Psalm 130

"I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope."

{Psalm 130:5} (NIV) 

To wait and to hope on the LORD are the same thing in a spiritual sense. We know that to wait in our world is not necessarily to hope. I might have to wait for a traffic jam to be cleared while stuck on the 401 and that experience does not lend itself to hopefulness. But in our life in this world with God, to wait on God is to hope in God. A person of faith, a true worshiper of the LORD waits for Him to act on our behalf, placing our hope squarely on Him and His promised action. 

The prayer of this short psalm acknowledges our position:“out of the depths”. It then states what it is that we are waiting for: “mercy”. It celebrates the forgiving nature of God, and then states that the purpose of forgiveness is that we might once again serve God. It then articulates to God that on Him and Him alone, our hope rests. We trust in His work of redemption; it is His forgiveness and restoration that we long to see. 

This psalm, this prayer, is the prayer of a child of God after we have confessed our sin. Instead of turning back toward our sin, we stay oriented on God, waiting for Him to do His work, hoping on Him to fulfill His promises, to forgive us and to change our innermost being. When it comes to being freed from sin in our lives, may we wait upon the LORD this day!

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Isaiah 40:27-41:1

"...But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

{Isaiah 40:30} (NIV) 

The KJV says “those who wait on the LORD”, and the NIV uses the word HOPE. It is exactly the same thought. To wait on the LORD is to recognize that the situation you are in is beyond your capability; that is you cannot rescue yourself from your situation and therefore you expect the LORD to rescue you. To hope on the LORD is place your trust for your future in His unchanging nature, in His incomparable power, and on His never ending love for you. 

Isaiah 40 is a marvellous declaration of God’s nature and power and love. Why do we complain? Why do we say things like, “God has forgotten about me” or “He isn’t paying attention to my situation, or He doesn’t seem to care”. Isaiah is sharing a truth about where our strength as a Christian comes from. We receive strength by placing our hope in the Almighty God. 

What situation are we in today? Ill health perhaps. Discouragement, or defeated by sin perhaps. Deeply hurt by someone we love. Uncertain about our future employment. A real lack of a sense of connectedness to God. Perhaps just plain tired; tired of work, tired of the struggle, tired of the demands. Friend, listen to the words of Isaiah. Write them on your wall. Repeat them to yourself, and then tell God, “Father my hope is in you, not in myself or in my spouse, or in my family - it is in you, the Creator God who never gets weary, who is never confused, who loves me, and who is good to me all of the time. My hope is in you, and only in you!”

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Exodus 33:18-34:9

"Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped."

{Exodus 34:8} (NIV) 

With the risk of sounding like a broken record or cd, I want to point out that there was no music in this worship experience. This is one of the most amazing narratives in the entire Bible, and the words that our God used to describe Himself, are words that have been repeated over and over again throughout the entire Bible. Moses’ response to this vision of YHWH and YHWH’s own description of His character is to bow in a hurry and worship. 

In our current worship services, we don’t encourage “going to the ground”. Someone may say, “Come on, John. This type of experience with God only happened once, and we can’t take any worship lessons from it.” I agree that this is an amazing one time only revelation of YHWH, BUT - bowing on the ground happened many times after this in the Old Testament and many times in the New Testament. Peter bowed in the boat. The woman who was healed knelt in the dust. The one leper bowed in thanksgiving. The apostle John fell at the Risen Christ’s feet. No friend; this is the typical worship of people who suddenly realize who God is and how much He has blessed them! 

I am not an advocate of this type of public display in our services, but I have a question for you, “When was the last time you ‘bowed in a hurry’ to the ground and worshiped your Lord and your Saviour in the quietness of your own personal time with God?” Perhaps you have never fallen to the ground before God, and then the question based on Scripture is, “Why not?”

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Exodus 33:1-17

"Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent."

{Exodus 33:10} (NIV) 

Just as in the account of the worship of Jacob in Genesis 47, we have no mention of music in this section of Exodus. No mention of an organ or a praise team, or even a cymbal. What we have described, are people who are watching and waiting. While waiting to see what God will do with them, they watch as Moses walks towards this “Tent of Meeting”. They watch as he goes inside, and when the cloud of God comes and stands at the entrance, they worship! This should cause us to reflect on the nature and definition of worship. 

For too many people in Parkdale and in churches throughout our city, worship only happens during a specific time during a service. We call it a worship service after all, and worship is what the singers lead us into. We judge the church based on whether or not the singers led us into worship. “What great worship!” we say or conversely, “They need to learn how to lead people into worship.” This text teaches us that worship is at its heart an attitude! An attitude of watching and waiting to see the result of our Mediator (the Lord Jesus), who is interceding on our behalf with our Heavenly Father. This attitude was present in the church on the Day of Pentecost. This attitude was taught by our Lord in the parable of the virgins in Matthew. 

Do we stop each day in our lives, reflecting on the truth that our Lord and our Heavenly Father are in heaven, talking and planning what to do with us? Does this truth cause us to worship wherever we are?

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Genesis 47:13-31

"By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff."

{Hebrews 11:21} (NIV) 

I love the faith perspective that Hebrews 11 brings to the narratives found in the Old Testament. It truly is “the rest of the story”! 
In Genesis 47 we have the account of Jacob’s final days of his life in the country Egypt. He has been promised the land that was promised to his father and his grandfather, and yet he is dying in a land far from the promise. So what does this man Jacob do? He acts out of belief in the promise of his God and blesses each of his sons, with prophetic blessings that speak of their roles in the Promised Land. Then he gets his son Joseph (whom he loves) to promise him that he would bury his body in the promised land and not in Egypt. Abraham was buried in Canaan, Isaac was buried in Canaan and Jacob is determined to be buried in this land that was promised. 
Joseph promised his father that he would carry his body back, and the response of Jacob is to worship. There was no organ, or praise team, or even a record of a song that was sung. No, there was an old man who was breathing his last breath, and yet when he saw that his son would honour his faith, he worshiped his great God. He bowed his head and his heart before the Only True God who alone has the ability to keep His promises to the generations to come, and worshiped Him alone. That is a life finishing well!

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Ephesians 1:13-23

"And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."

{Ephesians 1:22,23} (NIV)

When they believed, they received the promised Holy Spirit, an eternal deposit guaranteeing their inheritance. So, Paul, when he hears about their faith and their love, prays that God would give them wisdom, revelation and knowledge of the true state a member of the CHURCH is in. 

We are a holy people and we have within us the same great power that God used to raise Jesus from the grave. This power is at work in us, accomplishing a huge transformation. We understand that Christ is at the right hand of God. We understand that He has all power and all authority. We understand that He is the Head of the CHURCH. But, do we understand that we are His body? 

Paul understands the mystery of the CHURCH better than any other apostle. He is communicating a deep truth to us. We have Christ alive in us through the power of His Spirit, and our bodies are therefore the bodies of Christ. More than a truth that individually we are Christ’s bodies, but also collectively we are together the body of Christ. Each local assembly of the CHURCH is there to do the work of Christ in our community. The work of His mouth, the work of His feet, the work of His hands, the work of His Presence. Are we doing it?

Casting Crowns, If We Are The Body, via YouTube

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Acts 2

"Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.""

{Acts 2:38} (NIV)

You might have been a member of a church for most of your life, but unless you have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, you are not a member of the CHURCH. The CHURCH that our Lord spoke to Peter about is the CHURCH of the living God. This CHURCH is not Anglican, or Baptist, or CRC, or Alliance, or Presbyterian, or any other denomination. This CHURCH is a large and diverse group of people, spanning the globe and the history of the world, who will assemble one day with their Lord Jesus, and watch as the wicked are destroyed. 

This CHURCH is the ark. You enter by faith, believing that the world will be destroyed, you enter through a single door which is Christ Jesus, and only God can shut that door! Peter knows that the door is wide open and so he gives the invitation to all who will hear him. Just as Noah turned his back on his neighbours, on his family and on his life, so we must repent, and turn our backs on our previous way of life. We must turn towards the Lord Jesus Christ, and make the good confession in front of those family members and neighbours that we believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Anointed Servant of God who died in our place for our sin and has been raised by God’s power to live forever and to reign at the right hand of God! 

What better confession can we make than baptism? What better symbol of being dead to sin and alive in Christ? There is no better confession of what we believe about the Lord Jesus, than public baptism. Repent and be baptized, and you will receive the promised Holy Spirit.

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Acts 2

"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy,  your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."

{Acts 2:17} (NIV)

The prophet Joel saw the Day of Pentecost 500 plus years before it happened. He saw a time when God’s Holy Spirit would be poured out upon men, women and children. A time when anyone who calls on the name of the Lord would be saved. This day of Pentecost was just the beginning of the CHURCH! How many glorious days have gone by since then; each day receiving this pouring out of the Spirit unto humans bringing them to salvation. 

The grace of God is amazing. The sacrifice of His Son and the subsequent pouring out of His Spirit, accomplished the salvation of millions and millions of people from every tribe and nation, and God isn’t finished yet! The method of salvation is very plain; those who receive the Holy Spirit will prophesy or preach. That is, the CHURCH is the method that God uses to pour His Spirit out unto the world. Those in the room spoke the gospel to the crowd in their languages and many were added to the CHURCH that day, and so on and so on and so on. 

Joel also saw the end of this age. He saw the great and glorious Day of the Lord, a Day that is coming soon. A Day that will bring destruction and an end to the wickedness of this age. Does 'soon' mean today, or does soon mean another 2,000 years? Whether He comes today or many days from now, may we be found this day prophesying! May we speak this day with our tongues, our pens and our actions the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ!

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Acts 2

"Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear."

{Acts 2:33} (NIV)

When I read the first two chapters of Acts, I am fascinated by the account of the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the powerful beginning of the CHURCH. The Greek word we translate into church is not used until Acts 5:11, but there is no question that what we see described in Acts 2 is the beginning of the CHURCH our Lord told Peter about. 

Peter describes the signs that accompanied Jesus as accreditation by God, then describes how God had planned His sacrificial death, and His triumphant resurrection. These are marvelous and important truths about the life and ministry of the Anointed Servant. The last truth that Peter shared is the story of the beginning of the CHURCH. This Messiah - this Anointed Servant of God - ascended to heaven and was seated at the right hand of God Almighty. From this position of unparalleled power He sent the Holy Spirit to inhabit the believers who were gathered waiting as He had instructed them. This event was the beginning of the CHURCH age. 

What is the CHURCH? An assembly of people, who believe and confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and who have been baptized by the Holy Spirit.

Oh friend, is the Holy Spirit present within you? Then rejoice friend, for we are truly blessed!

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Matthew 16:13-28

"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." 

{Matthew 16:18} (NIV) 

Who is Jesus? This is the question every single person will have to answer. Who do YOU say that I am? Peter’s answer is that Jesus is the Christ. Christ means Messiah which means anointed servant of God. Specifically, the anointed servant of God who will bring salvation for God’s people. There were many anointed servants of God, and will be many in the future, but the Messiah stands head and shoulders above all of the others, because of the nature of the salvation that He will bring, and because of His nature, as the only begotten Son of God. He will bring salvation that lasts, and a kingdom that endures! 

The name 'Jesus' means “the LORD saves”. It was given to the child Mary gave birth to because “He will save His people from their sins.” (Mt1:21) The Lord Jesus commends Peter for his answer and then tells Peter about something brand new, something that Peter had never heard about before. The CHURCH! Literally the ASSEMBLY. What was this assembly? Who would be in it? How would it be governed? How often would it assemble? These questions were not addressed by our Lord. Instead He tells Peter and us that the ASSEMBLY rests upon the belief and confession that Jesus is the Christ. 

Friend, are we part of the CHURCH? Do we, honestly before God, believe that Jesus is the anointed Servant of God, sent to save us from our sins?  Then rejoice friend, for we are blessed, by the Creator God.

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Isaiah 53:10-13

"Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand."

{Isaiah 53:10} (NIV) 

In a sense, everyone is a servant of God. From Him and through Him and for Him are all things (Rom11:36). Israel is called the servant of God, and is used by God to bring salvation to the world, in spite of their rebellious and stiff-necked natures. God calls a pagan king named Cyrus His anointed and a shepherd in Isaiah 44 & 45, although no where are we taught that Cyrus believed in the LORD, or obeyed the LORD’s will on purpose. 

A Servant who deliberately and consciously does the LORD’s will is what Isaiah 53 is describing. This Servant understands that the LORD’s will is to crush Him, cause Him to suffer, and offering His life as an atonement offering, and willing submits His life to the will of the Father. Not only does this Servant understand this part of God’s will, He understands that through this suffering He will be raised up and glorified, and accomplish the great and glorious plan God has for all of creation. 

Hebrews 12 teaches us that as Jesus faced the cross He could see the crown and the throne, and the great and glorious kingdom of the redeemed beyond it. He endured the cross for the joy on the other side! Are we the type of servant our Lord is? Are we the type of servant that Isaiah was? Can we see the joy that is set before us, just on the other side of the cross we must bear?

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1,2)

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Isaiah 53:7-9

(http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/sheep-shearing)

Here’s Redford in “ready to shear” position. Sheep in this position look relaxed, but this is probably a case of tonic immobility… their cortisol readings are elevated when they are in this position, but they do get quiet and passive, which makes shearing much more pleasant for everyone.

"He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth."

{Isaiah 53:7} (NIV)

Job cried out to God that the affliction, pain and loss he suffered was unjust. His whole book is one of struggling with evil that has happened in his life, in spite of his right relationship with his Creator. 

Here, in Isaiah 53, we have a listing of how the servant of God would suffer; oppressed, afflicted, taken away, cut off, punished, and assigned a grave with the wicked and the rich. This servant of God would not even open His mouth to protest. All that is recorded that comes close to a protest is His righteous prayer in the garden “your will be done” that echoes Isaiah’s prophecy of “God reigns”. He only opened his mouth to His God, and that prayer was a prayer of submission. To His captors, oppressors, and executioners, He said nothing in the way of protest. He didn’t say a word to save Himself. NO. He had come to give Himself to save others. 

The NIV’s translation of verse 8 has caught my attention: "None of His generation protested." So neither the servant nor His people protested that the Son of God would die in their place. Does this not describe the hardness of our hearts in 2013 towards our Saviour? It almost seems right that the Son of God would die in our place, as if God somehow owes us. It isn’t right by human standards that the innocent die for the guilty. But it is righteous by heaven’s standards, that God in His great love for humans would suffer and die in our place.

Oh that our love would not grow cold, but that we would treasure the Servant. That we would love Him for His willingness. That we would hate the sin in our lives that nailed Him to the cross.

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Isaiah 53:4-6

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

{Isaiah 53:4} (NIV)

This servant of God, who will proclaim peace and salvation to the people of Israel, will be considered by Israel to have been punished by God, stricken and afflicted. What Isaiah is prophesying is mind boggling; he is writing down 700 plus years before our Lord was tortured and killed by the Romans, that the attitude of the Jews would be an attitude of callousness and indifference towards the suffering of the servant of God. A mark of the true servant of God would be that His own people would consider Him a recipient of God’s justice for His own sin. 

Surely this prophecy of all the prophecies about the Messiah came true in our Lord’s life! The accounts of the cross record that the Jews beat Him, mocked Him, spit on Him and scornfully called Him to prove that He was truly the Son of God by coming off the cross. YET what Isaiah could see, is that this Christ was actually suffering in our place. It is not the servant of God who has strayed from the LORD - it is us that have strayed. The punishment, the suffering, the crushing that He experienced was actually on our behalf and for the purpose of bringing us peace and healing us. Here is the heart of the message of the cross. 

“Our God reigns! Peace with God is possible because Jesus the Christ died in my place for my sin. Salvation is possible for me, because the servant of the Most High God died willing in my place.” Praise His glorious Name!

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Isaiah 52:13-53:3

"Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"

{Isaiah 53:1} (NIV) 

The Jews who lived in the days of our Lord Jesus, could not believe the message of Isaiah. They refused to believe that the servant of God who would proclaim peace and salvation to God’s people, would be someone who would suffer and die. 

The apostle Paul, who knew the Jews better than anyone else, states in 1 Corinthians that the message of the Messiah being crucified, was a stumbling block to the Jews. Moses came in great power and was used by God to humble and destroy the Egyptians. Israel as a nation was used to humble and destroy the Canaanite nations. David was used to humble and destroy the Philistines. They believed that the Messiah would come and humble and destroy the Romans. Instead, the Messiah came humbly and was destroyed by the Romans. 

Isaiah knew that many people would not believe the message of the suffering servant, and refuse to accept that the Messiah who died was the strong arm of God working salvation. Is it any different today? I read about Christians all over the world who are suffering and dying. Do we see them as victorious? Or do we see them as weak victims? Our culture equates suffering with weakness, and with God’s disapproval, but God’s plan of peace and salvation has in its centre the suffering of the One who had God’s approval. 

Who will believe the message of the cross? Will we believe it? Will we take up our cross this day and follow Him?

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Isaiah 52:13-53:3

"See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted."

{Isaiah 52:13} (NIV) 

Moses was a servant of God. His birth and upbringing were miraculous; his years of training were harsh, his call was supernatural, his position as God’s servant was proven by signs and wonders, he mediated between God and Israel and instituted proper worship of the Creator God. 

Isaiah is seeing a future time and a future servant, and Isaiah sees a servant whose role is to bring good news of peace and salvation, who will proclaim “God reigns” to God’s people Israel, even to the entire world. This servant will be high and lifted up, highly exalted and so we expect someone even greater than Moses. Yet as we read on we discover that this servant is different than Moses. 

Moses' parents could see that he was special, but this servant is nothing special. Actually there is nothing in His appearance that attracts us, instead we are appalled at His appearance, and we despise, reject Him, and refuse to look at Him. 

Truly this servant acts wisely! He lived His life of suffering and rejection in front of His God and for the glory of His God, for He desired only that God would lift Him up and highly exalted. He cared nothing for human’s opinions.

May our attitude this day, be that of our Lord Jesus Christ, who made Himself nothing and took the very nature of a servant.

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Isaiah 52:7-12

"How beautiful on the mountain are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”"

{Isaiah 52:7} (NIV) 

Moses came down from the mountain with the good news that the LORD, the Creator of heaven and earth, desired Israel to be His people; He to be their God. He loves them. He has brought them out of slavery to be His people and to dwell in their midst. God reigns! 

He speaks peace and salvation to the people of Israel through His servant Moses. Moses came down off the mountain with the Ten Commandments in his hand, and bad news on his lips: “God had seen their sin and was angry enough that he wanted to destroy everyone except Moses.” God reigns! He speaks enmity and destruction to the people of Israel through His servant Moses.

Moses came down off the mountain with another set of Ten Commandments, and his face glowing, because of his time with God. God reigns! He speaks peace and salvation to His people Israel through His servant Moses, and through the establishment of tabernacle worship.

Isaiah knew all of this history, and yet he also knew that Israel needed (vs 10 extends it to the world) someone else to come down from the mountain of God with good news of peace and salvation. For Isaiah knew that the tabernacle worship would be replaced with the body of our Lord Jesus the Messiah.

How beautiful are the feet of our Lord Jesus!

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Genesis 38

"Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram..."

{Matthew 1:3} (NIV) 

When we read a book, we know that there is one author who has tied everything together and thought through the book from start to finish. So when we read odd events early in a book it causes us to anticipate closure later on. When we read Genesis 38, we wonder why we need to know this sort of detail, and then it becomes clear to us when we read Matthew 1:3. The amazing thing is that Genesis was written around 1,500 BC and Matthew was written by someone else shortly after the death of Christ some 1,500 years later. But they were both inspired (written) by one Author who is the Holy Spirit. 

There are no moral lessons to be learned out of Genesis 38; there are no easy applications. All we see is the story of Judah leaving his brothers after the terrible things they did together to Joseph. Settling down, marrying, and making a life for himself, away from his family. 

The story quickly focuses on his oldest son’s wife named Tamar, the one through whom Judah’s line will be extended. What this story communicates is that this woman who wanted to have a child in the worst way (this woman who submitted herself to three different men all for the purpose of becoming a mother) was used by God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and was used by God to fulfill His promise of a Saviour to the world. In our church culture today, we would to our shame, look down upon a woman that lived Tamar’s life. We would judge her and ostracize her, and yet God blessed her, and honoured her by making her a direct ancestor of our Lord Jesus, as we see in Matthew 1:3.

Friend may we bless and honour mothers, all mothers, despite their outward circumstance. May we say as Judah said, “She is more righteous than I”

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Genesis 19

"The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today."

{Genesis 19:37} (NIV) 

This is one of the most shocking descriptions of sin in the Bible; homosexuality, violence, rape, drunkenness, and incest. God’s judgment of this city stands in history as a sign of what awaits all who give themselves over to sin. 

Not only is this chapter shocking to read, it stands in stark contrast to the surrounding chapters. Genesis 17 and 18 give us God’s promise of a son to Sarah. Chapter 20 describes God’s miraculous intervention to keep Sarah sexually pure, despite Abram’s failure, and chapter 21 gives us the account of the birth of the son of the promise.

As we consider the importance of the birth Isaac to the entire world, I mean this is the son through whom the world will be blessed! As we consider Isaac, we wonder, Why did I need to know about Lot’s daughters and their sordid encounters with their father, who has fallen so far from his privileged position as Abram’s companion? There is a little book in the Bible called Ruth, which is all about a Moabitess (a descendant of Lot and his oldest daughter), how she came to faith in the LORD, how she married a man named Boaz and how she gave birth to a son who fathered a son who fathered David, who was a man after God’s own heart. 

Friend, may we consider today the blessing that our world received because a young woman became pregnant and had a baby under terrible circumstances. God blesses this world through babies, all kinds of babies. May His Name be praised.

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Genesis 17

"I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

{Genesis 17:16} (NIV)

It seems to be common knowledge that Sarah laughed when she heard God tell Abram that she would have a son, but do we remember that Abram laughed? We end up with the idea that Abram had more faith than Sarah. For some reason we teach about Sarah’s laughter, but miss the exclamation mark that God placed in Scripture on Abram’s laughter.

 His son, who was born to Sarah, was named Isaac which according to Hebrew scholars means “he laughs”. In Abram’s mind and heart, Ishmael would be his heir and inherit the promises of God to bless the world through Abram. However God was telling him that the son of the promise had to come from Sarah. 

We know from the account of the death of Sarah, that Abram loved Sarah deeply, but he could not believe that she would bear him a son. It is worth thinking about this truth, that when God made the original promise to Abram, He intended the promise to both Abram and Sarah. Surely the two were one in God’s eyes! Scripture speaks highly of Sarah, and no verse speaks higher than this one! 

The LORD sought to bless the world, so He found a man who would believe His Words, who had a wife whom He could bless with a son, and through this woman He blessed the world!

Thank God for Sarah. Thank God for our mothers. 

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Genesis 4

"Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD." 

{Genesis 4:25,26} (NIV) 

What a beautiful statement, “people began to call on the name of the LORD”. People seeking God; seeking peace with God on His terms, and asking Him to do His work in them and thru them. Oh that our families, our church and our community would call on the name of the Lord Jesus! 

This could only happen because a woman named Eve gave birth to a son named Seth. There is no mention of the grief and pain that Eve experienced, when her oldest son murdered his younger brother. What we are told is that she gave God the glory for being able to be a mother again, and we are told that it started with Adam making love to her. 

It is going to take me some time to get used to this new NIV translation. The old NIV says “lay”, the KJV, NKJV, and ESV all say “knew”, NASB says “had relations”, but I must say that I really like the new NIV’s rendering of this Hebrew word. It is a terrible truth that much sex has nothing to do with love. It is a beautiful truth that God intended for children to be conceived in an act of love. When a man in a married relationship takes the initiative, approaches his wife out of desire for her body, and loves her physically , something beautiful happens. Often (as God grants) the result is a beautiful child, who grows up to seek God and call on His Name!  

May our children call on the Name of the Lord Jesus this day!

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Genesis 3

"Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living."

{Genesis 3:20} (NIV) 

Tracing our roots, filling in our family tree is something that many people in our day and age find very fulfilling. Scientists even created a DNA map several years ago and successfully traced all of mankind back to a few families originating in Africa. 

The Bible tells us here that every single human that ever lived, or ever will live came from Eve. She is the mother of all humans. We are not told in the Bible when Eve died. We are told that Adam lived 930 years, and if you take some time with a pencil and paper and graph out Genesis 5, you will quickly discover that Adam was still alive when Noah’s father was 50 years old. They saw many generations of their children grow up and branch out. 

Eve knew the pain of sin. In their lives as a couple, they broke fellowship with God and bore the consequences, and she knew the pain of one son killing another. Her name was given to her by Adam. We don’t know what language they spoke nor for sure what the word Eve meant, but we know that Adam knew the special place Eve would hold, and he honoured her with the name he gave her. 

I look forward to meeting her at the resurrection, and I will thank her for being willing to become a mother, for I would not be alive except for her. May we honour all the mothers around us this day.

Bless them Lord we pray. Comfort their hearts this day.

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