Genesis 28:13-15
There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Ok, so the prophecy is right there in verse 14 (The part that starts off with "Your descendents will"), and it is almost excactly like the promise given to Abraham and Isaac, except for this is now to Jacob. Now when I was little, I always kinda used to wonder why Jacob got to have the promise passed down to him instead of having it passed down to Esau. I mean, it was Esau's birthright, and Jacob tricked him out of it. I couldn't understand why God would honnor a trickster. But the real reason was that Esau had dishonnored the promise by giving it up for a simple bowl of soup. He didn't think it was important. Jacob understood that the promise was an amazing honnor and blessing. Just and interesting note I always think of when I read this. =)
I love the last part, which is verse 15. He promised to be with Jacob wherever he went, and would not leave till the promise had been fulfilled. Now, for back then, this was a pretty big deal. I mean, we have it sooooo good. We have the Holy Spirit with us 24/7! But back then, God couldn't dwell among men because, obviously, men sin(so do women), and without Christ as our perfection, we were seperated from God. He was going to great lengths even then, I mean, He could have totally left us sinful dorks to ourselves back then, but he came down and spoke to us as much as He was able.
So cool! And totally shows you the reason why I'm going through this study! I want to see where we were without Christ, but also how Christ was brought forth. How through the ages, God brought the promise to life. It's so cool. =)
Alrighty, Shalom!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Prophecies of Christ, Day 4
Well, I missed a couple days. =/ Soory! Anyhow Day 4!
Genesis 26:3-5
Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.
I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,
because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.
Here, the passing of the promise from Abraham to Isaac is confirmed. Back story, the reason that God was telling Isaac not to move... or rather the reason Isaac was considering going down to Egypt, was that there was a famine. =) So yah, just 'cause some of you might be like "Why wouldn't he stay?"
Oh, and I thought verse 5 was so cool, so I included it. It's like Exodus 20: 5-6
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Idk, just kinda what was brought to mind when I read that. =) Haha. Anyway, it's cool to keep track of how the promise is passed from generation to generation, and how it is given to those who follow God's will. There really isn't much said about Isaac, so I've always kinda assumed he lived a rather unremarkable life. What do you all think?
Well thanks for reading, and God bless!
Shalom!
Genesis 26:3-5
Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.
I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,
because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.
Here, the passing of the promise from Abraham to Isaac is confirmed. Back story, the reason that God was telling Isaac not to move... or rather the reason Isaac was considering going down to Egypt, was that there was a famine. =) So yah, just 'cause some of you might be like "Why wouldn't he stay?"
Oh, and I thought verse 5 was so cool, so I included it. It's like Exodus 20: 5-6
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Idk, just kinda what was brought to mind when I read that. =) Haha. Anyway, it's cool to keep track of how the promise is passed from generation to generation, and how it is given to those who follow God's will. There really isn't much said about Isaac, so I've always kinda assumed he lived a rather unremarkable life. What do you all think?
Well thanks for reading, and God bless!
Shalom!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Prophecies of Christ Day 3
Genesis 22:18
and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Ok, so this comes right after Abraham goes to sacrifice Isaac at the Lord's command, but he is stopped last minute and given a ram to sacrifice instead. Great story about faith, and it also has some symbolism of Christ, but I don't really consider it a prophecy. Again, it's more symbolism than an out and out prophecy.
Well anyhow, this is really the same as what was said to Abraham back in chaper 12(see Day 2 blogpost), but the cool thing about it is, it's after all this rich symbolism of Christ. And you thought I didn't like the whole symbolism thing! Not! I love it! It's great, it's just not what I'm supposed to be studying. =) I need to stay on track. Haha. So now that we have that cleared up, back to the verse.
Oh man, if I had just been put in Abraham's shoes, I would not be concious to hear what the angel had to say to me. Major Freakout moment! The dude had come like.... centemeters away from killing his son! His Only son, I remind you, since he sent Hagar and Ishmael away. Shnap! Anyway, he believed God, and it was credited to him as rightiousness. And he was blessed because of his faith. His obedience not only blessed him, but all nations! How cool is that!
Haha, anyhow, some of what I'm getting through this is that whether we obey God or not does have an impact. I mean, God would have sent His Son for us either way, because He is rich in mercy and He knew from the time He created us where we would end up. But He loves us and wants to save us. But because of Abraham's obedience and faith, he was allowed to become the father of the nation that Christ was born through. Sweet stuff eh? I think it's really cool, and I'm LOVING this study! Hope ya'll are too. =)
Shalom!
and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Ok, so this comes right after Abraham goes to sacrifice Isaac at the Lord's command, but he is stopped last minute and given a ram to sacrifice instead. Great story about faith, and it also has some symbolism of Christ, but I don't really consider it a prophecy. Again, it's more symbolism than an out and out prophecy.
Well anyhow, this is really the same as what was said to Abraham back in chaper 12(see Day 2 blogpost), but the cool thing about it is, it's after all this rich symbolism of Christ. And you thought I didn't like the whole symbolism thing! Not! I love it! It's great, it's just not what I'm supposed to be studying. =) I need to stay on track. Haha. So now that we have that cleared up, back to the verse.
Oh man, if I had just been put in Abraham's shoes, I would not be concious to hear what the angel had to say to me. Major Freakout moment! The dude had come like.... centemeters away from killing his son! His Only son, I remind you, since he sent Hagar and Ishmael away. Shnap! Anyway, he believed God, and it was credited to him as rightiousness. And he was blessed because of his faith. His obedience not only blessed him, but all nations! How cool is that!
Haha, anyhow, some of what I'm getting through this is that whether we obey God or not does have an impact. I mean, God would have sent His Son for us either way, because He is rich in mercy and He knew from the time He created us where we would end up. But He loves us and wants to save us. But because of Abraham's obedience and faith, he was allowed to become the father of the nation that Christ was born through. Sweet stuff eh? I think it's really cool, and I'm LOVING this study! Hope ya'll are too. =)
Shalom!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
New Bible Study.
Hey ya'll! Idk who reads this, but I figured I'd just keep posting 'cause I like haveing somewhere to write down and share all my thoughts and new learnings. =) So anyway, onto the real point of this post. Over the next few.... well months to a year really, I shall be going through and once a day reading a prophecy concerning Christ.
There are well over 100, probably more around 300, so you get why I would be going over this for a year. Feel welcome to join me, and hopefully I'll be able to post little somethings on what I read each day 'n such. Also, I have a pretty good list of most of the prophecies ( I wouldn't dare to even think that the list has all of them), so if you want me to send that to you, please just ask.
Now on to the good stuff! The first verse on the list, and the verse for today is Genesis 3:15.
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Alrighty, so this is one of the most well known prophecies of Christ, or at least it's the one that I've heard about the most. This is set in the passage where God curses the man, woman, and Satan(serpent). This particular part actually is a curse on the serpent. This is telling Satan his ultimate fate.... he will always be the enemy of Christ, and though he will strike at Christ's heel( all the ways that he tries to get rid of the prophecy throughout the ages, eventually peaking with the crucifiction of Christ), Christ will crush his head. It's refering mostly to the crucifiction though, according to what I've been told.
Anyway, there is more to talk about and think on, but really, you could just go on forever! So I'll stop here. =) I'd love to hear about your thoughts on it, dear reader. Please comment, or message me, or something! I really would enjoy hearing about your personal take on all this. =) Have a great God filled day, and God bless.
Angie Out!
There are well over 100, probably more around 300, so you get why I would be going over this for a year. Feel welcome to join me, and hopefully I'll be able to post little somethings on what I read each day 'n such. Also, I have a pretty good list of most of the prophecies ( I wouldn't dare to even think that the list has all of them), so if you want me to send that to you, please just ask.
Now on to the good stuff! The first verse on the list, and the verse for today is Genesis 3:15.
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Alrighty, so this is one of the most well known prophecies of Christ, or at least it's the one that I've heard about the most. This is set in the passage where God curses the man, woman, and Satan(serpent). This particular part actually is a curse on the serpent. This is telling Satan his ultimate fate.... he will always be the enemy of Christ, and though he will strike at Christ's heel( all the ways that he tries to get rid of the prophecy throughout the ages, eventually peaking with the crucifiction of Christ), Christ will crush his head. It's refering mostly to the crucifiction though, according to what I've been told.
Anyway, there is more to talk about and think on, but really, you could just go on forever! So I'll stop here. =) I'd love to hear about your thoughts on it, dear reader. Please comment, or message me, or something! I really would enjoy hearing about your personal take on all this. =) Have a great God filled day, and God bless.
Angie Out!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Sacrifice.
How many of us really realise exactly how much Christ gave up to be with us. And then, after we realise that, how many of us understand what a gift it is. And once we understand, that, how many of us take that into our lives?
This particular subject has been heavy on my heart lately. As I read Matthew 26 and 27 the other night, I was just suddenly hit by how nonchalantly I read this. Here it was, the event in history that is the basis for my faith, the reason for who I am, and I read it as if it was a story.
Upon realising this, I stopped and went back to the beginning of chapter 26. Reading through, this time with a heart to see the truth, I understood exactly how painful the death of Christ was. Not just physical, but in every single aspect. He lived a life of rejection, was betrayed by one of His own disciples, abandoned by the others, brutally beaten, sentenced to death by His own people, put to death in the most painful way possible, while taking on all sin that has ever been or ever will be for everyone, ( people have killed themselves because of the guilt they carry over their sins, and He took that on multiplied by like.... gazillions) and worst of all, He was separated from His father. God turned away. I can't fathom how painful that would be for me, and my love for God is not even a portion of what Christ is capable of having, much less has. Oh the pain. It breaks my heart.
How can we read this like it is nothing? And even more, how can we live like this is "normal". It's part of our every day life yes, but since when is any part of Christianity normal? Since when is every day for a Christian normal?
I started thinking of how we normalise things in our lives, such as prayer..... or even saying "Dear Jesus" at the beginning of prayer. Reading the Bible, talking about Christ sacrifice, living out His life and love, oh the list goes on and on. My prayer for myself and for others is that we will not normalise Christ. I want to feel the heartbreak of the cross every day, because through that comes incredible joy. No, not sacrificing Christ over and over again, but understanding each and every day that He went through intense pain, because that understanding gives me just a glimpse of the great love he holds for me. I don't want to be normal. Idk, just what's been on my mind lately. =)
This particular subject has been heavy on my heart lately. As I read Matthew 26 and 27 the other night, I was just suddenly hit by how nonchalantly I read this. Here it was, the event in history that is the basis for my faith, the reason for who I am, and I read it as if it was a story.
Upon realising this, I stopped and went back to the beginning of chapter 26. Reading through, this time with a heart to see the truth, I understood exactly how painful the death of Christ was. Not just physical, but in every single aspect. He lived a life of rejection, was betrayed by one of His own disciples, abandoned by the others, brutally beaten, sentenced to death by His own people, put to death in the most painful way possible, while taking on all sin that has ever been or ever will be for everyone, ( people have killed themselves because of the guilt they carry over their sins, and He took that on multiplied by like.... gazillions) and worst of all, He was separated from His father. God turned away. I can't fathom how painful that would be for me, and my love for God is not even a portion of what Christ is capable of having, much less has. Oh the pain. It breaks my heart.
How can we read this like it is nothing? And even more, how can we live like this is "normal". It's part of our every day life yes, but since when is any part of Christianity normal? Since when is every day for a Christian normal?
I started thinking of how we normalise things in our lives, such as prayer..... or even saying "Dear Jesus" at the beginning of prayer. Reading the Bible, talking about Christ sacrifice, living out His life and love, oh the list goes on and on. My prayer for myself and for others is that we will not normalise Christ. I want to feel the heartbreak of the cross every day, because through that comes incredible joy. No, not sacrificing Christ over and over again, but understanding each and every day that He went through intense pain, because that understanding gives me just a glimpse of the great love he holds for me. I don't want to be normal. Idk, just what's been on my mind lately. =)
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