Focal Passage: Genesis 24:12-20, 24-27 

No one is exempt from having a moment of great uncertainty in life. Decisions need to be made that will impact the direction or even the trajectory of the future. 

Unsure of a direction, a person of faith turns to prayer for guidance and direction, usually with great emotion, urgency and even a little hope. Imagine that exact moment, but this time, another person steps in and takes the place of the one praying, knowing that the answer will not impact the one praying but the one whose place had been taken. 

Such was the case of Abraham’s unnamed servant, given the task of finding a wife for Isaac, the son of Abraham (Genesis 24:2-9). He was given his task, told where to go, left and arrived at his destination. As he began to fulfill his task, the magnitude of the moment made him stop and pray.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Genesis 22:1-14 

Substitute: someone standing in the place of someone else, such as a substitute teacher or perhaps a teammate coming in off the bench in a game. 

Or, maybe changing the recipe with different ingredients when you don’t have a needed item in your kitchen.  Or, perhaps getting a generic prescription filled. Substitute appears to mean second best, a fill in, or not as good. If we would have life and death issue, we want the very best and not the substitute. But not always.  

Drew Bledsoe was a first round draft pick of the New England Patriots. He would lead his team to a Super Bowl, was named to the Pro Bowl several times and would sign a $100 million dollar contract. 

Bledsoe, by every standard, was a very good quarterback in the NFL. In the 2001 NFL season, Bledsoe got hurt and a “substitute” had to come in. His name? Tom Brady who would become the most decorated QB in the history of the NFL. So, maybe, substitutes are not secondary. [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Genesis 19:12-26 

Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). I have often found these words of Jesus compelling. It represents a forward-looking Jesus. Get to work and look ahead! 

The instrument of work, the plow, is the constant element in His declaration. When studying Jesus, many have found leadership traits focused not on what was, but on what can or will be. Leadership also must trust what has been. The plow, the instrument of work or what has been given, has not changed. Armed with the constant — the Word of God — a leader is challenged to face the future with the conviction of bringing the “kingdom of God” to earth. It challenges deacons, pastors, staff and even the church.

The judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah was horrifying at best. Despite the destruction of God’s creation through the Flood because “every imagination of his thought was only evil” (Genesis 6:5), Sodom and Gomorrah, once again, exemplified the declaration that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Once again, evidence is found that sin dwells in Sodom and Gomorrah.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Genesis 17:1-10;15-19 

When I was born, the firstborn to my parents, my father and mother named me after the most important man in my father’s life — his father. Upon the birth of our firstborn, my wife and I named him after the man who held the utmost significance in my life — my father. 

When our daughter was born, she was given the name of my deceased sister. The name of my wife’s father was given to our youngest when he was born. When my firstborn son had his firstborn daughter, he and his wife gave her his late mother’s name. When his second daughter was born, he and his wife gave her the name of his wife’s late father. 

In other words, the naming of names is very important. Naming is passing on gifts that are so important and a reflection of things that matter. Many parents use the naming of their children to pass on to their child the character or love felt from a parent, friend, loved one, or perhaps to honor a dear loved one.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Genesis 15:1-6; 16:1-6 

I am impatient, and, as a result, I am a work in progress. I do not like to watch commercials on TV. I do not like to wait in line at restaurants. I do not like to sit in traffic. 

Waiting is an interruption into what I think my schedule ought to be. So, “waiting on the Lord” humbles me. I grow so impatient, just “waiting.” I think I am not alone. 

Part of my love of Scripture, especially the Old Testament, is the portrayal of our spiritual heroes with no coverup. Abram, soon to be Abraham, was portrayed as a man of great faith, first, answering God’s call to go to a new land with an unknown future, and second, demonstrating his humility with Lot in allowing Lot to choose the prime choice of land.  [Read more…]