THE LORD SPOKE (January 07)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Genesis 18-19

Everything about this encounter (Gen. 18) is strangely exciting. One of the three visitors must have stood out, for Abraham switches back and forth (in the Hebrew original) between singular and plural pronouns. They seemed to know things that happened behind closed doors. Abraham, an almost-100 year old man, scurried back and forth to detain them a bit longer and hear whatever word from the Lord they might have for him.

He wasn’t disappointed. One more time he heard the words of the Promise:

Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him." (Gen. 18:18-19)

Even after the men left, Abraham was in the presence of the Lord (Gen. 18:22). The Hebrew text says clearly that “the Lord remained standing before Abraham” but ancient Jewish scribal tradition just couldn’t accept such terminology and, in an extremely rare instance, inverted the text to read that Abraham remained standing before the Lord. However, they forgot to fix it in vs. 33 where we’re told that, following the encounter, the Lord left and Abraham was left standing there.

Was Abraham’s mouth left hanging open? He had just bartered with God. He must have had a sense of “I can’t believe I just did that.” His holy boldness was astonishing. Take a closer look at this. The “three men” of Genesis 18:2 become “two angels” in Genesis 19:1. That third Person was in fact “the angel of the Lord” and the Second Person of the Trinity! Abraham is going to hear and recognize His voice again in just a couple more chapters. From Mount Moriah, Abraham will hear Him say:

Abraham! Abraham! ...Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son. I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me. (Gen. 22:11-18)

Now, wouldn’t you like to hear the Lord speak like that?


New Testament: Matthew 7

It’s the most quoted verse of the Bible - by unbelievers! “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” (Mat. 7:1). Men are lovers of darkness rather than lovers of light (Jn. 3:19-20) and, for that reason, they look for a dark place to hide their sin. If they can find someone else’s “bigger” sin, they like to get close to it so their own sin won’t be so apparent in the light. This twisted logic leads them even to quote Scripture to cover their own sin.

But look again at the passage. The intent of this first paragraph of Matthew 7 is for us to judge ourselves. Rather than picking out the speck of sawdust in another’s eye, we’re to pull the whole log out of our own. Why is it so difficult for us to recognize our own problems but so easy to identify those of others?

Here are some steps to take towards solving this problem:

1. Ask God to give you a clear view of yourself. Read His Word to obtain the standard and hear His voice. Let Him show you just how sinful you are.
2. Be very sensitive to family members who know you well and see you every day in every situation. Read their reactions to you. Be observant but ask them questions too. How am I doing in _______? What do you see about me that needs to be corrected?
3. Write out some goals. Keep some kind of record so you can measure progress. Write down both failures and successes so you can be reminded and can detect patterns.
4. Get into an accountability group of some kind. It shouldn’t be a large group - maybe just one or two trusted friends that have the same spiritual interests and goals similar to your own. Make yourselves responsible to each other. Ask tough questions and pursue answers beyond the superficial responses we’re so apt to give.
5. Pray again. Pray regularly. Ask God to prompt you and to help you deal immediately with areas of sin as soon as they come up.
6. Create some conditioned responses and practice them until they become habits. When a certain thought or activity begins to move across your screen, use it to trigger a correct response. For example, the moment an impure thought begins, pray for that person immediately. “Lord, help her to come to know and love you and to keep herself pure for her husband and for you.” It’s amazing how quickly that prayer will dissipate impure thoughts!

God wants you to be successful in this and He will help you. Do you want it yourself?