Power of Prayer

With all the events that are taking place right now, the call to prayer is much needed. However, I believe that it is important for born-again believers to recognize the importance and power of prayer before frivolously praying. If you had followed along with the study on the armor of God, you would have recognized that prayer is the artillery fire for the believer. I think one of the best biblical examples of this can be found in the book of Esther.

“15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Esther 4:15-16

As a quick refresher, at this point in the book of Esther, Mordecai has discovered a plot to annihilate all the Jews. He goes to his niece who has been made queen to implore her to speak to the king about reversing his order. Esther is terrified to go before the king without being summoned as that would result in her death. So what is it that she does? She asks all those both near and far to pray for her. In the rest of the book, we see that through Esther’s actions, the Jews are allowed to fight back and conquer their enemies.

Why do I bring this up today? Events that are taking place are cause for notice, for the believer we can recognize that the day for Jesus to return is getting closer. This should be exciting! However, this does not mean that we as the body of Christ should slack in praying for God’s chosen people, the Jews, the nation of Israel, the believers there and those in the nations that are attacking, as well as the nonbelievers to come to know Him globally. Just as in Esther, our prayers can accomplish wonderful and miraculous things.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

CALL TO PRAYER

Once again the Church is called to be ambassadors for Christ. Many fail to recognize this true emphasis that is behind the idea of being an ambassador. We are to represent Christ as called, 2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” We are also called to take the concerns of earth to the King of Heaven. Simply put, as the Church, in our special envoy capacity, we need to make use of our direct access to the God of Heaven. We need to be praying for Israel. There are those who will claim Israel is not the true Jewish people or that the Church has replaced Israel. These are fools who know little of the Bible and even less about the nature of God. Today my call is to the born again believers who are not fools, but who rightly divide the Word of truth and know that there is still a special place in human history for the Jewish people as prophesied by God’s Holy Word.

We need to be praying for Israel! We need to be praying for the peace of Jerusalem! We need to be praying for the Jewish people to see the light and run to their Messiah. We also need to be praying for the Persians. There are many who are born again believers and they need our prayers. We need to pray that the Persians who are not saved come to know Jesus Christ. The time is short, let us be about our Lord’s work in prayer, fasting, and with Holy motivation!

God is good and has not abandoned the Jewish people, neither should we.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

Understanding why Jesus came the way He did. Read it HERE!

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

Today we are going to take a look at the second Jewish feast. As I have stated before, it is important for us today understand the meaning behind the different feasts and also see how Jesus Christ has and will fulfill them. Last week we discussed the first feast, the Passover feast. We saw that for the Jews, this feast is important because it showed how God protected them through the blood. This is important for believers today because we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. Today, we will be looking at the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

This feast follows after the Passover feast and last seven days to celebrate the Jews escaping from Egypt. “15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do. 17 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.” Exodus 12:15-20. This passage shows us the origin of when the feast began. During this feast, consuming unleavened bread (bread made without yeast) represents how quickly the Israelites had to leave Egypt. If anyone has made bread before, you will understand how long it takes for bread to rise in order to bake. The Israelites did not have this luxury and had to have ingredients that did not take long to bake. However, this feast also presents a spiritual significance. The yeast free bread represents a removal of sin and gives the individual time to reflect and repent on any sin that is in their life. This is especially important to do after a feast where a lamb had been sacrificed for the nations sins.

So, how did Jesus complete this feast? Scripture tells us that He is the bread of life, John 6:35 “35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Jesus is the only person to have walked this earth who has lived a sinless life. He is the only one who can remove our sins from us and make us clean.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

FATHERS DAYS IN GENESIS

I believe it is not an accident that we arrive at chapter 12 of Genesis the day after Father’s Day in the United States. Abraham was the father of many nations as promised by God, but I want to bring to light something rather remarkable about Abraham that many miss today. Abraham started his life off following his earthly father, but ultimately followed his Heavenly Father. His life is a monument to someone whose faith stood the test of time and kept focused on the Lord God. Was he perfect? Certainly not, but his faith was accounted to him as righteousness. What about fathers today? Is your life reflecting that of Abraham? We will never be perfect, but is our life a living testimony on how we should follow Christ? I certainly hope so. No matter how you came to wear the responsibility of a father figure your life needs to be dedicated to pointing those children no matter the age to their Heavenly Father.

Abraham was more than just a faithful representation, it is because of Him we have a blessing that is beyond measure. His blood line would bring Jesus Christ. For the Church, we are born again and are Christ’s, does this make us Jewish? Certainly not, but spiritually, this makes us apart of the lineage rooted back to Abraham. This is why Abraham is promised to be a father of many nations. Many will examine Abraham’s role in creating Israel or one of the other Middle East nations that we see today. However, I believe we fail at times to recognize his essential part in the Church’s ancestry.

As fathers, we need to be about the Lord’s work that He has called us to, and provide such a living testimony that others will reflect on our lives in the future to use us as an example of what and how they should be when it comes to following Jesus Christ.

Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing men out there, remember we have a Heavenly Father who is there to help us as we serve the children He has placed in our responsibility. I will end on this, a verse that has always come to my mind when talking about what a father should be like, 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Let all [that] you [do] be done with love.”

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

Continuing our look into psalm 8! Read it HERE!

The Passover Feast

Today, we are beginning our study on the different feasts. Not only are we going to look at the significance of the feasts, but we are also going to see how Jesus Christ has fulfilled them, and in the case of the last three feasts, how He will fulfill them. As I pointed out last week, the Hebrew word for feast means appointed time, this is why it is important to understand how Jesus Christ fulfills the different feasts, it allows us as born-again believers to see where we are at in Biblical times and understand where things are going. So today, we are going to begin with the first feast. The Passover Feast.

This feast ought to be an easy one for believers and is one of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays. Passover takes place in the spring, for Western countries it occurs close to Easter (as we will study in a couple weeks), typically early- to mid- April.

The significance of the Passover feast can be found in Exodus. It is the celebration to remember how the Holy Spirit would literally pass over houses that had been marked by the blood of a lamb over their doorway. Exodus 12:21-22, “21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.” It was with this final plague that the pharaoh released the captive Jewish people and as such, God commanded the Israelites to remember this with a feast. Exodus 12:24-28, “24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.”

So, how did Jesus fulfill this feast? For the born-again believer, this should be an easy answer. He became our sacrificial lamb. 1 Corinthians 5:7, “Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”; Revelation 5:12, “In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” While the Jews were preparing to celebrate the Passover, Jesus was preparing for the cross. Luke 22:14-16, “14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” It is through applying His blood to our lives by faith. Just as the Jews who trusted in God when they applied the blood of the lamb to their doorways, it is through the blood of Christ that we are saved from death.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

A STUDY IN GENESIS

We now come to an examination of the numbers up to this point in the events of Genesis. By this time the earth has experienced 21 generations, starting from Adam to Abraham. You already saw the amazing power of God when it comes to the names. However, now let us examine the numbers and see how God is declaring His word to us!

From Adam to Noah’s birth is 1,056 years. I do not believe in coincidences and every student of the Bible should take what God lays out with serious focus. 1056 Samuel inn Naghrela who was the Jewish vizier of Granada died and was succeeded by his son Joseph. Joseph did not have the same aptitude for politics which would eventually lead to his death and the Granada massacre of 1066. I find it interesting that we see Noah’s birth as a sign of coming death and judgement and yet for the Jewish people there is a subtle hint. Some might claim I am reaching too far into the text. However, we know from Deuteronomy that this is their destiny outside of the land God has promised them. Deuteronomy 28:65-66, “And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul. 66 “Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life.”

But it gets more interesting. We can see from Adam to Terah being born there is 1878 years. When we examine this date in human history we see something also interesting. We have already learned that Terah was a person who was traveling, who was a pilgrim. He left his home because of pain and sought something new. In 1878, we see a large group of Jews desperate for something go to Petah Tikva. They found a small little settlement in hopes of peace. The characteristics are too similar not to bring up.

However, our greatest number to reflect on and connect is the date of Abraham being born. From Adam to Abraham is 1948 years. Ironically the exact same year that the nation of Israel is recognized once again in their native homeland. It is beyond skipping and should be reflected on. God says what He means and means what He says. Now you might be wondering where are we with other years? I am so glad you ask. In 2048 Isaac was born. His life we will get into, but we can safely say it was a life of deception, turmoil, and two sons who would father nations that have issues to this day. However, let us also look at the next individual’s birth. Jacob was born 2108. Do I know what this means? Not a clue! We know based on research that the last Jubilee has started. This would put us within a certain window of time based on views and scholarly research that I do not have the aptitude to bring to paper here. I would encourage you to review Ken Johnsons’ work at  Biblefacts.org. Never the less, I can make one interesting claim. Many are pointing towards the signs of the times. I would encourage you to do your own digging and see what could be reflected in the promises of God and the historical records that appear to be glimpse of God’s intentions.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

Understanding Joseph’s faith. Read it HERE!

A Wonderful Feast

When you truly sit and study God’s word, it is amazing how alive it becomes. We can turn to scripture in times of joy, in times of fear, in times of sadness, and everything in between. God’s word has proved over and over again that it is alive and it is perfectly accurate, especially in terms of prophecy. From Genesis to Revelation, God has provided an outline of His entire plan for mankind; one such picture can be found in the Jewish feasts. In fact, the Jewish word for fease (moadim) means “appointed times”. This is why it is important for Christians to understand the meaning of the feasts and see how Jesus has fulfilled the first four and will fulfill the last three.

Over the next several weeks, we will be diving into a study on these feasts to understand the importance of them. Our walk with God will only grow if we understand His word on a deeper level, and in a world that is growing steadily darker, understanding the significance of the feasts will allow us to remember the blessed hope that is to come!

“For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

Matthew 5:18

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

A STUDY IN GENESIS

As promised, today we examine the meanings behind the names from Adam to Abraham. What you will see is something unique. God is declaring something that is truly breathtaking. However, unlike other posts, I believe I will point you to a video to watch, where the names are listed in a way that I would argue is both very simplistic and powerful. The link will be provided below. However, we need to understand that God is wanting to draw our attention, for each person that is different. For some, He is able to draw their attention by a scenario in their life, for someone else it is by examining creation. For some, it is Him telling them to follow Him in a very real and audible way. There is no one simple way God calls people to Him. God getting our attention does not mean there are multiple ways to salvation, but in fact, there is only one way, and that is through Jesus Christ. God can use whatever is needed to get your attention to understand that you need Jesus in your life.

Now, there are some who laugh at Christianity and declare it to be a farce that cannot live up to true scrutiny. For those who make this claim, I chuckle in disbelief that they have ever truly examined God’s Word or His creation. God’s Word is perfect, His creation, while filled with sin, still perfectly points to Him. The more I understand about the human anatomy, the more I am bewildered by those who believe we went from the “goo, to the zoo, to you.” God’s Word reveals a declaration of His intention that is beyond human control. This is where the list of names and their meanings come in. Examine the video, watch and fact check it yourself. It is a rich study that will undoubtedly shed more light on who Jesus really is to you and me. THE VIDEO LINK! Next week, we will dig into the numbers and see what God is pointing out to us.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A reimagining of Christmas. Read it HERE!

Not To Be Overlooked

When it comes to doing individual Bible studies, I have noticed that there is a common issue that many Christians (myself included) have. This issue is overlooking aspects that seem mundane or unimportant within the Bible, we often forget that there is nothing in the Bible that God did not plan for. Recently, I came across a section of scripture that I have read countless times but never really looked deeper into, and today I want to share my findings with you.

“37 Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white that was in the rods. 38 He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the drinking troughs, that is, in the watering channels where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink.”

Genesis 30:37-38

As I have said, I have read this passage of scripture countless times, but I had no idea how much of a land mine I had come across until I decided to look more into this passage. I had no idea that this passage is often used by critics to discredit the Bible, they claim that Jacob using poplar, almond, and plane trees is nothing more than superstition, folklore, and a primitive veterinary understanding. However, we now see that science, in fact, had not caught up to scripture. What I mean by this, is that due to technology and advancement in veterinary science, we now see that these plants have a very unique contribution to animal welfare; one that allowed Jacob to produce livestock greater than Laban.

Science today states that these particular trees can cure urogénital problems, reduce fevers, act as anti-inflammatoires, and aid in reducing reproductive disorders. These would make the goats and sheep that Jacob was breeding to be healthier and thus produce healthy offspring. Even more, these trees don’t even need to be ingested in order to receive the benefits; simply steeping them in water allows for the chemical compounds to be put to use. Science today is finding out that allowing the female goats and sheep to ingest these plants increase conception rates, optimal gestation, and increases multiple births; a trait that would be highly needed when Jacob is asking that his wages be the speckled and spotted goats and black lambs (Genesis 30:31-32).

I am sharing this with you today to show you that where critics try to cast doubt on God’s word, it is more than likely that science simply hasn’t caught up to what the Bible has been saying all along. The second reason why I am sharing this with you is because it is important for us as believers to not overlook all that Scripture says, no matter how unassuming it may be. If we overlook these simple aspects, we miss out on learning more about God and the world that He has designed.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Happy Memorial Day

Today is a day that the United States of America celebrates to honor those who have given it all for the cost of freedom. However, I believe this day is also a wonderful day to not only remember those who have fallen, but remember the one who gave the ultimate sacrifice for you and I’s freedom. Jesus Christ gave His life for all! John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” This sacrifice will be eternally resounding in the lives of every person. Why do I say every person? No matter if you accept Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for you or not, He did it! There are many today that are squandering this eternal liberty freely given, rejecting to take what is offered for the eternal existence without God in their life. This destination is quite simply the Lake of Fire. This is not a metaphorical place, neither is it some strange place that you will only go to for some time, but rather for those who are not saved in Jesus Christ, they will become eternal occupants of the Lake of Fire. Thankfully, this is not where you HAVE to go. We have a choice that Christ gives for all mankind, we only need to recognize this and ask the Lord. The Thief on the cross next to Jesus understood this. His only words to the Messiah were, Luke 23:42 “Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” We dont know his story, up to this point, however, we know two things. When it was time, he came to Jesus and we know that he will be with Jesus from now on. Luke 23:43 “And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Christ’s sacrifice was more than just His death, but His life as well, before and after the grave. Jesus is living; His authority on the cross and the empty tomb declares our authenticity.

This Memorial Day, let us take a moment and be thankful that we have the liberty to practice our faith in Jesus Christ. There are those who have given it all for this freedom. Not a freedom of separation but rather a freedom to practice openly and without shame in who our King is! He is Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, let us not forget that it is because of Jesus Christ we have even the option to worship the Lord God at all. Without the Son of God rescuing us, we would be doomed.

For those who do not live in a nation that does not allow the freedom to openly practice our faith in Jesus Christ. Be of good cheer, the Lord is right there with you as well. My heart goes out to you brothers and sisters, I encourage you to keep the faith and fight the good fight, run the race to the very end. Our time in this pilgrimage is coming closer to an end, our Ambassadorship is still our duty no matter the nation we occupy, we are to proclaim the good news. If you need prayer, please reach out to us. No matter what, we are praying for you!

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A look back at one of our Christmas posts! Read it HERE!

Trust in God

The book of psalms undoubtedly has words of wisdom for those of us who are born again believers of Jesus Christ. I don’t think there isn’t a topic or situation that is discussed in psalms that we can’t relate to today. Today we are going to be discussing one psalm that I believe would be beneficial for us as believers to reflect upon, especially in times when we feel that the world is attacking us.

“56 Be gracious to me, God, for a man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me. 2 My enemies have trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me. 3 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. 4 In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? 5 All day long they distort my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They attack, they lurk, They watch my steps, As they have waited to take my life. 7 Because of their wickedness, will there be an escape for them? In anger make the peoples fall down, God! 8 You have taken account of my miseries; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? 9 Then my enemies will turn back on the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, In the Lord, whose word I praise, 11 In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can mankind do to me? 12 Your vows are binding upon me, God; I will render thanksgiving offerings to You. 13 For You have saved my soul from death, Indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God In the light of the living.”

Psalm 56

The beginning of this psalm gives the reader the impression that the individual is broken down, his enemies have won, and he is beaten. But their first thought is not to rage against their enemy, instead it is to plead to God to be gracious and recognizing that this individual will place their faith in God, no matter how afraid they are. The author then continues to state that they will not be afraid because there is not much that mere man can do to them. The author recognizes that their enemies can distort their words, the enemy attacks them, and they seek to take their life, but despite all of this, the author is not afraid of them. This sentiment is echoed by Jesus in Luke 12:4-5. “4 “Now I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!” The author of this psalm is recognizing that there is only so much that humankind can do to them, that by placing their trust in God they have already won.

While this psalm may start off as describing a broken individual, it does not end that way. Verses 12 and 13 show that the author recognizes that God’s promises are binding, He will not change them. Every promise that God makes in His Word, He will complete. No matter what our situations may be, He will be with us!

This psalm is a great encouragement to us today. While some of our readers may be being attacked physically, others may be experiencing circumstances in which individuals are twisting their words about Jesus. This psalm shows that all of these things are only temporary and in the end, we need to keep our faith in Jesus Christ, the only one who can truely uphold their promises.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

A STUDY IN GENESIS

We have two more topics to discuss before we continue to move into chapter 12 of Genesis. There is a subtle change in the methodology of providing the historical genealogy of humans that needs to be addressed. From Adam to Noah, we have a clear, accurate, and vibrant depiction of the genealogy of mankind. This includes the dates of when each individual had their son who would continue the genealogy and when that person died. This practice is partially continued by only one of the three sons of Noah. Shem’s genealogy is the only one to provide their ages. However, there is a subtle change in the accounting of the age. Prior to Noah we see each person’s historical account end with “and died”, whereas Shem to Nahor we see the historical account end with, “and begot sons and daughters.”

Some might call this insignificant. However, I believe this is a treasure that needs further investigation. At the surface there are two critical declarations we can assume. First, that God is wanting to portray something. In the first age of mankind, death was the trade mark. This is why it ends with, “and died.” Adam and Eve start the age with bringing death into the world. Each generation continues this, we know the age ends with death of all living things not in the Ark. The first age is themed around this. However, the second critical declarations is how it ends post Noah, “and begot sons and daughters.” The word “begot” is the Hebrew word, “Yalad” which means to bear, bring fourth. Unlike the previous age, this age will have something radically different, instead of death, we see God declaring LIFE! We see God declaring intentionally providing what mankind needs. This leads us directly to Terah whose first born is Abram and through his lineage would come Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Savior of the World and King of Israel.

Next week, we will discuss the meaning of the names up to this point in Genesis. I believe you will be thoroughly surprised on what God is telling the reader if they only would listen. I would encourage you to examine the numbers from Noah to Terah and see what hidden declarations that God has bestowed on those who seek His Wisdom. I will start next week with telling you what I found when studying the numbers.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

God cares more for your heart than what you bring to Him. Read it HERE!

Blogging with Intentions

Today I want to write a quick post regarding the behind the scenes at Mill House Ministries and how we decide what our topics and series will be for our weekly blog. We take God’s Word seriously when we write each of our blogs, and this is because we know God’s Word is powerful! Proverbs 12:18b “But the tongue of the wise [promotes] health.” However, how this word is applied does take discernment and an active ear that is listening to what the Lord might be calling us to write about. Our mission recognizes the audience that primarily follows our posts. Our audience is designed to help the believer grow in their faith, Proverbs 9:8-9 “Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise [man,] and he will love you. 9 Give [instruction] to a wise [man,] and he will be still wiser; Teach a just [man,] and he will increase in learning.”

This does not mean we neglect the unsaved who might read our posts, but our continued message to them each and every post will be the same, repent and come to Christ Jesus. Nothing else in the Bible matters until you are saved. Jesus’s own words reflect this principle, in Matthew 16:26 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” With this said, our posts are designed for the believer to help encourage and equip them to do God’s work as we eagerly wait for the Rapture of the Church, our secondary mission is to help any unsaved person willing to listen to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Nothing else matters.

So next time you see our posts, remember that each letter and word is intentional to help with what we believe God has called all believers to do, Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

A STUDY IN GENESIS

We are stepping into chapter 12, and God is about to work something incredible. However, the foundation for chapter 12 actually starts in chapter 11. Let’s look at Abram and Sarai, an old couple with no children no prospects of future through children and how God was about to change that. Genesis 11:27-32 “This [is] the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife [was] Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. 30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. 32 So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.”

Let’s break this down. We see that Terah has three sons named Abram his oldest, next came Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot who we will examine more of later. Something unique happens here that I believe is missed in most Bible studies. In this time period, in a list of genealogy you would do the oldest child to the youngest. We can assume that Abram is the oldest followed by Nahor and Haran. When it comes to wives, Abram and Nahor would have been first to have wives, Terah would have made sure of that due to their order of birth. But why is Haran the first to have a child? While the scripture does not tell us, I believe based on a holistic approach of examining scripture and the times they lived in, we can infer a few hints. Abram and Nahor were most likely not the most attractive suitors. I do not mean physically, but if names have any significance which I believe the Bible clearly indicates they do, Nahor means “snorer.” Abram’s name means “exalted father.” Now if you are a single lady and a man’s name means exalted father and the guy is close to his family, you might be wondering if this gentlemen caller is truly going to be devoted to you or the family name. Nahor stays in Ur but Abram is getting ready to leave to a new country. Now I know some might say I am looking too much into this with a modern view, but in the end, Abram and Nahor are not married when Haran has a a son born to him named Lot. This is the key that we need to see, it is here that something tragic happens that causes Abram and Nahor to quickly get wives when it was apparent this was not on their list of priorities.

Terah watches his son Haran die in front of himself. For many who watch a loved one pass away, it can be hard to move forward. One way many who have lost move on is by literally moving somewhere new to help change their personal environment. After the death of Haran, Terah wants to leave. We do not know a lot about Terah, but scripture does give us some clues into Abram’s early family. Terah was actively in their lives; when Terah wants to move, his grown children could have said no, but they didn’t. Terah is a family man through and through, Nahor his son is named after his grandfather. There was a support network within the family that Abram valued. I believe this is why later on Abram has issues with pushing away his son Ishmael, Genesis 21:10-11 “So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!” 11 This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son.” Nevertheless, Terah wants to leave, Abram and Nahor quickly find wives and Abram moves northwest from Ur which is south of Baghdad and they go to the land of Haran, which is in modern day Turkey.

It is here that Abram realizes that his chosen wife has an issue, Sari cannot conceive. This family has lost loved ones, moved to a new land and now find out they cannot have a future generation from one of the sons. Without knowing the future, Abram’s life must have looked like a short blimp in the world. For Satan, this would have been the last person on earth, he would have assumed God would choose to become the father of many nations.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL