Day 2: Genesis 11-20

The Bright Side of the Mysterious God

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

-         Genesis 18:14

Sin has variations. As human beings, it is evident for us to find a way to disobey of disappoint God which leads to our own distractions. But what amazes me in these chapters is how God loves us to the point that He, Himself, moves or lets things happen even in the most unexpected way just to save us from our too imperfect selves.

I.                 The Tower Of Babel (Genesis 11:4-6)

What’s wrong if the people built this high tower to which they have planned? At first, it can be confusing how God saw how harmful it was for His people. But the thing is, God knows the outcome even before an idea or a plan is conceived in one’s mind. The people didn’t have the right intention of building this tower. If this plan did happen, most of them would have been self righteous and fear not the Lord. Thus, even before they realize how this can destroy them, God made a way to help them get away from it. The cool thing about this is that, who would expect God would use the language to disengage them from themselves on this project?

Same as to our discipleship, sometimes, as cell leaders, we tend to create plans or ideas in our minds in our lives, even in our own cells which we’ll never know would actually distract us from what god intends to happen, thus, He makes ways to deviate us from our own selves and help us get back on track.

II.               Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 16:6-8)

I believe Hagar wasn’t the only mistress in the Bible but her story was very well emphasized in the book. Why is that? I may not be a theologian but I may have a theory on this. God has written Hagar’s story not only because of Ishmael’s descendants but to give us a message that even the most neglected people on earth, which these people may think they are, are never neglected by the Lord Himself. Ishmael happened to be a product of a wrong decision by Sarah, and because of her insecurities to Hagar, she despised them and decided to throw them away. The Bible could have just let that happen, but God is more than stereotype. God moves in mysterious ways.

Relating that to our vision, at times we tend to be neglected or assumed nobody in the society. Nonetheless, God always has an eye for you. God never neglects anyone who He has given destiny. And by that I believe that all of us have a destiny. In the story, it was Hagar’s own will that she decided to obey God’s command to return to Sarah. It is also our choice to accept God’s grace in our lives, whether we answer to His call or neglect His offer of love.

III.              Abraham Pleads for Sodom (Genesis 18:32)

My leader Nanay Sophe has this weird attitude towards us pleading for her forgiveness every time we disobey her. We literally follow her around as if we’re playing catch even inside the church. Not that it’s a good thing, actually it’s a tiring thing but, surprisingly, now, I appreciate that about her. Reading today’s reading, esp. in Chapter 18, I could not keep her out of my mind.

In the story, of course God planned to destroy Sodom even with Abraham’s pleading towards God on the numbers of righteous men, but if that’s the case, why did God even entertain Abraham’s ridiculous requests? God wanted Himself to be accessible to Abraham.

I remember one day, Nanay Sophe told me to fix my perception towards her. I remember her saying, “Kapag nakikita mo kasi ako natatakot ka agad eh, you have to change that.” And I was like, “Boom.” Like where did she get that, so as I was reflecting on it, that’s actually so true. My leader is a clear depiction of jesus’ discipleship in the new testament. And in that time, Jesus was very much approachable. Thus, if I don’t see my leader that way, there is something wrong with my relationship with her. I love my leader. I believe Abraham love God that much as well, thus, God has just given us the fact that He Himself is very merciful, loving and to add to His many identity, God is also very much accessible and approachable.

God’s promises

(a)    I will make you into a great nation

(b)    I will bless you

(c)     I will make your name great

(d)    You will be a blessing

(e)    I will bless those who bless you

(f)     Whoever curses you I will curse

(g)    All peoples on the earth will be blessed through you

-         Genesis 12:2-3

DAY 1: Genesis 1-10

The Calling

I.                 Revival

The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became living being.

-         Genesis 2:7

The creation of man has been understated with a simple story of the origin of man but God has shown me so much more. When God has breathed on Adam, he was given life. Come to think of it, us, as Christians were never really living not until God breathed on us. But God’s breath of life isn’t just a simple act of hobby to God. He created man to rule over His creation and to take care of it. (Gen 1:26)

Thus, as disciples of God, our need to His breath is inevitable but we also need to understand our stand on that to deserve a life.

II.               Commissioning

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

-         Genesis 2:15

In deed when Adam was given life, he was truly blessed with all the wonders of the paradise by which God has placed him. Nonetheless, he stayed in the Garden of Eden not to be blessed alone but to be responsible of it.

When we become alive in Christ, indeed God’s promise of salvation is in us. We get to enjoy His grace in the most exciting way. But we live in Him not to enjoy alone but to be responsible as well.

III.             Vision

So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.

-         Genesis 2:20

To give names is to identify. People name people or things or others according to that identity that they know they can use to know the place of such thing or person in their lives. For example, a child names his/her mother “Mama” which is still according to his will to identify his mother as his Mom.

This is one of the critical points of working in the vision. We may not get it as first but it is according to our own will of how we actually work in this responsibility that the Lord has appointed us.

Question: How do you identify your ministry? What is your disciple, disciples and spiritual family to you? How do you identify the lost ones in your life as a servant of God?

In the creation, God could have had named all the animals himself but why did He appoint Adam to do it? Because God wanted Adam to handle his responsibility according to his own will. God appointed Adam this work for him to understand more of his role in the Garden. Same as to us as disciples. God leaves the appointment to us to see the way He sees the lost. That is why that’s our biggest goal, to be like Christ. To see the way He does, to feel the way He does and it all boils down to our own will being in line with His’.

IV.             Warning to heed

But God did say, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die”

-         Genesis 3:3

Submission to Authority has always been one of men’s greatest struggles. But heed God’s word.

When God told Adam and Eve that they will die if they eat from the tree of life, God didn’t really mean they’ll die literally. But what happens to them was really death. (Gen 3:23). The fall of man, not only that they lost God’s trust in taking care of His creations in the Garden, they also lost the abundance that they had.

Imagine losing God’s anointing while handling other people. While calling yourself a disciple yet you’re not really one of them. Thus, disobedience as translated in Genesis leads to banishment.

To serve the Lord in the ministry of being a disciple and discipling other people as well, is the greatest appointment one can ever have.

The Start of Breakthrough comes in with a Challenge: 90 DAYS OF CHALLENGE

my upcoming posts will be my daily devotional readings in accordance to the 90 days of challenge. This blog will store up all my insights for the Word challenge where I should be able to finish the whole Old Testament in 90 Days.

Enjoy Reading and God Bless :)

July 2, 2013: Pre-requisites of being a Revolutionary

¹⁰ Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more NUMEROUS and, if war breaks out, will JOIN our enemies, FIGHT against us and LEAVE the country.”

                What do non-believers see in us that identifies us as Revolutionaries?

                In Exodus 1, we have seen how threatened the king was because of the vast multiplication of the Israelites. He has seen them in such an identity that he presumed immediately and acted on it. But what was it that made Him be all paranoid about the Israelites?

                Moreover, what was it that we be identified as revolutionaries?

PRE-REQUISITES TO BEING A REVOLUTIONARY

1. NUMEROUS:       FRUITFUL

                One revolutionary cannot do the work alone. Ever imagined Andres Bonifacio doing all the work in all those battles alone? No! He had his KKK. What I’m saying is, we cannot be identified as revolutionaries individually without company. We cannot change the world, the city, our campuses if we go there alone. Thus, we have to multiply. How can one revolutionary inside the class change the mindset of cheating if you’re the only one answering clean? Changing the world does start in you but that doesn’t mean you stop there. Be consistent in changing yourself as you also influence other people. That is winning without preaching.

2. JOIN:                         MEMBERSHIP

                There has to be a common goal/perception for everyone to be a part in. fortunately, the Lord has given us a VISION that is very practical. Say, everyone’s starting to change a part of the culture that we have influenced them to shed off. It’s time to give them the grasp of the vision. We then answer them in a godly manner wherein the vision is at the center.

                In the previous example, we don’t stop influencing them not to cheat; rather, we tell them why not to cheat.

QTD:

Ang pangongopya ay COUNTERBALANCING!

Pasado ka man ngayon at OVERSTATED ang score mo,

darating ang board exam para ireveal ang CORRECTED NET KNOWLEDGE mo!

3. FIGHT:                     SELF-DISCIPLINE

                As an identified revolutionary, we are so prone to temptations. The enemy has every “creative and innovative” ways of tempting us.

                To illustrate, reviewing…

                You are a revolutionary, what do you do? You don’t have classes the whole morning, so of course, you attend the daily prayer and the go straight to school regardless if your class is still 2 in the afternoon. And you make use of your time wisely to study.

                But it’s not gonna be easy to make that a habit. Things like, SM is just a walk away from your church, or you can watch your favorite series the whole night and wake up late. Or go out with your crush who just asked you yesterday.

                Despite all those scenarios, as a revolutionary, we tend to know our priorities and do the right thing. That is self-discipline.

4. LEAVE:                    NEW SELF

                Lastly, to be a revolutionary is to be new. You went to change the world? You first leave your comfort zone and start the life with a real purpose, a life where God is in control, a life that is influencing others, a part of something great and a life with a fighting spirit against your old self and the external temptations… : )

Genesis 5-6: Perks of being a Man of God

¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.

MESSAGE:

Imagine Noah’s generation compared to ours. Well of course we’re not the only ones whom God have seen favor, but think of it as a micro societal way. In some places, in some circumstances, you are a Noah. I am a Noah in my group of friends. I can be a Noah in my high school batch mates, etc. you see, there are times when you are the only one who can stand with your faith and be favored upon by the Lord. This chapter has revealed to me one of the perks of being God’s daughter.

PROMISE:

When you are favored, people connected to you will also be favored. The bible didn’t mention if Noah’s family also had great faith as he did. But they are Noah’s family. God’s grace always has extensions because He is limitless. He knew that if He’d only save Noah, it would bring much happiness to Noah that much. He needed to bring his love ones.

COMMAND:

Salvation can be brought to his family if he brings them to the ark. Salvation is free but it has to have a will. In the end, of course Noah’s family was saved, because Noah brought them to the ark. In life, we have to bring people to our ark as well. Remember, you are God’s extension of Grace.

Genesis 4: Mercy

⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Message:

Being a perfectionist can be tiring at times. You just have to do what is right all the time. In the bible, Cain really didn’t do wrong at his offering. He was working on the grounds; of course the produce would be his offering not that of Abel. But God didn’t see favor on this instead He was teaching Cain a lesson. But he hindered it, and God saw right through it. He committed a sin over his imperfection. Then envy was brought out.

Command:

In Christian living, we tend to be Cain at itmes. There are instances when we don’t please our leader. Or we disappoint ourselves for failing a promise to God. But we don’t always intend to be wrong. An unintentional mistake is not wrong. We are to learn from that mistake and keep ourselves strong to sin. Often when these things happens to us, we turn our backs to God, or blame other people. It is so luike Cain, only this generation’s version. But like what God has said, it is our choice, we must rule over sin.

Promise:

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Not so^[e]; anyone who kills Cainwill suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.

God is the God of forgiveness. He could have thrown Cain out of Hs land and let him be killed by all the danger brought about the outside. But no. Cain knew what was gonna happen. He didn’t even ask for God’s mercy, but God was too forgiving that he still protected Cain upon his exile. Same thing happens to us. Upon the consequence of our sin, God is still with us. Forever, He is.

Genesis 3: Lessons from temptation

²² And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

                Reading the chapter from the start, I thought, why did even God put a tree of life there? Why did he allow a snake to tempt Eve and eventually let Adam fall for it to? Come to think of it, God has total control of what can happen in the past right? So why the fall of man?

                When we were a child, I remember my Mom bringing me to her office. She had to leave me at the play ground I can play safe while she’s working. But before she leaves she’s tell me not to go anywhere far from the playground and then she leaves.  At first, I’d be so amazed by how fun all the stuff I can do in the playground. But as hours pass, I get bored of them and then come temptation to leave. Even as a child, it is my choice to stay or to leave right? And because of temptation, I left. When its becoming late already, I’d eventually figure out that I’m too far from the playground that I’m lost. Now the consequence of not obeying my mother has just happened. Perhaps that was lunch time; I can be so hungry then. Or it can be raining and I dint know where to go anymore. Eventually my mother would find me and then punish me for that disobedience. The next time she works, she knows she won’t be leaving me in the playground anymore. I’d probably left in a boring library or worst, she might not even bring me to her work anymore. But from that moment on, I know that when she brings me back to the playground, I won’t be leaving far from it anymore. Why? BECAUSE I LEARNED FROM THAT TEMPTATION.

                God knew that there will be a fall of man. The bible hasn’t stated there how long it was for Adam and Eve to stay obedient to God until the serpent come right? But after that incident, Adam and Eve has already learned from that mistake. The punishment brought by God to man was not the only one passed on to all generations. We must see more than that. There is a real reason, a lesson that was passed on from the story and it lives until now.