Year: 2013

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Bible

An Unlikely Example of Partial Obedience

In the Bible, God told Abram (later called Abraham) to go to a new place. As he went, Abram was to leave behind his country, friends, and family.

So Abram left, taking with him his nephew Lot. Abram obeyed the part about going but didn’t fully comply with the part about leaving everything behind. He invited a relative to tag along on the adventure God called him to.

Abram apparently wasn’t ready to let go of everything, bringing Lot along as a companion or perhaps to maintain a connection to family. Whatever the reason, it wasn’t what God said to do.

Though we admire Abram for boldly leaving to go to a new place that God would reveal to him, only after the journey was underway, we fail to realize Abram’s obedience was only partial.

We later read that Lot’s presence caused problems for Abram. Their flocks were too big to co-exist and their herdsman bickered with each other. To resolve this constant strife, the only solution was to go their separate ways. And when they did, Lot took the choice land and Abram got the leftovers.

This grief could have all been avoided had Abram left Lot behind, as God told him.

[Genesis 12:1, 12:4, 13:5-7, and 13:10-11]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

Have You Ever Been Overwhelmed by the Glory of God?

When Solomon dedicated the temple, the people praised God with much fanfare and then something strange happened.

A cloud formed – inside the building. But there’s more. “The Glory of the Lord filled the temple.” It became so intense that the priests couldn’t even work; God’s presence was that strong. It was extreme.

They became overwhelmed with God’s presence and his glory. But what exactly does that mean?

  • It could be the awe of God engulfed them to such an extent that nothing else mattered.
  • It could be that fear of being so close to God effectively paralyzed them.
  • It could be the cloud was so thick – that is, God’s presence was so heavy – that they literally couldn’t see what they were doing, or
  • It could be that with God in the house nothing else mattered.

Regardless of the explanation, we can conclude that God’s presence was so significant that all activity ceased.

Can you imagine worshiping God and collectively feeling his presence to such an extent that all the singers stop singing and all the musicians stop playing? Silence fills the room and nothing else matters. Then the highest form of worship becomes to simply do nothing and bask in his presence.

Have you ever been that overwhelmed with the glory of God?

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

Two Expressions of Faith

Last week we talked about Noah’s obedience and Moses’ boldness. Both actions were reflections of their faith: the faith to obey and the faith to confront.

But what if Noah didn’t obey God, instead interceding for the people? If God changed his mind (as he did when Moses fasted and prayed), the great flood would have been averted.

What if Moses didn’t boldly approach God but merely accepted his plan, allowing the destruction of the people of Israel and making Moses into an even greater nation?

Then millions would have died. Instead of there being the “children of Abraham,” we’d have the “children of Moses.” We wouldn’t talk about Father Abraham, but of Father Moses.

Had Noah and Moses acted differently, the world would have turned out much differently.

But both acted with great faith: obedient faith and bold faith. Both provide great examples for us to follow.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

Are You Like Noah, Moses, or Neither?

To Noah, God said I will destroy the earth. But God had a plan to spare Noah and his family. Building an ark didn’t make sense and required years of hard work, but Noah obeyed God’s instructions and survived the great flood.

We applaud Noah for his obedience to God.

To Moses, God said I will destroy these people. He promised to make Moses into an even greater nation afterwards. If I were Moses, I’d readily receive God’s words, both getting rid of the people who continually caused him grief and the part about making Moses into a nation.

But Moses didn’t accept what God said. Instead, Moses sought to change God’s mind – and he did.

We greatly admire Moses for his boldness.

May we obey like Noah and be bold like Moses.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.