Category Archives: Essential 100

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The Space Between Your Reality And God’s Promise

Essential 100—Read:
Genesis 27:1-28:22

“Jacob had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” ~Genesis 28:12

Leo Burnett was an advertising executive named by Time magazine as one of the twenty most influential people of the twentieth century.  He created such memorable icons as the Jolly Green Giant, Tony the Tiger, the Pillsbury Doughboy, and my personal favorite, Charlie the Tuna.  Leo once said, “When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.”  I like that!

One of the delightful gifts God has given mankind is the ability to dream—to see into that which is not yet, to envision a brighter tomorrow, to reach for the stars.  And though our dreaming and our reaching may be perverted by human pride, selfishness and greed, even still, the very capacity to dream has been implanted in our DNA by the Creator to remind us of the kind of inexpressibly delightful world he once created for us, and will recreate for his redeemed children in the age to come.

Then, every so often, God gives us a dream.  We have other dreams, of course, not from God but rather birthed out of our own life experience, or recent (or even archived) sensory intake, or perhaps from too much pizza the night before.  But on occasion, God will allow our mind to slip into that unseen, spiritual dimension through a vision, or more likely, a dream, where we get a sneak peak into God’s preferred reality for our life.  Usually that experience will be a bit blurry, since human beings typically have a wee bit of trouble wrapping their minds around such infinite things, but our spirits are left uplifted by it nonetheless.

God gave Jacob quite a dream—one of heaven intersecting earth in which the angels of God traveled back and forth, presumably to ensure that God’s will would be carried out in Jacob’s life. (Genesis 28:12) The dream also included God himself promising to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant through Jacob as well as a reminder that his presence and protection would be with Jacob as he journeyed through life. (Genesis 28:13-15)

For Jacob, this dream became a truly defining moment. He named the place of the dream Bethel—the house of God—and he built an altar of remembrance there. Later, after God had fulfilled many of the dream’s promises, Jacob returned to Bethel (Genesis 35), which now was a sort of spiritual touchstone, an ongoing reminder of God’s sovereign right to rule over Jacob’s life and his promise to graciously and generous provide Jacob with all he needed and desired. Bethel kept Jacob reaching for the stars even while he was trudging through the mud.

The whole point of this dream was to reveal to Jacob what God was already doing—guiding, providing and protecting Jacob on his journey, even when Jacob was unaware or unable to see the Invisible Hand.  So what does that mean for you and me?  Simply that God-inspired dreams might be nice, but our faith doesn’t need to rest on them. What God might graciously reveal in a dream is simply what God is doing 24/7 in your life anyway.

Award-wining journalist Belva Davis said, “Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality.”  Even better, through Jacob, the Word of the Lord  says to you, “Don’t fear the space between your reality and God’s promises.” You see, when you are walking with God, you are living the dream!

“God deposits a dream of what we can be for Him, a dream that acts as our internal honing device.” ~Wayne Cordeiro

Reflect and Apply: Don’t fear the space between your dreams and your reality—God is there. Faith is not dependent on dreams, neither is it dissuaded by reality. Faith trusts in the God who says, “Do not be afraid, I am your shield, your very great reward.” (Genesis 15:1) Lift up a prayer to God in which you claim that promise.

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Divine Tests & Deeper Revelations

Essential 100—Read:
Genesis 21:1-22:9

“Some time later God tested Abraham…‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.’” ~Genesis 22:1

I’m guessing this story in Genesis 22 raises a few questions for you.  I mean, doesn’t this “Divine ask” violate everything we know and trust about the character of God?  How could a loving God ask such a cruel thing of Abraham?  And if God did that to Abraham, doesn’t that raise the question of what kind of tests will he put me through?

If you’re feeling a little upset with “the God who tests” about now, here is my advice: Relax, take a deep breath, and step back for a broader view of God. Once you go a little deeper into this story and look at it through the lens of the entire Bible, here is what you will come to understand about Divine tests:

First of all, God’s tests are never without preparation. Notice the very first line of this story: “Some time later…” With God, time comes before testing. Typically, the word “test” conjures up negative images. Tests are the enemy; they are set-ups for failure; the harder the test, the more unfair the teacher. But those kinds of tests and that kind of teacher have no place in an accurate theology of God. This test came only after the events of Abraham’s life that took place between Genesis 12 and Genesis 22.

God didn’t suddenly spring this test on Abraham—and he’ll never spring one on you. This is no pop quiz; it is not without context. Abraham has now walked with God for about 30 or 40 years, and God has been preparing him through lesser tests all along the way. God didn’t test him like this until he knew Abraham was equipped for it. And God will never give you a test that you cannot pass.

Divine tests only come when you are prepared!

Second, God’s tests are never without purpose. In Genesis 22:12, the Lord stops Abraham from slaying Isaac, and says, “Now I know that you fear God.” This word “test” is used eight times in the Old Testament when God does the testing and each time it is used in the Old English sense of the word, “to prove.”  God’s testing is not to expose, but to establish. When God says, “now I know”, that wasn’t for God’s benefit, it was to give Abraham confidence that his faith in God was no foolish faith. You see, Abraham’s faith was tested, God’s faithfulness was tested, and both were established as trustworthy in Abraham’s mind.

Divine tests will always prove that your faith in God is never misplaced.

And third, God’s tests are never without provision. Genesis 22:14 says, “So Abraham called the place ‘The LORD will provide.’” The emphasis here is not on the provision, but “the Lord who provides.”  The most important provision for Abraham is a prophetic revelation of the person of God and his plan. The physical provision, whatever that might be, is always secondary to a deeper revelation of the One who provided it, and his purpose for providing it. Through this test, Abraham learned what God wants you to learn: He is the Lord who provides!

Divine tests always result in a deeper revelation of God to you.

Now that you know about divine tests, dare you say, “bring it on!”?

 “All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Reflect and Apply:  Are you going through a test of faith right now?  If so, begin to look for a deeper revelation of who God is, a clearer sense of what God has planned, and a practical way to express trust in his character.

 

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No Need To Fear

Essential 100—Read:
Genesis 15:1-21

“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’” ~Genesis 15:1

In Genesis 15, God appears to Abraham in a vision, and God’s first words are, “Fear not!”  God is simply responding to what’s going on in his heart. Abraham was having a sleepless night and he was afraid.

Afraid of what? There were four fears arising from Abraham’s past, common fears that you and I often face in our faith-journey, as well:

First is the fear of “what have I gotten myself into?” Abraham just had publicly humiliated four despots, overthrowing their vast army with a handful of men (Genesis 14:17-24). Dictators don’t take these kinds of humiliating defeats lightly, and no doubt fear of repercussions now griped Abraham’s heart.

When you declare your intentions to put trust in God, the Enemy will sow fear into your heart since he doesn’t take kindly to giving up spiritual territory.

The second is the fear of “what have I just given up?” After defeating these dictators, their archenemy, the king of Sodom, wanted to give Abraham a financial reward. Abraham turned it down, and while the king went back to his palace wealthy, Abraham went back to his tent empty-handed, clinging only to the promise of God.

When you take a stand for God, it is likely that a wave of fear will hit you “square in the faith” as you wonder if trusting in God will be sufficient.

The third is the fear of “have I misunderstood God’s will.” A decade prior, Abraham heard God tell him to leave everything and go to Canaan where he would be given many descendants. That was a real leap of faith since he was 90 and Sarah was 80. Now, he is a centenarian with no kid to show for it.

When you experience a delay between God’s promise and provision, fear that you misunderstood what God actually said will begin to play on your faith.

The fourth fear is “will God act in time, if at all?” In Genesis 12, impatient with God’s promised provision, Abraham took a faith detour to Egypt, apart from God’s plan, looking for human resources to keep him afloat during a famine.

The temptation to flee to “Egypt” is an ever-present danger, playing on a fear that drives you to make things happen for yourself.

So why did God allow the conditions that played on Abraham’s fears? Why didn’t he just immediately provide what he had promised?  And why doesn’t God make things easy for you and me?  Why does he delay?

Here’s why: God always creates the conditions where he can manifest his glory. And you wouldn’t want it any other way. Neither would I!  That’s how faith-testimonies are born! That’s what births spiritual legacies! That’s where Kingdom greatness is forged. It is in the gap between promise and fulfillment that God gives duel encouragement to Abraham—and to us:  “Do not be afraid. I’m your shield, your very great reward.” (Genesis 15:2)

Don’t miss what God has promised: He will be your protector—which means that you are untouchable until God’s work is done. Nothing can touch you except it come by permission of God, who is a living shield around you. Abraham believed that—and it neutralized his fears.  You should believe that, too—it’s the answer to your anxieties!

But God is more than a shield. He says also to Abraham, “I am your very great reward.” God is your greatest treasure, the only genuinely satisfying joy you will ever know, and the experience of God’s presence will be a far richer source of joy than even his promises fulfilled. The New Testament commentary on this passage, James 2:23, says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness…” Then it adds, “and he was called God’s friend.”  Abraham’s greatest reward was the relationship gained, not the results won!

And we never again read of Abraham fear’s, which were neutralized by his sense of God’s presence, God’s friendship and God’s adequacy. The turning point in Abraham’s journey was when he turned his eye from his fears and fixed them upon his Friend.

That will be the critical point in your journey of faith and obedience, too. Turn your eyes from your problem to your Friend, and like Abraham, you, will discover that God is more than adequate.

“Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.”  ~Oswald Chambers

Reflect and Apply:  What is your greatest fear?  How is your faith being tested?  Where are you waiting for God’s adequate provision?  Turn your focus off these and lock onto your Friend—he is both your shield and your very great reward.

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The Dream-Giver

The reality is if our lives were left up to us, we wouldn’t dream big enough. Certainly God has in store for us more than we could ever think or ask.

Reflect:
Essential 100—Read: Genesis 12:1-20

“The LORD said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing…all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.'” ~Genesis 12:1-3

God gave Abraham quite an expansive dream for an old guy, didn’t he!  He was well into his senior years when God showed up and said, “Abe, I’ve got some unbelievable plans for you!”

Do you realize that among created beings, man is unique in that he alone has the ability to dream? Angels can’t dream; animals can’t dream.  The devil can’t dream, dogs don’t dream—although I think mine does.  I notice him twitching and snarling sometimes when’s he’s sleeping. I suspect he’s chasing rabbits—or better yet, cats.

But I’m not talking about those kinds of dreams. Nor am I talking about those run-of-the mill dreams that you get almost every night—some of them goofy and random, some bizarre and nightmarish, some that recycle periodically in your subconscious, revealing much about your fears and insecurities, like running but never getting anywhere, or falling but never hitting bottom, or being in front of a crowd and suddenly realizing you’re stark naked—with nowhere to hide.

The kind of dreaming I’m talking about is envisioning a better tomorrow, a successful future, or a life of significance and impact. God has given mankind alone the ability to dream—and that includes you! And I suspect that somewhere, perhaps buried deep inside you, is a dream for a fantastic future.

But your dream doesn’t even come close to the fulfillment God has in mind for you. Abraham had dreams, but what God had in mind was far more expansive than this old man could have ever imagined.  Abraham wanted a home; God had in mind a whole land—the land of promise.  Abraham wanted a child; God had in mind a nation—and not just any old nation, it would be the people of God.  Abraham wanted to make a name for himself; God had in mind to bless the entire earth through Abraham’s life.

God’s vision was far bigger and better than Abraham could have ever dreamed.  I suspect that’s true for you too!  So why don’t you dust off those dreams and bring them back before the Father who gave them to you. Henry David Thoreau wrote,

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

If God has given you a dream, this may be the best time to start on that foundation, because now just may be the time he wants to build them into a fantastic reality. Just remember, as the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:20,

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!”


Reflect and Apply:  What are some of the things you’ve dreamed of doing over the course of your life?  Drag them back out of mothballs and lift them up to God in prayer.  Let him refine them, discard them for better ones, or give you an entirely new and improved dream—and then keep your dream active before him until it finds fulfillment.

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When Good Is Enemy Of The Best

Essential 100—Read:
Genesis 11:1-9

“Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’” ~Genesis 11:4 (NLT)

You might read this story about the Tower of Babel and wonder, like I did, what’s so bad about Babel?  I mean, was God just having a bad day of something?  After all, it’s not often you see unity of purpose and effort achieved among human beings like this.  The United Nations could learn a lesson here!

So why did God look upon what these folks were doing and say, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (Genesis 11:6-7) And at that, he put an end to their efforts, confused their language, and scattered them across the face of the earth. (Genesis 11:8-9)

The problem was not the tower they were trying to build, nor their effort to achieve unity among the nations. In large part, public work projects and united efforts are a good thing.  But in this case, good was the enemy of best.  You see, after the great flood of Genesis 7-8, God had told these nations to scatter across the earth, repopulated it and establish human civilization wherever they went. (Genesis 9:1,7) In fact, this was a critical piece of the covenant God made with Noah and his descendants (Genesis 9:8-9), and was likely the reestablishment of the original covenant God had made with but had been forfeited by Adam. (Genesis 1:26-30)

What was wrong with Babel?  Simply this: Disobedience, pride and independence from God. Instead of fully devoting themselves to God’s command, they thought they could do better. They chose to go it alone. And God put a stop to it!

That’s always the problem with human beings, including you and me, isn’t it?  Every single day, we wrestle with who is going to be God in our lives. Rather than seeking and doing what God says, we seek and do what we want to do. Of course, we acknowledge God to a degree, but then we pursue what we want. With regularity, we twist Jesus’ well known prayer of submission into, “God, not your will but mine be done!”

Stop and think about that today. Is there a Tower of Babel in your life—something that seems so good; something that makes sense to those around you; something that would advance your comfort, security and name?  Remember, what looks good to you may in fact be the enemy of God’s best for you!  Maybe it’s a purchase you are considering, a plan you are making, a relationship you are considering, or…you fill in the blank.

Peter Marshall, the venerable Chaplain of the U.S. Senate in the mid-twentieth century, once prayed,

“Save Thy servants from the tyranny of the nonessential. Give them the courage to say ‘No’ to everything that makes it more difficult to say ‘Yes’ to Thee.”

That’s a great prayer: saying no to the good and yes to the Best!  Why don’t you join me in praying that prayer all this week?

Reflect and Apply:  Let me encourage you to simply ask, “God, what do you want?”  Or as Bobby Richardson, MVP second baseman for the New York Yankees once prayed at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ meeting, “Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen!”  Pray that prayer, my friend, and then make sure you put it into practice.

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You Are Unforgettable

Essential 100—Read:
Genesis 8:1-9:17

“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” ~Genesis 8:1

As you read the account in Genesis 8 and 9 of Divine judgment coming upon the whole earth—that man’s evil would be so great it would force God to completely destroy everything he had lovingly created—you can’t help but at least find a silver lining in the otherwise ominous wrath clouds in the very first line of Genesis 8:

 “But God remembered Noah.” 

What a great line—and what a great hope we have. God didn’t forget Noah, which means, by extension, that God will not forget you or me. Don’t underestimate the significance of that statement.

You see, no human being has ever wanted to live a forgettable life. Everyone wants to be remembered; God has wired that deeply into our DNA. Perhaps the reason he made us that way was to cause us to crave his attention—which in human relationships is usually, at worst, a bad thing, and at best, a very annoying trait.  But with God, being an attention-getter is actually okay, since he made us for that.

And God will oblige our cravings.  If man is chronically, stubbornly and unrepentantly sinful, oh yeah, he will get God’s attention all right—and not the kind that will be pleasant. Revelations 18:5 says a time is coming when the Lord will remember mankind’s evil with a final and unfettered wrath: “For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.”

But most encouragingly, the Bible speaks of God remembering his people, especially at times when they think he may have forgotten them. If you want to really be encouraged that God won’t forget you, consider the following: Genesis 19:29, Genesis 30:22, Exodus 6:5, I Samuel 1:19, Psalm 112:6, Isaiah 49:15, Hebrews 13:5.

Obviously, God wants to convince us that to him, we are unforgettable. And to convince Noah, we see in Genesis 9:12-15 that God offered a sign as proof:

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant.”

So the next time you see a rainbow, I hope you will see in it a paintbrush of the Divine Artist beautifully inscribing your name in the sky as a permanent reminder that you are unforgettable.

Yes, you are unforgettable to God.  Now don’t ever forget that!

Reflect and Apply:  Take a moment to consider God’s promise through Isaiah the prophet: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”  (Isaiah 49:15)  Now every morning until your next reading assignment, offer a prayer of thanksgiving back to God for his promise to keep you as unforgettable in his eyes.

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Grace, Grace, God’s Grace

Essential 100—Read:
Genesis 6:5-22; 7:1-24

“So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” ~Genesis 6:7-8

Everybody knows the story of Noah and the Ark—and the flood.  And just about everybody has a couple of questions they would like resolved about this story.  Like, is it true?  Was there really an ark—and does it still exist, undiscovered in some far away location? Could all the creatures of the earth fit into this boat—even elephants and dinosaurs?  Is there any evidence of a world-wide flood? And what about…?

Well, I’m not going to try to answer those questions for you—I don’t think you’ll ever get the details you would like to have about this story on this side of heaven. I would simply encourage you to accept the veracity of the flood account on faith—the Bible has a pretty good track record of authenticity, you know!

But I would like to point out a couple of unusual details of this story that have personal ramifications for you and me.  The first one is from Genesis 6:7, where we notice that God felt tremendous emotional pain from the sinfulness of man.  So much did it grieve God that he actually regretted making the creature he loved the most.  And don’t be misled, our sinfulness still grieves God, because even the “littlest” of sin goes against the grain of who God is, violates the core purpose of why he created us, and disrupts the fellowship he longs to have with us.  Sin stinks!  Don’t ever forget that!

But the second unusual detail ought to make you stand up and do a jig at this point.  It’s found in the next verse, Genesis 6:8:  “But Noah found grace in God’s eyes.” (NKJV) Hallelujah!  God’s grace trumps sin—my sinfulness and yours, too!  A. W. Tozer wrote,

“Abounding sin is the terror of the world, but abounding grace is the hope of mankind.”

The ark made it possible for one man and his family to escape the righteous wrath of a God who must call sin to account, and God’s greatest display of grace, Jesus’ death and resurrection, makes it possible for you and me to escape the ultimate consequence for sin—eternal separation from God’s presence in hell.

Yes, God’s grace is greater than all my sin. Thank God for grace!

Reflect and Apply:  Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  How can you?  Not by earning it, but by simply surrendering to the Fountain of Grace that never runs dry. Titus 2:11 reminds us that “for the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men.” Jesus Christ, he is that Fountain!