Exodus 7.14-12.32 contains descriptions of the ten plagues God visited on the Egyptians to show His power and convince Pharaoh to let His people go.
-Nile turned to blood
-Frogs come up from the Nile
-Dust turns to gnats
-Flies
-Egyptian livestock die
-Boils
-Hail
-Locusts
-Darkness
-Death of firstborn
At the end, Pharaoh exclaims, “Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”
I like cooking my family and pets.
Use commas; don’t be a psycho.
Abram has a valid question at the beginning of Genesis 15. God had made these seven promises to him in Genesis 12: I will make of you a great nation; I will bless you; I will make your name great; you will be a blessing to others; I will bless those who bless you; Him who dishonors you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. The blessings and curses had already started – Abram was rich and he had rescued his nephew Lot from the marauding kings who captured his family. Abram’s question was about the first promise – how will there be a great nation if I don’t even have a son yet?
God restates the promise – “Your very own son shall be your heir. Look toward heaven and number the stars, if you are able to number them. So shall your offspring be.” Abram’s foundational response is to believe what God was telling him, and God “counted it to him as righteousness.” It was not Abram’s actions, but his faith that was counted righteous.
God expands the nature of the promise in verses 13-16, outlining that Abram’s offspring would be servants and afflicted in a foreign land for four hundred years but would come out with great possessions and would return to Canaan afterward. This is, of course, a description of the time Abraham’s people, the Israelites, spent in Egypt and the Exodus God arranged from there.
In verses 8-11 and 17-21, a covenant-making ceremony is conducted where animals are split in two and halves placed on each side of a walkway. The covenant makers walking through the carcasses symbolized their pledge “may it be unto me like these animals – split apart – if I violate this covenant.” In this case, God is the only one going through the ‘valley of death’ – the smoking pot and flaming torch in verse 17 are similar to the cloud of smoke and pillar of fire that accompanied Israel through the wilderness. He was showing how serious He was about keeping the promises He made to Abram.
The last promise –that all families (nations) of the earth would be blessed – has been fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The famous verses of John 3.16 and 18 are partly exhilarating and very sobering: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life… but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Please repent and believe, knowing that The LORD of the universe will keep ALL his promises.
Last week there was only one cool day. Today one day is cool three times!
Tomorrow, 7/21/14 has all multiples of seven. And, it is a Minus Subtract day because 7 – 21 = -14. And finally, it is the month’s half-back day: Go up 14 from 7 to 21, and then come half-way back (7) to 14.
The attendant asked the photon if it had any bags to check.
Nah, I’m traveling light.
What did the subatomic duck say?
Quark.
The atom said “I think I lost an electron.”
His friend asked, “Are you sure?
“ I’m positive”
With hitch-hiking out of vogue (see last week’s post) I have discovered more examples of captive audiences. A few years ago we received a small check from our life insurance company for a class action settlement of a lawsuit. I was not sure how we were qualified to receive the check so I called the agent to arrange a meet. Eric did a good job of answering the questions I had about the class action suit and using our life insurance policies and then he wanted to ask me questions, “to update my profile.”
First up was “What is your goal in life?” I have been waiting years for someone to ask me that and I was ready. “My goal is to go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can.” I think I heard this answer some year at Ichthus, the weekend long rock concert for high school youth groups.
The next question was teed up just right: “Can you expand on that?” “Yes. I will have to tell you good news.” And I was off and running. Eric did not become a believer that day, but he did listen patiently to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When my Dad was in the nursing home near St Louis, they would have a Bible study on Friday mornings, and the wonderful activities lady was determined to get Dad involved. On weekends that I came to visit, I would take along a “talk” and give it to the group. Usually the messages were from Sunday school lessons I had done or Kevin sermon outlines. Dad enjoyed the “that’s Bill’s son” compliments and seemed to appreciate the talks.
Those opportunities taught me to stay humble and that God is in charge of conversions. One Saturday morning all my siblings were in town, and I was scheduled to do a sermon Sunday night back in Michigan. I asked if they would let me practice the sermon on them, and they kindly agreed to listen and delay watching one of the 1940s Turner Channel movies Dad was fond of.
Well I thought I did a great job. The gospel message was included. There was wisdom from James 5 and examples of wisdom in action following Jesus in Luke 8. At the end, applause broke out from my brother and sisters. The humble part was when Dad said, “That was great. Now can you get me to the bathroom because I think I peed my pants.”
If you think you’re too small to make a difference… spend a night with a mosquito.
2 Kings 6.8-23 contains a string of miraculous events ending with grace for many.
In verses 8-14, the King of Syria kept trying to ambush Israelite groups but was thwarted when the prophet Elisha would send warnings to stay away from the ambush areas. The King was “greatly troubled” especially when told that Elisha knew his private instructions! So he sent a great army to capture the prophet who was disrupting his schemes.
The army shows up and surrounds Dothan, the city where Elisha and his servant were living. The servant is terrified, but Elisha knew things and calmly says, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And he prays that the servant’s eyes would be opened. BEHOLD! The army of the LORD – horses and chariots of fire – was on the mountains all around. Indeed, the forces of God in the spiritual realm are more than we can imagine.
Just as he prayed sight for his servant, Elisha prays blindness upon the Syrian army. It was like a Jedi mind trick when Elisha tells the commander, “this is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me.” The army is led to the Israelite city of Samaria where their eyes are opened when they have been surrounded by their enemies. The King of Israel wants to kill them all, but Elisha convinces him to feed them well and send them on their way. Many were spared that day by the Lord’s power – Elisha and his servant, the city of Dothan, the Syrian army – and many were spared in succeeding years as the Syrians stopped their raiding.
Alexander Graham Bell worked day and night, night and day, trying to perfect the telephone. Finally he got all the currents and parts just right. Nervously he rang the first number. A voice answered, “I’m not in right now, but if you’ll leave your name…”
Psalm 16.6 is a wonderful reminder that God IS working great things for us.
“The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed I have a beautiful inheritance.”
Use this concept in a small group or before a committee meeting to set the tone. Have everyone make a list of five ways they have been blessed; ways that they KNOW the LORD has been working in their life.
Share the lists. Turn to God in praise and thanksgiving. Close with the Doxology.
A. Knapp for That 