A lesson for Abraham

In Genesis, chapter 22, God tells Abraham:

“…Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah.  Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about…” - (verse 2, NIV)

This, of course, is the classic story of Abraham’s obedience to what would seem to be the most extreme of heavenly requests.  Abraham was asked to kill the very child that God had miraculously blessed him with.  At the end of the story, however, God provides a ram instead of Isaac for the sacrifice.  We discussed these verses last week in my bible study group.

I’ve heard it said that this story makes God seem like “a big bully”.  Why would God demand something that seems so terrible, only to say “psych!” at the end?  When we read this story as children, I think it’s very easy to have this type of view.  I think I had this view myself reading this story as a young man.  But recently a friend of mine pointed out that, as we get a little more mature in Christ, it becomes a little easier to see it differently.

I think for the most part this story was much bigger than Abraham.  In one sense, God was foreshadowing the atoning death of Christ thru the imagery of a father sacrificing his son.  In another sense, it’s a story that shows us the result of faith in God, as Abraham from this point went on to be richly blessed and to father many nations.

But the part I like to focus on is the effect of this moment on Abraham as a brother trying to walk his own spiritual journey.  I believe that God was just as concerned with Abraham’s spiritual development as he was with the example this story would give to the ages.  I believe that God knew that he was going to need to ask Abraham to call on some big-time faith in the years to come, and that in order for Abraham to be ready for that, he had to go thru some big-time training!

I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to believe that Abraham loved the heck out of his son Isaac.  Perhaps a little too much?  Perhaps God knew that Abraham needed a very strong lesson on the fact that, even in the case of this thing that He blessed him with, nothing can come between the relationship between God and Abraham.  Certainly, Abraham was a man of God and certainly knew that this type of thing has always been commanded by God.  But in this scenario, the wise words of Morpheus seem to resonate from out of the Matrix – “…there’s a difference between knowing the path…and walking the path…”  :)

I also think verse 14 is significant:

“So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide…”

If Ricardo had been on that mountain, not being quite as wise and faithful as Abraham was, I might have called it “The LORD didn’t take my stuff away from me”.  If I did, it would be clear that I missed the whole point.  It was significant that Abraham named that place the way he did.  It shows to me that he recognized that at the end of the day, what was most important about that moment was not the fact that he got to keep his son, but rather that the sacrifice that the Lord requires and deserves was fulfilled.  It’s not about him – it’s about Him.

So what’s the personal application?  Fortunately, I don’t think God will call many of us to literally sacrifice the lives of our children for His purpose.  However, he will probably call on us to sacrifice something that we ‘love’ – something that’s really important to us in our lives.  Maybe it’s a career we’ve worked hard to achieve; a relationship we’ve spent a long time developing; maybe some possessions we’ve worked years to acquire.  The bottom line – none of those things - even those things that are good in His sight and that we even give Him the credit for – none of those things can get in the way of our relationship with Him, and His purpose for our lives.

A Certain Damsel's Distraction

In my most recent men's bible study group session this past Wednesday, we read & discussed Acts Chapter 16 vers 16 - 34, which is the story about Paul and Silas being thrown in jail for exorcising a demon from one of the villagers. I found one part of this to be very interesting...

To paraphrase the story, Paul and his boys were were walking to a "place of prayer", and ran into this "certain damsel" who was possessed with a demon or "spirit" that allowed her to predict the future. She was being pimped by some of the locals as a way of making money off this 'talent'. Anyway, she started following Paul and his peeps, and the demon thru her was telling everybody, "These are God's servants! They'll tell you how to be saved!" (I guess even demons have to speak the Truth when it comes to God's Word).

The interesting part is that Paul lets this go on "for many days" before he finally turns around and speaks to the demon (not the girl) and says, "In the name of Jesus I command you to come out of her!" And the demon comes out.

What's interesting about that for me is that Paul and his boyz endured the wailings of this demon for several days before doing anything about it. (Even tho the demon was speaking truth, there's a problem when that truth comes of out of a demonic vessel)

I wrestled with that for a while - why would Paul let this possessed woman follow them for days like that? Is this a lesson in patience?

My conclusion: you can't let the Devil keep you off balance by reacting every time he throws a distraction your way. Paul had a mission; a ministry. If he stopped walking every time somebody came up talking some bull, he'd never get to where he was going! So I can't slow down my Christian walk by letting a bad day, or a bad word out of someone's mouth, keep me from 'making it happen'. I've gotta use the Holy Spirit to know whether I need to call somebody out and set them straight, or when I just need to "keep on truckin', baby!"

"...If God made light on the first day, what was giving the light, since the sun doesn't appear until the fourth day?... " - David Plotz, Blogging the Bible

Wow, that's a deep thought! What was giving the light on the 1st day, if not the Sun? Hmmm....

So maybe the light isn't the kinda light we automatically think of. So what's going on here?

My first thought: the Truth is the Light. That sounds like a good biblical saying, but now that I'm looking, I can't actually find that anywhere in the Bible. Where did I hear that from?

My next thought: II Corinthians 4:6 - "...the light of the knowledge of the glory of God...". Was the glory of God somehow manifested physically on the first day? Was this manifestation necessary to continue His work?

What about Matthew 5:16 - "...let YOUR light so shine before men...". Hmmm. So obviously even I have a light that can shine w/o the benefit of the Sun.

Interesting. I'm gonna vybe on this in my head for a while - wait, better yet - I'm gonna vybe on this in my spirit for a while (big difference). Let's see what we can see.

what are your thoughts?....

"No need to worry
No need to cry
I’m your messiah and you’re the reason why
'Cause, I would die for you..." - I Would Die 4 U, Prince

Was I the only one that didn't know that Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" song was about Christ? I was chillin' today and having a nostalgic Prince jam session (music, old videos, etc), and started listening to the lyrics of this song like "what?" Then I looked up the lyrics, and it seems to me like this song is clearly about Christ dying for us. Wow! This was a like a mainstream radio song in 1984. Interesting...

"But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me...." - II Timothy 3:10-11

In the book of Timothy, Paul is mentoring his apprentice Timothy. I can imagine that Timothy felt very blessed to have someone like Paul as his mentor. I look back on the many mentors in my life, both those that I acquired formally as well as informally, and I can say that they definitely had an impact on my life.

But I found it very interesting when Paul says that Timothy has "fully known" about Paul's life. As if to say, "you know good 'n well about what I been thru", or, "don't act like you don't know a brutha!". :-) But more importantly, BECAUSE Timothy knows about Paul - his life, his walk, his hardships - it's for that very reason that Paul's testimony and teaching in Timothy's life is so real! Paul brings up the fact that Timothy knows about his life in order to punctuate why Timothy should heed his words of advice.

What do people know about me? Is my testimony as effective as it could be if those that I talk to don't know about me, and where I've been, and what God's brought me thru?

But, I don't like folks in my biz-nazz, tho. :-) Nevertheless, when I read this I thought, perhaps it's a good idea to be more conscious of opportunities to "tell my story". Certainly, we should all be able to receive a word from someone about our situation, even if they haven't experienced it themselves. But how much more do we listen to someone when we know they've gone thru the same thing we're going thru!

Maybe I'll try to share a little more of my biz-nazz... not too much, just a little. Cuz they ain't ready for the WHOLE story!... ;-)

Hans: "Do you really think you have a chance against us, Mister Cowboy?"
John: "Yippee-ki-yay....."
- Detective John McClane responding to the villainous Hans Gruber in "Die Hard"

Last night in my men's small group bible study, we read Joshua chapter 1 verses 1 thru 9. I came across a great verse:

"...No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you..." - verse 5

Actually, this is not the first time I've read this verse. For one, as I talked about a few days ago, I've finished reading thru the whole Bible, cover to cover (Praise the Lord!). So even tho I might not remember a verse, I know I've seen it before!

But, when I read this in my old King James Bible that I've had since I was 13 years old, I had that verse highlighted, and I could tell from the paleness of the yellow coloring, and the nearby hand-written notes on that same page, that it was a long time ago when I highlighted that verse. Problably still in my teens.

So I'm betting it spoke to me as loudly then as it does now. God promised Joshua that most people would not be able to stand up against him. (Insert sound of tires screeching to a halt) No, no, no - it actually says NO ONE will be able to stand up against him! I believe God is promising that to us today also! It reminds me of another verse that I've loved since childhood:

"The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?" - Psalm 118:6 (KJV)

God assures the believer a victorious life. But why do I find it so hard to remember these promises? I tell ya like I told my group last nite, the Ricardo that remembers and believes that NO ONE can stand up against him when he's doing God's will is a different Ricardo than the one who doesn't keep that promise in mind. The former Ricardo is much more spiritually bold and confident - willing to take more risks for God. Willing to walk over into the land of giants and say, "Yes, there are giants over there, but we can still win!"

I'm going to try to start my morning Bible reading with these verses, every morning for a few weeks. Try to get it to sink in. :-)

Speaking of my small group (Men of Joy), I'm glad to finally be back meeting with them again. We took a 40-day break to participate in a church-wide ministry. That was a loooooong 40 days! I gots to have my Men of Joy fill-up every week! Big ups to the MOJ!

"...But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you...." - John 14:26 (KJV)

This morning I came to the end of a very long journey - I finally finished reading the Bible from beginning to end (Genesis to Revelations, in order)!

I started almost 2 years ago I think (or maybe it just seems that long). The journey began when I signed up for a Walk Thru The Bible class, where in 1-year we read thru the Bible, 3 chapters a day. I quickly fell behind. I soon dropped out.

But....

SIDENOTE: (don't you just love the word "but"? Especially the way it's used in the Bible:
- "Man is sinful in nature, and destined for damnation. But...."
- "Daniel was in the lion's den, about to be eaten. But...."
- "They threw the 3 Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace. But...."

But, even tho I dropped the class, I kept reading on my own. Not 3 chapters a day, but I just kept going at whatever pace I could handle. Eventually, thru both practice and by wanting to put God first, I started habitually reading at least 1 chapter every morning, AS SOON as I woke up (no breakfast, no shower, no teeth brushing). They say it takes 30 days to develop a good habit - it's true. Now, I do it unconsciously - I don't have to try to remember to read in the morning - IT'S THE FIRST THING ON MY MIND!

Long story short, I kept reading, and now I've read the whole Book all the way thru. It's a good feeling.

Word of advice - if you're trying to get thru the whole book, use something like the NIV version. There's no need to struggle with King James English when you're just trying to get some Word in you. Now that I'm thru the Bible, I can go back and tackle the intricacies of KJV. But to get the meat of the matter - give me modern-day plain English.

But I digress.

I also feel a little more spiritually confident also. A good friend of mine, who also read the Bible all the way thru, reminded me that the best reason to do it is this: if the Spirit is going to bring something to your remembrance to help you in your situation, he can't pull out of you what's not there! Now that I know that I've seen every word in the Bible, I feel like the Spirit is better able to use me. No, I don't have a lot memorized. I don't understand everything I've read. But it's a start. And it's the stepping stone to my next level of spiritual development.

"...There's no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going
There's no knowing where we're rowing
Or which way the river's flowing...." - Willy Wonka

My lil' nephew just finished his soccer season. I just had to travel down to Cincy to see him play in at least 1 game. It was just the most adorable thing I've ever seen. :-)

Of course, at 4 years old, none of them really have much of a concept of what they're doing. It's mostly a lot of running indiscriminately, with a ton of confusion. One kid is usually kicking the ball, with the other 9 kids wondering why all the parents are suddenly shouting at them.

In fact, the biggest challenge for the kids is figuring out the right direction to move the ball, so they can score. No matter how much pointing and explanation the coaches give them, they seem to have already made up their mind which direction they plan on going when the whistle's blown, and it's usually the wrong direction. The coaches are good - they're very patient. They try their best to make the kids see the object of the game. To see that they can easily score if they'll just follow the directions that the coach is giving them.

I would laugh, but then I realize that we do the same thing in life. How many times does Coach Jesus tell us to go one way in life, and we're so anxious to go the opposite direction, the direction we just know is the right one - the direction that will never really lead us to the fulfillment of our goals in life. God is so patient with us. Even tho we're enthusiastically getting it all wrong, he makes sure that we're still staying in the game, and he keeps blowing the restart whistle to give us more chances to get it right. If only we'd listen to Coach Jesus, we'd see that we can score every time. Even if we're not good kickers - He loves us so much that sometimes he moves the whole goal into the path of our ball to make sure we make it! :-)

My nephew's next sport is basketball - I wonder what lessons I'll learn with that.....

"...You ask me
'Child, do you love me?'
And I say 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!'
'But will you
Just give up everything
[And] follow me?'
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!..."
- Yolanda Adams in "Mountain High...Valley Low"

The other morning I took Yolanda Adams new CD, "Day by Day" into the car with me for the ride to work.

Traffic that morning was a little slow. I got thru about 5 tracks before getting to work.

After work, traffic on the highway was a crawl. I got thru the whole CD before getting home.

Do you think God would jam up traffic just so I could have the undistracted time to listen to the ministry of Yolanda's new album? Would He do all that just for me? Cuz I sho' nuff had a lil' praise party in my car that afternoon! Yolanda be speaking to me!!

Genesis 35:10 - "God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel. " So he named him Israel." (NIV)

You would never expect a pimp movie to make you have a deep thought, but...

In the movie Hustle & Flow, there's a scene in a church where a woman is singing a spiritual hymn that I've never heard before. The chorus goes something like:

"I told Jesus it was alright if He changed my name..."

The lady repeats the hook several times, and that made it start to sink in - that's a pretty significant statement! I mean, my name is Ricardo. But what if God comes and says, "Now your name is Thomas..." (as an example) What does that mean to my own self-identity?

Of course, God does this a lot in the Bible. He changed a few of the apostles names. He changed the names of some major players in the Old Testament. And the name change was always spiritually significant.

I even think about modern men who changed their name - El-Haaj changing his name from Malcom X. Kwame Ture changing his name from Stokely Carmichael. Both changes represented a spiritual revolution within those men. But at the same time, they CHOSE their new name.

If God decides to GIVE me a new name that I accept - i dunno, that seems deep. I wonder how the apostles felt initially? "Peter? But my name is Simon. Why I gotta be Peter?..." But he accepted it, and in doing so confirmed God's sovereignty.

I need to get my spirit prepared to accept a new name. Because I think God's got plans so big for me, He's going to need for me to be a "new creature" in order to receive it....