January 20, 2012 … Ignoring Our Inheritance

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 25-26… To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 25: 27-34: … [Selling Out Our Future] ... 27 The boys [the twin sons of Isaac] grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents.28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.30 He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)
31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."
32 "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?" 33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

============
Genesis 26: 1-7: … [Shaping Our Family’s Future] ... 1 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

My Journal for Today: Today, in my chronological read through the Bible, I was led through two passages which speak to how we shape the future of our world by how we live and who we are.

The first of the two focus passages above is Genesis 25: 27-34, which is the story of Isaac’s sons, Esau and Jacob, the twin boys whose interaction and character shaped their future and our current world. And it is a study of the character of these two twins, which reveals so very much about who we’ve become in our world and lives today.

You’ve probably read this story before, … how Esau, the first-born, sold away his birthright to his conniving, con-man brother, Jacob; and we know that the enmity of the Arab nations, who were descendants of Esau, resent and hold hatred for the descendants of Jacob, who was renamed “Israel” by their God. And this enmity of the Arabs and the Jews was born in the interaction of these two blood brothers; and is felt to this day in our world, isn’t it? Can we see the lesson here as to how we live and who we become having influence on the future of our progeny?

How I live and my character, especially as a parent or as a leader in my sphere of influence, will become a driving impact on my children or upon those whom God has led me to lead in my work life. That fact is certainly seen in the outcomes of the interaction of Esau and Jacob, whose character and personal interaction shaped their family interaction and has shaped our world even today. Think about it. What we do and how we live, as parents and stewards of leadership, can – and usually does – have a powerful effect upon how others live into our – and their - future.

If I’m a parent and give my kids a certain example of my character, don’t you think that example is going to have an impact on the character of my kids and how they live into our future? Of course it will; and this was clearly exemplified in Genesis 26: 1-7 as part of the reading in my trek through the Bible this morning.

In this passage we read of Isaac developing a scheme involving his fear of how he might be treated by one of his enemies, the Philistines, whom he feared might kill him and his wife, Rebekah. So, what plot did Isaac use? Déjà vu all over again – it was the same plot which his daddy, Abraham, had used twice in the past to avoid being killed by his enemies. Family heritage impacts a family’s future.

So, I think both of these passages above powerfully illustrate that how we live and who we become has a powerful and lasting impact on our families and those whom God has led us to lead in our lives. And that is why it’s so important that we become – in character – whom God has purposed us to become. And as Christians, we are purposed to become as much like our Lord and Savior as we can [see Phil. 2: 5] so that we can shine or reflect His light (or likeness) into our families and be a witness for Him in our culture/world (see Matt. 5: 16 and Acts 1: 8). I will leave it to you to you to study and meditate upon the truth of those verses; because who we are and what we become will influence those around us, especially those in our family lines.

I pray that I can be who my kids and grandkids need to see so that they can see Christ in me and carry His image forward into our future.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me to become like You so that those who come after me will see and seek You. Amen

2010 – August 6 – A Respected Family Tradition

Study from God’s Word… Jeremiah, Chapters 25 and 35 … Passage for Reflection: Jeremiah 35: 13 – 14 … NIV 12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, 'Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?' declares the LORD. 14 'Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather's command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed Me.

My Journal for Today: The highlighted verse for today, by Dr. Smith, is emboldened and underlined above in the context of the immediate two verses; and this is an interesting commentary on how humans will sometimes follow human, family, or religious traditions and ignore God’s commands or His Law.

In the times of Jeremiah, there was a family, a religious sect of nomads, the Recabites, who were led by Jonadab, a descendant of Recab. Jonadab had ordered his nomadic family never to drink wine, apparently as a way to honor him as their father and their ancestor Recab. And in Chapter 35 of Jeremiah’s book, we read that God was angry at His people, who refused to honor their Heavenly Father and His commands. But God, almost seeming like He was jealous of the Recabites, honored the Recabites in Judah who were willing to discipline themselves to do something, i.e., never drink wine, honoring their earthly fathers for generations. Yet, God’s people in Judah could not, or more accurately WOULD NOT, honor God, their Father, the Creator God, by following His commands. And because of this generational disobedience, as we read in the Books of the Prophets in the OT, Judah was to be overcome by the Babylonians and remain in captivity for 70 years [an interesting and exactingly accurate prophesy from Jeremiah in Chapter 25].

And Dr. Smith, my devotional Shepherd, in his devotional for today, ends with this self examination question: ”What might I – myself – do today to foster a respect for God that will last for generations?” And being a grandfather, I can only hope (and pray – below) that my family, friends, and those in my sphere of influence would see in my choices and actions a life which honors my Lord and Heavenly Father. And may they receive Him as Lord as have I.

What about you and your family?

My Prayer for Today: Lord, make me a vessel, filled with the living waters of Your Spirit, which brings life to my family and gives eternal hope to anyone with whom I might be in contact. Amen

2010 – Mar. 18 – Reluctant Role Reversals

Study from God’s Word…Judges, Chapters 4 and 5 … Passage for Reflection: Judges 4: 9 … NIV 9 "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman."

My Journal for Today: HOT BUTTON!!! Today, as I reflected on the stories, in Chapters 4 and 5 of Judges, what came to mind – and what I’m about to post here as a hot-button issue in my life – may not sit well with some of my more, independent, “liberated” female followers [if there are any out there? ;) ]. But today’s lesson is a good one we need to read in these days where the outcomes of “woman’s liberation” are so apparent in our world.

Deborah was a unique – and most interesting – personage in the history of Israel. There is no doubt, as Dr. Smith points out in his devotional today, that Deborah was a very capable, strong, and decisive leader. But one has to take into account the cultural milieu of her time, which was decidedly male dominated when it comes to political and/or military leadership. And yet, in Deborah’s time, the people, including the men, came to Deborah as their “Judge;” and she decided their directions. And this included the political/military leaders of the day. All you have to do is read Judges 5: 7-8, from the song of Deborah and Barak, to see that male leadership had failed in those days of pagan influences in Israel.

God’s order, whether you like it or not, is to have males at the forefront of leadership, taking their assertive roles as leaders of families, communities, cultures, countries, and yes, … churches. In Deborah’s day, reading Judges, Chapters 4 & 5, we see that God’s order had broken down; and a void in the ability to lead the political structure, as well as the military, had been created; and without any capable or willing male leaders on the scene, God led Deborah into the breech to lead the Israelites; and she did, along with another key woman, Jael, who was needed to help the armies kill a fleeing Cannanite King, Sisera.

As we see in these passages, the question is not whether a woman can lead effectively. Deborah is ample proof that women can lead when they’re called upon – by default or desire – to do so. The question becomes, in light of Godly design, whether women SHOULD be put in roles where there are no men to lead. The wavering passivity of leadership began in the Garden of Eden when Adam balked, stood back, and let Eve take the lead. That led to the curse of God upon women, which you can read in Genesis 3: 16, which, in turn, led to women desiring to take the leadership God had intended for man and for man to overcompensate by trying to “rule” women.

The design for man and for woman is modeled in the marital relationship; and there, as you can read from God’s word in Ephesians 5: 22-33 - [linked], God would have the man take the lead in the marriage, honoring and loving his wife the way that Christ loves His Bride, the church. And the order would have a wife (i.e., woman) respecting and yielding to a capable and loving husband, who would lead as God has intended men to lead families – and by extension whole cultures.

But this was not certainly the case in Deborah’s time; and because if it, God’s people once again, in spite of a generation of numbing military peace, were led toward disobedience and disastrous consequences in their history. You may not like my position being state here; but God does not intend for a family, a church, a community, or, I believe, a country to be led by a woman. And when that happens, I see it is because a void of God intended, male-led, leadership which has been cast on the scene. When men become passive and surrender to female leadership, God cannot impart His enabling and empowering grace in the same way He could or would if men were taking their rightful roles of assertive leadership, … following God and pursuing His grace the way they should.

We see this today with default, dead-beat dads taking a hike in our world; and the results become fatherless kids and a social plague of gangs, drugs, and destruction in our world. We see this with husbands not honoring and loving their wives the way they should and not taking the spiritual leadership in their homes; and the results are broken marriages, broken families, and broken communities. We see this with churches, which are being led by women. And God cannot, and will not, honor a church with His Spiritual power when it’s led by a woman, especially with men cowering and not taking their designated and God-led roles as leaders.

Where are the men in our world? Where are the leaders? Where is God when the men are not there to take their place in leadership? You look at our world and answer these questions.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to be the man I need to be in my family, in my church; and in my world. Amen