Tests

Sue’s Views

When I think of the word ‘test’ it brings back my schooldays! I hated exam time ….. all that cramming ….. and then being tested on the things you didn’t study! The purpose of a test is to reveal how much you understand. One of the meanings of a test is ‘a procedure used to identify or characterise a substance or constituent.’ Abraham was set the test of all tests when ….. after waiting 25 years for his promised son to be born ….. God told him to sacrifice him on an altar. This man of great faith obeyed God believing that God could bring his son back to life. When God saw his willingness ….. he intervened and let the boy live. God was testing what was really in Abraham’s heart. There is so much emotion in this story and we can only imagine what both Abraham and Isaac went through. But it’s not till we are put to the test that we discover our true desires and loyalties. We all have an ‘Isaac’. Would you be willing to lay him on an altar if God asked you to? 

Wait For Your Isaac

Sue’s Views
Can you imagine waiting 25 years for a promise to be fulfilled? Most of us would think ‘Maybe I didn’t hear right’ ….. ‘Maybe God changed His mind!’ ….. ‘Maybe God needs my help to make this happen!’ The Bible tells us that at the ages of 90 and 100 ….. when their bodies were as good as dead ….. Sarah gave birth to a son! God often waits until things are impossible. When we’ve exhausted all our human efforts ….. He miraculously shows up! He doesn’t act according to our timetable or deadlines. He has his own timetable ….. and it’s always perfect! The child’s name was Isaac which means ‘laughter’. The laughter of doubtful mocking was turned into boundless joy when Isaac was born! Wait for your Isaac! If God promised ….. it will come!

Snakes and Ladders

Sue’s Views
I’m not even halfway through the first book of the Bible and already I’ve read about murder ….. lying ….. deceitfulness ….. adultery ….. homosexuality and incest. We think things are bad today ….. but sin has been our nature since the fall. We humans are capable of reaching the highest of heights ….. and the lowest of lows! But woven into our history are some amazing acts of kindness ….. loyalty ….. and sacrifice. Everyday we have choices ….. whether to indulge our fleshly desires ….. or to deny ourselves and overcome them. To slide down the slippery snakes ….. or climb the ladders!

Don’t Look Back!

Sue’s Views

When God told Lot and his family to leave Sodom ….. He said ‘Run and don’t look back!’ Unfortuneately ….. Lot’s wife couldn’t resist looking back at the city that had become her home. Maybe she was thinking about the friends she’d made ….. or the security she was leaving behind. Her curiosity made her lag behind her husband and daughters and she was caught up in the fire and brimstone raining down on the city. A harsh lesson but one to learn from. Looking back  ….. whether with regret ….. or longing is never a good idea. It’s called the past because it has passed! When God is taking you on to something new ….. run toward it and don’t look back! 

Choices

Sue’s Views

When given the choice between 2 options ….. how do you decide which to take? Abraham and his nephew Lot needed to separate because the land couldn’t contain their flocks. Abraham graciously gave Lot the choice of where to go and settle. Lot chose the way that looked best and was closest to a city. Unfortunately ….. that city was Sodom! His choice led to disaster and a downhill spiral. Lessons to be learned from this are that the way that looks best isn’t necessarily the best ….. and ….. always pray before choosing! ‘There’s is a way that seems right ….. but it may lead to death’.

Fear Not

Sue’s Views

What do you fear most? Disease ….. lack ….. rejection ….. loneliness? Fear is one of the enemy’s most powerful weapons. Once it takes hold ….. it cripples us and dictates the way we live. It makes us defensive in order to avoid what we fear. God understands our fears but He doesn’t want us to live that way. There are 366 ‘Fear nots’ in the Bible! Abraham was a man of great faith but he still had fears. God addressed them in a dream. First He told him ‘Fear not! I am your shield!’ God protects those who trust in Him from danger ….. attack ….. sickness ….. and whatever else the devil throws at us. Next He said ‘I am your great reward!’ Abraham had refused to take loot from his enemies which could have come in handy in the future ….. but God saw his sacrifice and promised to take care of him in every way. Probably his biggest fear was that he had no son or heir ….. but God assured him He would take care of that too! Whatever fear you may have ….. there’s a ‘fear not’ for you in the Bible! 

Don’t Give Up

Sue’s Views
How is your faith level? God told Abraham he would be the father of many nations. The only problem was his wife had not been able to conceive ….. and was now 90 years old! Abraham was 100! They did what most of us would do. They tried to think of a way to make it happen! Sarah came up with the idea of using her maid as a surrogate mother. But her plan only led to heartache ….. envy ….. and family strife that still affects the world today. 
God did bless them with a son of their own ….. but not till after years of disappointment. But Abraham believed God and wouldn’t give up. He hoped when there seemed to be no hope! And God counted his faith as righteousness. Our faith will always be tested. Hold fast to God’s word without wavering! If He said it ….. it will happen!

Faith Requires Obedience

Sue’s Views
Is God asking you to do something that is hard? Many years ago a man named Abram was called by God to leave his country, his people and his father’s household ….. and to go to a place that God would show him. God promised that he would become a new nation ….. be blessed by God  ….. and that through him all the nations would be blessed. Would you have gone? Abram ….. having no idea where he was going ….. but having great faith in God ….. packed up and went! He made a few mistakes along the way. Human reasoning led him astray on a few occasions but he eventually made it to the Promised Land. His great faith has gone down in history and God called him his friend. He also changed his name to Abraham meaning father of nations. If God is asking you to leave something or someone behind ….. it’s because He has something greater ahead. Faith requires obedience!

Genealogies

Sue’s Views
Many find the Bible boring ….. especially the genealogies! Lists of names that are hard to pronounce ….. and what do they have to do with me? But those lists of names prove that they were real people ….. who lived in the real world. The fact that the Bible traces the bloodline all the way from Adam to Jesus proves it’s a book of fact ….. not fiction! It also becomes my bloodline as well ….. so it’s very relevant. So when I read the Bible ….. I’m reading my history and about my family. There are some characters in there I wouldn’t want to be associated with ….. but God works through all kinds of people! There are prostitutes ….. adulterers ….. murderers ….. thieves ….. as well as ordinary folk just trying to make the best of life. It’s really fascinating when you get into it and contains some of the most amazing stories you’ll ever read. The best thing about the Bible is that it is God’s way of speaking to us personally.

The Way Back

Sue’s Views
It’s amazing to think that ….. before the fall ….. Adam & Eve lived in perfect harmony with God and with one another. They walked and talked with Him in their garden paradise. After the dreaded forbidden fruit incident ….. everything changed. It was the beginning of shame ….. blame ….. struggle ….. decay ….. family strife. Things pretty much went downhill from there! Envy ….. murder ….. perversion. The pride and arrogance of mankind led to God being sorry He’d created us and having to start over. But the sin nature had taken root and has been our problem ever since. But God had a plan because He knew the heart of man was only evil continuously. His answer to the problem was Jesus! He still is the only way back to the Garden!