Sarah cont. Genesis16:1-16

Well first let's Wish Happy Birthday to Georgie Luther, Pam Fatheree, and Jody Chilton. I also ask that you ladies and Gentlemen Pray for The Treadwell family who lost their father/father-in-law and also for Mrs. Tommie Hines who hasn't been feeling quite up to par. I really wanted to discuss Sarah and her choices that she made that we touched on in the last blog. Sarah was a woman who had given up hope. We should also remember that Sarah giving her maid to Abram was well within the normal marriage contracts of the time. So this was not something that was shocking or strange by any means most people of that era would have thought that Abram was a very patient man. The normal timeframe to wait for a woman to produce children was 2 years yet Abram's wife Sarah was 90 years old. They had been married for a very long time. Sarah was trying to provide her husband with an heir. Normally at this time in history Sarah would have claimed Hagar's son and it would become Sarah's son but when Hagar was able to get pregnant she lost respect for Sarah and basically forgot her place. Sarah in turn got angry and I doubt every looked at Ishmael as her child. Matter of fact Sarah was abusing Hagar which is why Hagar ran away until God sent an angel to her to have her return. This story is a prime example of how God deals with our interference in his plans. God planned for Abram to be the line that Jesus would eventually come from but Sarah messed this up by arranging for Hagar to come into the picture. God however says okay I am going to take this and make something good from it so he allowed Ishmeal's line to be separate from Issac's line and therefore Abram's offspring had many nations. We interfere all of the time and God takes our detours and makes them into a part of his plan. Dear Lord thank you for seeing the plan in everything we do including the tangled lives we lead. Help us to see your plan instead of ours and to follow the path that you have set before us Amen

Sarah Genesis 16:1-16

There were a few women between Eve and Sarah but there is really not enough for study of these other women. Not enough direct information from the Bible itself other than the historical data of the time. So here we are at Sarah after God has changed her name from Sarai. Doesn't really seem like much of a change but according to my bible this change of letters changed the meaning of her name. Sarai means Princess but Sarah means The Princess or Queen. This change of name was a symbol of God's promise not only to Abram but also to Sarah herself. Sarah and Abram are not young when this occurs so Sarah has lived most of her life barren which for a woman was one of the most public social outcast issues of the time. Can you imagine how many times women snickered or said poor Sarah as she walked in the marketplace? What was that like to have to deal with everyday? I certainly don't approve of her choices that she made but I do understand her motivation for doing them. She was a woman who chose to keep her head up despite the pressure to drift quietly into the background. God tells us to give things to him and don't take it back Sarah took it back, she let her timeframe be more important that his timeframe. This is a problem alot of women have including me but reading about the consequences not just then but even today you can see the turmoil this one decision cost her and us, helps me to remember that the choices I decide to take out of his hands could have far reaching effects. Sarah not only chose wrong but then she came to hate the choice she had made and it showed us a side of her that is really not that flattering. Dear Lord thank you for showing us things that we need to work on and for not just giving us the pretty pictures of the Bible but also for the ugly truth as well. Lord help us all to remember what using our timeframe can cost you and us. May we all remember that faith is waiting on your word and truth in the face of all things. Amen 

Eve's Life

Well Adam and Eve are no longer in the Garden of Eden. Their lives are very different from when they were created. God intended for them to be his companions and to worship him but instead they took a wrong turn. Can you imagine the guilt and defeat that both of them must have felt? I wonder what their relationship must have been like. Strained and awkward or did they decide to do the best with what they had. Eve bore a son and this must have been bitter sweet. How would she tell him about her life? Did Eve wonder if he would be the one to crush the serpent's head? Eve must have been delighted when she gave birth to her second child Abel. Eve was a woman who carried guilt but still managed to pick herself up and live. She came thru her trials loving God and trusting in his direction for her life. Eve watched her children comit the ultimate sibling rivalry. The bible doesn't mention anything else about Eve except that she had more children one of these Seth but I do think that we have a great deal to learn from her. She was strong and devoted to God. Dear Lord I know that Eve was your creation and that even though you had to separate yourself from her because of her sin that you left her with a definate imprint of yourself. She was strong and loving because you are strong and loving. She was self sacrificing because you are self sacrificing. She loved her children because you love us. Everything that is good about us women is a reflection of you. So I thank you for making me and other women like you. May it inspire us to always seek to have your atributes shine thru us. Amen.

Bro. Best

Today has been a hard day for our church family because we are losing a Man of God. Someone who is and was a leader in our church. He was a sincere man who really wanted to know how you were doing when he asked. My son told me that Bro Best would stop by the camera where my son sits recording church and put his hand on Georgie's shoulder just a comforting gesture. That is such a tiny thing but it is the kind of thing that showed the kind of man that Bro. Best was a loving and devoted man of God. Our prayers go out to his family. He will be deeply missed. I thought about cont. the lesson tonight but to be honest I prayed about it and I think that our lesson tonight is to reflect upon one of God's Servants.
Dear Lord tonight we put Bro. Best and his family into your hands. We ask you to show a way to comfort them. We also ask that you help us learn from the life of this man. Words are great Lord but in this man we found quiet sincerity and love which is a wonderful spiritual gift. Dear Father please surround this family with you loving arms and bring them comfort and peace. Amen