Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Anita Mathias's Blog on Faith and Art

Jesus, the Compassionate Healer, Matthew 8, Day 20, Jan 20

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                                                      El Greco 

Matthew 8

Look at the amazing economy of the writing. 3 stories in 17 lines. Wow!! It is cinematic writing, rapidly moving from one vignette to another.


I was praising the literary skills of the writers to Roy, who commented that perhaps their literary skills owe something to Jesus who just got down to the heart of the matter, to blessing, without too many words, and without any wastage of time.


The Kingdom of God has come. We saw the authority of Jesus in his teaching ministry. And now we see Jesus at work in practical ministry.


Matthew 8
1 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.
Amazing, and socially taboo acceptance of a leper.


“I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Two things stand out. The compassion of Jesus, and his swift and immediate action.
In the midst of the large crowds following him, he focuses on one needy individual. Wow!

Secondly, his only focus was on being kind. Not only was he prepared to not receive the praise and honour due him for this remarkable healing, but he expressly forbade the man with leprosy to tell anyone about it, but to, instead, keep “the Messianic secret.”

Jesus was in an intense love affair, with his Creator and Father. That approval was enough for him. He didn’t need more.

Oh Jesus, strengthen my sense of your eyes on me, and your love for me. Satisfy me in the morning with your love that I may sing for joy and be glad. Satisfy me.

 5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

 7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
I would have liked to known Jesus in the flesh. He strikes me as a really sweet person. 

 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 
A Jew who entered the house of a Gentile became ceremonially unclean


But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed
There are just a few instances in the Gospels, when Jesus, the omniscient son of God is recorded as being amazed, and they are always to do with faith, such as the faith of another Gentile, the Syro-Phoenician woman

and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
I also love this picture of heaven. It is a feast.

 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.


Go. Let it be done just as you believed it would. 


Faith literally changes the course of one’s life. I think some of the biggest moves in my life–applying to Oxford University, moving back to Oxford from America and finding lucrative enough work here, starting a publishing company, were entirely the results of faith and prayer.


So, how does one use the nuclear power of faith? We talk about the walk of faith. 


So where are you now? What are greatest desires? What you most want to see happen? Start praying in those areas. Behave as if God will answer your prayers. For instance, if you desire to write, then start writing.


If your desire is for your child to be a Christian, thank God for hearing your prayers, and then behave as if she already were a Christian.
14 When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
 16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
   “He took up our infirmities
   and bore our diseases.”

I just love to see Jesus’ intention for human beings–healing, complete healing.
Amazing power, he drove out the spirits with a word. Oh amazing powerful Jesus, you are still alive today. Give me eyes to see you.

The Lord is a Stronghold in Times of Trouble. Psalm 9, Day 19, Jan 19

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The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed/ A stronghold in times of trouble.

Psalm 9 

   1 I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; 

   I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
   I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

The Psalms map all the moods of the human heart. Here David is in an ecstatic mood. He has experienced the Lord’s deliverance

 3 My enemies turn back;
   they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my right and my cause,
   sitting enthroned as the righteous judge. 


I don’t know how it happens, but it does happen. Against all odds, God can protect one against one’s enemies. 

5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; 
   you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. 
6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies, 
   you have uprooted their cities; 
   even the memory of them has perished.#
 7 The LORD reigns forever;
   he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He rules the world in righteousness
   and judges the peoples with equity.
9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
   a stronghold in times of trouble. 

One can run to and within the shelter of the Lord in times of trouble. He is as powerful as a mountain stronghold.


10 Those who know your name trust in you, 
   for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
What a wonderful promise. And what’s more, it’s true.


 11 Sing the praises of the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
   proclaim among the nations what he has done.
12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
   he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.
I don’t know how this works out, but I do believe that in mysterious ways, it’s true.

 13 LORD, see how my enemies persecute me!
   Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may declare your praises
   in the gates of Daughter Zion,
   and there rejoice in your salvation.
 15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
   their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The LORD is known by his acts of justice;
   the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
Oh Lord, may we never dig pits for other people, or hide nets for them, and so get ensnared by the work of our hands. And please, Lord, protect us from other people’s pits, nets and snares. 




17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
   all the nations that forget God.
18 But God will never forget the needy; 
   the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

 19 Arise, LORD, do not let mortals triumph;
   let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror, LORD;
   let the nations know they are only mortal.


It is interesting how often the Psalms talk about the destruction of one’s enemies. Do I have an enemy? Someone who wishes evil on me. Yeah, probably. 


Am I anyone’s enemy? Am I plotting evil and destruction for anyone, or wishing it on anyone. No. I am not.


Though I would wish to see God’s justice visit some people who have done evil, I myself have no intention of lifting a finger against anyone.


It is never spiritually safe to be anyone’s enemy. For all you know, they may be a righteous person, under God’s favour and protection, who is praying these  Psalms even as we are praying them. 

God’s Providence, Genesis 23/24, Day 19, Jan 19

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Genesis 23

The Death of Sarah

 1 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

 3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, 4 “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”
 5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “Sir, listen to us. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”
(The Hittites recognize Abraham’s special status.)
 7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9 so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”
 10 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. 11 “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”
 12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”
 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
 16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.
 17 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.
We visited the Cave of the Machpelah (prophets) in Hebron about 20 years ago, so it has special meaning for us.  It’s sacred to three religions.
Abraham stakes a claim in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 24

 1 Abraham was now very old, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. 2 He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. 3 I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
 5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?”
 6 “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. 7 “The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.” 9So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
 10 Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. 11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.
 12 Then he prayed, “LORD, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”
A Gideon’s fleece. Partly chance, and he is partly looking for a generous and kind character.
 15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder.

God orchestrates events.

 She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. 16 The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.
 17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”
 18 “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
 19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. 21 Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.
Rebekah’s gratuitious graciousness and kindness to a stranger influenced her destiny. 
 22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. 23 Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
 24 She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.” 25 And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.”
 26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, 27 saying, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”
 28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. 30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. 31 “Come, you who are blessed by the LORD,” he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”
Laban’s mercenary nature!!
 32 So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet.33 Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.”
   “Then tell us,” Laban said.
 34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. 37 And my master made me swear an oath, and said, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, 38 but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.’
 39 “Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’
 40 “He replied, ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. 41 You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you—then you will be released from my oath.’
 42 “When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. 43 See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” 44 and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master’s son.’
 45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’
 46 “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also.
 47 “I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’
   “She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.’
   “Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48 and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.”
 50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has directed.”
God’s providence extends to Abraham’s descendants.


See too the reading for Jan 18th from Matthew 7.
http://readthroughthebiblewithanita.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-know-wolf-before-he-whistles.html

If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink–Thought for the Day

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John 7:37 “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”c]”>[c] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

What stinted views, unjust conceptions, and wrong interpretations have we cherished of Him, simply because we overlook His character as the Fountain of living waters! We “limit the Holy One of Israel.” We judge of Him by our poor, narrow conception of things. We think that He is such a one as we ourselves are. We forget, in our approaches, that we are coming to an Infinite Fountain. That the heavier the demand we make upon God, the more we shall receive, and that the oftener we come, the more are we welcome. That we cannot ask too much. That our sin and His dishonor are, that we ask so little. We forget that He is glorified in giving; and that the more grace He metes out to His people, the richer the revenue of praise which He receives in return. How worthy of such an infinite Fountain of love and grace is His “unspeakable gift.” It came from a large heart; and the heart that gave Jesus will withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly.

Octavius Winslow  Morning Thoughts

The Best Physical Positions for Prayer.

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A few years ago, Roy and I were hunting for a small home group in our church which would be a good fit for us. We went to a small group, and had a nice, warm, welcoming meal with them.

Then came worship. Everyone stood. I sat on the couch, put my head down and sort of crunched forward in an almost foetal position, as I do when I shut the world out, and try to focus on God.

To my horror, I heard the (male) leader say, “Stand up. When you sit, your spirit sits.” I had never heard such baloney!! I stood up, and a minute or two later whispered to his wife that I had to leave to put my kids to sleep. I could tell without staying further that I would have been unhappy in that group had I stayed.

(And my poor girls, who have been strong-willed, independent-minded, feisty girls from the day they learnt to say NO–at the very latest–thank you so providing bedtime alibis on SO many boring occasions. I wish you would condescend to let us put you to bed, but you rarely have!)

IS there a posture which best befits prayer?

For me, when it’s push come to shove, and I absolutely need to hear God’s voice, or am desperate and absolutely need his help and intervention, it’s kneeling. Somehow, it clears my mind, and I almost always calm down, and hear God so much more clearly.

This year, I discovered soaking prayer at a conference in Oxford led by John Arnott and sponsored by my church, and learning it has helped me much stronger, more anchored in God, and far happier. Here’s one of my many posts on the subject.

Not being particularly strong or fit, I find the half hour plus of standing worship at church a trial (the standing, not the worship). On the other hand, standing does give you the opportunity to discreetly jive or dance. Just as an uncomfortable body cannot think well, write well, even have a really good conversation with a friend, you cannot pray well when you’re physically uncomfortable, I believe. So dancing along does help.

I wish I came from a tradition in which I could spontaneously throw my hands into the air in worship or surrender or joy. Often that’s what my spirit is doing internally, and I, stupidly, feel self-conscious to do it externally–though that is a barrier I am breaking.

How about you? Which postures do you find best befit prayer?

How to Know a Wolf before He Whistles Matthew 7: 15-29. Day 18, Jan 18

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Matthew 7:15-29 True and False Prophets
    15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Jesus continues contrasting two ways of being. Narrow gate  or broad gate; true prophet and disciple or false.
He teaches us to strike the right and difficult balance between being judgmental, and naively accepting.
Watch out for “Christians.” Some will appear so innocuous, but their intentions towards you are far from innocuous. Do not easily trust before you have reason to trust.
And how can you tell a  disciple from a wolf, since the latter will not obligingly whistle?
Look at the fruit of their life? Do you see thorns and thistles and rotting, inedible fruit?

HOW TO HEAR WOLVES WHISTLE
Here, without being judgmental (for then who would stand?) are some means of evaluation, if you need to know if someone is the real deal or not. I stress that we all stumble in some areas. Perhaps a plethora of red lights flashing means red lights flashing.
In any old order.
1 Their spouse’s countenance
Bill McCartney, founder of Promise Keepers: A preacher told him that if you want to know whether a man has character or not all you have to do is look at his wife’s countenance, and everything that he’s invested or withheld would be in her face.
McCartney writes, “I turned and looked at my wife, Lindi. I didn’t see splendor. I saw torment. I didn’t see contentment —I saw anguish. And I tried to defend myself to myself but I couldn’t. That’s really the reason I stepped out of coaching. I realized that before God I was a man without character!”
2) Now many children go through rebellious phases, but children see the truth of our hearts and characters. We have modelled thousands of hours of behaviour before them. The content of our children’s true characters (as apart from how we have been trained to behave in public) says much about us (much, not everything. Everyone is responsible for their own life choices. Parents can model, and make the life of a Christian seem irresistible.)
3) Life choices. Do you know men and women who massively overwork, neglect their spouses and children and sway their hands, and dance in church? That hand-waving and jiving is just exercise. Their God is who or what they spend those 12 hours a day on.
4)  Frequent topics of conversation—money? Stuff? Gossip? Showing off?
Now, it’s the rare person who never gossips. I have occasionally done so myself, by asking leading questions about someone who does not add up and occasionally about someone who’s really annoyed me. But I try to avoid gossip.
An excessively gossipy person is not to be trusted a) because they will almost certainly gossip about you too, and b) because their obsessive conversation reveals the contents and hollowness of their hearts, mind and souls.
5) Obsessional recreational pursuits? Materialism. Excessive focus on money.
6) See how people behave in adversity–amid the storms and waves.
7) Concern for the poor is a test of someone who has God’s heart.
I must stop. There are just a few tests that might be useful if you want to know if you are dealing with a sheep or a wolf.  As I said, it’s several red lights that might give us pause. No one is perfect.

    21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 

An oral confession, no matter how loud, is not the same as a repentant heart.

22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Who will inhabit the kingdom of heaven, in this life and beyond it? It is the one who does God’s will.
Not every “prophecy” has anything to do with God. Some prophets will not even be in heaven.
Wow. Demons can be driven out, and miracles can be performed in the name of Jesus by evil-doers.
Again, look at their entire life.
So, it is more important to focus on one’s heart-relationship with God than on the outer manifestations of the things we do in his name.

    24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
In the first two of these parables, Jesus advises his listeners to beware of wolves and false prophets, which means we need to evaluate others. Now, he tells us that if we want the house of our life to stand firm whatever the circumstances we need to increasingly HEAR his words and PUT THEM INTO PRACTICE.
If our daily life is based on Jesus’s words, then our house will stand firm when the rain comes down, the streams rise and the winds blow and beat against the house.

 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
When we speak, when we write Jesus, give us the indefinable thing called your authority.
ESV, “During the hot summer months, the sand around the Sea of Galilee was hard on the surface. Nevertheless, the wise builder knew that he needed to dig several feet below the surface to the bedrock, in order to establish a firm foundation. So, the religious establishment has embraced a surface righteousness built on an unstable foundation of religious pretense. Jesus invited his listeners to use his words as the stable foundation for their lives. “

God Will Provide, Genesis 20-22, Day 17, Jan 17

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Abraham sacrifices Isaac. Roussimoff.com


Genesis 20

 1 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
Oh Abraham!! The strength of our default habit patterns and means of coping. Abraham got away with this means of self-protection once, and so does it again.
That is why it is good to confront those we care about (and those do not necessarily personally care about, but who may have spiritual or actual power over us–in church, abusive situations in work etc) lest a panicked default reaction becomes an engrained habit pattern.

 3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
 4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”
God has mercy on whom he has mercy.  Abraham has the anointing of God on him, and a God-given destiny and God-given power which survives even his own sin. He was under God’s protection because of his anointing.
Roy and have often experienced that sort of protection, that hedge around us, something like the blessing promised to Abraham, “Those who bless you, I will bless, and those who curse you, I will curse.”
I was once gearing up to publicly oppose someone who in the past and until recently has clearly had the marks of God’s anointing and blessing on his life. Roy, my husband said, “Be careful. You’ve always said that he is one of God’s favourites. If he is, then, “Those who bless you, I will bless. Those who curse you, I will curse.” I met with this individual, could clearly see God’s hands on him (for God’s own obscure reasons) in the smart (inspired!) way he handled the meeting, and we left in peace.
ESV—Abraham is called a prophet for the first time. God mentions his ability to intercede for others, one of the marks of a great prophet.

 8 Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
 11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
Amusingly, Abraham did the very thing he suspected Abimelek of. He showed no fear of God.
And here we have the enigma of human beings. The same person can show immense faith, and irrational fear (Sarah was how old by now?).
We all have our areas of faith, in which we have experienced God’s power, and areas in which we have not yet experienced his power and deliverance, and we are fearful in those areas. Or one might even say, we have not experienced God’s power and deliverance in those areas because we are fearful, rather than faith-filled.

 14 Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”
 16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”
 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the LORD had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
Our prayers being answered is an aspect of God’s blessing on us.

Genesis 21
 1 Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 
Never underestimate the mercy of God. Sarah conceives at last, after Abraham’s massive failure of faith!!

3 Abraham gave the name Isaac[a] to the son Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
 6 Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 7 And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Nothing is impossible with God.

 8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”
 11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”
God’s blessing on his friends is extended to their children.

 14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.
Abraham knows the Hagar is under God’s protection. Hagar herself does not!

 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she[c] began to sob.
 17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
God sees and hears the outcast cry in the desert! He comforts those who have no apparent means of comfort, as when Stephen saw the heavens opened, and the glory of God revealed.

 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.
I love this. God does not create a well in the desert. He opens her eyes so that she could see it.
There are always wells (the means to stay physically, emotionally, spiritually, and creatively alive) in our deserts for our allotted life-span.
It is good to ask God to open our eyes to see them. To open our eyes to see in which direction we are to cast our nets.

 So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
 20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.
 God was with Ishmael as he grew, though his destiny was never to be as favoured as Isaac. You might see someone apparently more favoured by God than you are; however, that does not mean that God is not with you.
God is with believers and non-believers alike, because he created both of them, and loves both of them.

 22 At that time Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. 23 Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you now reside as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you.”
 24 Abraham said, “I swear it.”
This was a smart move on Abimelek’s part. Do you find God with you in everything you do? Do you see God’s hand on someone you know in everything they do?

 25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelek about a well of water that Abimelek’s servants had seized. 26 But Abimelek said, “I don’t know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today.”
 27 So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a treaty. 28 Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, 29 and Abimelek asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?”
 30 He replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well.”
 31 So that place was called Beersheba,[d] because the two men swore an oath there.
 32 After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Eternal God. 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

Genesis 22
Abraham Tested
 1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
   “Here I am,” he replied.
 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
This is an essential question that will appear again and again in our life of faith. Do we love God more than our most precious thing/person/dream/desire? Will we sacrifice them if God asks us to?
Very, very hard. The death of Isaac would seem to negate everything God promised. Dear Lord, preserve us from the day of testing. Please. And if you test us, may our answer be the same as Abraham’s.
2 Chron 3:1 identifies the area as the temple mount in Jerusalem, site of today’s beautiful Dome of the Rock.

  3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Both obeying, and yet hoping that God might change his mind. “We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
He still believed that God would fulfil his promises, if necessary by raising Isaac from the dead.

 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
   “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
   “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
Abraham’s heart-breaking and steely resolve is impressive.
A beautiful and life-changing statement of faith, “God himself will provide.”
GOD HIMSELF WILL PROVIDE.
The Hebrew for God will Provide is literally, God will see to it. Lovely!!

 9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
   “Here I am,” he replied.
 12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
God did not want Isaac. Isaac was the promised child. God just wanted to know if Abraham’s heart and loyalty lay with Isaac, or with the one who gave him Isaac. He is satisfied with the answer.

 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
And God provided.
ON THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD, IT WILL BE PROVIDED.
And the principle of substitutionary sacrificial atonement is introduced. Christ later will be “the Lamb of God would takes away the sin of the world.”
NIV-Substitutionary sacrifice of one life for another is mentioned here for the first time. As the ram died in Isaac’s place, Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many.

 15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
 19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
 20 Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.

Proverbs 2 1-15, Day 16, Jan 16

By

I, Wisdom, was with the Lord, when the world was created

Proverbs 2

 1 My son, if you accept my words 
   and store up my commands within you, 
2 turning your ear to wisdom 
   and applying your heart to understanding— 
3 indeed, if you call out for insight 
   and cry aloud for understanding, 
4 and if you look for it as for silver 
   and search for it as for hidden treasure, 
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD 
   and find the knowledge of God. 


Seeking wisdom, understanding, insight desperately will teach you to KNOW God, and will teach you the fear of God which will save you from much folly.

6 For the LORD gives wisdom; 
   from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 
The Lord gives us wisdom, and he also gives us knowledge and understanding.

7 He holds success in store for the upright, 
He often gives the upright success, according to his plans for them.

   he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, 
8 for he guards the course of the just 
   and protects the way of his faithful ones.
He protects those whose walk is blameless.

 9 Then you will understand what is right and just
   and fair—every good path. 
If you desperately seek wisdom, you gain the understanding of what is right and just and fair.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
   and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. 
Wisdom and knowledge will grow sweet and pleasant to you.
11 Discretion will protect you,
   and understanding will guard you.
 12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
   from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
   to walk in dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
   and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
   and who are devious in their ways.
Wisdom and discretion will protect you from wicked, perverse, devious people. Thank you, Lord.