Genesis 12

To leave with his family and travel, without even knowing where he was going, is a HUGE task! I cant even begin to imagine what must have been going through Abram's head at that time! While the bible is pretty frank about this, I am sure that Abram would have had serious misgivings about leaving everything that he knows, everything that he loves, his entire life in order to go somewhere unknown. Sometimes God asks us to do seemingly impossible things, and we have to learn to do as Abram did and trust God to provide for us, nomatter how the odds are stacked against us. Abram is an example of what happens when we obey.
When we obey God, God promises to be faithful to us, and to provide for us over and above our needs. God makes big promises to Abram, though those promises are not specific in terms of specific provision. Abram was assured of future blessings, and in faith he stepped out not knowing what the next day would bring, but keeping the future promises in mind. So should we....when we cant see our way through the next day we have to look at the bigger picture, and remember that God promises us prosperity and provision in our time of need. While that may not be situation specific, it is assured, and we have to remember that God WILL make good on those promises time and time and time again because He is faithful.


Imagine…..a land that was occupied by Canaanites and God says that it will be Abrams!!!! My feeling at that moment would be "yeah right!" God sometimes shows us incredible futures, and its hard to believe. I know for me, God continually shows me bigger and better possibilities, but they're hard to believe at times. but we have to trust God - we have to put our faith in the Lord, because God has a big picture, and it is bigger and more beautiful than we can ever imagine.
When God provides for us, what is the first thing we do? Do we revel in that provision? Or do we do as Abram did and immediately thank God. In a foreign, hostile land, Abram built an altar and worshipped God. Abram made time and provision to thank God for his blessings - do we do the same? Do we take the time to make the situation in which we can properly thank God. Do we pray? Do we sing? Do we do more than just a whispered momentary acknowledgement? Abram took the time, and so should we, to always thank the Lord for our blessings, and when God reveals something to us we should be grateful, and praise God nomatter how impossible that aspiration seems at the time!

Abram would have gone to Egypt for food, because during a famine that’s what people did. Whether God had a plan for Abram in Egypt or not we will never know.
Abram tells a lie, and encourages his wife to do the same, for good intentions. Abram wasn’t being evil, he was protecting his life and the virtue of his marriage. Sometimes we can also be sucked into decieving for all the right reasons, but nomatter what reasons they are there ARE no right reasons to lie. It is a matter of trust - if we trust God to proect us nomatter what, then we shouldnt feel like we have to decieve anyone in order to protect ourselves. Despite Abrams AMAZING faith earlier, he stumbles here, he tries to do things on his own strength. Abram was looking only at the temporal and was forgetting God's laws in that moment, or the consequences of them. The lesson has to be learned here...nomatter WHAT our reasons may be, if we feel the need to lie it is not of God. There is ALWAYS a choice, and we should always choose life - we should always choose God. There is no reason to lie that can be justified, nomatter how it looks to us.....our perspective is so limited, and we have to instead trust in God's.
Abram benefited from the lie - it turned out to be very profitable for him and for his wife. They were not just prevented from death and destruction, they were honored and favoured. Sometimes when we lie, we're not only saving our butts but the end result can be one that greatly benefits us. But any benefit is only temporal...and it sells us out. It cuts us off from God's favour, because we're indulging in sin based on a lie. Nomatter what, deceit is still deceit. We have to be vigilant at all times to keep our mouths, and our intentions pure, and to never sell out for temporal pleasure or benefit.
God hates lies in all forms, even if they benefit his people, it doesn’t matter. God reveals to Pharoah (I assume) the lie that Abram had told and Pharoah gets rid of Abram,because Pharoah was cursed as a result. I think there's an interesting point made here....when we hang out with people who are sinning, we also will be cursed. Who we keep company with on a social and intimate basis is so important. While we come into contact with those who are not of God, those who are unchurched, we have to be careful not to buy into their sin. Pharoah was cursed because he honored someone who was lying - we may say, but that wasnt his fault, but God sees our hearts and God saw Pharoahs. God also wanted the lie to end, so He told Pharoah, ebcause God values truth. Whatever lie we tell, it will be revealed eventually - because God will always bring these things to light. God will always ensure that liars do not prosper, even though in the short term it seems they do. We have to trust in God's plan that God will seek retribution from those who are lying to others, and we have to let God have His way rather than us trying to seek revenge on our own strength.
We have to distance ourselves from sin, in all its forms. We have to hate what God hates, love what God loves, and when sin is revealed to us we have to get rid of it, both by distancing ourselves from others and by cutting it out of our own lives and hearts. Pharoah knew that he wouldb e cursed as long as he entertained Abram, so Pharoah told him to go immediately. So too must we, when presented with sin, either by having it revealed in someone we hang with or revealed in our own hearts by the Holy Spirit, we must cut it out immediately. We have to be quick to take a scapel to our souls, and get rid of anything that is not of God. God wants us to be pure, and we have to be prepared to do whatever it takes to reach that.

Application prayer: Father God help me to be as full of faith as Abram. Help me to be constantly aware of your provision for my life, and help me to believe always the promises you give me. Help me to step out in faith, not knowing the next step but knowing what God has revealed to me as the bigger picture. Help me to step out, against all odds, when God calls, and to be so incredibly trusting with God, to have that relationship with God where nomatter what is against me, I know that God will prevail, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that your word is true yesterday, today and tomorrow. Father, help me to pursue your will for my life with passion,a nd to remember that when I am provided for I should make the time to thank you. Help me to set aside the time and the energy to really do you justice Lord God, and to do it out of love and not out of obligation. Help me to develop a worship that comes naturally out of my love nad my walk with you Lord. Father, keep me from sin, help me to never sell out to the world, nomatter how good my intentions are. Help me instead to keep your word always, and to tell the truth at ALL times, even though my intentions may seem good at the time, they're not good in the overall picture, which only you have. There are reasons for every one of your laws, and nothing good that is permanent can ever come out of lying to anyone. Please help me to seek ETERNAL benefits and not temporal ones! Please always help me to remember the bigger picture, the eternal consequences of my actions, and to always walk in your love and provision nomatter how long the road is. Father, when sin is presented to me, when sin is revealed in my own heart, help me to reject it in Jesus name! Help me to renounce it straight away and take a scapel to my heart and cut it out instantly. Lord, remind me never to hold on to that sin, remind me that its rotten and that I shouldnt ever desire it. Help me to hate sin as much as you hate sin, to love goodness and righteousness as much as you do, and to reject sin the instant its revealed. I want to be just like you Lord, Help me to do these things, to keep myself pure for you Lord, and to cultivate my relationship with you and never let anything come in between us. I ask these things, in Jesus precious name, AMEN :D