26 APR 2024

25 APR 2024

1 APR 2024 · Blessings to all, Welcome again, I am Jerry, this portion of our study covers: Sarai’s Suggestion - Unbelief Actions After Abram rose to the heights in chapter 15, you would say that he certainly is treading on high places—but he is not perfect. In chapter 16 we see the lapse of this man’s faith relative to Sarai and Hagar, the Egyptian maid. We have here the unbelief of both Sarai and Abram, and the birth of Ishmael. This is certainly a letdown after the wonder of the previous chapter. Genesis 16 continues to follow the life of one of Israel's greatest patriarchs: Abram, who will soon be renamed Abraham. To this point, Abram and his wife Sarai are still childless, despite Abram being well over seventy-five years old (Genesis 12:4). In fact, at this point in the narrative, Abram is pushing ninety (Genesis 16:16)! In the prior chapter, Abram has voiced his concerns to God about the situation, and God has responded with a dramatic demonstration of His intentions. For all these many years, Abram has resisted following the normal practices of his day. Abram and Sarai were wealthy. They had many servants.  Abram could have taken many wives. He chose, instead, to wait for God to fulfill the promise of children through his barren wife Sarai. Until now. With Abram in his mid-80s, Sarai has apparently become tired of waiting. In her eyes, it is time to go to plan B: giving her Egyptian servant girl Hagar to Abram, in order to finally obtain a child. Apparently, if a wife was unable to bear children, it was considered appropriate for her to give a servant to her husband, as another wife, with the understanding that any children born to that servant would rightfully become the child of the original wife. In a disappointing moment of faithlessness, Abram agrees, and Hagar quickly becomes pregnant. It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD. Our scripture will be coming from: Genesis 16:1-5 KJV  [1] Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. [2] And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. [3] And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. [4] And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. [5] And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

1 MAR 2024 · GOD’S Covenant With Abraham – Prepare A Sacrifice part-2 Genesis 15 consists entirely of a long encounter between the Lord and Abram. When the ”word of the Lord” comes to Abram in a vision to bring reassurance of God’s support for him, Abram takes the opportunity to press God with questions. Abram asks both about his childlessness and how he can know he will one day possess the land of Canaan.  God responds, and Abram believes. God’s response includes leading Abram through a covenant ritual involving slaughtered animals, as well as a prophecy about the future of Abram’s descendants before the time will come to occupy the Promised Land. Again, Abram is a very practical man. He believes in dealing with reality, and I think we need to do that. We need reality today in our Christian lives. If reality is not in your life, there is nothing there. A great many people just play church today.  Abram is very practical. He wants to know something, and he would like to have something in writing. Before God completes the ritual, He causes a deep sleep to fall on Abram and reveals to Abram a prophecy about the future of his descendants.  They will live as captives for 400 years in another country, serving that nation. When the time comes, they will be released with abundant possessions and return to execute God's judgment on the Amorites and other inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Abram learns that he will live to a good, old age, but that he will not live to see the troubling events of this prophecy. Finally, God completes the covenant ritual in a dramatic fashion. Abram witnesses a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch pass through the pieces of the animals, a sight he would likely long remember as evidence of God's covenant promises.  God completes the covenant by describing both the southern and northern borders of the Promised Land, as well as identifying the peoples who would have previously occupied the various regions of the land when Abram's descendants would receive it as their own. It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD. Our scripture will be coming from: Genesis 15:13-21 KJV  [13] And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; [14] And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. [15] And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. [16] But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. [17] And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. [18] In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: [19] The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, [20] And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, [21] And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

1 FEB 2024 · Blessings to all, Welcome again, I am Jerry, this portion of our study covers: GOD’S Covenant With Abraham – Prepare A Sacrifice part-1 Even though Abram has faith, he respectfully asks one more question of the Lord, in response to God's repeated promise to give him the land of Canaan: "How am I to know?" God doesn't reject Abram's request for reassurance.  Instead He instructs Abram to gather five specific animals, to cut some in half, and to arrange them in a specific way. This begins a covenant ritual between God and Abram that is momentarily interrupted by birds of prey trying to eat the remains of Abram's slaughtered animals. Before God completes the ritual, He causes a deep sleep to fall on Abram and reveals to Abram a prophecy about the future of his descendants. They will live as captives for 400 years in another country, serving that nation. When the time comes, they will be released with abundant possessions and return to execute God's judgment on the Amorites and other inhabitants of the land of Canaan.  Abram learns that he will live to a good, old age, but that he will not live to see the troubling events of this prophecy. It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD. Our scripture will be coming from: Genesis 15:7-12 KJV  [7] And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. [8] And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? [9] And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. [10] And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. [11] And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. [12] And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

1 JAN 2024 · Blessings to all, Welcome again, I am Jerry, this portion of our study covers: ABRAHAM’S FAITH This is one of the greatest statements in the Scriptures: “And he believed in the LORD.”  Abram believes God. This statement, from Genesis 15:6, is one of the key verses in all of the Bible. Abram’s belief in God is credited to him as righteousness.  In the New Testament, both Paul and James quote this verse (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23), making it a cornerstone of the Christian teaching that God’s acceptance of us comes by His grace and through our faith. What this means is that Abram said amen to God. God has said, “I will do this for you,” and Abram says to God, “I believe You. Amen. I believe it.” And that was counted to him for righteousness.

24 MAY 2022 · GOD’s Shield And Reward Revelation – Abram Encouraged By GOD We come to one of the high points of the Bible here in chapter 15. Genesis 15 consists entirely of an extended encounter between the Lord and Abram, the man who will later be renamed Abraham. This concludes with the formal establishment of God’s covenant promise to Abram: to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan. The chapter begins with the “word of the Lord” coming to Abram in a vision. This arrives with reassurance to Abram about God’s continued commitment to him: Don’t be afraid. I am your shield. Your reward will be great.  Abram, though, takes the opportunity of this visitation from the Lord to ask some hard questions.  He is curious about God’s repeated promises to him. First, addressing the promise that God will make of him a great nation, Abram respectfully points out that his current heir is a servant, not a son. He has no children. And, at this point, Abram is well over seventy-five years old (Genesis 12:4).  God’s response is to show Abram the stars. Using this as an analogy, God repeats His promise that Abram’s descendants will be so numerous as to be uncountable. It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD. Our scripture will be coming from: Genesis 15:1-5 KJV   [1] After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. [2] And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? [3] And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. [4] And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. [5] And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

18 MAY 2022 · Our Scripture Of The Week Is: Hebrews 1:3 KJVS  [3] Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; A major theme of the book of Hebrews is the supremacy of Christ. Faced with persecution, there is a temptation to follow the crowd. Jewish Christians of that era would have been under pressure to return to Judaism, rather than continue as Christians.  The first four verses of Hebrews serve as an introduction to the idea that Jesus is the better way. This verse also provides important support for the divinity of Jesus. That is, these words imply that Jesus Christ is, in fact, God.  The Greek word characktēr is translated here as "exact imprint" or "exact representation." The Greek word for "nature" here is hypostaseōs. This is the source of the theological term "hypostatic union," a fancy way of saying that Jesus is both God and man.  Combined, these words mean that Jesus' nature is identical to that of God. Christ is divine, exactly as God is divine. The reference to sitting at the "right hand" is important in ancient literature. This is a symbolic reference to honor and power.  A person seated at the right hand of the king was considered trustworthy, and he was bestowed with the power of that king. References to Jesus as "seated" at the right hand of the Father imply His absolute power and authority.

10 MAY 2022 · Our scripture will be coming from: Genesis 14:21-24 KJV  [21] And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.  [22] And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,  [23] That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:  [24] Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

3 MAY 2022 · Our Scripture Of The Week Is: Psalm 103:6 KJVS  [6] The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. Prior verses contained David's personal reasons for honoring God. Here, David moves from personal to general statements about God's governance. His direction of the world is another reason for Israel to praise Him. David states that God performs righteous deeds and justice.  Israel had many opportunities to observe God's righteous deeds. From His call of Abraham to the time of David, God performed righteous acts on behalf of the nation. He delivered the nation from slavery in Egypt (Judges 6:9) and provided miraculously for the Israelites in the wilderness by supplying water from a rock (Exodus 17:1–6), manna from heaven (Exodus 16:15–16), and abundant quail for meat (Exodus 16:13). God also judged Israel's wicked enemies and punished those who violated His covenant. He displayed His justice for His oppressed people by rescuing them from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 20:2) and later, in the era of the Judges, by repeatedly delivering them from their oppressive enemy nations. He had also commanded His people to show kindness and generosity to the poor (Deuteronomy 15:7–11).