In the Beginning...

February is known as the Month of Love. I've been loved my whole life. My parents loved me. Family and friends love me. Twenty-nine years ago this April I married the love of my life, the bestest hubby in the world! When I gave birth to two amazing little boys, my understanding of human and God-love grew exponentially!

But let me tell you about a different kind of love affair...

I love my Bible. I mean, I love my Bible. I love my Bible!

Get it?

God's written word has become like breath to me. I can't live without it. I can't function without the life-giving nourishment it gives my soul. If I try to begin my day without getting into the Word, I get the feeling something important is missing. And more often than not, I'll have a really icky day. Not because of the things that happen necessarily, but  because of my own attitude and thought process toward whatever comes my way. It's just so much better to start out the day with a word from the Lord, ya know?

I didn't always feel this way. Growing up in a Christian home, we had plenty of Bibles around. I often saw my Mom reading her Bible, and when my Grandma moved in with us my Senior year, I found comfort in passing her open door to see her sitting in her Lazy-Boy recliner reading the Word. But very seldom did I pick up my own Bible to read. Very seldom did I turn to God's word for answers to life's problems. I was a married woman with children before I fully understood the powerful resource I had within my grasp. Now I cherish God's word! Like many of you, I have an abundance of Bibles to choose from:

• A white-covered King James version given to me by "Mother and Daddy" on June 30, 1971
• A Children's edition of the Living Bible given to me by our church Christmas 1973
• The Living Bible given to me by "Mom and Dad" Christmas 1980. I would graduate from high school and head off to college a few months later. I'm sure my parents hoped the Word of God would go with me!
• For Christmas 2001, my sweet husband bought me the New International Version Bible. Funny, he accidentally bought a Large Print, but I'm so glad! My eyes ain't what they used to be, so the larger print is awesome! This is the Bible I read every morning. I have so many, many scriptures highlighted or underlined, with notes written off to the side, some with meaningful dates. If our house ever caught fire (Lord, never!), that Bible would be the first thing I'd grab! It is literally my life. 
• In 2003, hubby gave me The Message Bible, which is a way-cool version. Makes things so, so clear sometimes. 

Every Bible, no matter the version, is God's word to us. It's a story of His great love for mankind. So many, many lessons are within those pages. So many, many lives touched by God's amazing grace. I honestly don't think I will ever tire of reading my Bible. Seriously. I learn something new every single time I open it!

But I came to an interesting conclusion while reading in the Book of John. Despite the fact that the Bible contains 66 books with 1,189 chapters and somewhere around 31,000 verses....

...there are only TWO verses that really, truly matter when it comes to our faith. Twenty-seven words, to be exact:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1

Those two verses sum up everything we need to know about God. In fact, you can whittle those sentences down even further:

"In the beginning GOD!"

"In the beginning was the WORD!"

God is the Creator of everything. He has always been and will always be. And John 1:1 makes it abundantly clear that Jesus--the Word--is God. John 1:14 says, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." Those two truths -- God is the Creator and Jesus is God -- are the very foundation of our faith. They are what we build everything else upon. Without those two principals firmly rooted in your heart, the rest of the Bible probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense. 

If you aren't a regular Bible reader, I encourage you to become one. God speaks through His word. Let Him speak to you today!

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This week's Shout-Out countries are:

USA, UK, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Georgia, Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Africa, Slovenia

Sex...in the Garden of Eden?!

Genesis chapter two is one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible. Why? Because it goes into detail about how and why God created Adam and Eve and what his plan was for them. With Valentine's Day just a few days away and the release of a movie that is a shameful, distorted lie about what sex should look like, let's see what God says about sex.

"The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (2:7) The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (2:15) The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper for him." (2:18) So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. (2:21-22)

Think of it! God didn't want Adam to be alone so he fashioned the most perfect companion for him. A woman. She was similar to him in many ways, but oh so wonderfully different in others. Then God himself brought the woman to Adam! What a beautiful picture of God's love and faithfulness. That, my friend, is what every marriage should look like. God at the center of two human beings fashioned for one another.

Now comes the best part!

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." (2:24-25)

"One flesh." 

"Naked."

"No shame."

This is God's perfect plan for sex, folks! Adam and Eve were naked. Adam and Eve became one flesh through sexual intercourse. Adam and Eve felt no shame. Keep in mind this all happened before sin entered the world. Adam and Eve had sex in the garden and there was no shame in it whatsoever.

No shame.

Let that sink in for a moment. We are a generation that is bombarded by sexual images all day long. On TV. In movie theaters. On our computers and phones. In books, magazines, and newspapers. And the vast majority of it is shameful. Sinful.

There is no shame in sex the way God intended it--between one man and one woman who are committed to one another through marriage. Anything outside of that is a distortion of the original plan. God created sex for us to enjoy. He wants us to enjoy being with our mate intimately. But when sin entered the world, sex became one of Satan's favorite tools to destroy our relationship with God and with one another.

Sex was God's gift to Adam and Eve. There was nothing shameful about it. Don't accept anything other than God's gift when it comes to sex. If you're married, keep only unto your spouse. Work at your marriage if it's not what it should be. If you're single, abstain from all forms of sex. If you have same-sex attraction, you also need to abstain. God has a plan for your life and same-sex union is not it. Seek Him only.

We may not be able to return to the perfection of the Garden, but we CAN choose to keep ourselves pure and holy for the God who created us!

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This week's Prayer Shout-Out Countries are:
USA, Germany, South Korea, Australia, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Netherlands, Russia, Kuwait

In His Own Image

My Mom used to tell me I look like my Dad. Brown eyes, brown hair, skinny. Well, at least the brown eyes are still true. Ha! As I get older, I'm kinda proud that I look like my Dad. Family resemblance makes us feel connected to one another. Even though I used to long for green eyes, I'm glad I have brown like everyone else in my family.

But I look my other Father, too. And so do you.

"Then God said, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." Genesis 1:26

 "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27

We are created in God's own image! Humans don't look like we do just by chance. It was by design. Everything about us -- from our brains to our skin to our bones to the tiniest cell in our body -- was created with purpose. We are truly amazing creatures!

But even though God made it abundantly clear that He formed us, there are those who simply refuse to believe. Lately there are stories in the news declaring that life came from Mars (http://www.space.com/22577-earth-life-from-mars-theory.html) and outer space.  There's the theory that we came from an ape-like ancestor and single-celled organisms, and Darwin's theory is still taught in schools. Oh, here's a good one: the Aquatic ape theory (http://youtu.be/uTe9qVEAcXk). Hilarious!! This article gives the complete story of evolution beginning with how the universe was formed. After reading it, I can honestly say it's far easier to believe in God than this amazingly far-fetched theory. I understand the importance of science, but when "progress" in science takes you farther and farther away from God, then you have a real problem. And ultimately you have a choice: Are you going to believe God or man?

I find it incredibly sad that so many, many people deny their Creator. What is so terrible about believing that God formed you with His own hand? What's so awful about believing that He loves you so much that He created you with a plan? Wouldn't it be so much better to know you were specifically designed for a purpose rather than believing you were here just by chance?

Life is such a beautiful gift. From the very beginning to the very end. God, our loving Father, designed it that way. I'll leave you with this beautiful video of a set of twins who have just been born but are not aware of it yet. It's like a little peak into their life in the womb. So incredibly precious.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.liveleak.com/ll_embed?f=592c93b2ed2c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

(Watch it here if the embedded link doesn't work.)

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This week's Prayer Shout Out countries are:
USA, Russia, France, Germany, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Ukraine, South Korea, Argentina, Poland, Panama, Spain, Netherlands, Malaysia, Bangladesh

Write Your Own Obituary

I have to chuckle at how many of you probably clicked the link to this blog thinking I've lost my mind. LOL. No, no, I'm as sane -- or as insane -- as I've always been. And no, I'm not dying and writing my obit. At least, I don't think I am.

What I am, however, is sobered by the deaths in the news this week. A teacher murdered by a 12-year old student who then killed himself. Another teacher, 24-years old, beaten and stabbed to death by a student. A 12-year old girl who took her own life because she couldn't take the bullying anymore. A head-on collision on a local Interstate that killed both drivers. A WWII plane crash that killed two people. On and on. Every day, every hour, every minute, you can turn on your TV or your computer and see news stories about the untimely death of average people.

Of course we all know and love people who have died. Old age, cancer and other diseases destroy our bodies. Death is a part of life. It isn't something anyone can avoid, and many of us won't have a clue that it's knocking on our door the day it arrives. Car accidents, shootings, and a whole host of other events can bring an end to a life in a matter of moments.

So, this brings me to the title of this post. Knowing that life is not something you can cling to, what do you want your obituary to tell the world about you when you die? Because you will die someday. For some, it will be today. For others, tomorrow. None of us knows for sure. All we can be certain of it will happen one day.

I keep the obituaries of my Mom and Dad in my Bible and read through them every so often. Sometimes it strikes me as odd that a person's life is condensed into a few paragraphs in the newspaper when they die. Daddy and Mom each lived 85 years on this planet. Can a few lines about their families and careers really give us an understanding of all that their lives encompassed? Of who they were down deep?

No. There's just no way a few lines of print can ever achieve that. But there is a man in the Bible whose obituary, if you will, was even shorter, and yet when I read it I know everything about him that was important.

"When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. All together, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away."  Genesis 5:21-24

Enoch walked faithfully with God.

That pretty much sums it up, don't you think? I mean, what more is there to say? That he was a farmer, or a carpenter, or a grape grower? That he enjoyed reading, music and jokes? We know who his father was. We know he had a lot of children. But does any of that tells us the heart of the man, of what made this man tick?

Enoch walked faithfully with God. To me that means he was an obedient son to his parents. He was a faithful husband to his wife. He loved his children and taught them about God. He helped his fellow man. He worked hard and enjoyed the life God had blessed him with. It means he loved God with all his heart, soul and mind.

My hope and prayer is that when it comes time for my obituary to be written, my life can be summed up in five words: Michelle walked faithfully with God.

How about you? What do you want your obituary to say?
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This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:
USA, Philippines, Russia, Malaysia, Canada, China, South Korea, Ukraine

Who Are You Listening To?

As a mother, I am used to talking without being heard. Oh, they hear my voice, but they don't actually hear my words. I can't count the times I've had to repeat instructions or information because my kids didn't hear me the first time...or the second...or the third. You get the picture.

But I am not without guilt when it comes to listening. I can clearly recall times when I've felt God asking me to do something or make some changes in my life, but I didn't act on those instructions right away. I paid a pretty high price on one occasion. Had I listened and obeyed, I could have saved myself and my family a whole lotta trouble!

Why are we humans so stubborn? Why do we often think our plans are better than God's?

A prime example of this took place in Genesis. Beginning in Chapter 13, verses 14 thru 16 we read:

"The LORD said to Abram (later known as Abraham) after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted."

Three times God uses the words "your offspring" or "your seed." Clearly He means Abram's children and grandchildren will inhabit the land. Later, in Chapter 15, Abram is still trying to figure out what God meant, because he and his wife Sarai didn't have any children at that point. He thinks maybe God meant a trusted servant in his home would become his heir. But that wasn't God's plan or his words.

"[God] took [Abram] outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars---if indeed you can count them." Then he said, "So shall your offspring be." (v. 5)

Seems pretty clear to me that God is telling Abram that he and Sarai will one day have children, who will have children, who will have children, and so on and so forth. Right?

But like a kid that isn't really listening when his parents speak, Abram and Sarai didn't listen to God. Oh, they heard him. They heard his voice. In Genesis 15:6 it even says "Abram believed the Lord." So what happened between that verse and Chapter 16 where Sarai takes her maidservant Hagar and gives her to Abram as his wife so she can bear him children?

Maybe it was waiting 25 years for God's promise to finally come true. That's a long time to wait for a baby, especially as you get older and older and older. Maybe it was doubt that God would keep his promise or that he even remembered his promise. I can look back on my own life and see times when I didn't fully obey God, didn't fully listen to his instructions, often with my own ideas and agendas getting in the way. Like I said, I paid a very high price in one particular case. Thankfully, God got my attention and things eventually worked out, but it took a long time to get back to where we should have been in the first place had we been listening to God the whole time.

Sarai listened to her doubts and fears and took matters into her own hands. Abram listened to Sarai. (Genesis 16:1-3) The result: a child name Ishmael and generations of trouble. Reminds me of Adam and Eve in the garden. (Genesis 3) Eve listened to the deceiver. Adam listened to Eve. Neither listened to God. The result: Sin entered the world, and the couple got booted out of paradise.

These examples beg one question:

Who are you listening to?
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This week's Prayer Shout Out countries are:
USA, United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, Rwanda, Dominican Republic

Unbelief vs. Heart Trust

Yesterday I finished reading through the Bible for the second time in my life. I have to admit to feeling proud as I wrote the date down in the back cover. It wasn't pride in myself or my insignificant accomplishment though, but rather pride in being God's child. Pride in His Word. In how amazing it is that God, the Creator of everything, felt it important to communicate with us, with me. He made sure we had his Story in written form to pass down through the generations. I have so many memories of my Mom and my Grandma reading their Bibles. In the ten years my Grandma lived with our family -- while she was in her 90's! -- she read through the Bible about a dozen times! I'm happy to continue the family tradition.

So this morning I started over in Genesis.

"In the beginning God!" Genesis 1:1.

You really don't need to read anything beyond those four words. They say it all! In the beginning God was there. He's always been. But seeing that God didn't end the conversation there, I kept going.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

That very first verse of the Bible, in my opinion, is the point of a persons faith decision. If you believe that very first verse, you're more than likely going to believe the rest of the book. If you don't believe it, however, you set yourself up for a life of questions, doubt, and plain ol' unbelief.

I've always wondered why people don't believe in God. I realize my Christian upbringing and heritage play a huge role in what I believe about God. But I am an intelligent woman. I've asked the hard questions about God, about Jesus, about the Bible. The answers I get from folks who don't buy into it, however, simply leave me unsatisfied. All you have to do is look around you and see God's handiwork. Humans are far too complicated to have just evolved from globby gook. And even if that were a plausible answer, where did the globby gook come from? Some will answer that it has always been, like I believe God has always been. Really? I'd much rather believe an all-powerful Creator has always existed rather than believing globby gook always existed, wouldn't you??

I kept reading through Chapter 1 today. I came to verse 27:

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

Wow! We are created in GOD'S own image! We look like our Father! How cool is that?

But after reading those words, I felt really sad. Why? Because I thought of all the people who deny God, their Father. They deny He created them. That would be like my son telling me I wasn't his mother. That I didn't carry him in my womb and give birth to him. I remember that day so clearly (with each of my sons). I celebrated with joy in my heart that I had a son. But he doesn't remember that day, so he has to take my word that I'm his mother. He has to come to a point of belief that I did indeed "create" him.

Imagine how God the Father feels when his children deny him. 

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-16

If you have any doubt in your mind that you were created by a loving God, who knew you before you were born, who made you in His own image, I hope you'll go back to Genesis 1 and start your faith journey over again.

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Today's Prayer Shout Out countries are:
USA, China, Philippines, Ukraine, Malaysia, Russia, Ireland, Canada, Australia, France, Italy, Indonesia

Faith: What's it all about

Merriam-Webster defines faith as a "firm belief in something for which there is no proof."

Obviously the faith I'm going to talk about today is the faith we have in God. Yet faith, in my opinion, is not just a religious word. I think we all practice faith, in one way or another, on a daily basis whether we believe in God or not. We put our faith in a lot of things, including people, money, jobs. A lot of non-religious people put their faith in science. When discussing evolution vs. Creationism with a non-believer I learned that they have just as much faith in their beliefs as I have in mine. They can't "prove" it anymore than I can, but they sure believe it.

Faith in God, however, is different. To have faith in God, you have to come to a place in your life where you accept certain things about yourself and about the world around you. Things that you will never, ever be able to fully understand but you believe them anyway. Take our human bodies, for instance. There is absolutely no way I can look at the complexity of my body---from my brown eyes that see in beautiful color to my ever-beating heart keeping me alive---and not fully and completely understand that there is no possible explanation for it other than a thoughtful, brilliant Creator. I can't go to the grocery store and see the mind-boggling variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, meats, fish, etc. and not wonder at the imagination of the One who created so many different kinds of yummy things to eat. I can't go to the zoo and look at all the crazy, beautiful, interesting animals and creatures and not know Someone had to have designed every single one of them. I look at the earth with so many kinds of trees and plants and rocks and minerals, fresh water lakes and salty oceans, breathtaking mountains and beautiful deserts.

Could all of that be here just by chance?!

The answer to that question lies in one word: Faith.

From the beginning of time there was a plan in place. Read Genesis 1 and you get a true vision of that plan. God created the earth and set it up with everything we could ever possibly need or want. In the same way an expectant mother prepares for her precious baby, God prepared the earth for us. When sin entered the world (Genesis 3), God once again had a plan.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Faith gives us the assurance that all of that is true. Hebrews 11:1 tells us exactly what faith is:

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Hope and certainty. I can't see God, but I can see his handiwork all around me. Does my lack of visual contact mean he doesn't exist? Absolutely not! It simply means my eyes have not been allowed to see him yet, but Revelation 21:3 tells me I will one day. That's hope. The evidence he gave us on earth of himself is certainty.

If you keep reading in Hebrews 11, you see example after example of men and women who lived out their faith. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham. Can you imagine the amount of faith Noah had to spend years and years building a huge ark when the only water he'd seen in his lifetime probably came from springs, rivers or wells? Noah had hope and certainty. Hope for his future and certainty that God had asked him to do a specific job.

Faith comes down to one simple question: Do you believe what God says or not?

Noah believed God. I do to. My faith is firmly planted in the Word of God. The Bible is God's communication with us. It tells us his story. It tells our story. Some people will call me foolish and ignorant because of my belief in what many refer to as an "ancient book of fairytales." Let them. Only one opinion matters:

God's.

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This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:
USA, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Russia, Germany, France, Indonesia, Italy, Romania, India, Japan, Honduras

Male and Female: God's Plan

I remember having this thought years ago: There are only two kinds of people in the world! Male and female!

I know, I know. That's not an earth-shattering revelation. It's not something news worthy or even new. It's actually a very silly thought but I had it nonetheless. Because I was truly, truly astounded by the simplicity of that statement. With all the millions and billions of people living on earth, from different countries, speaking different languages, with different colors of skin and physical features, there are actually only two true differences. 

Male and Female.

I find that rather fascinating, actually. It begs the questions:

Why did God only create two genders? Why did God create genders at all?

To find the answers, you have to go to the beginning. Genesis 1:26-27 says:

"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

The story continues in Genesis 2, with verse 18 saying, "The Lord God said, 'It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

None of the creatures God had created thus far were suitable to be Adam's helper. Not a monkey. Not a horse. Not even "man's best friend." 

"The Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man and he brought her to the man." (v. 22)

I positively love that God brought the woman to Adam! God didn't just drop her in the Garden and let "fate" decide if they were meant to be together. God had a specific plan in mind. A specific purpose for creating them male and female and bringing them together. We already know that God cared about Adam's loneliness--"It is not good for man to be alone"--but obviously pro-creation wasn't going to happen if Adam and Eve didn't become "one flesh" as Genesis 2:24 says. Do you know what that verse means? It means Adam and Eve had sex in the Garden, folks, and it was okay with God! Why? Because that was part of the plan! God's perfect, free-from-sin-and-shame plan for sex between a man and a woman. 

But one chapter later we see everything change. Sin entered the perfect, shame-free world. Man forgot Who was in charge and did things their own way. They didn't acknowledge God the Creator. They didn't believe that there is a greater plan and purpose for our existence than merely satisfying our selfish wants and desires. Every day people twist and distort God's plan. Or ignore it all together. 

The recent controversy over Chaz Bono's appearance on Dancing with the Stars is in the news. I don't have anything against Chaz. In fact, my heart aches for her. And I do say "her" because she is, was, and always will be a her. No amount of surgery to remove, add or inject will ever change that. God created Chastity Sun Bono as a woman and she will die a woman. And that's the simple truth Chaz is fighting so hard against. That God created her a woman and not a man. I can't answer the question of why Chaz wants to be a man. I have no clue what her life has been like, the influences that played a role in forming who she is. I haven't walked a mile in her shoes and I have no business casting stones in her direction. 

But what I do know is this: "male and female He created them" for a reason. 

And you know what God thinks about His creation?

"God saw all that he had made"--including a little girl named Chastity Bono--"and it was very good." (Gen. 1:31)

God created you, whether male or female, for a reason. But if God is not Lord and King in your life, you will have totally missed the whole purpose of your existence. 

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This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:

USA, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Ukraine, France, Canada, Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, Romania

"...and God was hovering..."

Is God hovering over you?

You may have never thought of His presence like that. I hadn't until recently. Our wonderfully gifted pastor, Joe Champion of Celebration Church, is teaching/preaching a series called Genesis. Genesis 1 describes the beginning of everything. If you wanna know where you came from, read it!

In the New International Version Bible, verse 2 reads: "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."

The King James reads: "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

The Message reads: "God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss."

As a writer, I pay very close attention to words. And I'll tell ya...the words "hovering" "moving" and "brooding" have really captured my attention lately!

More than anything, I want God to hover over me! I want Him to move upon my life! And I definitely want Him to brood above me. Because when one broods---ponders or thinks deeply---change usually follows.

We have a lot going on in our lives right now. Both our sons are making important life-decisions. Hubby and I are pondering what's next for us now that our boys will both be in college.

But I'll tell you something.

I don't want to make one decision...make one move!...without God hovering over us! I want Him right there in the middle of things, directing, guiding, shining his Light on our path.

If God is not hovering over you, you are like the earth way back when. Formless, empty, dark. But it doesn't have to stay that way. Ask God in. Ask Him to hover over you. Ask him to move and to brood.

You'll have a new beginning. You'll have a Genesis moment!

"At the Set Time"

"At the set time."

That phrase keeps playing over in my head like a tape recording. It's from Genesis 21:2. Our pastor, Joe Champion, was out of town yesterday, and while I absolutely hate it when he's gone (yes, I'm selfish and want to keep Pastor Joe all to ourselves, even though I know he's such an amazing preacher/speaker that churches all over the world ask him to come) so we had a visiting pastor fill in. Pastor Steve Robinson is a friend of Joe's from college days and let me tell you, Pastor Steve did a great job! His message on Abraham was exactly what I needed to hear! And I'm sure the other 5,000+ Celebration Church family members agree!

It was, in fact, such a great and timely message for me, I have to blog about it!!

Abraham and Sarah were old. Genesis 12:4 tells us Abram, as he was called then, was seventy-five when God promised to make him into a great nation. Sarah was ten years younger than her husband. Not exactly childbearing years, no? But, if God said Abram would become a great nation, then surely it would come to pass! Surely God would give them a baby after all these years.

Well, days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and months turned into years. Eleven years to be exact and still there was no baby in sight. We all know it's not easy to wait, especially when you're waiting for something that means so much to you. I've been waiting for something a long time now, so I know how Sarah felt. I know the despair that consumed her, to the point of taking things into her own hands in Genesis 16:1-4. I've nearly taken things into my own hands a time or two, but thankfully that still, small voice in my heart that whispers "Wait" got a little louder and kept me from signing a contract I'm sure I would later regret. But Sarah, bless her heart, didn't listen to the voice. She gave her maidservant Hagar to her eighty-six year old husband and Hagar bore him Ishmael. And we all know Ishmael was not the son God promised Abraham. Sarah realized it too, but it was too late by that point. We all have had to deal with the consequences of her impatience.

The wait for the promised son continued.

When Abraham was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." (Genesis 17:1-2) Abraham was a bit skeptical, as I'm sure most ninety-nine year old men would be, but that didn't stop God from keeping his promise. Isn't that good news? Despite our failings, God doesn't quit on us. He had a plan and no amount of interference or doubt on Abraham's part would prevent that plan from coming to be.

"Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him." Genesis 21:2 NIV

The King James version says, "at the set time."

Don't you absolutely love that??

At the set time.

Abraham was one hundred years old! Sarah was ninety! Twenty-five years had passed since God first made the promise to Abraham to make him into a great nation. Yet it was exactly the right time! It was the time God planned all along.

Pastor Steve gave us three solid points based on this story:

1) God has a dream for us!

2) Delays are always inevitable.

3) God's timing is perfect.

Waiting isn't easy. But I love being reminded that God has a plan! A perfect plan. All I have to do is wait. Patiently. Obediently. And if I'm ninety when God gives me my hearts desire....well...at least it's not a baby I'm waiting for! :)

Joseph: A story of hope...

I've been MIA since July 16th! Our Internet and land-line went ka-put and we've been disconnected from the world for almost five days!! It's truly amazing how dependent upon the Internet I've become! Man, did I miss it! Did ya miss me, too? ;)

So, I'm still reading in Genesis these days. You sure learn some interesting things about human failings in this book. Take Jacob's kids for instance. He had twelve sons by four different women. Hmm. Mayhaps that's part of the reason so many problems arose amongst these boys! Jealousy is an ugly thing and I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that the mothers played a role in egging each of their sons on to out-do and out-shine the others.

Rachel, who was no doubt Jacob's favorite wife since she is the woman he intended to marry all along, bore him two sons. Joseph and Benjamin. Sadly, she died giving birth to Benjamin. Joseph is the famous Joseph of the "coat of many colors" story many of us heard as children in Sunday School. Joseph was seventeen years old when his older brothers sold him into slavery. Why did they do this? Read Genesis 37 to get the details, but basically it was jealousy. They didn't like the fact that Jacob favored Joseph. Their hatred burned so deep that some of them were willing to kill him. Thankfully Reuben, Leah's and Jacob's oldest, reasoned with them and prevented the murder of his brother. He wasn't there when the other brothers sold Joseph to the Midianite merchants and he grieved about it when he found out.

Yet God allowed all of this to happen.

Why?

Because God looked down the road of Joseph's life and knew he would do great things despite his brothers intention to destroy him.

Have you ever felt like someone--including Satan--is out to get you? Maybe your life hasn't turned out the way you wanted it to. Maybe the choices of others has messed things up. I'm sure Joseph never wanted to be sold into slavery and spend years in prison before God revealed His plan. But God did have a plan in it all. He took the evil done by Joseph's brothers and turned it into something good.

God can do that for you and for me, too. He can take the ugly, sinful, messed up "junk" in our lives and bring something good from it. In your life and in the lives of others. Joseph ended up saving his whole family, including the brothers who wanted to kill him.

I don't know about you, but I find Joseph's story to be one of hope. Hope that nothing goes unnoticed by God. Nothing is too impossible for Him to fix. No situation is too big and ugly for Him to handle.

Do you need hope today? Remember: God has a plan for your life! Just as He saw Joseph in the cistern, He sees you where you are. He knows what's going to happen in all of your tomorrows. Today may not be so great, but don't give up!

A Biblical Soap Opera...

Jacob, Leah and Rachel. Those are the three main characters in a story that reminds me of a soap opera! Genesis 29-31 tell their story. In a nutshell:

Jacob goes to his mother's family to find a wife and falls in love with Rachel. Laban, Rachel's father, says Jacob can marry Rachel in seven years if Jacob will work for him. Jacob says yes and the years simply fly because of his great love for Rachel. On his wedding night, however, Laban pulls a fast one. He gives his oldest daughter, Leah, to Jacob instead.

Michelle says: How could Jacob not have known it was Leah?!

Well, Jacob is one unhappy groom the next morning and confronts his father-in-law. Laban says their custom is that the oldest daughter needs to get married first, so he tells Jacob he can also marry Rachel...for another seven years of service.

As you can imagine, Leah and Rachel ain't too happy to share a husband. God sees that Leah is unloved and blesses her with children. Rachel wants a family, so she does what Sarah did way back in Genesis 16. She gives her maid to Jacob to become his wife so the maid can have children for Rachel to raise, though she does have her own children down the road. Leah also gives her maid to Jacob a few years later so she can out-do her sister.

Good grief!! What a mess!

But did God bless that mess?

You bet He did! God takes imperfect people and uses them to bring His glory and purpose on earth. Jacob is listed in the lineage of Jesus in Matthew 1. His children became the Twelve Tribes of Israel. God did amazing things despite the mess Jacob and his wives created!

I don't know about you, but that gives me hope!! I can't begin to count how many times I've made a mess of things! Yet God steps in and cleans it up, or walks me through it, depending on the mess.

If your life feels like a soap opera right now, don't give up hope! God can do wonderful things despite our failings.

Thank goodness!!

Waiting on the Lord...

Have you ever had to wait for something you really wanted? Something you've prayed for? Something that is your heart's desire?

I have.

And I still am.

If you're like me, you might get a bit impatient with God. You might even ask, "What's the hold up?!" I am not a patient person, and sometimes I think that very flaw is why God doesn't give me my requests right away. How can I learn patience if I never had to wait?

Sarah and Rebekah both wanted children. In Genesis 16:1-2 we read that Sarah wanted a baby so badly she came up with the plan to give her servant Hagar to her husband Abraham so Hagar could bear a child. Sarah says in verse 2, "The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her."

Big mistake! Sarah didn't wait on the Lord. She took matters into her own hands even though God had already told Abraham his offspring would be as many as the stars in the heavens. (15:5)

Rebekah, too, wanted a baby. She'd been married for twenty years before we read in Gen. 25:21 how Issac prayed on behalf of his wife because she was barren. (What a wonderful thing for a husband to do! Pray for his wife!!) She became pregnant and gave birth to Jacob and Esau.

If we learn anything from these two women, we learn that sometimes we have to wait on the Lord. He has a plan and a purpose in everything He does. But all too often we only see the "here and now." We don't recognize how each event fits in with other events to make up the whole picture. Sure, it took years and years for each of these women to get the child they longed for, but those children had a specific time to be born and a specific purpose to fulfill.

Are you waiting for something you've prayed for? I am. Waiting isn't easy, but God keeps reminding me that He has a plan. If I try to run ahead, I mess things up. If I lag behind, I mess things up. All I need to do is stick with the Lord. He is willing to walk me through this life, hand in hand, to reach the goal to which I strive!

Wait on the Lord, folks! We'll do it together.

Is God Jehovah Jirah to you?

I read Genesis 22 today. To be perfectly honest, the story of Abraham and Isaac has never been a favorite of mine. Every time I read it I wonder what Isaac must have thought about the whole event. The Bible doesn't give us a blow-by-blow account of what was said and what was done, so it leaves a lot to the imagination. And some of that ain't too pretty. If you're not familiar with the story, I encourage you to read it. To recap, Genesis 22 tells the story of how God tested Abraham. He asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering, and Abraham was willing to do so. I don't know about you, but I usually find myself cringing when I read this story. The reality of what could have happened is awful!

But when I read it today, I felt a little different about it. Maybe because I'm determined to be a "glass half full" kind of person. Ha! (See yesterday's post.) Today I meditated more on Abraham's obedience to God rather than the fact that he was willing to murder his son. I thought more about what Isaac felt when he heard God bless his father for his obedience rather than the horrible fear that must have swept Isaac when his father bound him and put him on the altar. I thought about God's watchfulness over Abraham and Isaac and how he intervened at the exact right moment to prevent a tragedy. God didn't want Isaac dead. He wanted Abraham's obedience.

Have you ever been tested by God?

I don't think any of us want to be tested by the Almighty. I do think most of us want to be blessed by Him. It may be that sometimes God needs to test us in order to bless us. And I don't believe the testing is for God's benefit or satisfaction. I believe testing comes in order to teach us more about God and His amazing love for us. Abraham understood this. After he sacrificed the ram that God brought to him, he named the place where all this happened "Jehovah Jirah", which means "The Lord will provide."

The God who tested and provided for Abraham is the same God who tests and provides for us. If He called to me today and asked me to do something I really didn't want to do, would I be willing? Would I answer Him as Abraham answered: "Here am I." (22:1) Would I be willing to sacrifice something I hold dear in order to be obedient? Do I truly believe that God is Jehovah Jirah?

I pray the answer to each of those questions is "Yes!"

What about you? Is God Jehovah Jirah to you?

The God Who Sees Me...

The story of Hagar in Genesis 16 isn't what I'd call a "feel good story." It's a story of disobedience and selfishness. But it's also a story of hope.

To recap:

Abram (later known as Abraham) was married to Sarai (later known as Sarah), but they had no children. They were getting pretty old and it worried them that they didn't have an heir. God, being the loving Father that He is, assured Abram he would indeed have a child and his offspring would be greatly blessed.

Well, it seems that a promise from God wasn't good enough for old Abram and Sarai. They took matters into their own hands. Sarai had a maid servant named Hagar who was from Egypt. She gave Hagar to Abram as his wife so Hagar could bear a child for Sarai. Seemed like a good enough plan--kind of a "surrogate mother" type arrangement--except that isn't what God said to do! As soon as Hagar found out she was pregnant, she "began to despise her mistress." (16:4) Oh, the fighting that took place between Sarai and Hagar! We're talking serious cat fights. Abram and Sarai had heated words, too.

And why did all this happen?

Because Abram ignored the Lord's promise. Because Sarai didn't believe the Lord in the first place. And even Hagar made things worse by getting all high and mighty. Had they all waited on the Lord, everything would have worked out exactly as planned. But they didn't.

Yet that's not the end of the story. Hagar couldn't take anymore of Sarai's mistreatment and she ran away. That's when things turn around.

"An angel of the Lord" finds Hagar in the desert. He asks her where she's going and Hagar tells him she's running away. But God doesn't want us to run away from our problems. He wants us to face them head-on...with Him! He tells Hagar to return home and submit to Sarai. He also tells her she will give birth to a son whom she is to name Ishmael, who will become a great nation himself.

Hagar responds with the most beautiful words a person can utter in the midst of a trial:

"You are the God who sees me." (Gen. 16:13)

God saw Hagar. He knew everything about her and what had happened. And He basically told her, "It's gonna be okay."

I can truly relate to Hagar and what she felt at that moment. Four years ago I was in the deepest, darkest place I'd ever been in. My world was totally knocked out from under me and I was in despair. I remember very clearly the night I cried out to God. It was a Friday. It was near midnight. I was in my living room, sobbing. I fell to my knees and cried out to God, "Help me, Lord! I can't do this on my own."

And that, my friends, is the moment I knew that God is the God who sees me.

He sees you, too. There is nothing too impossible for God to heal. There is nothing too impossible for God to restore. There is no sin too great for God to forgive.

Nothing is impossible for the God who sees us!

Four years ago I had my "Hagar" moment. What about you?

Enoch walked with God!

I remember the first time I read Genesis 5:21-24 and really understood it! It was a couple years ago when I began my journey through the Bible from cover to cover. The words of these simple verses impacted me in a HUGE way! I highlighted them, twice. I've meditated on them many times. I am truly in awe of Enoch's life!

Who in the world is Enoch, you ask?

Let me introduce you.

"When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more because God took him away."

I positively get chills reading these verses!

If you haven't read the previous verses in Genesis, let me explain why these touch me in such a mighty way. Genesis 5:1-32 tells us about Adam and a child from each generation to follow, up to Noah. There's Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, and so on. The number of years each man lived is recorded.

"Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died." (5:5)

Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died." (5:8)

Altogether, Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died." (5:11)

You get the picture. Each man lived the number of years God allowed and then he died. Because everyone dies, right?

Wrong!

Look at the verses I quoted above about Enoch. Enoch was "no more, because God took him away."

Amazing! No one else in the whole lineage, including Adam, was spared death. Every one of them died.

Why did God take Enoch away?

I don't think we'll ever know for certain, but God wanted to make it clear that Enoch was a man who loved God! Twice we read that "Enoch walked with God." God was the real deal to Enoch and he obviously honored God with his life. Yes, other men in the Bible get a lot more exposure. Sure, we don't readily recognize Enoch's name when it's mentioned.

But Enoch walked with God! And God apparently thought that was such a great thing that He didn't want Enoch to die in the normal, human way. Instead, God took Enoch away!

WOW!!

I think the greatest thing I could possibly ever want written on my tombstone is, "Michelle walked with God." To walk with God is to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and body. It is to recognize that He alone is God and there is no other. It is to acknowledge that I am a sinner and only by the blood of God's only Son, Jesus Christ, can I be saved. It is to believe with every fiber of my being that God is exactly who He says He is in the Bible.

Enoch walked with God.

Me too, Lord!! Me too!

Is God a biblical literalist?

I had an interesting conversation yesterday with someone I love and respect. We're both believers in Jesus Christ, but we have differing opinions on creationism. In fact, we completely disagree on the fundamentals of Genesis 1-4.

Here is my perspective in a nutshell:

If you are going to accept and believe the gospels and the New Testament books about Jesus, salvation and the Holy Spirit, then you have to accept and believe the whole Bible, including the Genesis account of creation.

My friend does not. He feels that Adam and Eve were not necessarily the first humans on earth, but rather the first humans to be "cognizant" of God. He points to Cain's wife as his proof. Genesis 4:16-17 tells us:

"So Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch."

My friend reads these verses as saying that Cain went to another land and found a wife there, which would mean there were other humans on earth besides Adam's family. (Snap, snap! ha!)

I disagree.

I don't see Cain "getting married" in the land of Nod, which in Hebrew means "wandering." There is nothing that suggests that he found his wife in Nod, but is more likely he was already married when he went to the land.

And who was this wife?

Well, it had to be one of his sisters or possibly a niece. Adam had already lived 130 years by the time Seth was born (5:3) and had other sons and daughters. A lot of kids could be born in 130 years! God told Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it." (1:28) I imagine that's exactly what they did! Adam's offspring did not have the Levitical instructions about incestuous relations at this time, so marrying a sibling or close relative would have been normal.

Here is the deal in my opinion:

If you are going to believe in the "red parts" of the Bible, as my friend referred to them, then you have to believe in the black parts too! We don't get to pick and choose which parts of the Bible are believable and which aren't. Science supposedly proves certain things that simply cannot co-exist with the biblical account of things, creationism included. Will science ever prove God exists? No. Will science ever prove Jesus died and was raised from the dead? No.

There is no way to make God fit into our world and our understanding of our world.

We have to fit into His, because He made it. In six days. And on the seventh day He ceased--rested--because it was done. Life on earth had begun, just as He'd planned it. God obviously wanted us to know all of this--and how it all came to be--which is why we have Genesis in the first place!

I firmly believe God is a biblical literalist and a creationist!

Me too!

Cain and Abel: Which one are you?

Genesis 4 tells us the story of Cain and Abel. It's a very sad story. It's a story of selfishness, of laziness, of an evil heart and what happens when that evil is allowed to move us to action.

But it's also a story of true worship.

The story in a nutshell is this: Cain, the older brother, worked the soil. He was the farmer. Abel tended sheep. "In the course of time" each brother brought offerings to God. But there was a difference in their offerings. While Abel brought the best portions from the firstborn of his flock, Cain simply brought "some" of his fruits of the soil.

Was God pleased with each of them?

Look in Gen. 4:4 for the answer.

"The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor."

Folks, God doesn't want our scraps. He doesn't want just "some" of your time and devotion and love. He wants the best you have to give him. He wants to look upon us with favor.

Look what God tells Cain in 4:7:

"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

Man, do you hear the wisdom in those simple words?!

DO. WHAT. IS. RIGHT!

It's as simple as that, folks! Do what is right and find favor with God. If you don't, sin is waiting to take over your life. I have absolutely found that to be true in my own life. I would imagine that you have too. Look at your life right now. Are you giving God your best or your scraps? Trust me when I say I'm looking at my life too!

But Cain didn't listen to those wise words, just like a lot of folks today don't listen to God. As a result of Cain's sinful heart, he murdered his brother and tried to hide it from God. His family line was cursed. If you keep reading in Genesis you'll see that Cain's offspring were so sinful and evil that God wiped them out in the flood.

Cain or Abel.

One found favor with God. One was cursed.

Which one are you?

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Tomorrow I'll be taking a break from my regular blog topics to post a blog that will be part of the ACFW Conference Blog Tour. For more information on the tour and the upcoming conference in Denver, visit the ACFW website.

Genesis 3: The Fall of Man

To me, Genesis 3 is the saddest chapter in the entire Bible. Well, maybe right after the story of Jesus being crucified, but if it weren't for Genesis 3, Jesus would not have had to suffer such a horrible death.

Genesis 3 tells of man's fall into sin.

Adam and Eve--God's "very good" creation from Day 6--were living in paradise. They'd been given everything they could possibly need to have a wonderful life on earth. But God has always given us free will to make decisions for ourselves. He doesn't have us on strings like puppets, commanding every move we make. Adam and Eve were no different.

In Gen. 2:16-17 God tells Adam, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

Fruit from every single tree in the garden was theirs for the taking. God only asked that they not eat from one. The tree of knowledge of good and evil. Why didn't God want them to eat from it? Because death would follow and he didn't want them to die.

But what do all children do when their parents tell them not to do something? They do it. Especially when someone else tells them their parents are wrong.

"He [the serpent, who is Satan] said to the woman, 'Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'" "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (3:1,4)

Do you know Satan says the same kind of things to us today? He is still deceiving people every single day.

"Did God really say not to worship any other god? Did God really say to keep yourselves pure and holy? Did God really say you'll go to hell if you don't believe in Jesus Christ?"

Well, Adam and Eve blew it. They ate from the tree. When God discovers their sin, they do what a lot of people do. They blame someone else. Adam blames Eve. Eve blames the serpent. Neither take responsibility for their own disobedience. God has no choice but to punish them, as any loving parent does when their child disobeys.

An interesting thing to note is in 3:21. God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve to wear to cover their nakedness. Whose skin? An animal's, which means an animal had to die the first death on earth to cover Adam and Eve's sin. That tradition continued all the way through the Old Testament until the Lamb, Jesus Christ, died for us all.

"And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us (plural), knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After God drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." (3:22-24)

Can you imagine what would have happened if Adam and Eve would have eaten from the tree of life? Sin would be in the world for all eternity! The tree of life in the garden is the same tree of life we saw in Rev. 22:2 in the New Jerusalem. The difference is we will be free to eat from it at that point and live eternally in the presence of God. Once again, there will paradise on earth. I can't wait!

In the beginning...

Well, I'm finally back to a somewhat normal routine. Got my oldest son settled in his apartment in Dallas over the weekend. Though we miss him very much, life continues.

And so does my Bible reading. Yes, I started in Genesis today! Woohoo! The very first verse in the Bible is soooo interesting!

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

Think about it! Nothing existed. No earth. No planets. No sun. No stars. No nothing. Only God, who has always been and will always be. (I know, I know. That's hard to comprehend, until you understand we are not meant to comprehend it. Just accept it and move on.)

The Hebrew word used for "God" in this verse is "Eloim", which is plural. What does that mean? It means God is referring to himself as 'more than one'. In Gen. 1:26 he makes this clear:

"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..."

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit created the earth and everything else.

Notice that after each day and each creation, "God saw that it was good." Everything He created was good. But on the sixth day--the day he created man--"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." Do you get it? God was wonderfully pleased with his creation called 'man'. He was very pleased to create a man and a woman and he blessed them. That's why marriage between a man and woman is so sacred. It was always God's original plan. It's right there in black and white.

As a kid I often wondered where dinosaurs fit into the whole creation picture. Well, the answer is in Genesis 1:24-25. God made all the wild animals and all the creatures that move along the ground on the sixth day. The same day he made Adam and Eve. So to those who think dinosaurs lived on earth millions of years before people...

You're wrong!

One other interesting tidbit is in 1:30 where God says, "And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so.'

Does this mean that ALL animals were herbivores? Did lions and tigers and T-rex's all eat grass and plants before the fall? Kinda looks that way to me!

God has an amazing plan for us! Just read Genesis 1 and you'll see how it all falls in place. In perfect order.