Abraham: The God I serve has changed my name to “father of many nations”.

Stranger: Oh cool, how many kids you got?

Abraham: One.

Stranger:…right

But that’s just how God works. God writes the future. We can’t even see it. So when it appears like we’ve been promised something impossible (like, I don’t know, a guy on a horse with a sword coming out of his mouth and with eyes like blazing fire, cracking the sky open to come save us from this earth) we need childlike faith to trust that God can and will do what He says. And God has never broken a promise.

Okay, so in verses 9-14 we see the act of circumcision come in. The New Testament (Col. 2:11-14) sheds light on the meaning behind circumcision. The cutting off of the foreskin basically represents the believer in Christ, putting off the flesh and its ways. The fact that the flesh being physically removed is on the male genitalia possibly indicates that God is sanctifying for Himself a line of descendants or a nation from one man, through whom he will accomplish his work of redemption and the ultimate “putting off of the flesh” at the great consummation at the end of the age. Another interesting point is that these circumcised men were to be sexually pure (since they were God’s people) and thus the incision of the foreskin marked them off as different to the other nations. Ironically if they were to fall into sexual promiscuity and have relations with women or even prostitutes from other nations, the women would see that the men were different and possibly even question why, which would have been a convicting question for the men about to engage in what they knew to be an immoral act.

Now one of the ways that circumcision is relevant to us today is found in verse 7. God states that this covenant will be an everlasting covenant. Now since the New Testament states clearly that we no longer need to be circumcised, some view water baptism as the symbol of the new covenant, replacing circumcision. They bring Colossians 2:11-14 into the discussion to show that therefore in the same way all the newborn males were circumcised, now all newborn children must be baptized. In other words they believe in infant baptism. Others believe that a profession of faith is necessary in order for one to be baptized and infants clearly cannot profess faith in Christ, therefore it makes no sense for us to baptize our children.

Now I think it would be highly ignorant for me to say that infant baptism is an unimportant issue. Some people hold to the view that the essentials of salvation are the only things in the bible worth arguing over. Last time I checked ALL scripture was God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and therefore it’s ALL important. Therefore, I have no problem with people who get dogmatic over this issue and try to take God’s word seriously. Personally, I’ve listened to arguments for and against baptizing children and while I do lean towards infant baptism, I know way too little to be dogmatic about the issue myself. Google it and come to your own conclusion :)

Onto the second half of the chapter! God notices that Sarai probably feels left out of the whole “getting a new name thing” so he changes her name to Sarah, which basically means the same thing. If anything, her name has changed from “my princess” to just “princess”, perhaps indicating that the scope of her princess-like position as the mother of many nations is greater than the average woman. She is not just MY (Abraham’s?) princess but also the princess over many nations.

Now when God finally says indicates that Sarah herself would give birth to his promised son, he reacts on a less than faithful manner. He basically laughs in God’s face. Now, granted he and Sarah were quite old and it literally would have taken a miracle for them to give birth to a child so it's no wonder he laughed in disbelief. But still. Never laugh at God. When I was reading this verse I was surprised that the next verse didn’t say “and God struck him down and went looking for a new patriarch”.

Anyway, after picking himself up off the floor from his laughing fit, Abraham proceeds to ask God to choose Ishmael as the promised son. No doubt Abraham loved the boy, being his first child and thus would have wanted the blessings of the covenant to be enjoyed by his firstborn. And yet God rejects Ishmael. Why? Let’s go to the New Testament for some clarification.

Galatians 4:22-23
“For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.”

Ishmael represents human effort. When Abraham and Sarah lacked faith in God’s promise, they decided to help Him along and thus Ishmael was born. But God doesn’t work according to human standards. He does the impossible. Thus Abraham’s promised child was to be called Isaac, since God’s promises are so outlandish that they cause us to laugh with disbelief, but at the same time God himself is so faithful to His word that when He brings His promises to pass, He causes us to laugh for joy (Genesis 21:6).

Be encouraged. God has promised Christians the greatest gift He could offer; namely Himself. And while life’s struggles seek to sway us and cause us to fear, may we persevere in faith in God’s promises since He is faithful regardless of life’s trials or even our faithlessness (Romans 3:3) and no matter how unbelievable his promises may seem, our God can do the impossible (Luke 1:37).

Peace

Genesis 16

So I'm stuck doing an analysis of a chapter in Genesis, while Dimi is mocking me by playing Zelda right in front of me. So i guess I'll start off by copying and pasting the entire chapter onto this post.

Hagar and Ishmael

¹ Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; ² so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. ³ So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. ⁴ He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”

⁶ “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

⁷ The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. ⁸ And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

⁹ Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰ The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

¹¹ The angel of the LORD also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
for the LORD has heard of your misery.
¹² He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers.”

¹³ She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” ¹⁴ That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Ok so now Dimi will be cut at me and you can follow me through the chapter :)

Ok now, verse one doesn't say much, it simply sets the scene telling us that Sarai has been having trouble bearing children and that she has a servant named Hagar.

Verse 2 shows us how Abraham agrees with Sarai. Now it does not say whether there was a big discussion over this topic or not but it does show that he agreed with Sarai, which has caused him to get a lot of criticism since males are supposed to be the head of the household. It also shows a lack of faith in God's promise (Gen 15:5), since he wants to some how assist God in bringing him children, instead of letting God take the lead. It's quite funny actually since this verse shows us how utterly depraved we are as humans. Abram was counted as righteous in the last chapter for believing in God's promise (Gen 15:6) and then a chapter later you see him getting impatient and trying to speed things up with his human abilities.

Verse 3 states that Hagar is now his wife, which means that her status in the household has increased and it also means that Abraham has more than one wife. Now in the bible, taking more than one wife is never encouraged (Deut 17:17) and is generally wrought with complications, as you will notice if you read the latter verses in this chapter.


Verse 4 can show us how depraved humans really are. The moment Hagar gets a small bit of power she instantly looks down on Sarai. This is an act of pride and doesn't work out well for her later on.


Verse 5 and 6 shows that Sarai directs her anger at Hagar at Abram firstly, then later directs it towards Hagar herself. This is showing us how man should not try to "assist" God in his promise and should leave it up to him since it generally results in drama.


Verse 7 does not really show us much, except for the fact that she was running home, since she was found at the spring on the way to Shur which is in the direction of Egypt.


Verse 9 is a crucial verse in this chapter and it summarises the chapter well. She is commanded to go and submit to Sarai even though Sarai is treating her harshly. This is the main message of this chapter, that you must submit to your authorities even when it seems hard, this parallels with other sections of scripture (Rom 13: 1-7)


Verse 10 see's Hagar receiving a promise similar to that of Abraham (Gen 15:5) indicating that even though her son is not the promised child of Abraham, he is still partially blessed.


Verse 11 shows us that God listens to us when we are in need. Ishmael literally means "God hears".


Verse 13 calls God a "God of seeing". It is important to remember something like this, God is always watching even when it seems like no one is there to help us (like when your master is beating you every day and there is no escape). It can be a great comfort knowing God is watching and He cares.


Beer-lahai-roi in verse 14 means "Well of the living one who sees"...man, Hagar is really excited about this whole seeing-thing...maybe it's important?


This chapter teaches us several things. one of the main things is teaches is that you must submit to your authorities even when it seems hard and the people in power seem harsh and cruel. It also shows that God does have a plan. Technically Hagar brought this upon herself and did not deserve God's assistance, but God showed her favour and looked after her while she was being mistreated by her master. This chapter also shows us how we should have faith in God's plan, and that instead of trying to do things our way (like Abram did by conceiving a child with Hagar) we should have faith.

This man is a genius...

Very tempted to try out the one on "18 Dec"...



Peace

Can a Christian Backslide?

I always remember a sermon I heard once that frustrated the heck out of me, talking about how once you become a Christian you step over a line. Supposedly the more you read your bible and pray, the more you walk away from that line, and when you don't you start to walk backwards or "backslide" towards that line, until eventually you step back over it and stop being a Christian.

Unfortunately, this is commonplace thinking in many Arminian churches. Because they assert (sometimes unknowingly) that our free will played more of a part in our salvation than God did, so they therefore assert that our free will can in effect cause us to lose our salvation. If there is no assurance of faith, one must beg the question; is there real faith?

I am seriously coming to the conclusion that Arminian churches will use a creative speech, rather than inerrant, God-breathed scripture to motivate a Christian lifestyle. Something I feel we forget sometimes is that there is more wisdom in that perfect gift called the bible than in our disgusting, sinful and depraved minds... anyway I'm getting off track aren't I?

Many people affirm that Christians can backslide, but some do so to a point of accepting their sin, and this is where I want to focus on.

What is backsliding?

No one, including Christians, can ever keep God's law perfectly.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10

So everyone disobeys God's law, if not by deed then by heart motive, we all fall short. However just two chapters later we see this horrifying news.

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

1 John 3:6-10

Ok, breathe easy now all you sinful Christians out there, this is talking about making a "practice of sinning", rather than stuffing up. But point is, the Christian lifestyle is not one of practicing sin, it just simply does not happen. So how is it the case that a Christian, who is unable to practice sin, is able to backslide to a loss of salvation?

That was rhetorical, they can't.

Christians can regress into a period of spiritual dullness/ disobedience, but that is entirely different to willful rebellion.

There is a key difference between the fake and true Christian; when the fake Christian sins, they don't care and think they are forgiven, but when the true Christian sins, they hate what they have done, are sorrowful towards God, and although may be scared of God's discipline, should accept it.

As Psalm 119:176 shows, a Christian does go astray, but acknowledges where he is, admits his need of help, and cries out for God to save him!

Genesis 15

So this week's study is on Genesis 15, one of the chapter's in scripture that gives pretty much a low down on the whole bible, so YOU DON'T WANNA MISS THIS!!

So context, Abraham has just flippin DESTROYED the 5 kings who kidnapped Lot, then got blessed by the High Priest Malchizedek, and rejected Sodom's offer, for they were an evil nation and Abram did not wish to depend on kings and their gifts, but on God. So from here you can see how Abram would have been feeling, he rejected all these gifts and is choosing to rely on God, but still has no son for his promise.

This is where we come in, here is the chapter so you guys can read it for yourselves:

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

Now, as we know the author of this chapter, this whole book and the whole Pentateuch (first five books of the bible) is generally held to be Moses, writing to the Israelites as they wander around the desert. It would probably not be a coincidence then that Moses writes about the faith of Abraham so much (as the Israelites really bombed out in that area).

Ok, so you can see how Abram could have done with some encouragement in this chapter, as the chapter before he refused to take an offering from the king of Sodom in order to show his faith in God. It would have been perfectly fine for God to not encourage him and test his faith further, but He simply chose to let Abram know his faith was not misplaced.

So God encourages Abram, and then Abram lets loose. He tells God of his fear of leaving all he has to this dude Eliezer, which would therefore make everything God has done for Abram pointless in Abram's eyes (cos you know, not like God has a plan or anything). But God still encourages him, telling him again that he will have a son, and that they will be as numerous as the stars. Why did God wait for Abram to ask to encourage him, and why encourage him at all? It probably has something to do with verse 6; God brings Abram back to that place of faith. A person's faith (or lack of) can be shown clearly in times of crisis, like the years of childlessness Abram had currently gone through. Something important to note is that God is omniscient, so He would not have spoken to Abram to see if he has faith or not, but to cause him to have faith. This also shows that we do not have a works based salvation, but because of our faith (which He caused), not by anything we have done, are we counted as righteous.

God then decides to encourage Abram again, except this time specifically about the land he is going to possess (what could God be up to?). Abram again tells God of his fear that he does not know for sure (faith?) that he really will possess the land promised to him. Now God does something really weird... why does Abram need to get all these animals and cut them in half? And why not the birds? Well simply, these animals are used in rituals later for Israel, and when sacrificing birds, they are not to be cut in half (lev 1:17). Many believe that the birds of prey in verse 11 resemble Israel's enemies, and the torch and the fire pot and flaming torch in verse 17 to mean God's presence. Abram then goes to sleep and is told a prophecy about what the Israelites were currently going through!! Coincidence? I think not!!

Now, God makes a covenant with Abram by getting the torch and fire pot to pass through the animal carcasses. The covenant is that Abram's offspring will posses the land, and by using both offspring and land, this unconditional promise links to the earlier conditional promise of Abram becoming a great nation. So why did God say all this to Abram? Most likely to change the conditional promise to an unconditional one, which is kind of oddly similar to what Jesus did on the cross. When Jesus died, not only has He made it clear that faith in Him is all that is needed to be counted as righteous, by abolished the law, He has made it so that our salvation is not based on conditional sacrifices needed to be made, but one unconditional sacrifice made in unconditional love that is available to all men.

God bless all of you!

Genesis 12

We're starting with the life of Abraham in our weekly bible readings. If you guys want an idea of what happened in Genesis 11, so you understand a bit of the background then check out our summary of it here.

Again here's the text so you can read it for yourself:

The Call of Abram

12:1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16 And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

17 But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” 20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

So to start off its always important to lay down the context for the chapter, otherwise we could probably twist the passage to justify racism if we tried hard enough.

The author of this passage is commonly held to be Moses who is assumed to be the author of the entire Pentateuch. He's writing this history of the patriarchs for Israel, who he has led out of slavery from Egypt and with whom he's currently wandering aimlessly in the desert with (...yeah, the Israelites thought it was messed up too).

And its not like they sipping drinks by the pool side. In fact, that wouldn't even make sense cos there was barely any water. This was a hard time for Israel. Most of them would not live to see the Promise Land and they would need to know that God has a purpose and a promise even through their punishment. This is the point of Genesis as a whole.

I'm gonna deal with the first half of this chapter first and then come to the wife swap situation later. Basically, God rocks up and is like "Abe, it's time to bail. I'll be in the car". Now this means leaving his fatherland, which was a big deal back then cos it was basically like leaving your identity behind and becoming a no one.

To do this requires FAITH (and a fear of being crushed by the omnipotent being who just tore your roof off and commanded you to do something) and its this type of faith that gets Abe credit in Hebrews 11:8. This reminds me of the fact that without faith its impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and also anything that does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). You would do well to think about this for a bit.

Upon commanding Abe (can I call him Abe? I feel like were close enough) to leave his home, God gives him this stunning blessing:
"I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Hopefully, you can see this is a clear reference to the future Christ who will come through Abe's seed. Notice how God says "in you" and not "through you". Paul later states that all believers in Christ are children of Abraham (Galatians 3:29). It would seem as if it works both ways.

IN Abraham is almost synonymous with being IN Christ (his seed) and THIS is where the blessing lies. So for all those who think God broke His promise because not all the families of the world are blessed through Abraham, this blessing is for those in Christ only. And they are CRAZY blessed.

Let's move onto Abe's issue in Egypt. On the surface it just seems like a nice story with the basic moral being: trust God and He'll get you through trials.

And it is.

But I think there's something else here. Notice the contrast between the first part of this chapter and the second part.
In the first part we see Abram displaying great faith, leaving everything he has in Haran to follow the call of God and setting up altars where ever he goes in worship of God.

THEN, we see Abram set up a huge lie to protect himself (while neglecting the sanctity of his wife, mind you) all because he had no FAITH in God. See the contrast?

So what does this passage say as a whole?
Well, it seems quite clear that in regards to man, he is fickle and changes like the weather (and by that I mean Melbourne weather). One minute he might be a man who displays such great faith that he goes down in history for it and the next minute he's telling his wife that he's cool with another dude having his way with her as long as he gets to live. Nice. I guess the moral there is, don't trust Man.

But I think the more important question is what does this passage say about God?
Well, lets look and see...from verse 17:

"But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” 20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had."

We see that even though Abe was inconsistent, God remained faithful to his promise (Romans 3:3-4). He wasn't about to let some Egyptian mess around with Abram's wife and compromise Abe's seed.

Take note; our God is a faithful God.
As much as the bible, and Genesis specifically, is about the depravity of Man, it is also about the faithfulness of God to His promise that he made from the beginning.
(Genesis 3:15)

Key thoughts:
Are YOU living by faith?
Are you trying to please God with your works or with your faith in Jesus Christ?
Jesus said if you love Him, you will obey Him. You may be genuinely doing what you think to be God's will but you might be totally off and actually in sin.
It's God's will for us to read His word and obey Him by faith, just like Abraham did.
At the same time, recognise that although you're unfaithfulness is practically guaranteed, God will always remain faithful to you if you are His chosen people.

May that knowledge lead us to worship.

Peace

Mass Bird and Fish Death

So yeah, I'm a little slow on the update, 7 days after the happening has probably caused a loss of weirdness to the mass of the birds and fish dying all around the world. But what has been quoted several times on the internet has been Zephaniah 1:2-3 and Hosea 4:1-3.

""I will utterly sweep away everything

from the face of the earth," declares the LORD.

"I will sweep away man and beast;

I will sweep away the birds of the heavens

and the fish of the sea,

and the rubble with the wicked.

I will cut off mankind

from the face of the earth," declares the LORD."

Zepheniah 1:2-3.

"Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel,

for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.

There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,

and no knowledge of God in the land;

there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;

they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Therefore the land mourns,

and all who dwell in it languish,

and also the beasts of the field

and the birds of the heavens,

and even the fish of the sea are taken away."

Hosea 4:1-3.

Now, don't get me wrong, this is strange and I bet there are some 2012 cults going crazy right, but what does this really mean for us? Should we automatically assume the apocalypse?

The pretty crazy part of this whole event is that it's not just in one place, but all around the world, and the events seem to not be connected. Even if every one of these events can be explained and are shown to not be divine, we know that God is sovereign over all things and is the one who causes all things to happen. Who says that just because something can be explained that it cannot be divine? This is an act of God, EVERYTHING is an act of God, but what does it mean for us?

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 talks about how the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (v. 2). It goes on to say how we should not be surprised because we are not in darkness (v. 4), but should rather be awake and sober (v. 6) in faith, hope and love (v. 8), and to continue encouraging and building one another up (v. 11). We, as Christians, should ALWAYS be aware of the coming doom that every man will see. The very purpose of Revelations is to scare us, for us to understand that we do not have forever. John, in 1 John 2:18 calls it "the last hour", and I think he knew that the earth may not have been in the last hour, but is telling us to live like Jesus could come back at any second. I mean, even if Jesus doesn't come back, it doesn't take much for us to meet our last hour!

How do we look at an event like this? It should be a reminder of what is coming so that we get off of our lazy buts and get to work to save as many as possible right now!

Francis Chan: Just Stop And Think

This is a cool video by Francis Chan, I just love how much this guy awes at God.

Animator vs. Animation

EPIC COMEDY! HAHAHAHAHA!
An absolute A+, must watch.

Cheers.

Graphic Violence

So apart from the fact that I spent most of the video wondering why it was given such a title (and then having a lightbulb moment at the end of it), this was a crazy creative video...



Peace

Romancer

Left my fear by the side of the road. Hear You speak and won't let go. Fall to my knees as I lift my hands to pray. Got every reason to be here again. Father's love that draws me in. All my eyes wanna see is a glimpse of You...


...You hold the universe.
You hold every one of us.
- (Hillsong)

I am standing on the shore, digging my toes into the velvet sheet of sand beneath my skin, gazing at the thunderous, majestic waves roaring before me. Boundless, beautiful and beaming of Him. In and out, the ebbing waves never sleep, ushering to the shore ripples and splutters of foam, daring towards me like a million white galloping stallions.

Everywhere I look, the beauty of His handiwork bellows out His love for us. He's been pursuing us all along. Romancing us with overarching sunsets, shooting stars, glimmering seas and towering mountains. Nature cries out His royal architecture. We are encompassed and sealed by an out pour of the transcendent affection He lavishes us with.

Who are we, for Him to even notice us? I cannot fathom it.

Jesus, the Creator of this universe, pursues us.

Satisfy

Theological Analogy of the Day

Imagine a new alternative band suddenly steps on the scene. Hypothetically, let’s say that they are objectively the best band on the planet. And their opening concert is the best concert performed…EVER. Their performance receives no critical reviews; EVERYONE is a fan. They’re just, well, the best band ever.

However, after this performance, the band members themselves receive no attention.

No interviews.

No signings.

No record deal.

Nothing.

Instead, the world has fallen in love with the band’s instruments.

Teens put up posters of the guitar used. Fans pass out when they catch a glimpse of the drum set. Children dream about being just like the keyboard when they grow up.

And even more than that the band members themselves are completely ignored and even hated by some. People can’t stand the sight of them and want nothing to do with them unless, of course, it involved some sort of abuse.

Sounds ludicrous, huh? I mean, the people must be crazy! The instruments have no intrinsic value. They were merely tools that only presented any worth when in the hands of the musicians. It was the band members who should be praised! It was the people behind the instruments that should get the glory! What kind of sick/weird/messed up society would react in such a way?

Good question.

Romans 1:24-25

"Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonoured among them.

For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."

Peace