From: January 8, 2015
When two of the three “men” who visited with Abram left towards Sodom, the third one turned aside to reveal their destination and purpose. When Abram heard that they intended to see whether the “outcry” of Sodom’s sin was as great as it sounded, Abram began to appeal to God’s justice for the sake of the righteous. As the story unfolds, we see that the two men visiting Sodom are in fact, angels. And we see that the One remaining to speak to Abram is revealed to be the Lord. In Abram’s prayer we hear him appeal to God’s sense of justice. We are learning about God’s character here and also Abram’s. In a crazy kind of prayer/negotiation, God agrees not to destroy Sodom if there are but 10 righteous there. I think Abram must’ve known the wickedness of Sodom, but he didn’t want his nephew, Lot, to fall under judgment. We learn from Abram’s prayer how we should passionately and reverently pray for the salvation for our family, neighbors and friends. We also learn how God heard Abram’s prayer and preserved Lot, even though there were no righteous found in Sodom and it fell under God’s judgment.
From: January 8, 2014
This is from Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Focus on the eternal things of God and trust Him with your temporal earthly needs. When Jesus teaches us to stop worrying and start seeking God, He is giving us the proper focus for our internal voice. Stop the self-talk (worry) and start talking to God (prayer). It takes the same amount of energy to pray as it does to worry, except the first actually works. Turn your worries to prayers. Lift up your eyes and hearts and seek God’s kingdom!
From: January 8, 2013
David addresses this psalm to both the Transcendent Ruler of all the earth, as well as the Immanent Lover of his soul. “O LORD (יְהוָ֤ה Yahweh) meaning “I AM,” a name so holy that the scribes washed their hands before writing it. And “our Lord” (אֲדֹנֵ֗ינוּ Adonenu, from Adonai), the title the Hebrews used to call upon the One who had made them His chosen ones. Jesus follows this prayer formula in His model prayer, yet reverses the order, revealing an even more personal name (“Our Father” personal/close) in the first place and retaining the idea of transcendence (“which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name”) in the second. We learn much about God from both of these prayers, but Jesus alone gives us the right to pray to Him as “our Father.”
From: January 8, 2012
How one receives a Judeo-Christian Worldview. Let the Word of God rewrite your mental hard drive. For the Christian, this is the transformed mind of Romans 12:2.
From: January 8, 2011
God chose Abraham. Has God chosen you to “direct” your family back to Him?