Gotta Have Faith

Sometimes you wonder what you could possibly learn from passages like Genesis 5. It's basically a genealogy of Adam and his descendants. What's so amazing about this, however, is that having this part of scripture can be quite helpful. It seems that our faith is strengthened when we recall what God has done.

I think of Abraham, for example. God had promised him a son. Years and years passed, and God's promised was unfulfilled ... YET. Abraham and Sarah were old - I can only imagine how hard it would be to believe that God would give them an heir at their ages. However, they had a gift - a gift of looking back to what God had done years earlier, for in the genealogy of Adam recounted in Genesis 5, we read that children were conceived when their fathers were older (sometimes quite older!):

• Adam had Seth when he was 130
• Seth had Enosh when he was 105
• Enosh had Kenan when he was 90
• Kenan had Mahalalel when he was 70
• Mahalalel had Jared when he was 65
• Jared had Enoch when he was 162
• Enoch had Methuselah when he was 65
• Methuselah had Lamech when he was 187
• Lamech had Noah when he was 182
• Noah had his sons when he was 500!!!

One of the points here must be the importance of recounting the faithfulness of God. He had provided then, and He would provide again. What a great reminder for us as we head into another year. We, too, can look back at the past and see God's hand of faithfulness at work. And may that encourage us to continue to trust in Him for all things. 

God Knows Our Needs

I've probably read Genesis 1 and 2 a hundred times. Well, at least it seems like that is the case. I know the gist of creation thanks to not only reading it a multitude of times, but also the kids songs that recount what God did each day. And I know that God created Eve because there was no suitable helper for Adam. But that event speaks loudly of God's love to mankind. He loved Adam so much and wanted him to experience things he could not otherwise unless there was a suitable helper for him. And so God created woman - the perfect, suitable helper for His first human creation. God does know and care about our needs. He loves us dearly. Thank You, Lord!

Delight

What things do we delight in? Just yesterday I posted my feelings on Facebook about that which is delightful - coffee and eggnog combination. A little trivial, but the warmth and flavor were certainly delightful to my senses. This morning I am delighting in my children with their happy hearts that have been eager to obey and serve. (This does not happen every day, mind you.) I delight in the beauty of creation - I have a hike planned with a friend later today. But this morning, the Word of God encouraged me to delight myself in the LORD. I wonder what that looks like. What does it mean to delight myself in the LORD? Lately, our pastor has encouraged us to receive from the LORD as Mary chose to do while her sister, Martha, was busy with all sorts of tasks. There is always something to do, you know. For us mothers, there's always another load of laundry, dirty dishes in the sink, filthy floors that need to be swept, meals that need to be prepared, toilets that need to be scrubbed. And with technology, there are always emails to reply to, text and phone messages to respond to, friends on Facebook to catch up with. We are bombarded with tasks that could keep us busy longer than the 24 hours that we are given in one day. So delighting in the LORD - how do we do that with all of the distractions? I don't have the answers, but I think there is something to be said about the discipline of sitting "with the LORD" amidst the distractions. This is a very challenging thing for me to do given my personality (i.e. wanting everything to be just right so I can sit down, relax, and have nothing else to do but be with the LORD). Let's face it - that's not going to happen. Can anyone out there create the perfect environment to sit and be with the LORD given our crazy lives? Thankfully, today I was able to come home from working out, quickly shower, grab some coffee (yes, with eggnog), and sit down with my Bible before the kids got up ... a very rare experience. And even once they got up, by the grace of God, I was able to continue to sit, read, and pray while they got ready for their day. I learned that I could sit and delight myself in the LORD, receiving from Him a feast from His Word. I am grateful. So ... go, my friend. DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD!

Little Treasures

I just sat down at my desk to do my Bible study and I noticed a nut on my desk. It was the exact nut that I pointed out to my son the other day when we were outside. He collects things from God's creation (like nuts, flowers, bugs) whenever he sees them. He has an eye for picking out God's created treasures when we are on a walk or in a parking lot or on a hike in the woods. And it's not uncommon for him to put a prized treasure on his dad's nightstand ... or my desk. Just a little reminder of his love for us. He loves to give sweet tokens of love - like a nut.

Our Heavenly Father loves to bless us with good gifts as well to remind us of His love for us - as if the sacrifice of the life of Jesus wasn't enough! Listen to the words of Jesus found in Luke 11:9-13.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

Consider the things for which you did not ask, yet received - like your daily bread. Do we even realize all that God is doing for us - even at this very moment? I love that passage in Luke 12 where Jesus is telling His disciples not to worry about life - food, clothes, etc. He reminds the disciples of how God cares for them and will provide for them as He provides for simple things like ravens and lilies. He continues in verse 29 ...
"And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock [how beautiful that He calls His disciples "little flock"], for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
Wow - did you hear those words? It is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom! I don't know what you've been going through, but I know these are great words of encouragement for any believer. Give thanks for the daily needs that the Lord has provided. Think about how your body is functioning - you are alive, your heart is beating and pumping blood to every part of your body! Think about how you have a roof over your head, food on your table, clothes on your back - give thanks, my friend. These things, which seem simple, are great provisions from the hand of our Heavenly Father. They are good gifts. And as you give thanks for these, I'm sure you will find a limitless list of good gifts that the Father has provided just for you. Praise the Lord for His lovingkindness.
Grace and peace to you.

A Lesson from Lost Legos

This morning as I was eating my breakfast and about to enjoy a hot cup of coffee, my son came to me with a look of distress on his face. "Mommy, my lego piece is stuck in the cupboard door." His news sounded a bit absurd to me, but I took a look anyhow. Sure enough, the lego piece had fallen through a hole that was once the home of a knob. My son showed me which lego piece it was - it was the top of the light saber for his Star Wars legos - a prized piece. Great - just how I wanted to spend my morning ... looking for a lego piece. But I knew how important it was for him, so I asked him to get me the screwdriver. After he returned with the tool, I encouraged him to pray about it, which he did. Then I asked him if he believed if God could answer his prayer, and he replied with a determined "yes."

It's funny how God has a way of bringing circumstances into your life that illustrate what He has been teaching you. I have been wrestling with the whole faith and prayer issue lately. It was recently brought to my attention at Bible study. There is a passage in Matthew 21 where Jesus teaches his disciples about prayer and faith.

In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once.
When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?" And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith" (Matthew 21:18-22).
I've always struggled with this passage because I don't always get whatever I ask for in prayer. And I don't think it's because of a lack of faith. I know my heart, and I know and believe with all of my heart that God can do anything He wants to. He is omnipotent - all powerful, and there is nothing that He cannot do. Consider creation - all that He made out of nothing. With the simplicity of His spoken word all was created - the world, sky, light, land, sea, vegetation, living creatures, even man. So if God wanted to answer our prayers, He certainly could. But I think the heart of the matter is our hearts and our prayers.
I am firmly opposed to the "name it and claim it" belief where you name what you want and claim that you will receive it. I believe that is presumptuous, and a dangerous place to be with God. Who are we to know what God has planned? Prior to His ascension, Jesus told the inquiring disciples that it was not for them to know what the Father had planned for the restoration of Israel - something they had their hearts set upon. Their job, as Jesus reminded them, was to focus on the here and now, proclaiming the Gospel wherever they were (Acts 1:6-8). Furthermore, even Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, knowing the cross was before Him, prayed that He would not have to endure the wrath of God. But He didn't stop there. He concluded, trusting His Father and saying, "... not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew 26:39).
What kinds of things are you praying about - are they selfish requests - things that make you comfortable in this world? Or are your prayers saturated with a desire to be like Christ and have others seek after Him likewise?
So finding a lego piece isn't really a godly pursuit, but for a 6-year old boy who spends hours with his legos, there was, in my opinion, something to learn about God. After twisting and turning the screwdriver, I finally got the panel off. I looked through the door and laughed to myself. I foolishly thought the light saber fell down into the panel, but the hole went straight through the door. So there sat the lego piece next to one of the pots in the cupboard. I smiled at my son, and asked him to look in the cupboard. He was thrilled! We thanked God for rescuing the lego, and I replaced the door of the cupboard. And you know, my friend, I don't care how foolish I looked - yes, I should have checked if the hole went all the way through to begin with. I should have checked the cupboard before attacking the door with the screwdriver. But, I believe with all of my heart, that God used my foolishness to bring glory to Himself. This was a small lesson with gigantic implications if my son and I would embrace God's teaching. And I think we both have. PRAISE THE LORD!
Grace and peace to you!