Do You Really Care About Others - Genesis 18-19

If you contend that you really care about other people who are not members of your own family or life long friends, what do you have to prove it even during the last twelve months? Just remember that your actions speak much louder than your words; so do you have some pictures or receipts; are there memories of specific incidents where you have shown mercy or specifically ministered to a stranger? Or, does your bank statement reflect that you love lost or needy people? There are several ways that you can know for sure; and there should be ways that you can prove that you do care for other people.

In our church, and I am sure in most others, there are many ways to prove your interest in lost and needy people. Your tithes support the local church in its daily task of ministry to the local congregation and of course we understand that many of these locals have desperate needs that include both the spiritual and physical. We call this our general operating fund and it pays the salaries of the staff, for water, lights, heat and air conditioning, and the other cost connected with the operation of a program that is now approaching a million dollars each year. The Bible explicitly says that the tithe of a Christian is equal to ten percent of your annual gross salary, and NOT your annual NET salary. God demands that your tithe be paid first, before the grocery bill. Believe me, if you will live and give by this rule, the 90% you have left will go further than it will under any other arrangement.

If you will be faithful to God in the payment of your tithe, he will always prosper you in such a way that you will have some other monies during the year that you can give as your offerings. These are the ones that go to Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong, Dixie Jackson, your Sunday school class, The Hammerheads, and love offerings, to help the needy and students that are perusing a Christian education. Guess what…when it is all said and done, you will be the one that receives the greatest blessings. The Bible promises that if we “Will give, it will be given unto us…stacked up and shaken down so that we do not have to worry about our own circumstances. The greatest blessing in all the world comes when we give of ourselves that God and others may be blessed. Do you care about others? Sure you do.

One more thought regarding giving to the poor and needy, and then we will move on to other ways that we are expected to share with others. I don’t know about you but I am depressed when I view some of the scenes that appear on television where children are shown in desperate circumstances—weak and starving, swarming with flies and bugs of all kinds, digging through garbage in search of a morsel of food. I do not deny that this may be actual scenes of the way things are; this may be actually happening each day of our lives—but I am sorry to say that there are crooks that are so greedy for wealth that they will exploit these children, collect your money and use it for personal excessive wealth, and the children actually receive very little of your gift…if any at all. How do you respond?

I hope I can set your mind and heart at ease if you are one that turns these programs off along with the televangelist that are living in palace like homes, flying custom made jet planes, and wintering in the Bahamas, all this on the money that people contribute to needy children. What ever church you attend, surely it has some avenues through which you can safely give knowing your money will arrive where it is needed and where unto you gave it. My advice is to stick with programs that you are sure of and have confidence in. If you do not have such a program…then you can always find some needy soul around your town and make it a personal gift. Deliver your gift yourself and receive a double whammy of grace and glory. It will make you feel good.

Now let us stop for a few moments and think about other ways that we can contribute to the welfare of others in need. Don’t know about your church, but at First Baptist in Heber Springs, you can walk into the sanctuary almost any Sunday morning and get the feeling that you have just entered the auditorium in some Old Folks home. Most of the women’s hair is grey, while most of the men’s hair is just not there. Believe me, there is a huge number of our people that need your intercessory prayers.

Many of these older people who have more problems than carter has little liver pills. The problems are real and sometimes devastating. They have lost their health and sometimes their wealth and have special needs just like the people in the third world countries. It is even more difficult for any person to have lived well and now find themselves deprived. The mind plays tricks on some of us who are older, and we wonder what we have done wrong that is causing our new hampering situations. Christians have the obligation of being conservative, seeing and recognizing the needs that are present and offering personal advice, personal help, and above all intercessory prayer for them regularly.

Now allow me to get down to the nitty-gritty, down where the hair grows short; where it is difficult to love, care, and give to others. There are circumstances that we can observe that may cause us to feel that some people just do not deserve being helped; but this is not for us to decide. I think we all realize this, but what I want to warn us about is that it is not our place to make the judgment. The Bible says that we should leave the judging to God. It says that we should judge not, lest we be judged by the same judgment. I have a suspicious feeling that Abraham had a pretty good knowledge of what was going on in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah regarding the sinful lives of the people who lived there. But he did not condemn them and call for their destruction; rather he entered into intercessory prayer for their welfare.

It is pretty difficult for us to realize how Abraham and Sarah really had much trust and confidence left. It had been thirteen years since they were told that they would have a son that would be the father of all mankind. They had already taken over for God and devised their own plan wherein Ishmael would be their source through which they would be blessed with unnumbered descendents. [Abraham and his wife’s maid, Hagar had Ishmael out of wedlock.] Then during this thirteenth year later, three angels [men sent from God] dropped by his house to tell him that he and Sarah would have a son in their old age, whose name was to be Isaac, and that they would be back by to see the son when he was born. Some doubt was present because Sarah laughed at the thought.

They were frightened, and embarrassed and even showed openly that they had some doubts. Even in this condition and under these circumstances when they learned that the men [angels] were going on down to Sodom and Gomorrah to judge the people of that city, Abraham was very concerned. His nephew, Lot, lived there and he had knowledge of the sins of the people in those cities. I feel sure that he was concerned about his nephew; however he went to some length to intercede for the many others whom he did not know. Abraham asked them their intentions, and they told him that they were being sent to destroy the cities because of their many sins against the living God. Here you will find one of the most specific personal requests ever made to God about saving people, some that Abraham did not even know.

Abraham questioned God’s plan to destroy every one in these two cities. He asked these questions. Is it right to destroy everyone in these cities if there are some there that are not a part of the sinful ways of the people? The answer seemed to be, probably not. So he started one of the most specific intercessory prayers ever uttered by man.

If there are 50 Godly people found there; will you spare the cities? Yes. What if there are only 45; will you then spare the people from destruction? Yes. But, Lord, if there are only 30 righteous found there, should you not spare them? Yes. In my mind’s eye, I can see the two angels still standing, and looking into Abrahams worried eyes, as he made still another request…What if there are only 20 God fearing people in the land, will you spare them? YES. How far do you go in your intercessory prayers for strangers? Abraham realized that he had kindred there; Lot, his wife and two daughters…four people that were his kindred, but that was not the number used in his last request. Abraham asked the two angels from God, if you can find at least 10 [ten] righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, will you spare the cities. YES. Abraham did not extend his request to only his relatives.

There are some unknowns in this story, but is interesting and may be worth some speculation. Three men visited with Abraham and Sarah, brought the good news regarding Isaac and had dinner with them—but only two of the angels [men] showed up at Lot’s house. Remember that it was after they had left Abrahams house that he had a conversation with one man called [the lord] and prayed his prayer of intercession. Did one of the three remain behind to hear this plea?

Men, young and old, stormed Lot’s home and demanded that he send the two visitors out so they could have sex with them. To my knowledge, this is the only specific sin that was mentioned in this story. This should warn everyone about the sin of homo-sexuality. After the altercation outside the front door, the two angels dragged Lot inside to save his life, closed the door, and struck all, young and old, with blindness. My question here is did this include spiritual blindness? It must have, because until this day, homosexuals still cannot see that they are living in a condemned life style. They are still blind and either do not recognize it or have hardened until they do not care any more.

Instructions were given to Lot to leave hurriedly—and don’t look back. Lot’s wife looked back and was killed immediately and preserved as a block of salt. Why not stone—or as a petrified stump or log? I believe that she was petrified as salt, because of the preservative nature of salt.

This lesson is one good example of how God is able to depart many truths to us in one passage of scripture. There is no wonder why we can read the same scripture over and over and still glean other truths at each new reading. Take a few moments and think about other titles that could have been given to the study of these two chapters. A few are: “Saved as by Fire”—“Never Doubt God”—“Don’t Laugh at God’ Word”—“Intercessory Prayer”—“God’s Judgment is Sure”—“Be Wise in Choosing Your Home Site”—“The Horrible Sin of Homosexuality”—or “Don’t be Blinded by Your Sin.”

Do You Trust the Lord's Promises? - Genesis 15 - 18

I am often concerned about the depth of my thinking and reasoning ability. You will never find my name listed along with Plato, Socrates, or Aristotle; however I surely hope it will never be compared to the fictional character of Forest Gump. Even in his life there was a positive side; I wish I could run and physically endure as he could. Once in a rare occasion I do have a thought that seems to run deep and when this happens, I enjoy sharing it with others. Allow me to ask you a question regarding the title of this lesson which regards the depth of your trust and the heights of your expectations. Oh, it is a very simple question; almost as innocent as one that Forest might have asked his girl friend. Do you trust in your mustard seed faith? Or, had you rather place your trust in your mountain high doubts? Your answer determines how secure you feel in your salvation.

Now, please don’t tell me that your never have doubts that trouble you, because that would cause me to think that I have not reached a level of Christian living that is out there and available to me. If you are an unbeliever, I realize that you may view God’s promises as fiction; and you may tend to believe that those of us who believe God’s word to be truth are ignorant, superstitious or unsophisticated. I know that professing Christians generally profess to believe all of God’s promises as they are revealed in the Bible. I also realize that when particular promises are not fulfilled in the exact way or at the precise time as they are expected, even BELIEVERS [because of their doubtful minds] begin to question the very God they love and serve. Christians definitely reach a time when they must face the choice of whether they should live by their mustard seed faith or by their troubling mountain of doubts. Isn’t it ironical that Jesus told us that if our faith was the size of a grain of mustard seed—we could humble ourselves, seek his face and pray and he would remove our mountain?

This ‘doubting experience’ will come into your life at sometime [and it may happen often] and the important thing is the way you choose to respond. One thing is not questionable, Jesus expects you to trust him to keep his promises and take him at his word. When you do not do this, he has every right to feel offended; he can then say, “I made you a promise with a condition which you did not keep, therefore I am not obligated to its fulfillment.” I do not know about you, but as for me and my house: “We prefer to trust the Lord’s promises rather than to expect our doubts to lead us in this Christian walk. We are not the only ones because Abram and Sarai in their old age trusted god to keep promises that defied nature itself, they too had doubts, but their faith prevailed. Through their son Isaac God blessed them and their inheritance was great.

There are two characters on stage in this story regarding the faith of Abram and Sarai that play roles in order to prove their faith. They are Melchizedek and Ishmael, and I will attempt to zero in on their part in this story. When younger, at home on the farm when the weather was too bad to work in the field, one of my favorite pastimes was to take a good mystery book and go to the hay-loft, listen to the patter of the rain on the tin roof and read. No author ever invented a mystery more intriguing than the writer of Genesis when he introduced Melchizedek. Who was this guy?

Read carefully not only the lines written, but also between the lines and you will find that one of the most mysterious people in the Bible is the king of peace, Melchizedek. Evidently this man had no earthly parents and therefore no genealogy. He appeared one day in the life of Abram and was never heard from again with one exception. The happenings of the day that Abram met him on his way home from a successful battle has been remembered throughout history and eventually became a subject of the New Testament letter to the Hebrews.

These two men were strangers, both lived in foreign countries from each other but both served the same God, the God that made heaven and earth—and this was unusual in that day and time when many gods were served in different countries. The day they met was a moment of triumph for Abram for he had just won a battle that freed a great number of captives and he had also captured a great amount of wealth and was on the road home at the time of their meeting. If there was ever any doubt as to who actually won the battle, Melchizedek set it straight when he greeted Abram and said “Blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Melchizedek represents the Gentiles, as he is one of the very few men mentioned in the OT that was not a Jew. This is the first indication that to be a follower of God is not genetic, but instead it depends on recognizing God’s greatness and fully obeying his teachings. Melchizedek is the first priest/king mentioned in the scriptures. Even though he is in the OT time, he reminds us of Jesus. He was a ruler in Salem the site of the future city of Jerusalem. There is no doubt that Abram thought him to be his superior, because he had just won a war, and was returning home with much wealth and many captives. When he saw Melchizedek, Abram bowed to him, and paid him tribute that amounted to a tithe, or 10% of all he had gained. There are three scripture references to this man: Gen. 14: 17-20; Psalm 110: 4; and Hebrews 5—7.

The second character that is important to this lesson was Ishmael, Abram’s first son, whose mother was a maid in the home of Abram and Sarai [later known as Abraham and Sarah]. We never know what effect it will have on a child to be born out of wedlock; or to be adopted by others. Ishmael may have been one that felt that he was born into the wrong family, since there were problems between his mother and Sarai [two very jealous women] and at one time he and his mother were driven from the home. Men are usually the problem in family affairs, but in this case Sarai was the one that became impatient with God and his plan for them to have a son. She had no faith, and felt that she should take the problem into her own hands, and she was the one that had suggested that Abram commit adultery with the maid, so she would bear him a son.

This problem continued between Hagar [the maid] and Sarai for thirteen years, when Isaac was born to Sarai and Abram in their old age. This simply increased the problems. The parents and Ishmael had thought that he was the child through whom the world would be blessed; but now it is plain that Isaac is the blessed one, and there is a terrible jealousy arising in the heart of Ishmael. Ishmael was not at fault and could not alter the circumstances surrounding his birth, but his latter actions contributed to the problems that arose in the family.

We are being asked to answer one question in the study of these three chapters in Genesis that evolves around a man a woman who are approaching one hundred years of age and have been promised by God, personally, your descendents will be so many that they will equal the number of stars in heaven…they will be as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea…which simply means that you will not be able to count them. This promise was made after they were past the normal age of giving birth…and before they had a child of their own. The question for us today is: “DO YOU TRUST THE LORD’S PROMISES?”

Here in lies a point that we all should grasp and always remember. Abram’s faith was greater than Sari’s faith because she is the one that insisted that they needed to help God work his plan. Abram’s faith was not complete, because he did not refuse to go along with Sari’s plan. Both had mustard-seed faith, because they stuck with God’s plan to work the will of God in the lives all people born thereafter. Another result of this encounter between these people and the Lord is that in the end God counted Abram’s faith as righteousness. By his faith he won God’s favor and because of his faith we now have a Savior who was born the Son of Abram, Isaac through the Israelite heritage including David, as was later promised by all the prophets and priest. We must have faith to believe that God can take our mistakes and work them into his positive plan for his people. In this case he used the mistake regarding the birth of Ishmael to find a father for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Abram was eighty six years old when his first son, Ishmael was born. He was ninety-nine years old when God appeared to him the second time to tell him that he and his wife Sarai would bear a son whose name was to be Isaac and through him you will be the father of many nations. God changed his name from Abram to Abraham. And this is the day and time when God gave the land of Canaan to Abraham and assured him that it would forever be the land of his people;

This is the place and time that God commanded that Abraham keep the covenant he was making and one part of that was that every male was to be circumcised immediately, and then all future generations were to circumcise their sons on their eighth day. And on this occasion, God told Abraham that he must change his wife’s name to Sarah. You will note in 17:22 that this was a personal conversation between God and Abraham. Abraham may not have been looking into God’s eyes, they may not have shook hands to seal the agreement, but when they finished their conversation, “God went up from him.”

On that very day Abraham took his thirteen-year-old son, Ishmael, and all other males in his house and they were circumcised. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised. This is one of the ordinances established under the law that continued through the old dispensation. Under the new dispensation of Grace there are two ordinances that are required to be kept by the Christian. They are the Lord’s Supper which is to come often enough that we do not forget the importance, but as often as we observe the Lord’s Supper, we are to do it in remembrance of our Lord and Savior. The second ordinance is that of Baptism. In order to be scripturally baptized one must go down into the water, and come up out of the water in order to symbolize the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The total picture of baptism shows that we are all sinners until we accept Christ as our Savior. When we go down into the water it shows that our old life is dead and buried; when we come up out of the water it is the picture of the arising of a new Christian filled life; When Christ was baptized to give us a model to go by, God spoke and his voice was heard to say…”This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” I personally believe that he thinks this same thought every time one of his little ones is baptized and arises to walk in a new life…a new relationship with Him.

God promised Abraham that if he would obey him he would be the father of nations. And he did. God has promised us that if we will accept his Only Son as our Savior we can and will become the sons of God, members of his family, with a home in heaven with him. Do you trust him to keep that promise? Think about it! If you can’t truly trust Jesus Christ—who can you trust?

God Wants Us to Value Everyone - Genesis 1:27; 9-6/Matthew 5:21-22; 36-41/Mark 10: 46-52.

If you are a member of a church that is struggling to pay the bills and stay afloat are you as pleased to receive a new low income family into your membership as you are to receive a family of professionals that are among the top income group in the community? If both families join your church, will they receive the same treatment, the same welcome and will both be well pleased with the way they are integrated into church activities? Do the staff, deacons, teachers, and members treat the two families differently? Before you answer, remember that I will never know whether or not you are truthful; however, God knows your innermost thoughts and you can not hide the desire of your heart from Him. The value of a soul is not measured by the size of ones income, position, or political power—and does not depend on whether or not the person is a regular tither.

For your information, I use Life Way Literature to select this series of lessons and as one source of my reference information. Life Way prepares the literature for the Southern Baptist Convention. The Convention has chosen a few special days out of the year to emphasize Bible teachings regarding certain subjects—like Christmas, Easter, missions, and this case today—where the emphasis is on the sanctity of human life. This need became more relevant and very important in the mid-twentieth century when sanctioned abortion finally got completely out of hand. I will hasten to say that the sanctity of human life relates to life from conception to the grave and not just abortion, even though I personally feel that the abortion issue has moved up equal to or beyond the problems we have with manslaughter and murder in all degrees.

We have recently started the study of Genesis and there we found that God created all things that are. He spoke his WORD and things became something from nothing but when he got to man…He said “Let us MAKE man” and he created man in his own image. No other part of the creation has this honor. Then he placed the world under man’s dominion and that is the highest honor he bestowed upon any of his creation. Then in 9:6 he told us for the first time… [Thou shalt not kill each other.] And he said that if we caused the blood of a man to be spilled; there would be a death penalty passed on us…and we too would lose our own life. Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters in Christ, our lord created man to be his family, he created us to worship him and praise him, and not to be targets for demonic spirits to kill or destroy. He created man so that he would have a family to love and protect and it meant so much to him that he called us “His people,” “His church,” and “His bride” and he loved us so much that he gave his only son to save us from our sins. Then as the Savior, he loved us so much that he gave his life on the cross that we might be set free from our man made bondage. GOD LOVES US SO MUCH! I can never explain how much he loves us…but I can tell you that he is heart broken when we fail to value one of his little ones—all the way from the inception to the day of burial.

We will now go to Matthew 5: 21-40 and the truth we find recorded here may be shocking to some of you. This is the teaching of Jesus Christ, who has all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus had the authority to change the entire meaning of some of the Laws of the Old Testament. We do not have the authority to add to or take away one jot or title of God’s word…but Jesus did and he used his authority in these verses. He did not contradict what the writers of old had said, but he added new concepts that are relevant to our daily associations with our fellow man. The new requirements under the new covenant are much more demanding than those under Law…so much different that when he finished his sermon on the mountain—Matthew 7: 28 says; “When Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.”

The devout Jews all through history down to the day that Christ preached his sermon on the Mt. had believed the law to be absolutely holy and absolutely divine, and totally complete without error. They reverenced the law, completely. Their very life here on earth and hereafter was rooted in law. That is what every Jew that heard this sermon thought, believed, and had lived by. And now five times in 5: 21, 27, 33, 38, and 43 Jesus quotes the law and then contradicts it by substituting a new teaching of his own. Please note what I am saying; his contradictions did not deny the truth that was in the law, but it pointed out to all men that life in Christ was much more…much broader…more in depth…and required much more of man than the original law indicated.

Jesus claimed his right to point out the inadequacies of the sacred law [ten-commandments and mosaic] and he claimed the right to use his perfect wisdom to correct man’s highest wisdom making them complete and totally correct. The OT is the inspired word of God as he gave it to his chosen leaders. They explained his word to us to the maximum extent they were able and capable, but it was not complete until Jesus’ writers of the NT added to it and gave the full explanation of every item in the old covenant law.
The first two examples given here in Matthew has to do with murder and adultery. The law said, “Thou shalt not kill” but Christ said that if you are angry with your brother to the point that you would even think of killing him…or striking him, then you are as guilty as if you actually followed through with the crime. He explained that it was not only the man that committed adultery that was guilty; but the man who allowed the desire to dwell in his heart was also guilty. This was a new teaching, and it raised the problem of self control, and it is a problem that we have never been able to fully master. Jesus said that it was not enough not to commit adultery, but to fully satisfy the law under the new covenant; one could not even wish, want, desire, or think about committing adultery. Before you condemn a brother for his acts…ask yourself this question…Have I ever ‘thought about doing the same thing?’ Get the mote out of your eye before trying to get the stick out of his eye.

Since you became a Christian, you may have never struck another person. Can you truthfully say that you have never had the desire to punch anyone? You may have never committed adultery; but who can truthfully say that they have never had a desire for the forbidden? Jesus taught that thoughts are just as important as deeds. Man watches what we do; while Christ is just as concerned about our thoughts. For this reason we are not to judge others, only Christ has the knowledge and authority to judge the sin of his people.

It is not unusual for any one of us to fall short of the demands required under the new covenant with Christ. The Bible says that “all have sinned and come short” somewhere at some time. Should we be concerned? Sure! Should we be distraught? No! We all have something like a split personality; it has followed us all the way from the Garden of Eden. Eve wanted a forbidden thing—and that evil desire caused her to bring Adam in on the actual participation in the evil action. It is the way we are; one part wants to do right and another part yearns for the forbidden. This paradox troubled the Apostle Paul to the extent that he found it necessary to admit his problem. He said for some reason, and he never explained why but when he wanted to do that which was right…he still would fail. If Paul had to live with this problem, it will probably always haunt me, because I admit freely that Paul was more committed to doing right than I will ever be.

If you are sincerely interested in an in-depth study about the sanctity of human life you should go immediately to Matthew five and carefully study verses 17 through Chapter seven, verse 20. When we place value on human life, the commitment goes far deeper and much further than murder, adultery and abortion. Jesus insists the one of the gravest of all sins against your brother is to destroy his reputation and take his good name away. He teaches that no punishment is too severe for the malicious tale-bearer, or gossip at the coffee house or beauty shop which murders another persons’ reputation.

Jesus did not destroy the law…but He did change the full meaning of the law. What Jesus is telling us in Matthew is this: “In the old day [under law] men condemned murder because it is forever wrong. But I tell you that not only are a man’s outward actions under judgment; his inmost thoughts are also under the scrutiny and the judgment of God. Long-lasting anger is bad; contemptuous speaking is worse, and the careless or malicious talk which destroys a man’s good name is worst of all.

In 5:23-24, Jesus tells us that we can not continue to worship him during a period of time when we are having serious problems with our neighbor. He says that if your fellow man has something against you; you don’t take your offering and go to church expecting the problem to go away. First, you go to your accuser and settle the argument. Because you are a confessed Christian, you must be willing to go the second mile, accept the fact that you may have said or done something that provoked him and settle your differences. When you are right with your adversary, then you have a clean heart that is worthy of the right to worship at His alter.

The second explicit example used in this lesson today that constitutes sin against another person is the act of adultery…Exodus 20: 14 says “You shall not commit adultery.” Christ is not condemning a person for their natural and normal human nature which a part of the human instance…that is God made…He created man with this normal desire. The man that is condemned is one who deliberately uses his eyes to create lust in his heart. In this world there are many things that are deliberately designed to excite desires for the forbidden; things like books, plays, pictures, billboards, and TV is one of our worst. It is a sin to view these things knowingly wanting to be stimulated in the forbidden. He emphasized the problem that ‘seeing’ or ‘looking with lust’ has, when he advises us to “pluck the eye out” if it is our stumbling block.

I do not believe that the Bible teaches us to mutilate our own bodies. The meaning is this. If you are associating with the wrong people; change your company. If you are indulging in porno literature, burn it and buy no more. If you are watching movies or TV programs that incite you to desire the forbidden…don’t go to the movies and turn the TV to another station or turn it off. You can operate on anything you have that is leading you to become addicted to sin. You can pluck it out or cut it off.

When the desire of your heart is made right in the sight of Jesus Christ, you will find yourself in the same relationship with him as those in the New Testament to whom Christ said; “Go thy way and sin no more.”

To complete this lesson, read Mark 10: 46-52 and you will find that Christ is as concerned with a beggar as he is a priest or king. The lesson for us is simply that we can not knowingly mistreat anyone because of who they are, or what they are not. If we are to be Christ-like, then we must value everyone—rich and poor, friend and foe. Can you “Turn the other cheek?” This requires the spiritual strength that comes only through knowing Christ.

God Allows Us to Choose - Genesis 12 - 15

There is a huge bundle of wonderful ideas all wrapped up in the statement that entitles this lesson. Freedom of choice is equal to the greatest gift ever given to man kind by the Heavenly Father. When a Bible student thinks about the greatest thing God has ever done for man, his mind must go directly to the Cross where “God gave his only begotten Son to die for our sins.” This was the miracle of all miracles. But then we must realize that it would have been for naught if God had not given us the freedom to choose Christ as our savior. Our “freedom of choice” is a wonderful gift directly from the Son of God.

If you will think back to the garden that God furnished as the home of the first man created you will see the beginning of ‘freedom of choice’ in that Adam and Eve chose to eat the forbidden fruit. It was their choice! Actually there is only one instance in the life of man where he has no choice. God created Adam, a man. God created Eve, a woman neither of them had any choice either to be born or as to their sex, or parents. You and I had no choice; we were born without our permission and our sex was determined by the way our genes were arranged—we had no choice in whether or not we wanted to be born or what sex we would be.

When Adam and Eve chose to disobey they lost an eternal life of bliss and passed their sinful nature on to posterity. This was not God’s will and in order to give us a way out he gave us the freedom of choice to allow us to plan and carry out our destination. We can and must choose right or wrong; heaven or hell; this day we must choose to accept Christ and what he did at the cross for us—or we will choose to reject Jesus and live our life in disobedience.

God chose Abram as the man that would be the Father of His chosen people that inhabited the earth after the flood; this is not Old World History—but the focus is on one specific nation—Israel. Israel’s history begins with this one individual—the man we know as Abraham. His original name, Abram, was given him by his father whose name was Terah—they lived the city of Ur of the Chaldean which was located in the southern part of present day Iraq, near the Euphrates River. They settled here after the confusion of the languages and the scattering of the people at Babel. This area was a part of the country that God had called the “Land of milk and honey” therefore it had prospered, and Ur had grown into a cosmopolitan city. Bible history does not indicate that God had dealt with the scattered people on a daily basis after they left Babel. Indications are that the people of Ur worshiped a variety of deities; one of which may have been God, but God is a jealous God and will not share his position with any other man made deity. Terah and his family had fallen into the ways of the city in which they lived. God chose Abram to be the Father of His people while he was living in Ur. God revealed himself to Abram and called on him to follow him—the one and only God and no other. In Acts 7: 2, we find that god directed Abram to take his family and move north to Canaan but for some reason they stopped at the city of Haran. [Please turn to the passage in Acts and read these verses that are very interesting.]

Our lesson begins with the 12th chapter of Genesis and gives us the history of these people that could either obey God and prosper or disobey Him and fall into disfavor. Many of us have studied this lesson that emphasizes the fact that Abram chose to obey and worship the Lord while Lot chose [pitched his tent toward Sodom] to live in a fertile land whose inhabitants followed other gods and lived lives of sin and rebellion. I hope we are able to show that Abram made many mistakes; he was far from the perfect example, and he also had to pay for his mistakes, repent and return to God on several occasions. We should not approve of his mistakes, but we can find some peace of mind when we see that we too can make mistakes that God will forgive if we will only stay humble, seek forgiveness and obey God to the best of our abilities. The emphasis in this lesson shows the impact that our choices have on our individual fellowship with Jesus Christ. We can choose Christ and be saved “As by fire” or we can choose Christ and obey him and live a more abundant life here on earth and gain heaven with its abundance of rewards promised to the faithful. Abram made mistakes, but his repentant attitude and willingness to obey was accepted by God and he was rewarded for his follow-ship.

People are reluctant to change; therefore when God called Abram to move out from his family, and leave his home and travel north into a country that “I will show you”…it took great faith on Abram’s part to follow these instructions. This constitutes Abram’s first step of faith with acceptable depth in [Yahweh] God. Because of his great faith, proven by his obedience, Yahweh made a covenant with Abram. [Remember a covenant has two sides.] First, Abram was to obey God, and then God would make him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, make him a blessing, bless those that blessed Abram and curse those that cursed him and bless all peoples on earth through him. I truly believe that someone who reads this may be in the same position that Abram was in. God may be trying to lead you to a place of greater service and usefulness for him. No one should let the comfort and securities of their present position cause them to miss God’s plan for their life. “At seventy-five years, he led the way taking his wife, Sarai, and Lot with him.”

As we study this area of time and the happenings involving the twelve tribes we find that little is being done toward the establishment of a Godly people anywhere on earth. God was determined that ‘His people’ the “Israelites’ would have a home of their own. In verse five we find that Abram took his wife Sarai and nephew Lot, his holdings and “people they had acquired’ with them and set out for the Land of Canaan—that was inhabited by the Canaanites. The land became the focal point of Israel and the rise of Christianity. This land was given to Abram, the father of the Israelites by God, and it has had a great impact on all of Christian history. The Islam people need to remember that God told Abram that anyone that cursed him and his people would be cursed.

The people at First Baptist need to remember that nothing pleases God more than for his people to worship Him. Our Sanctuary is our place of worship and not a gymnasium. Abram did not build a gym, a recreation room, or even a youth building. Abram built an ALTER to the lord. The alter was not just a place where sacrifices were offered. The alter was the place where people communicated with God and where they remembered their notable encounters with God—they were for prayer and worship and the place where people remember the promises that God has made to his people. Most of the time when I enter the Sanctuaries of churches today [including my own] the atmosphere is more like one expects prior to the beginning of a rodeo or a basketball game. There are far more ball game results being discussed than prayers being offered. No wonder that children do not respect the House of God—just look at the examples set by their own parents.

It will serve us well to stop talking for a moment and start looking at a map that indicates the journey made by Abram and his people during their period of obedience to God. The family lived in Ur of the Chaldeans about three-hundred miles north of the Persian Gulf, on the banks of the Euphrates when God directed him to go into the unknown lands. They first moved about two thousand miles north to Haran…then about seven hundred miles south to Shechem, Bethel, and Jerusalem in Canaan Land. And now as we start looking at their move into Egypt, they first went to The Negev and then to Egypt which was another thousand or more miles. Try, as best you can, to think of the logistics involved at that time, in the moving of a small nation three times, a distance of nearly three thousand miles using pack donkeys, camels and traveling on foot. Now add to your imagination the fact that Abram and his people became involved in a period of drought and famine in this land that had been called the “Land of Milk and Honey.” I ask you…how did Abram manage to maintain his faith and dependence on God? He did. Could you? He was at Negev when the famine struck and he left for Egypt where there was food available for his people. Why would there be a famine in the land where God had just sent Abram. I don’t know. It just appears to me that it could have been in order to test the faith of Abram and his people. After all, the Bible states that “By faith Abraham followed God.”

The next time life deals you a hand that seems impossible to play and win, why don’t you simply trust God as the dealer to be setting you up to win a hand that looks impossible but causes you to immediately realize that nothing is impossible with God? This was a test of Abram’s faith and he passed the test with a score that pleased God. There is no record where Abram questioned God. The next time you find yourself in a position like this; don’t question God…just move on to Egypt. Do as Abram did…obey, and then wait for the opportunities God will provide for your recovery.

If you have doubts, you are no different from Abram. He was afraid, and he made a mistake in asking that his wife protect him from death by saying she was his sister. That was not God’s order! His mistake worked for awhile…until God punished the Pharaoh for taking another man’s wife, but as usual…your sin will find you out. This incident proves that lying compounds the effects of sin. When he lied, Abram’s problems multiplied. This incident led God to have Moses write in stone as one of the Ten Commandments—“Thou shalt not bear false witness.” He was fortunate that the Pharaoh was willing to return his wife, all his wealth and give him the chance to leave Egypt without further repercussions.

Abram reversed his travels out of Egypt and returned to Negev; then on to Bethel and Ai where he had previously built an alter for worship and sacrifice. He was a very wealthy man with live stock and other riches. Lot was still with him, and he too had grown wealthy. Both had herds that over grazed the land and their herdsmen were having problems with each other. Abram took the matter into his own hands and directed that Lot choose the direction he would go and they separated. Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom [13: 1-13].

The lesson here for us is that it is best to take the initiative in solving any problem that confronts us; we should be willing to let the adversary have first choice even if we are older and maybe even more deserving and seemingly should have firs choice. Abram even ran the risk of being cheated—and at first it seemed that this had happened. This agreement shows us how to respond to difficult family disagreement. There was a better way to solve their problem and it would have saved Lot’s family from destruction; but Lot’s pride, greed and jealously stood in the way. Christian church members should realize that arguments, disagreements and rivalries can be destructive to the church; causing the loss of trust; and causing peace and good will to diminish. The foundation of the Church is anchored in love for God and each other and should never be undermined or uprooted.

Lot’s actions reveal his character; HE HAD A CHOICE TO MAKE [note the title of this lesson] in that Abram and God let him choose the direction he would go. He made his choice knowing that the area was occupied by a wicked people that were not worshippers of his God. Young people in particular should learn a lesson here and that is the importance of choosing their friends and associates. Just remember that black birds stay in their own flock; quail stay in their covey…birds of a feather flock together. Anytime anyone strays from God’s directions—they can still make their own choice but it will always be in the wrong direction.

He chose fertile land with great pastures that had plenty of water for his flocks and this seemed like a great and wise choice. He either ignored, or failed to realize that the wicked city of Sodom would offer enticing choices that would eventually destroy his family and leave him a broken man. Do you know a family that in shambles because either the wife or husband chose to live in a Sodom? A divided house can not stand. Listen well; because there is a paradox here in this lesson. It is dangerous to partake in the ways of Sodom; however the Bible teaches us to go there as evangelist, missionaries, preachers and teachers with the sole purpose of taking the Word of God to these people. If you are there for the right reason—God will be with you. However you can not become a satisfied citizen of a wicked city and still expect God’s hand of protection. Christ told us to go into Sodom [all the world] but we must CHOOSE not to become like the people we are trying to reach.

The last verse in the lesson tells us that Abram also made a CHOICE to live in the timberland at Hebron, where he built an alter to the Lord. God blessed Abram because he obeyed Him. Soon he changed his name to Abraham and continued to keep the covenant he had made with this man to make him the Father of God’s people, through which all people would be blessed by the coming Messiah that would arrive through the lineage of David whose forefather was Abraham. You have the privilege of choosing this day whom you will follow and serve; but as far as John Vandiver and his house…we will choose to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

God's Purposes Trump Human Pride - Genesis 10 and 11

I know very little about playing cards but do understand enough to know that the man with the trump-card is going to win the hand or game. With this bit of positive information regarding the meaning of the word ‘trump’ it is easy to predict that God’s purposes will win over the weaknesses found in one of man’s greatest problems—human pride. One of the most deadly uses of human pride is found in the man or woman that honestly feels that it is their place to decide what God’s purpose is for their life rather than seek and find his purpose. The death dealing blow comes when anyone chooses to tell God what is best for them instead of listening to God’ instructions.

It is evident that the people whose physical lives had been saved by the ark, which was God’s safety raft, still retained the sinful life that was inherited from their posterity dating back to the fall of Adam and Eve. In the beginning, the eight survivors of the flood built an alter and worshipped God as He expected them to do. God also instructed them to multiply and replenish the earth. Now the new generation of people had no problem with God’s command to reproduce, but when they were expected to leave their comfort zone and spread out over the unknown parts of the earth—they rebelled. They decided to make their own plans and build a city with a tower that would become a monument to their success. Their second mistake was to plan to stay in their man made city rather than to subdue the world as God had directed.

Certainly you should read chapters ten and eleven in their entirety before we go forward with this study. You will readily see that in regard to the time sequence the things that are recorded in chapter eleven happened before those recorded in chapter ten. I have no doubt that God had a reason to guide the author as he wrote what the people did after their dispersion before he explained the reason for the dispersion. I am not able to discern the reason, and simply accept it as written. However, it makes it easier for me to explain if I teach chapter eleven first, as I believe it to be the order or timing of the events. So go with me now to the first verse of chapter eleven.

Every one that had been born since the flood either spoke the same language or if they had different dialects, there was one common language that everyone understood. Therefore everyone on earth could understand each other. A common language is a powerful tool at any time under all conditions. Can you imagine what an asset it would be if the citizens of the U.S.A. could understand all of the other languages in the world today? It would give us a distinct advantage in our ability to negotiate a plan for universal democracy. [And we would not want to lose this ability.] The first word in verse one is ‘now’ and I believe it refers to the time that ends with the last verse in chapter nine—when Noah and all of Noah’s sons have had children and died. God had told them to multiply [bear children] and start populating the entire earth and to subdue it—that is take charge of it.

They did not follow His command; instead they moved eastward where they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They had invented bricks with which to build and they declared that they would build a city and a tower that would reach heaven. They wanted to build a name for themselves [that is evidence of human PRIDE]; and not be scattered over the face of the earth as God had commanded [and that is REBELLION]. This was an act of defiance against God’s command that is recorded in [1: 28].

This is the first recorded act [any where in the Bible] of the beginning of idolatry—it is the first record of people building a temple which would say to the world that they were setting themselves apart from the true and living God. No doubt, God saw this as an overt act of the people unifying themselves against him.

Read verses 5-7 and find the reaction of God. I doubt that man would ever be so privileged that “nothing they planned to do would be impossible.” That phrase could only apply to an all-powerful God. I believe it refers to their ability or potential for doing evil at its greatest potential. It seems that history has proven that man is capable of committing the worst of sins. There seems to be no limit to man’s ability to think up and commit the gravest of sins. I believe what God was thinking was that if they get away with this…anything can happen. Our history books have recorded numerous examples that prove that people who gain excessive power will seek a way to use it in the wrong way. For example: The Pharos of Egypt enslaved the Israelites; Babylon destroyed Jerusalem; and Hitler destroyed millions of Jews and the list goes on. God saw the danger of this excessive power grab and he foreknew the damages that would result, therefore he confused their language and scattered them over the whole world. This would result in their becoming weaker in their own strength and force them to trust in Him for the power and privileges needed to succeed.

History has also recorded that large numbers of people concentrated in huge cities seem to bring out the worst in humanity. The large cities of the world have always been plagued with organized crime, gangs, and red light districts of immorality. Social ills, crime and tragedy seem to accumulate faster and more extensively when people are crowded together. In contrast we never see a ghetto thriving in the midst of a mid-western rural farming community. God may have scattered the people associated with the tower of Babel for their own good, just to protect them from themselves.

As this lesson applies to or serves as an example of how GOD’S PURPOSES TRUMP HUMAN PRIDE we have already seen that there can be no doubt that God always wins, because he is always right. God’s purposes had to do with the growing of an entire world with organized governments sharing and supporting each other. He wanted everyone to live freely and to prosper and support each other. These people exerted their power to build a city of their own, with a tower to heaven that would stretch their human pride. They could boast—see what we have done. But God held the TRUMP card he played his hand and won. Today there is only speculation as to where this city was located. There are archeological findings that make us believe that it was between the Euphrates and Tigress Rivers about two hundred miles north of their convergence and approximately four hundred miles south of present Baghdad. [The distance here is my estimation by looking at a small map, and could vary by a hundred or more miles either way]

Now go with me back to chapter ten, and I believe you can see that most of the events of this chapter came after the incident at Babel. Verse one through four starts the genealogy of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham and Jepheth. Then verse five says: [“From there the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language. This surely had to be after God had scattered the people that planned the Babel Tower.

Verses 6-8 give the genealogy of Ham down to Nimrod who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. “Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord. The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon [and others] …from that land he went to Assyria, where he built the city of Nineveh” and other great cities. I hope you will remember that we studied about the fall of Jerusalem and found that Babylon and Nineveh were both enemies of God’s people in Judah and Jerusalem. Not to be redundant, but think back now and all of this new expansion must have come after the story of Babel as recorded in the next chapter eleven. Look at verse 20 where the Bible says “These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.”

The genealogy of Shem starts in verse 21. Verse 25 says that Peleg was born “In the time the earth was divided.” [Peleg, in Hebrew means to divide or split] and this probably refers to the division of the languages at Babel. AND NOW, FOR THE REST OF THE STORY, READ V. 31-32.

I have no way of knowing how many of you who are following the study of Genesis have the time or are taking the time to expand on the brief commentary that I prepare for you. However, one thing is sure, and that is that if you really want to see clearly how these two chapters are related, then you need to go back now and read both of them again.

If you or your church has a set of Matthew Henry’s commentaries pick up the volume on Genesis and go to chapters ten and eleven. Or, if you have a computer, you can pull it up and click on these two chapters. This is only one of many…but it seems complete and it easy to read. There are only three pages in my commentary but you will find a much more complete discussion of the scattering of the nations. This is interesting reading that will help you to understand the populations of the eastern world.

Oh, how I wish I had started a comprehensive study of the Bible during my younger years and if you are middle age or younger, I plead with you…START NOW! References are plentiful and free and only require your time and interest. You have my written guarantee!!! The results from the time you devote to Bible study will be of much greater profit to you than spending the same amount of time watching the junk you see on television. Are you independent? Do you enjoy doing what you want to do? When you study…you have this privilege. But when you watch television, you have no choice…you must watch something that someone else chose for you to see or study.

No matter what profession you choose and no matter how great your standing in that field…if you will add to that a well rounded biblical education, you will find that you have the best double-major anyone can have and one you will never regret! You must STUDY TO SHOW THYSELF APPROVED.

God Offers New Opportunities - Genesis 8 and 9

There are four separate ideas or attitudes that prevail in most minds on January first of each year. First, I have set new goals for my life and vow that I will strive to successfully complete them. Second, I have made my new years resolutions; they are honorable and worthwhile but will slip into history having made little difference in the way I conduct my life. Third, I live one day at a time and do what comes naturally; making resolutions would make little or no difference. And fourth, my success during this New Year depends on the opportunities God gives me, my ability to recognize them when they arrive and my positive resolution to do His will. Is there one or more of these that you can sincerely espouse?

Noah was afforded magnanimous opportunities to serve God and all mankind by and through his simple obedience. By way of the flood, Noah became the first born and the father of all residents living on earth after the flood. Through Noah, we [his offspring] have earned the right to share in the opportunities that God makes available to his people daily; this lesson today is to encourage us to take advantage of those opportunities and deal with them as God would have us do.

This is the last lesson for our consideration during the last week of this year 2007, and it is imperative that we review what we have been taught so far in our study of Genesis. We have observed the entry of man on earth through the perfect creation of God—and God said “It is good.” Then there was a winged serpent, probably beautiful to the eye, and with unusual believability that led woman and man to sin and then crawled away on his belly in the dust, there to live evermore. Sin and the results of sin grew to such magnitude that God was made to repent that he had made man. Sin was so rampant that God had no choice but to destroy the existing world and provide for a new start.

God planned the flood and chose Noah to be the future father of mankind. God’s instructions came down; Noah obeyed God and built the ark, loaded it as directed by God and every living thing survived the flood. Here are some important lessons we should have learned from this miraculous event.

1. Majorities mean nothing to God. During the flood only one man knew enough to get in out of the rain.
2. It tells us to be sure we don’t miss the boat, and
3. We should realize that we are all in the same boat.
4. Remember to plan ahead; as Noah did…it was not raining when he started building the ark.
5. Stay fit and set on ready. When you are 600 years old God may call on you to do something really important.
6. Don’t be detracted by your critics; just do what has to be done.
7. Be careful and practice safety; travel in pairs.
8. Always remember that two heads are better than one.
9. Never get in too big of a hurry; both snails and cheetahs were on time.
10. Don’t let stress kill you; learn to float while you regroup.
11. Always remember that the ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic was built by professionals.
12. No matter what storm surrounds you; there is a rainbow waiting.

God spoke to Noah through voice mail and explained how to build it; he spoke to him while he rode out the storm; and then again after he left the ark and told him exactly the conditions under which he was to live… [He speaks to us through his written word] with the same kind of instructions. His spoken word is the content of the covenant; while the rainbow was the sign of the covenant. Far too many remember and recognize the ‘sign’ but do not know the content; and this is the reason sin was soon prevalent in the world following the flood and still remains the problem today.

This ends the few remarks regarding the review of Noah and the ark; and now we will begin a study of today’s lesson in chapters eight and nine. I learn things that are new to me each time I study God’s word and today there is no exception. There are important dates discussed in 7: 1-11, 8:4, and 8: 14. According to the scripture, the ark rested on Mount Ararat on the 17th day of the 7th month. Did you know that on that very same day later in history that:
…The Israelites crossed the red Sea and walked away on dry land? And
…Christ arose from the dead and walked again on this land after passing through the valley of the shadow of death, his burial and resurrection. To me this is not just a coincidence. I am made to wonder if there is some connection intended here. Why did these three important events all occur on the same date? If you have the answer, I would be interested in hearing your explanation.

Dr. Fuller, an English scholar writes regarding the reason for sending a raven out to explore for dry land. He says that this could be a picture of a man who has never accepted Christ as his Lord getting out of the church. He wasn’t happy in the church because he didn’t belong there in the first place; therefore he never wants to return. The raven was able to find dead bodies floating that made it possible for him to feel at home…be satisfied…he had returned to his old way of life and was not interested in returning to the ark of safety.

One might wonder where the dove found an olive branch since the earth had been covered with water for many days. History records that the Olive tree lives under water. In some of the lakes that are under water during rainy season, they dry up when rain ceases and the olive tree that was inundated will start sprouting green leaves in the tops of the trees when the water starts down. Pliny in his book on Natural History said that the olive tree grew under water in the Red Sea…that is in salt water so it must be a very hardy plant and this would explain why the dove was able to find the new branch growing so soon.

The sign of the covenant is the rainbow. Most children that have had any Bible teaching will have been told about the rainbow, and even the child knows that it is a sign that the earth will never again be destroyed by water. But that is just a part of the covenant. There is more. A covenant is an agreement between two or more people—in this case both God and Noah who in this case is representing the whole world after the flood.

Noah built an alter and offered up ‘blood’ sacrifices on the alter using every clean beast and every clean bird. This is the first instance of a blood offering that later on became a part of the Jewish law. There is no evidence that God told him to do this however it follows later commands exactly. In an acceptable sacrifice thee must be death, blood, and an alter and this all points to the later sacrifice of Christ for his people. It is also very interesting to find that this is the first time in the Bible that the word “alter” is used.

In 9:1 and following we find that there is more to the covenant. God blessed Noah and his family, and told them to replenish the earth. This is a renewal of the covenant that God made with Adam…he was told to do the same. Noah came before God a sinner, and he offered a sacrifice for his sins and God told him that he would subdue the earth. God told him that every beast and bird would fear him because of his dominion over them. This is a renewal of what happened with Adam.

In Genesis 1: 29 God told Adam that every seed, plant, animal etc. would be for his food. Here in 9: 3, God told Noah the same thing. “Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you; and the herbs have I given you all.” These animals were designated as clean or unclean. Then in the Mosaic Law the specific animals were named and described as ones having certain kinds of hooves and chewing their cud, etc. You will note there is one exception to this being exactly as it was with Adam…Adam was to live on vegetables, and herbs and not animals. But meat is now sanctioned by God for him to eat. In this covenant with Noah he is now given first place as head over the earth to subdue it and use it as directed by God.

There is at least one more notable difference regarding this covenant with Noah and especially the one with Moses. Remember that there is a new world in the making and Noah has been placed over the world and that includes all nations that will follow both Jew and gentile. When God instructed Moses to write, he was only representing the Israelite nation, the ones that God designated as “My people.”

Earlier in this lesson I implied that most people think of the rainbow as being the sign that God will never destroy the world by water again. I hope you see now that the sign of the rainbow covers far more ground than the flooding of the earth. I told you that people know the sign [rainbow] but do not know the stipulation of the covenant. Let us review the total covenant. It is a two way agreement. Noah represents both Jew and Gentile after the flood. Briefly, here is his responsibility.

1. He must come as a sinner and offer a blood sacrifice.
2. He can now eat meat but he can eat NO blood.
3. He must not murder.
4. Civil government must take charge of the murderer and punishment is death.
5. He was to replenish the earth
6. He was to exercise dominion over the beasts, creeping things.

Briefly, here is God’s responsibility
1. God blessed Noah
2. When Noah is sincere, God must accept him and his sacrifice and forgive his sins. This is very important. Remember Noah must have faith and believe.
3. God must never cause another flood that destroys the world.
4. The law of nature must remain true. 8:22, “While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Note: This is especially important to a farmer. What if…you would plant your crops in April and May expecting growing time to be warm and with moisture—only to wake up on July first to find a temperature of 32, with six inches of snow on the ground? What if your child would be born with eyes in the back of their head? Or one ear on top of the head. Folks the law of nature must remain true. What bothers me most…is that I see the Gay world trying to mess it up.
5. One more Vandiverism here please. What if we didn’t have the rainbow? Every time there was a bad storm cloud, and the prediction was for a lot of rain…we would all be worried to death that this might be the beginning of another forty-day-flood, covering the mountains and destroying the earth.