Do you sometimes have trouble finding something? In the past, I have had to look in many places to find a screwdriver. I had put some tools in one tool box and some in a second tool box. Karen helped me get organized in the past week by putting hooks on a board and placing screwdrivers in an orderly manner. Now why didn’t I think of that? Good question. I am grateful to the Lord for the amazing life partner that the Lord gave me.
I am also grateful for the many churches, families, couples, and individuals that the Lord led to support us financially, as well as praying for the ministry to which the Lord called us in the early 1980s. Much has changed in the world since our wedding in 1981. We can be in communication with people around the world in moments, thanks to the Internet. What hasn’t changed is the need for a personal relationship with the Lord.
In the beginning of his letter to the believers in Rome, the apostle Paul wrote that Christ Jesus “was declared with power to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness” (1:4). Paul went on to declare that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23), but that God made it possible for us to have our sins forgiven – “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit , resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (6:22-23).
In the first book of the Bible, we read how God tested Abraham. In Genesis 22, God told Abraham to take his only son and offer him as a burnt offering. In obedience to God, Abraham went to the place that God had told him and bound his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar. Just as Abraham was about to slay his son, “the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ And he said, ‘Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me’”(22:11-12). Then Abraham found a ram caught in the thicket by his horns and offered it “in the place of his son” (v. 13) and called that place “The Lord Will Provide” (v. 14). If this had been a written test, Abraham would have received an “A” as he trusted God.
In his Study Bible, Dr. David Jeremiah observes: “From our perspective, God’s command to Abraham is horribly cruel. One scholar has written that in this chapter, Abraham begins a ‘journey into God-forsakenness.’ It begins with God calling Abraham’s name. God then uses words of increasing emotional significance to issue His instruction: ‘Take now your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love.’ Each phrase pierces closer to Abraham’s heart.
Scripture for the weekend: “Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Psalm 106:1 (NASB)
Steve