Hidden (Krypto) Treasures

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Category: Through the Bible Page 20 of 46

Hastening to Serve

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On January 13, 2015

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 18:6-8 records the response of Abraham when the three visitors outside his tent agreed to his request of staying (not passing by), resting, and being comforted (refreshed) with nourishment. These verses record that Abraham hastened to his wife to ask her to prepare the meal and ran to fetch a tender and good calf and hasted to prepared it. Though these may seem like mundane activities involved in being hospitable, what is important for us to recognize is that Abraham hastened or hasted to serve his divine visitors.

Points to ponder:
Are we like Abraham hurrying (hastening, running) in order to serve the Lord or are we relaxing and moving at our own pace when called to serve?

Genesis 18:6-8 (KJV)
6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

Comfort your heart Lord

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On January 12, 2015

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 18:3-5 lists out three requests of Abraham to the Lord when he saw the Lord with two other men standing outside his tent. Genesis 18:5 reads “And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.” The third of Abraham’s request (plea) was to give him opportunity to “comfort the Lord’s heart”.

It may seem absurd that the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3) may need to be comforted. Many a times, we seek comfort for ourselves comfort – comfort from the trials of life.

Points to ponder:
Let us ask for the opportunity to serve the Lord – to serve him so that he will not only be our comfort, but be comforted by our life as well.

Genesis 18:5 (KJV)
5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

Rest yourself Lord (I pray)

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On January 9, 2015

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 18:3-5 lists out three requests of Abraham to the Lord when he saw the Lord with two other men standing outside his tent. Genesis 18:4 reads “Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:” The second of Abraham’s request (plea) was for the Lord to “rest” (under the tree)

In this fast paced life that we live in, we usually don’t take time to rest – rest in the Lord, but more importantly we seldom spare God time to rest in our lives. Abraham wanted the Lord to rest. This was his prayer.

Points to ponder:
Jesus said that man was not made for the sabbath (rest), but sabbath (rest) was made for man (Mark 2:27). Jesus who rested (not under but) on the tree (Galatians 3:13) of Calvary, by commending his spirit unto the Father God, and in the tomb until he was resurrected (Matthew 28:1), shows us how we ought to rest in the Lord as well.  But more importantly we must let God to rest in our lives (1 Peter 4:14). Like Abraham, can we pray that the Lord rest in our lives. Rest yourself Lord (I Pray).

Genesis 18:4 (KJV)
4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

Pass not away (I pray)

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On January 8, 2015

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 18:3-5 lists out three requests of Abraham to the Lord when he saw the Lord with two other men standing outside his tent. Genesis 18:3 reads “And [Abraham] said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:” The first of Abraham’s request (plea) was for the Lord to “pass not away”, but note how Abraham addresses the visitor, as My Lord and himself as Lord’s servant. Also note how Abraham confirms the Lord’s favor on him. If the Lord was to leave Abraham’s presence and passed by, then Abraham would have known that the Lord’s favor was not on him.

When Jesus is standing by us (as the Lord was standing by Abraham – Genesis 18:2), the favor of God is upon us and like Abraham, we must pray, that the Lord (Jesus) pass not away. Because Jesus became the passover lamb for the Salvation of mankind, God’s favor does not pass away from us and is with us, in and through Jesus who stands by us. Let us therefore pray that the Lord pass not away (from our presence) ever.

Points to ponder:
Let our prayer be, “My Lord, Pass not away from me, your servant. Pass not away, I pray.”

Genesis 18:3 (KJV)
3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

Standing by (you)

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On January 7, 2015

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 18:2 reads “And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,” The text reads that Abraham ran to meet these three men, but did you notice, how the verse reads that these three men stood by him, when he lifted up his eyes and looked.

Many a times, we run to God as if he is somewhere far away, while all the time, he is right there standing by you and me. When we look with eyes of faith, we see that the Lord is standing right by us.

Points to ponder:
No matter where you are in your life or what the situations of your life are, you and I can take solace in the fact that the Lord is standing by you and me, all the time. He has promised to be with us even unto the ends of the age (Matthew 28:20); to never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 11:5); and God is standing by (you).

Genesis 18:2 (KJV)
2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

Hebrews 13:5 (KJV)
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Run to Worship

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On January 6, 2015

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 18:2 reads “And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,” Did you notice, that as soon as Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the three men standing by (one of who was the Lord and the two others angelic beings), he ran to meet them from his tent door and bowed himself toward the ground.

While this may at first seems like a natural reaction, close scrutiny reveals certain hidden treasures in this account. First, when we see someone outside your house or place of dwelling, how often do you and I run toward them and bow down to them? I believe, that though Abraham’s reactions may have been customary in the times he lived, it reveals certain behavior that each one of us should follow when we encounter the Lord. Abraham recognized who it was, just as a friend would recognize another friend (James 2:23), for the next verse reads that he addressed the men as “My LORD”. Additionally Abraham ran from his tent door. A tent is a place of temporary dwelling and while many of us hold on to our temporary residence on earth, Abraham does exactly the opposite and in haste runs towards the Lord. Furthermore, Abraham bowed down to the ground when he came to the Lord in an attitude of worship.

Points to ponder:
When we lift our eyes of our heart and look at the Lord, do we run toward him and fall down before him in worship of him? Think about it. Do we run to worship? If not, we ought to.

Genesis 18:2 (KJV)
2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

Lift up your eyes and look

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On December 9, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 18 begins with the verses – “And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him:”

While the identity of two of the three men is not explicitly stated in this account, from Genesis 19:1 we can learn that these two were as angels (messengers of God with a mission) and the other first person was the Lord himself.

Close scrutiny of this encounter (experience) reveals a couple of hidden treasures in these two verses. First, the Lord appeared to Abraham (Theophany to Abraham), who sat at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Second, Abraham had to lift up his eyes and look to see three men standing by.

Points to Ponder:
The Lord appears to his people, to you and me, as we search the Bible daily (Acts 17:11) to see glimpses of his infallible, loving and just nature, in the person of Jesus Christ. Many of us are beaten down by the heat of the day i.e., the harsh elements of life itself and our most likely posture is that our faces are down as our spirit is downcast. What we need to do is to lift up our eyes (of understanding – Ephesians 1:18) and look up at the Lord, from whom our help comes from (Psalms 121:1-2)
Are you lifting up your eyes and looking at the Lord? Lift up your eyes and look. Tarry no further!

Genesis 18:1-2a (KJV)
1 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him:

Not in line with God’s plans

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On December 3, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

In the book Genesis chapter 17, God reveals to Abraham that through his wife Sarah, God would establish his covenant with their son, Isaac (Genesis 17:19, 21), but Abraham in response asks God, “if only Ishmael, the son born to Abraham’s concubine Hagar, would be blessed by God (instead).” God responds that his covenant shall be with the promised son, Isaac and not Ishmael. However, due to the generous and magnanimous greatness of God, God tells Abraham that Ishmael shall be made fruitful and that God will multiply Ishmael exceedingly as well making him a great nation, through the twelve princes that Ishmael shall bear. And then the Bible says, that God left off talking with Abraham and went up.

While it may seem that the request of Abraham to include his son Ishmael may speak of Abraham’s fatherly concern, we must not fail to recognize that such a request was not in line with God’s plan and God leaves the conversation.

Points to ponder:
Many a times we, like Abraham try to tell God what we think is best and step out of God’s plan, when it is not in line with his plan. Doing so can make God leave the conversation he has with us. Let us pray to accept God’s plan for our lives, no matter how improbable or impossible it may seem. Let us resolve and work toward always being in line with God’s plan.

Genesis 17: 18-22 (KJV)
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

Abraham Laughed

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On December 1, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Many a times, we hear about how “Sarah” the wife of Abraham laughed when she was told that she would be blessed with a child in her nineties, and seldom realize that it was not only Sarah who laughed, but her husband, Abraham did as well. Genesis 17:17 records that God told Abraham, that he would be blessed with a child and that his barren wife would become the mother of nations and kings would come from her. At this, Abraham fell upon his face and laughed as he mused as to how a child shall be born unto him who was a hundred years old and his wife Sarah who was ninety years old then.. So Abraham laughs.

This was something that not only seemed improbable, but impossible as well, because of their age, which in a sense could justify Abraham’s response of laughter, but it does not discredit his sense of doubt. However, notice that Abraham fell upon his face, implying that he was in a posture of submission and worship, despite his doubt.

Points to ponder:
God’s promises to us may seem incredulous at times and may even evoke a response of laughter, because in our humanness, we tend to doubt God, but what is important is that despite our doubt, we ought to submit to God for doubting without submitting is no laughing matter. God is sovereign and the improbable and impossible things of life are in fact certainties, if God wills.

Genesis 17:17
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

Give Thanks, why and then what?

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On November 27, 2014

In Christian, Thanksgiving, Through the Bible

It is thanksgiving day … a day wherein we remember the various things that we are thankful for and spend our time with our family and friends. The Bible innumerably counsels us that we ought to give thanks to the Lord, our God, for he is good and his mercy endures forever.

While it is certainly apt for us to express our gratitude for God’s goodness and his enduring merciful nature, what other reason is given to us, as to why we must give thanks.

We must give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). So it is pretty clear that to give thanks is to conform to God’s will for us. So now that we know why we must give thanks, what are we required to do upon giving thanks? We must make known his deeds among the people (1 Chronicles 16:8).

Points to ponder:
This thanksgiving, are you in God’s will? i.e., are you giving thanks? Also, in addition to giving thanks, are you making known his deeds to the people around us?  In other words, this thanksgiving, let us remember to be in God’s will and do God’s work.

1 Thessalonians 5:8 (KJV)
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Chronicles 16:8 (KJV)
8 Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

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