Abraham, Isaac, Jacob

Then Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.'" - Genesis 50:24 

Why do you suppose God referred to Himself as the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob"? Why didn't He simply say, "the God of Jacob"? 

The Scriptures do not really tell us why this is so, but let us consider why today.

Could it be that the Lord has given us sort of a picture of the trinity in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? The nation of Israel looked to Abraham as a father. He took his only son Isaac up a mountain to sacrifice him. Jacob struggled to learn to deny his flesh and walk according to the Holy Spirit.

Also consider this: In Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the Lord has given us three different men through whom He accomplished His divine purposes. Abraham  went out into unknown territory and was considered righteous for his unusually great faith. Isaac was a man who was simply faithful to follow in his inheritance. He had a consistent steady walk with God. He experienced the fewest difficulties among the three. His call was to simply to be faithful to be a good steward of what had been given. Jacob on the other hand had extreme conflict in his life. He suffered more trials than either of the other two. He had a lot of conflict in relationships. He had to learn to navigate life through much difficulty. We can all relate to these men on some level. But certainly one of these men will be more familiar to your own experience in life. 

God works in each person's life in a unique way. The bible has given us examples from the Scriptures. Who is it that you relate too the best as you evaluate your own Christian Journey? Let your heart be encouraged as you seek to learn from the stories of those who have gone before you.

21 years ago today

21 years ago today at Kempsville Baptist Church in Virginia Beach an event took place that has shaped my life more than any other single event outside of my salvation. I was married to the former Kay Davis Alexander. I can not even to begin to express how deeply my love for this amazing woman has grown over these years. We have shared many difficult days and many triumphs together in these 21 years. We had no idea when we stood at that altar together and exchanged vows the journey the God had planned for us to walk together. Life in the ministry has been both exciting and heart breaking, exhilarating and devastating. Through it all her steadfast faith has been a bedrock for me to lean upon. This woman trusts God and I am so grateful for that. Her love for her husband and her three children runs deep, and she shows it in so many ways.

Thanks Kay, for 21 years. I don't deserve you. I am so glad I have you. I love you with all my heart. 

Stand strong

1 Peter 4:4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;

Living for Christ in an ungodly world brings with it certain challenges. Since coming to Christ most of the places I have worked had certain "extra curricular activity" associated with the culture of the organization that I had to distance myself from in order to walk with Christ in holiness. Such activities are not only associated with certain work places, but even with certain family gatherings, neighborhood gatherings......even when parents get together who's children play little league baseball together. When you voluntarily choose to absent yourself from some of these activities that do not glorify God, that carries with it a certain stigma that tends to brand you in the eyes of all the others. They don't understand why you do not wish to participate in all that they are doing. They look down on you, exclude you, they often talk about you behind your back.

The temptation to compromise can be intense. Stand strong believer and do not let them persuade you to compromise. It can be very tempting to just blend in. It is even easy to justify in your thinking. It starts with just one little compromise here, and another there.....then you look back and discover that you have gone down a path that you never wanted to be on. Remember that when you distance yourself from ungodly things your heavenly Father is pleased with you. Let that be a consolation to your heart when you know that people in the world do not think very highly of you. Live out the joy of your Savior before them. You may just discover that some of them find it interesting that you are full of contentment without some of those things in your life. Your abstention may even be something that they secretly wish they were able to do. And maybe, just maybe, some of them might be attracted to investigate a relationship with Jesus based on your witness.

Power of the tongue

James 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

The tongue is such a small part of our anatomy and yet in it is great power. James under inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote about the tongue in his epistle and used the metaphor of a forest fire to draw analogy to what a misdirected tongue can produce. Every forest fire begins with a spark in the wrong place. The spark turns into a blaze, which turns into a forest fire that does great damage.

Just a few weeks ago on March 26, a wildfire broke out just a few miles southwest of Denver, Colorado. Before the fire was contained over 4000 acres of land was destroyed, 25 homes burned to the ground and three people were killed because they did not get out of their homes in time.

Most people do not realize the power of their tongue. With it is the power to build up and the power to tear down. One little comment (the spark) is all it takes to ignite a fire storm (the forest fire) of gossip that destroys reputations, ministries, churches, and people's lives.

Let us be children of the light and use our tongues to build up, to edify, and to bless.

And if we don't have anything good to say, I suggest we just keep our mouths shut.