27/2/2018
As I write this, the snow is falling outside. It fell all night and there is about 4 inches on top of our garden cupboard.
Still, back to Genesis and we're now up to Ch 19. Abraham has plea bargained with God not to destroy Sodom & Gomorrah if only 10 righteous people were there in order to save his nephew Lot; but there weren't 10, so his angels visited Lot and told them to get out of town because God was going to destroy it. At first they were resistant, but the angels blinded the Sodomites that were surrounding Lot's house and grabbed the family by the hands to flee, warning them not to look back. But Lot's wife looked back and was immediately turned to a pillar of salt. (she was warned!). Perhaps we could take this as a warning not to yearn for the old days but keep moving forward. Then we come to a bit of incest again. In order to continue the family line. Lot's 2 daughters got him drunk on consecutive nights and slept with him. So were the two tribes of Moabites and Ammonites formed. I don't know what God was thinking when this happened, but I wonder if all humanities ailments and sicknesses were caused by incest. Something else to think about eh? But we'll never know the answer.
Bye for now
Tuesday 27 February 2018
Monday 26 February 2018
It's a bargain
26/2/2018
Three men came to visit Abraham and told him he and his wife Sarah would conceive the following year. Sarah was inside the tent and laughed at the notion of giving birth at such an old age but she was rebuked for it. It's quite easy and plausible for us to think like the rest of the world and not believe in miracles. Some people might find us crazy or laughable, to believe the seemingly impossible. But we can't stop nature from taking it's course.
Do we plea bargain with God? I guess I have a number of times. When I didn't like the thing God told me He was going to do; like the dying man pleading for his life; 'if only you would spare me I will never lie again' etc. Abraham's nephew lived in Sodom & Gomorrah. God said he would destroy the citizens there if the reports of how depraved they were, were true. So Abraham plea bargained with God in the fashion of 'If you find 50 godly people there will you destroy it?' God said no and Abraham continued to bring the numbers down to 10 and God ended at 10, 'If I find 10 godly people I will not destroy it. I guess Abraham thought he had won the battle to keep his nephew safe, but I think that God must have known all along that He wouldn't find 10 Godly people, so he was always in charge and though it seems that Abraham won, God's will was still done and Sodom and Gomorrah as we know was destroyed anyway. I've just been reading about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. Even he pleaded with God not to let him suffer as he did, but God's will was done and Jesus was crucified for us so the scriptures wouldn't be fulfilled as Jesus said. I believe Jesus suffered a major panic attack when He prayed in the garden 'Let thy will be done o lord and not mine' After the panic attack had ended he was ready to face his destiny.
I often think of this if I feel panicky about something. It could be anything and could seemingly come from nowhere.
Ponder again all you plea bargainers and accept you fete in the end, then there will be peace.
Bye for now
Three men came to visit Abraham and told him he and his wife Sarah would conceive the following year. Sarah was inside the tent and laughed at the notion of giving birth at such an old age but she was rebuked for it. It's quite easy and plausible for us to think like the rest of the world and not believe in miracles. Some people might find us crazy or laughable, to believe the seemingly impossible. But we can't stop nature from taking it's course.
Do we plea bargain with God? I guess I have a number of times. When I didn't like the thing God told me He was going to do; like the dying man pleading for his life; 'if only you would spare me I will never lie again' etc. Abraham's nephew lived in Sodom & Gomorrah. God said he would destroy the citizens there if the reports of how depraved they were, were true. So Abraham plea bargained with God in the fashion of 'If you find 50 godly people there will you destroy it?' God said no and Abraham continued to bring the numbers down to 10 and God ended at 10, 'If I find 10 godly people I will not destroy it. I guess Abraham thought he had won the battle to keep his nephew safe, but I think that God must have known all along that He wouldn't find 10 Godly people, so he was always in charge and though it seems that Abraham won, God's will was still done and Sodom and Gomorrah as we know was destroyed anyway. I've just been reading about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. Even he pleaded with God not to let him suffer as he did, but God's will was done and Jesus was crucified for us so the scriptures wouldn't be fulfilled as Jesus said. I believe Jesus suffered a major panic attack when He prayed in the garden 'Let thy will be done o lord and not mine' After the panic attack had ended he was ready to face his destiny.
I often think of this if I feel panicky about something. It could be anything and could seemingly come from nowhere.
Ponder again all you plea bargainers and accept you fete in the end, then there will be peace.
Bye for now
Saturday 24 February 2018
You're never too old for miracles
24/2/2018
Well now we come to the point where Abram is 99 years old. we don't know what he's been doing for all that time. God comes to him again and tells him he will conceive. At first Abram doesn't believe because not only is he 99 but Sarai is 90. He mistakenly believes that God will bless Ishmael, but God says no I mean Sarai will conceive and he is to be named Isaac (Laughter). Also God changes Abram's name (Exalted Father) to Abraham ('Father of nations') and Sarai's name shall be Sarah (princess).For his pert of the contract or bargain, Abraham was to circumcise every male and from now on every male was to be circumcised on the 8th day after birth. This rule was to apply to servants, foreigners born as slaves and everyone born in the household. Abraham was to become a father of many great nations and 12 princes were to be under Ishmael's prosperity (as the Living Bible puts it).
Nowadays we say it's tricky to have a first baby after 40. I work in Nursing homes where I've known a 103 year old woman to be taken care of by her 70 year old daughter. I can't imagine how this would have worked even though people did seem to live longer in those days. The miracle is not just the conception, but the raising of a child at such an old age. How will we ever begin to understand the mind of God and his ways?
Still pondering?
Bye for now
Well now we come to the point where Abram is 99 years old. we don't know what he's been doing for all that time. God comes to him again and tells him he will conceive. At first Abram doesn't believe because not only is he 99 but Sarai is 90. He mistakenly believes that God will bless Ishmael, but God says no I mean Sarai will conceive and he is to be named Isaac (Laughter). Also God changes Abram's name (Exalted Father) to Abraham ('Father of nations') and Sarai's name shall be Sarah (princess).For his pert of the contract or bargain, Abraham was to circumcise every male and from now on every male was to be circumcised on the 8th day after birth. This rule was to apply to servants, foreigners born as slaves and everyone born in the household. Abraham was to become a father of many great nations and 12 princes were to be under Ishmael's prosperity (as the Living Bible puts it).
Nowadays we say it's tricky to have a first baby after 40. I work in Nursing homes where I've known a 103 year old woman to be taken care of by her 70 year old daughter. I can't imagine how this would have worked even though people did seem to live longer in those days. The miracle is not just the conception, but the raising of a child at such an old age. How will we ever begin to understand the mind of God and his ways?
Still pondering?
Bye for now
Thursday 22 February 2018
How long do we wait?
22/2/2018
When you get a promise from someone and you believe them, how long do you wait for the promise to surface? Abram was told he would have a son and he believed God, so how long did Sarai his wife wait to try and make this promise a reality of her own. She asked her servant Hagar to be what we call nowadays a surrogate wife. Doesn't look as if Hagar had any say in the matter and Abram slept with her. She became pregnant and then received a beating from Sarai and Hagar ran away. None of this would have happened if Sarai had waited, but I guess we all get impatient at times to see realisations of promises. An angel visited Hagar and told her that she would have a son who would be made into a great nation and to call him Ishmael and to go back to being Sarai's handmaiden again. Thus another new nation was born. Was this in God's plan all along? Did God know of Sarai's impatience?
Something to ponder again about promises we may have believed were for us and haven't happened yet.
Bye for now
When you get a promise from someone and you believe them, how long do you wait for the promise to surface? Abram was told he would have a son and he believed God, so how long did Sarai his wife wait to try and make this promise a reality of her own. She asked her servant Hagar to be what we call nowadays a surrogate wife. Doesn't look as if Hagar had any say in the matter and Abram slept with her. She became pregnant and then received a beating from Sarai and Hagar ran away. None of this would have happened if Sarai had waited, but I guess we all get impatient at times to see realisations of promises. An angel visited Hagar and told her that she would have a son who would be made into a great nation and to call him Ishmael and to go back to being Sarai's handmaiden again. Thus another new nation was born. Was this in God's plan all along? Did God know of Sarai's impatience?
Something to ponder again about promises we may have believed were for us and haven't happened yet.
Bye for now
Tuesday 20 February 2018
Look at the stars
20/2/2018
God told Abram to go outside and look at the stars in the skies. Abram had no son but God said you will have a son and as many decedents as there are stars in the skies. And Abram believed him and God considered him righteous on account of his faith. I often wonder if my heritage could be traced back to Abram. The most miraculous part of this account is that in earthly terms Abram and his wife were too old to conceive; but Abram believed him anyway. Then in a vision God showed him of the future foreboding of 400 years of enslavement and oppression for his people but then they will be freed with great wealth and God drew a covenant with Abram that evening by sending a burning light and smoking pot to pass between two sacrificial carcasses God had told him to cut in half earlier. I have given this land to your descendants from the Wadi-el-Arish to the river Euphrates. and I give to them these nations; Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites. Take note of some of these names as they might come up later.
But I think the most important point to take from this account, is Abram's faith and he believed although he did ask for a sign, which caused the covenant into being. We can be bold enough to ask for signs if we aren't sure whether God has spoken to us or not. This will increase our faith and ardour.
Bye for now
God told Abram to go outside and look at the stars in the skies. Abram had no son but God said you will have a son and as many decedents as there are stars in the skies. And Abram believed him and God considered him righteous on account of his faith. I often wonder if my heritage could be traced back to Abram. The most miraculous part of this account is that in earthly terms Abram and his wife were too old to conceive; but Abram believed him anyway. Then in a vision God showed him of the future foreboding of 400 years of enslavement and oppression for his people but then they will be freed with great wealth and God drew a covenant with Abram that evening by sending a burning light and smoking pot to pass between two sacrificial carcasses God had told him to cut in half earlier. I have given this land to your descendants from the Wadi-el-Arish to the river Euphrates. and I give to them these nations; Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites. Take note of some of these names as they might come up later.
But I think the most important point to take from this account, is Abram's faith and he believed although he did ask for a sign, which caused the covenant into being. We can be bold enough to ask for signs if we aren't sure whether God has spoken to us or not. This will increase our faith and ardour.
Bye for now
Monday 19 February 2018
Let it be
19/2/2018
War again and this time to cut a long story short Lot and his family get captured. One man escaped to tell Abram of Lot's predicament and he rallied all his household 318 of them and they led pursuit and was victorious in the cause reclaiming all Lot's possession's (including his wives and families)back for him, destroying the bad guys in the possess. When this was all over the king of Jerusalem Melchizedeck who was a priest of the highest order of God, brought Abram bread and wine and blessed Abram with this blessing;' The blessing of the supreme God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, be upon you, Abram; and blessed be God, who has delivered your enemies over to you'. Abram gave Melchizedeck a tenth of the spoils. Abram wouldn't accept any gifts from the King of Sodom because he had solemnly declared to God he wouldn't unless it would look like God wasn't providing for him. He would only accept what food his men had taken , but said let the booty be shared amongst Abner, Eschol and Mamre his allies.
When I read of all the things involving Abram such a peace and calm descends on me. He was definitely a man of wisdom, calm, peace and faith in the promises of God even though the car alarm outside has been going off umpteen times while I've been reading this, I have managed to remain peaceful and not get stressed about it.
Abram was a cool dude and wise in his old years, taking everything in his stride, letting nothing phase him and always seems to be striving for the path to reconciliation and peace.
'Let it be'
Bye for now
Thursday 15 February 2018
You're never too old
14/2/2018
Yes it's valentines day and we're both stick at home with the weather wet and windy outside. I'll leave the rest of Ch 11 & 12 for now because nothing particularly exiting happens; just more ancestry So now Abram's father had died and Abram was 75 when God told him to lave his country and blindly go where he was led by God. I sometimes wish God would have a clear word to me, as to where I am to go and what I was to do. Abram was led first to Canaan, where Gold told him he would have the land and many decedents there. So Abram built an alter and on to Bethel and Ai on the east. Then southwards to Negeb. At that time there was a famine in the land (you'd think that may be God would lead them away from the famine, but that's just me!) and Abram went to Egypt to live. Now his wife Sarai was very beautiful and Abram feared the Egyptians would want to kill him in order to have her; so he asked her to say she was his sister. now I suddenly see a chink in Abram's Armour. His fear of the Egyptians caused him to lie and mistrust God (so he is human after all). o Abram an entourage got escorted out of Egypt when pharaoh found out, because all his cattle and crops were dying. So Adios Egypt and back to the Negeb and then back to Bethel and Ai. There Abram and Lot parted company because they were both rich now and needed a lot of land so. Abram seeming the wisest of them all said lets split up and you choose wherever you want to go and I'll go the other way. It seems to me that Abram seemed to understand God better and I think it'd because of his unending trust and his constant worship; setting up shrines wherever he went probably gave him the better part. God told Abram after Lot had left. to look anywhere he could see and that would be the inheritance for him and his family.
Seems like I need to build a few alters and pray and worship more to find out what God wants for my life.
Bye for now
Yes it's valentines day and we're both stick at home with the weather wet and windy outside. I'll leave the rest of Ch 11 & 12 for now because nothing particularly exiting happens; just more ancestry So now Abram's father had died and Abram was 75 when God told him to lave his country and blindly go where he was led by God. I sometimes wish God would have a clear word to me, as to where I am to go and what I was to do. Abram was led first to Canaan, where Gold told him he would have the land and many decedents there. So Abram built an alter and on to Bethel and Ai on the east. Then southwards to Negeb. At that time there was a famine in the land (you'd think that may be God would lead them away from the famine, but that's just me!) and Abram went to Egypt to live. Now his wife Sarai was very beautiful and Abram feared the Egyptians would want to kill him in order to have her; so he asked her to say she was his sister. now I suddenly see a chink in Abram's Armour. His fear of the Egyptians caused him to lie and mistrust God (so he is human after all). o Abram an entourage got escorted out of Egypt when pharaoh found out, because all his cattle and crops were dying. So Adios Egypt and back to the Negeb and then back to Bethel and Ai. There Abram and Lot parted company because they were both rich now and needed a lot of land so. Abram seeming the wisest of them all said lets split up and you choose wherever you want to go and I'll go the other way. It seems to me that Abram seemed to understand God better and I think it'd because of his unending trust and his constant worship; setting up shrines wherever he went probably gave him the better part. God told Abram after Lot had left. to look anywhere he could see and that would be the inheritance for him and his family.
Seems like I need to build a few alters and pray and worship more to find out what God wants for my life.
Bye for now
Wednesday 7 February 2018
Curses
30/1/2018
Noah had three sons; Shem, Ham and Japheth. all the nation of the earth came from these three sons. So I wonder if I could trace my ancestry back to one of them. Noah was a farmer and had a vineyard. He fell asleep drunk in his tent one day and Ham happened to come across him. Immediately he went out and told his brothers who walked in backwards with a blanket to cover Noah's nakedness. When Noah knew of what had happened he cursed Ham's descendants, (which personally I thought was a bit harsh). 'May they be the lowest of slaves'. But to Shem and Japheth he said 'God bless Shem and may Canaan be his slave. God bless Japheth and let him share the prosperity of Shem' Just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then we have a long list of descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth. One of the sons of Japheth was Gomer. (I can't help thinking of the Addams family) the Magog (I'm sure there is a Welsh or old story about Gog and Magog)
There are a few names that stand out to me in Shem, Ham and Japheth' s families Nimrod was the first of the kings and was known for being a great hunter. I don't know how his name became a derogatory slang word for an idiot. For the full list read Ch 10. It would be interesting to those of similar names.
I have jumped out of order a bit and be will be jumping gain in my next blog. I just wonder about Adam and Eve now and how does this affect their story. Is sin eradicated now and do we have a fresh start without sin? Something else to ponder.
Bye for now
Noah had three sons; Shem, Ham and Japheth. all the nation of the earth came from these three sons. So I wonder if I could trace my ancestry back to one of them. Noah was a farmer and had a vineyard. He fell asleep drunk in his tent one day and Ham happened to come across him. Immediately he went out and told his brothers who walked in backwards with a blanket to cover Noah's nakedness. When Noah knew of what had happened he cursed Ham's descendants, (which personally I thought was a bit harsh). 'May they be the lowest of slaves'. But to Shem and Japheth he said 'God bless Shem and may Canaan be his slave. God bless Japheth and let him share the prosperity of Shem' Just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then we have a long list of descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth. One of the sons of Japheth was Gomer. (I can't help thinking of the Addams family) the Magog (I'm sure there is a Welsh or old story about Gog and Magog)
There are a few names that stand out to me in Shem, Ham and Japheth' s families Nimrod was the first of the kings and was known for being a great hunter. I don't know how his name became a derogatory slang word for an idiot. For the full list read Ch 10. It would be interesting to those of similar names.
I have jumped out of order a bit and be will be jumping gain in my next blog. I just wonder about Adam and Eve now and how does this affect their story. Is sin eradicated now and do we have a fresh start without sin? Something else to ponder.
Bye for now
Tuesday 6 February 2018
Teething problems
6/2/2018
Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, I've been having problems with my teeth and the nerves in my face. I have to wait a couple of months to see a specialist at a mia facial pain (Don't think I've spelt that right) clinic but it's at a hospital; near me and hopefully it won't take as long as they said, but in meantime I'm on pain killers so I'm not exactly with it at the moment. So I will leave the Journey through Genesis until I'm compos mentis. again
Bye for now
Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, I've been having problems with my teeth and the nerves in my face. I have to wait a couple of months to see a specialist at a mia facial pain (Don't think I've spelt that right) clinic but it's at a hospital; near me and hopefully it won't take as long as they said, but in meantime I'm on pain killers so I'm not exactly with it at the moment. So I will leave the Journey through Genesis until I'm compos mentis. again
Bye for now
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