Day 2: Genesis 18-19

Sodom and Gommorah

First, a quick observation of the fact that Sarah DID laugh when she heard that she would be having a child. Good to know I would be in good company.

Back to S & G...to me, a story of God's incredible power to inflict his wrath. Fire and brimstone thrown down from his hands to destroy an entire city who was so overcome by sin. The idea seemed a little extreme and for a split second evoked an emotion that questioned this so-called "loving" God, but he saved those that were his followers (Lot and his family). Possibly a nod to the end of times portrayed in Revelations? Also made me think about how incredibly thankful I am for what happened on the cross, if it weren't for that one act, I'm fairly sure we would have seen this happen time and time again.I like that Abraham was brave enough to question God, not just once but 6 times. I don't like (nor do I understand) what compelled Lot's daughters to coerce him into conceiving with them -- I'm unsure of the relevance that has to the rest of the story, but maybe it goes into more detail in the next chapter...one can only hope for an explanation.Did I miss any important details within this story? Reading at 6am is a little difficult.

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Day 3: Yesterday I read Genesis 20-21 and really didn't get anything from it. But today I read 22-24 part of which was the story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his only son.

I've heard this story a thousand times and it will never cease to amaze me that Abraham never once questions God. Isaac's birth was nothing short of a miracle, a gift from God, and now he wants Abraham to kill him? If it were me, I'd have a whole lot of questions, but I guess that just goes to show the strength of Abraham's obedient faith.

It makes me wonder what our lives would look like if we each took on the call of living a life completely surrendered to God. Speaking for myself, I have cried out to God hundreds of times that I completely surrender everything to him, but apart from those mountain-top moments, my life doesn't speak to that promise. We can blame it on our culture, our generation, the fast-paced world we live in, but when it comes down to it, we always have a choice. And more often than not, we choose to live within our own comforts than to live a life of reckless abandon.

If we are honest with ourselves, there is at least one thing, but likely many more, that we have been holding onto for fear of the unknown. Unfortunately for me, I tend to hold onto to my dreams and the future that I envision for myself. Letting go of that would mean being able to see what God envisions and the possibility that it might not look the way I hoped it would. What I am quick to forget is that God is the one who is put the dreams in my head, that they may not be exact replicas when they come to fruition, but will be close to the idea that was originally planted.

God asked Abraham to give up his son, what is God asking of you? Are you willing to sacrifice that?

30 Day Scripture Challenge

Well, it's official, I'm a slacker and apparently blogs are hard to keep up with. Nevertheless, my small group is starting a 30 day scripture challenge and emailing our thoughts on whatever we read that day to each other. It's only been one day and it.is.awesome. I love hearing what my friends are reading and the lessons that they're learning from it. In the spirit of sharing and accountability, I thought it might be good to post what I write to them on the blog, it's sad and needs some love.

Day 1:

This morning I read Genesis 13 - 17, part of Abraham and Sarah's story. I'll be honest, I'm confused a lot when I read the Bible only because there are a ridiculous amount of names I will never be able to pronounce and a majority of the time I feel like they're talking in circles and giving me unnecessary information. Nevertheless, underneath it all is a great story, it just takes me a while to process.

There were a few things that struck me while I processed this story.

1.) I can't believe a 90 year old woman is going to bear a child and a 100 year old man is going to circumcise himself.

2.) the amount of faith both of them must have had to be able to hear those words from God and not go running to the hills. I wish I could have been there to see the look on their faces upon hearing that news. I probably would have had trouble not laughing.

Somewhere in there is a story of hope. Whatever their lives were like before this, they could have never dreamed of what was to come. Putting myself in Sarah's shoes, I can't imagine not being able to have a child. God created women to be able to recreate, and while I know that there are women who don't necessarily have that desire, those of us who do would be devastated to find out we couldn't. She wanted to give Abraham a son so badly that she told him to conceive with her maid...I can't imagine this decision came lightly, void of prayer and calling out to God, so I can only assume that she was feeling a lot of doubt and confusion. But God's covenant to Abraham tells me that he hears our cries, knows our desires, and will do the impossible to make our wildest dreams come true. They're not always what we thought they would be, they're better.

I have an extremely hard time remembering this on a daily basis. I also have a hard time remembering that God is the ultimate comforter and knows when we need to be reminded of his love, and that's what this story was for me this morning. Yesterday was a really difficult day...what's funny is that work was relatively drama-free (with the exception of a few people getting on my nerves and my coworker having a personal crisis) but by about 3pm, I was ready to walk out the door and not come back. I was sitting at my desk, not do anything (because there's only so many times you can re-organize, clean and pretend to be busy), when I just had this overwhelming feeling of "WHAT AM I DOING HERE?" There are so many contributing factors to my general disdain for this job, but overall, I come into work and think about how much I don't want to be there. It's not a great feeling. ANYways, I'll stop complaining and get to the point...I know God hears me, I know that he loves me, I know that he has something better for my life, but I just might need to wait 90 years to get it. In the meantime, I need to be obedient and faithful to where he's called me to be at the moment.

"Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed; no, it is far greater than that. It is a zany, unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction." - Max Lucado