Genesis 15:1
​ “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

Abraham had every reason to be afraid. He had just mounted a surprise attack against the forces of king Chedorlaomer and stole back all the spoils of his victory over the king of Sodom. It seems obvious, this king would soon return with his armies and attempt to wipe out Abraham.  I love that God wastes no time in coming to Abraham with a promise to be his protection against the enemies attacks.

Abraham’s fears may have been compiled by the fact that he had just rejected all the spoils offered to him by the king of Sodom. In an act of great, perhaps even heroic faith, Abraham resisted the temptation to take a financial gift from the king. He…

Matthew 7:5 “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Often, when we know of a Christian friend who is stumbling in their walk with Jesus, we are not sure what to do. They may have gotten involved in an ungodly activity or into a bad relationship or simply stopped investing into their relationship with Christ. We want to help, but at the same time we fear that saying something will be construed as “judging them.” Jesus gives us, in this passage, a keen insight into how to deal with one another in the body. When you see something amiss in my relationship with Christ, the first place you should look is inward. Is there anything out of place in your relationship with Christ? What you find must be removed. The Biblical way of…

Genesis 14:18-20
“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’ And he gave him a tithe of all.”

Abram’s encounter with Melchizedek is one of the most interesting and encouraging stories in Scripture. The scene is set for their meeting in the previous chapter, where we find Lot departing from Abram, and moving to the plains outside the city of Sodom. What seemed to be a brilliant business decision, turned out to be a costly moral one, as Lot is soon caught up in the ways of Sodom. When fighting breaks out between nations, Lot finds himself taken captive as a POW, and led back to Elam where…

Genesis 13:3-4
“And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.”

As we read the story of Abraham, we find erecting altars was a regular part of his walk with God. On five separate occasions, he took time to build an altar and call on the name of The Lord. These altars were tangible ways for Abraham to express his commitment and devotion to the Lord, for all God had done for him. The story behind this altar is of particular importance, as we seek to walk with God.

The last scene in the life of Abraham was a low point for the patriarch. Difficult circumstances had led…

Matthew 6

The longer I live the more I have come to realize that so much in life is passing. Things I once coveted and had to have, are bundled up and given to the Salvation Army. That “new car smell” has been replaced with “what’s that smell?” Even relationships that were once so close, have grown distant. The words of Christ shout a deafening cry,

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

Matthew, Chapter 6, not only exhorts us to lay up heavenly treasures, it also sheds light on the spiritual activities that will help us do it. We are told to give, pray, fast and let go.

One of the great struggles we face…

Genesis 12:10
“Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.”

Life is filled with ups and downs. Sometimes, it seems like we are living under the sunshine of God’s favor, while other times, we seem to be under a dark cloud of difficulty. Abram and his family were facing a dark time. They were living as sojourners in the land of Canaan when famine struck. This was, no doubt, caused by lack of rainfall. They soon realized, their only course of action, was to head to Egypt. As they journeyed, Abram was gripped with fear. He knew the danger they were stepping into and feared for his safety. Believing that once the rulers of the land saw his wife, they would kill him, and take her. He devised a plan that would keep…

Matthew 5:1-2 “And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: . . .”

Matthew 5-7 contain one continuous message that Jesus preached to His followers on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Although it is called a sea, it is actually a lake. The Greek word for sea and lake are the same word.

Verse 1 gives us the setting in which this sermon was given. We read, “seeing the multitude, He went up…” This great message on Christian ethics and Christian living was motivated by seeing the multitude. The word “multitude” simply means a large group of people. It is used in the Gospels to speak of the great number of people who, while being drawn to Jesus, had not yet received Him. The multitude illustrates…

Genesis 10:10
“And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel…”

Genesis is the book of beginnings. In it we are introduced to many things which play a prominent role as the rest of Scripture unfolds. Here in Chapter 10, we are introduced to the city of Babylon, which becomes a major player in the Biblical narrative.  it is mentioned 257 times in the Bible. We learn Babylon was built by a man named Nimrod (whose name means rebellion); he built Babylon in defiance of God. His purpose in building the city is recorded in Genesis 11:4

“Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

Babylon is important because of its symbolic representation of man’s false religious systems. The focus of the city of Babylon was a tower to the…

Genesis 9:21
“Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent.”

Once the waters had resided and the ark settled, Noah and his family exited the ark to begin a new life. They would have to survey the land, build shelter, plant crops, and much more. It is interesting to me, of all the events that must have transpired, the Scriptures only focus upon a few. We read in Genesis 8, Noah offered sacrifice to the Lord. We can assume, after all he experienced, he was still a very godly man. We read in Chapter 9 that a covenant between God and man was re-established, based upon the shedding of blood. When we come to the story before us, having settled in the new world with his new life, we find Noah indulging in wine and becoming fall-down drunk. As we continue through the…