Tag: Abraham and Sarah

Faithful Heritage

Isaiah 51-53

The first year that I attended National Berean Youth Camp (aka RYOT, aka FUEL) way back in the late 1980’s, I was overwhelmed by the number of familial relations. Everyone seemed to be related to everyone else! I was the odd man out because I didn’t have twenty cousins also in attendance at camp. As I have grown up and continued to be involved with the Church of God General Conference, I am still discovering others’ family connections. But I am excited that my family of origin now has a third generation participating in COG events! 

The rich history of the Church of God is like a beautiful family tree that has incredibly deep roots that go back for more than a century! As a Conference we are dedicated to nurturing the next generation, helping the young ones to know where they come from and what earlier generations have done on their behalf. At the same time, we continue to graft new fellow believers into this family tree giving them a secure foundation on which to build their faith and grow their own family branches.

In today’s Scripture reading, God, through the prophet Isaiah, is reminding the people of Israel, that they have a rich heritage that extends back to Abraham and Sarah. From one couple, an entire nation was born! And what’s exciting is that you and I get to be part of that heritage as well! 

Isaiah 51:1b-2a remind me of what the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:14-15: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

We can be sure in what we believe because we have had trustworthy teachers, preachers, mentors, and leaders that have remained by our side as we grow deeper in our understanding of the Word of God about who God is, what has been accomplished on our behalf, and the abundant life that we are invited to participate in. My personal experience of those within the General Conference who have invested in my life are too many to count. I am so blessed and thankful, for it is their involvement in my life that has shaped who I am today. You and I have a similar opportunity to pay it forward with the same love and generosity by investing in others.

If you are reading this on the publish date, July 19, 2025, we have over two hundred FUEL participants (students and staff) that have just returned from FUEL, a week-long event designed to bring high school and college aged students closer to God, his Son, Jesus, and each other. If you know anyone who attended, be sure to reach out to them and ask them about their experience. Nurture the relationships that make the General Conference so incredible and encourage the next generation in their faith so that we can continue to grow the Family of God family tree.  

Reflection Questions

Who are the “Abrahams and Sarahs” in your life – people whose example reminds you of God’s faithfulness?

How does remembering your spiritual roots or faith heritage strengthen your trust in God today?

-Bethany Ligon

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He Sees and He Can

Genesis 16-19

Husbands – don’t always listen to your wife – she doesn’t always know.  Younger sisters – don’t always listen to your big sister – she doesn’t always know.  What trouble we can get into when we follow the advice and direction of those who are trying to solve matters on their own without patiently relying on God’s perfect way and timing.  Our reading today of Genesis 16-19 both opens and closes with women deciding how to take matters into their own hands (or into their maidservant’s hands) when they felt there were no other options available to get what they wanted – a child to carry on the family line and receive the family inheritance.  Perhaps Sarai figured God needed her help to fulfill the promise God made that Abram would have a son.  Maybe she thought she was wiser and knew the best way to get to the desired end result on her timetable.  I don’t even want to guess about Lot’s daughters. 

At the same time, I realize I am sometimes quick to judge and point fingers, when I sometimes don’t know the whole story and I am not chosen by God to be the judge and jury.  For example, Lot’s willingness to offer up his virgin daughters to the lewd and dangerous mob at the door has always bothered me greatly.  And maybe it should.  And yet…in his second letter Peter writes that God, “rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard)” (2 Peter 2:7.8).  Peter is giving Lot a bit (or a lot) more credit than I would have.  And then I just read a study note in my ESV Archaeology Study Bible that “Lot may have been attempting to bring down the law on the heads of the culprits” (p39) as in many cultures of that day the punishment was death for a man caught lying with a betrothed virgin.  I certainly hadn’t considered that possibility before. 

Perhaps sometimes I am not as smart as I thought I was.  Perhaps sometimes I work a little too hard to find a bad guy in the story?  And yet, I DO need to try to be discerning.  I do need to read God’s word to know more and more about who God is and who He wants me to be.  So, what are some take aways that can help me know God and who He wants me to be? 

Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed as an example of what happens to the ungodly.  (Peter says that, too, in 2 Peter 2).  Don’t be Ungodly.  There is a right way and a wrong way to live and there are consequences for both which God will bring about in His time and His way. 

Humble Hospitality is Huge.   Old man Abram is running to get dinner prepared with the finest ingredients for the visitors and then stands while they eat (your guests might think that part is weird – you can sit).  Lot won’t take no for an answer and brings the visitors to his home to spend the night and is prepared to protect them with all he’s got.  How can you practice some humble hospitality? 

Our God is a God who sees.  Hagar is right.  God not only sees her and hears her but He speaks to her, He encourages her and He shows mercy and care for her AND for her unborn child.  I do find it interesting it is not recorded that He tells Sarai what she did wrong (like I did) but there are several verses here devoted to making sure we know that God saw, heard, encouraged, directed and cared for Hagar and her child.  Maybe the lesson for myself is don’t be so busy finding the wrong that you don’t do the right.   Who does God want me to see so I can encourage, care for and point them in the right direction?

God’s promise to Abram which we talked about yesterday continues to grow – now it is added that from Abram will come nations and kings, and even better, God will be their God and also Sarah (notice the little name change) will be blessed and from her will come her very own son and nations and kings. There is also that part about circumcision and Abraham walking faithfully, and being blameless and chosen to command his children and household to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice. These are tied to God’s promises to His people. What does God want you to do to show that you are His?

Perhaps MOST importantly in these chapters and in our lives is the realization and understanding that there is NOTHING too hard for the Lord!  In this case they are talking about 90 year old Sarah having a child with 100 year old Abraham.  It seems impossible, because normally it is, but our God is not a human, He is not normal.  He specializes in the impossible!  Your needs are not too big for Him.  Your case is also not too insignificant for Him.  He is the God who sees and the God who has never and will never run into a project too hard for Him. 

– Marcia Railton

Reflection Questions

  1. When have you felt seen by God? When did He show that nothing is too hard for Him? What problems are created when we don’t believe God sees or God can?
  2. What does God want you to do to show that you are His? What does He promise to do for you?
  3. Who does God want me to see so I can encourage, care for and point them in the right direction?
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I believe, I believe

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Yet he (Abraham) did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

–Romans 4:20-21

There is a line in the movie “Miracle on 34th Street” that I find myself playing repeatedly in my thoughts whenever I become discouraged or tempted to completely forsake any number of particular dreams I have. Little Suzy had finally come to believe that Kris Kringle was indeed Santa Claus and she dared to ask him for the biggest thing she could imagine, a house for her and her mother to live in; complete with a big tree in the backyard from which a swing hung. Christmas day had come and was just about over, when she finds herself sitting in the back seat of the car with her mother and Mr. Gailey, Santa’s lawyer. As they drive through a quaint subdivision, little Suzy says over and over, “I believe, I believe; it’s silly, but I believe”, with so little enthusiasm that the movie-goer can practically feel the hope drain out of her heart. With one last gigantic sigh, Suzy looks up and out the window to see the exact house that she had asked Santa for. All of a sudden her downtrodden countenance becomes full of life!

Now please don’t mistake my comparison of Santa Claus to the Almighty, but I do think that God instills in each one of us really big hopes and dreams that He alone can execute. In today’s scripture, the apostle Paul is encouraging the Roman believers by reminding them of how big God is and how there is nothing that will prevent God from fulfilling a promise that He makes to those who call Him Father. Abraham and Sarah’s situation was laughable when put next to the promise that God had made them – but the soon to be father of many nations “strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God”.

How about you? Is there a call, purpose, dream, vision that you completely believe came from God and you have no idea how he’s going to get it done considering your present circumstances? I have several and I have my days when I look up to the sky and ask God, “Were you really serious about this because I don’t see it happening.”  The reasons for any delay are as varied as the number of hairs on your head, but that doesn’t mean that God has forgotten. He’s waiting for the perfect time to bring your dream into fruition.

In the meantime, there are plenty of things you can do to keep your hope alive and it starts with diving into His Word daily. The more you immerse yourself into what God has already done, the easier it will be for you to state, “I believe, I believe, God loves me, and I believe.”

Dear Friend, God sees you, He hears you, and He’s making something beautiful of your life! So be encouraged and remember to give Him Glory.

Bethany Ligon

 

Daily Diving Into His Word!  Indeed, a great way to keep your hope alive in 2020.  A great way to help you SEEK God and His kingdom First (not with your left-overs).   A great way to strengthen and GROW your faith.   A great way to motivate you to LOVE God and others.  SeekGrowLove – it’s our new blog name and we are gearing up to jump into 2020 with daily devotions based on a chronological reading of the Bible in a year.  Later today the reading plan will be available to print from the SeekGrowLove.com site.  Print it and share it with your friends, family, and church group.  Help them SeekGrowLove, too!  Follow the site to receive daily devotion emails based on your reading for the day.  The plan starts January 1 with Genesis 1-3.  I can’t wait to see how God is going to reveal Himself and work with His children as we read through His Word in 2020 and sharpen our SeekGrowLove skills. 

Praying for your journey, 

Marcia Railton, editor

He Will Never Leave You nor Forsake You

Hebrews 13

 

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Boy, it is hard to think about our life after reminiscing about the lives of those faithful giants listed in Hebrews 11.  We tend to compare ourselves with them, both in the good and the bad.  We’d love to do something great, something extraordinary for God just like them.  When we think of Enoch we can only image what it would be like to be translated.  Translated?? Somebody needs to translate that word for me, so Paul did.  He says that Enoch was translated “so that he should not see death” (Heb. 11: 5).  Wow! His faith was so great and powerful that God allowed him to cheat death.  I want that!  Or Abraham.  God called him to leave his home, his life, and go to a new home even though Abraham did not know where in the world God was sending him.  Nothing like a little adventure with God in control.  Sarah, the wife of Abraham, had a baby in old age because God promised her a son.  When she had Isaac, she had lived longer than most of us will live, yet she was having her first baby. Remember that Abraham was Sarah’s husband and he was ever older than she was.  Through this old man and old lady they had descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the beach.  Each time you run your toes through a sandy beach think about that a little.

Of course God was not through with Abraham yet, so He led him up to a mountain and told Abraham to use his only son as a sacrifice in his worship to Him.  That was tough, but it certainly made life exciting for Abraham!  Even though this looked like a bad thing for Abraham, it certainly appears as though God had some special plans for Abraham.  God just needed to make sure that Abraham was on His side.

It is tough being a parent, I am sure.  But being asked to offer up your son to God might be going a bit too far, but not for Abraham.  Or in the case of Moses’ parents, they chose to refuse Pharaoh’s orders and hid their son for three months.   They were not afraid of Pharaoh and his commandments!  And that courage paid off big time.  For after Moses was grown up he lead the children of Israel safely through the Red Sea—something that Pharaoh and all of his horses and mighty men could not do!

The story of Rahab is a hard one to swallow.  We all know about Rahab.  After all, she was a harlot, not exactly a pillar of the community.  She had a reputation.  Everyone knew who she was.  Surely God knew.  The word was out on the street, after all.  But Rahab, of all people, was chosen for a special part in God’s work.  She hid two spies (and lied about it) sent out by Joshua to check out the land including Jericho.  What she did took great daring on her part.  And what did she get out of all of this?  She got great faith, God spared her, she got a mention in the faith chapter (Hebrews 11), and she became an ancestor of the Messiah, Jesus (Matt. 1:5).  Sometimes it just doesn’t seem right, that someone like Rahab who lived such a bad life, could then be used in such an extraordinary way by God.  In comparison, our lives, which we try very hard to live in a worthy manner for Him, are pretty boring.  I wonder, are we, am I, doing something wrong?  Why don’t we have stories to tell like Enoch, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, and even Rahab, about how God is using us?  What is wrong with us?

At times we feel as though we are not accomplishing anything for God.  Are we still on the same team with God? Everything is going smoothly, but we are not doing anything really big for God.  I’d love to hide a few spies!  What is wrong with us?  Have we lost our way?  Or, is it God who has quietly slipped out the back door of our lives?

Maybe Paul has read our minds.  Because he seems to speak about these same things, if we look closely and maybe read between the lines a bit.  Hebrews 13 begins with the simple things, the simple acts that we are to accomplish.  Not a lot of fanfare.  Not a lot of glory or bells and whistles.  Certainly no sea parting and walking on dry ground stuff.  Just the basics.

“Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.  Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Let brotherly love continue.  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.  Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.  Let marriage be held in honor among all…Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said,      ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”( Hebrews 13: 15-16 and 1-5)

 No, He has not quietly slipped out the back door of our lives.

It’s just that God does not demand extraordinary things from us.  He simply wants the simple things.

-Luke Elwell