Lot's Salt

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted: it is good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Matthew 5:13

I feel this week we may need to only look at Genesis 19 because there is so much there. Other references may lead to extra readings such as the chapter from Matthew containing our opening verse.

Observations:

Genesis 19 is the story of Lot and his family. First off let’s see who we are dealing with.

              II Peter 2: 6-9 We see that Lot is a righteous man who allowed himself to live in a situation that vexed his soul from day to day. In today’s language we would say Lot was a worldly Christian.

              Genesis 13:10,11 Lot chose to live in Sodom because it was a good land to increase his wealth.

              Genesis 18:20-23 When Abraham learns of God’s plan to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, he prays earnestly for the saved of the cities, that they not be destroyed with the wicked.

              Genesis 19: 1-3 Lot is very aware of the wickedness of the city and how they would treat strangers. Lot sat in the gate. Those in this position were rulers and judges for a city.

              Genesis 19:4-11 Lot offers the men of the city his virgin daughters in place of the “men” who have come into his house. His offer is rejected and the angels cause the men who were already spiritually blind to become physically blind.

              Genesis 19:12-14 It’s a little late for Lot to be talking about God’s judgment to his sons-in-law. Maybe they had never seem him too concerned about God’s judgment before. Everyone pretty much lived as they pleased. So now he must be joking.

              Genesis 19:15-22 Lot is still concerned with his physical comfort. He doesn’t want to follow God’s plan, so he pleads for his own way. God allowed it but it was not God’s best plan.

              Genesis 19:28 Lot’s wife looked back to all that she had left behind. She became a pillar of salt, worthless, standing out in the weather, not good for anything except a reminder.

              Genesis 19: 29-38 What a mess! Now Lot through his drunken state has become a participant in incest. Two nations will come from this wickedness. Two nations that will not know or honor God.

Application:

Lot is no different than most of us. He made his decisions based on his desire for wealth, position, and physical comfort in a nice home in convenient location. That does sound familiar where the almighty dollar reigns king. We vote, take jobs, and live our lives based on the same things Lot saw as necessary to maintain his lifestyle. He did not consider what effect the culture would have on his family and the generations to come. He lost his wife, daughters, sons-in-law, self-respect, and the generations of his family to come.

To what are we exposing our families? Are we the salt of the earth making a difference in our homes, churches and communities or are we so busy longing for what the world has to offer that we are no longer making a difference to anyone?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to the things we allow in our homes, in our schools, in our neighborhoods that are affecting our families. Help us Lord, that we seek Your alternative to the world through Your Word. Help us be willing to live as Abraham that our families may prosper eternally. In Your Holy Name we pray. Amen.

Won’t you share what God is doing in your family?

Blessing for your week,

Gail

God's Way or My Way?

 

Scripture

Deuteronomy 5:9,10

Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

Genesis 14-18

Observations

Genesis 14:22,23

Abram defended his family (Lot) but did not take payment from the king of Sodom. He had given tithes to Melchizedek, King of Salem to give praise and honor to God for defeating the enemy but he was not going to take gifts from Sodom and have them say the Sodomites made him rich.

Genesis 15:18

Abram pours out his heart to God. God has made him promises that Abram just doesn’t see being fulfilled. Nevertheless Abram still follows God’s directions and God reveals more of His plan for Abram and his descendants. Abram continues to put his trust in the one True God.

Genesis 16:5

Sarai makes plans when she doesn’t see how God’s plan is working out. If God is going to give Abram a child she figures it must be by someone other than herself but as his wife, she plans to be involved. As usual our own plans backfire when they are not God’s plans. God’s plan is one husband and one wife for life (Matthew 19:4-6). God will take care of the details.

Genesis 17:1

The Lord appeared to Abram and told him that He was all Sufficient or Almighty. (Geneva and KJV) Almighty gives me the sense that He can do anything. All Sufficient means He’s all I need. Abram (99 years old) needed to have a fatherly arm around him. The term seems personal. “My Father can do anything and He will take care of me.” Abram can feel secure.

 

Genesis 18:19

God knows Abraham, that he will be the spiritual leader of his home. He will teach his sons to follow the Lord. God has a plan for Abraham’s family because Abraham has a heart for God.

Application:

We cannot see into the future but we can be assured that if we put God first and follow His Word that God will take care of the details. God has a plan to prosper us and our families for generations to come. The question is, Will I follow a plan that doesn’t seem to make sense at the time or will I try to figure out a plan of my own?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help me recognize when I am trying to go my own way. Help me to recognize Your plan and follow it, that you might prosper my family for generations to come. Amen.

 

Won’t you share what God is revealing to you from His Word?

Blessings,

Gail

Whose Plan is it?

Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Psalms 100:3

Genesis 10-13

Genesis 10:9,10

Observation: Noah’s family began to increase. Nimrod is a mighty hunter, a man of renown, and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel. He gets a name for himself. Several others in the chapter are names that we might take notice of: Asshur the founder of Nineveh, Peleg a descendent of Shem, lived when the earth was divided. Hmm, maybe during the destruction of Babel? There seems to be about 70 nations here to populate the world.

Genesis 11: 4

Observation: The people do not want to follow God’s plan to fill the earth but rather to make a name for themselves. God confuses the language and the people are divided.

Genesis 12:17

Observation: God gave marvelous promises to Abram. He gave Abram a land and promises of a great family. Abram still feared and tried to take things into his own hands and caused a great plague to come on Pharaoh’s house.

Genesis 13:18

Observation: Lot chooses Sodom (vs 13 – The men of Sodom were wicked and exceeding sinners against the Lord) but Abram chooses to go wherever God directed him. He built alters and worshipped wherever he went.

Application: We too want to make a name for ourselves as individuals and as a nation. We name the name of Christ but we don’t trust him with our lives. We are fearful that people will harm us, take our jobs, and take our wealth. Instead of bringing the gospel to the world (Matthew 28:19,20) we close our doors, our hearts, and our homes. We wonder what is wrong with our nation, with our children, with our marriages. Could it be the problem lies in our own desire to make a name for ourselves instead of glorifying God with the spreading of the gospel?

 

Prayer:

Father, help us commit to putting you first, to letting our neighbors, whomever they might be, know that God loves them and died for them, and to allowing you to take care of our needs instead of putting ourselves ahead of Your plans. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Won't you join with us in study and conversation this week?

                                                                           Blessings,

                                                                              Gail

God, the Promise Keeper

Photo by Leah Rollins

 

Genesis 6-9

But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. Genesis 6:18

Sometimes we face scary situations, it may be illness, finances, job presentations, all kinds of things. I remember when our youngest was just a baby. We had two older toddlers and I was a stay at home mom. My husband had been laid off and we scraped by on unemployment and odd jobs. His unemployment was just about to run out when he found a job. He was employed just under ninety days. He came home one morning while the kids and I were still curled up in bed. He just stood there at the door of the bedroom. “What’s wrong?”

“They fired me.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t give me a reason. It’s been less than ninety days so they didn’t have to have a reason.”

There we were with no job and no unemployment to drop back on. But just like Noah and his family in the toughest, most scary times, God’s had us in His hand and in His plan. Life didn’t end because of a life changing experience. God had another plan, a better plan for us just like He did for Noah.

And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in. Genesis 7:16

God secures His people even when the world seems to be coming to an end.

And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. Genesis 8:20

As we saw God providing for our every NEED we were thankful. Just as Noah and his family were thankful and worshipped God. Their lives had changed but God had them. Just as our lives were about to change. What seemed bad for the moment was about to be for great good.

I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13

We often see rainbows but have you ever seen one from the top of the mountain? I once was on the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC when a rainbow appeared below us. We could see the perfect circle of the never ending promise of God. Just as husband and wife can look down on their hand and see the perfect circle of their wedding covenant in the bands on their fingers, God sees the perfect circle of His covenant in the sky when the rainbow appears. God gave Noah and his family the task of repopulating the earth with people who would hopefully obey Him, but whether they did or not, He had made a promise to never destroy the earth with water again.

As I said, our lives were facing a major change as well. You see, my husband was not yet a believer, but he soon would be. The crisis we faced for over two years put a strain on our marriage but that covenant circle stayed on our hands and reminded us of our commitment.  When he did come to Christ, it was like the skies parted and the sun shone through. In two weeks he had his old job back with higher pay than when he was laid off. Within six months we were building a nice home large enough to accommodate our growing family. Crisis still come and go. I just have to look up and know God’s got me… us.

Thank you Lord for always being there for us and seeing us through with Your better plan even when we can’t see the end of the tunnel. Increase our faith we pray. In Jesus name. Amen.

Won’t you share how God’s goodness to you is making a difference in your life?