Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Eternity, Idols, and Tidbits from Genesis

Some randomness about the Bible that's popped into my mind the past week...

Eternity...

Sometimes when we read the Bible, we think, "Okay, that's enough for today."  But that's disturbingly ironic, considering that the very eternity we look forward to is unending time with God...and here we are limiting our time with God.

Now, I realize that in this real world, we cannot spend every second of every day in Bible study or prayer - we'd all die, literally.  In fact, the entire book of Ecclesiastes deals with the subject of how to live spiritually while living in a practical, physical world.  But I do think all of us, at least some of the time, do undervalue our time with God in the midst of our day.

Just an observation, a musing...

Idols...

I've long held that any addiction is an idol.

In our culture, certain addictions are viewed as bad - alcohol, pornography, illegal drugs, etc.  But other addictions that are fundamentally no different - like caffeine, or video games, or TV - are accepted.

But here's the thing: Regardless of what our culture says, if when I'm stressed out I ignore my Maker and scarf a doughnut to get a sugar rush or turn on a TV show or whatever instead of taking a moment to pray, that's a problem.

God has certainly given us some of these things to benefit our lives (Ecclesiastes again!), but they become bad when they come before God, even if it's only in certain situations.

On this topic, check out Jimmy Needham's song "Clear the Stage."

Tidbit from Genesis #1...

The first part of Genesis 17:2 reads, "I will establish my covenant between Me and You..."  The context is God making His covenant with Abraham.

This verse stuck out to me because, concerning God's (later) covenant of forgiveness of sins through the death of His Son, God has made two such covenants from each of our points of view:
1 - He made this covenant with all of mankind
2 - He made this covenant with you as an individual

He didn't just make up one group contract that everybody who gets saved signs; He makes an individual contract with each and every person who comes to Him.

Tidbit from Genesis #2...

Genesis 21:6 says, "Sarah said, 'God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.'"

Now, if you remember the story leading up to this, God promised Abraham and Sarah they would give birth to a son well past their childbearing years.  Abraham laughed with joy, but Sarah laughed mockingly, refusing to believe it.  In this verse, she spins that around to a joyful laughter.

So what's significant here is that Sarah is not only openly acknowledging her sin, but is essentially memorializing the situation so that others can see what God brought out of the situation in which she messed up - thereby giving glory to God.

We could all learn from this humility, being willing to let others see our sin in order to show them what God has done.

Do you have any thoughts to share on these topics?  What's been on your mind this week?  Leave a comment below and let us know. :-)

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