Have you ever found yourself attached to a place or a group of people who you knew were bad for you?  Perhaps you knew their influence wasn’t a positive one but you still had an attraction to be around them.  This is what happens with Lot and Sodom.  He knows the wickedness of the people.  They even ask to abuse the Angels that visit Lot in his house.  The Angels want to take Lot and his family away but they hesitate and don’t want to leave.  Finally, by the grace of God the Angels actually take them away by force before they destroy the city.  Let’s look at the account from Genesis 19 together today. 

12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. 15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Lot’s wife become a casualty of this rescue because she holds on to the past and looks back to the city she is sad to leave and she turns to a pillar of salt.  Isn’t it crazy that sometimes we try and resist the grace and protection of God?  That is what happens when we indulge the flesh in our lives.  Web begin to crave the flesh more than we crave the spirit or the grace of God.  Lot and his family loved the riches and the pleasures of Sodom.  They may not have been as wicked as others around them but they still embraced the life of wickedness there.  Over time they began to desire that over a life of being led and protected and guided by God.  Even in being rescued from death Lot demands the security of another city instead of simply trusting God.  It is easy to see Lot’s errors but often we do the same thing in life.  We desire, power, wealth, success and we seek after those things sometimes more than we seek after God.  Let us not fall into the trap of Lot but let us seek first the kingdom of God. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

As promised, today we look at the story of Abraham arguing for God to try and save Lot and any other righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah.  If you remember the story, there are no righteous people in the cities and the cities are destroyed.  Lot is only saved because Angels drag him out of Sodom along with his family.  Let’s look together at Abraham’s role in all of this found in Genesis 18. 

Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

The persistence and boldness of Abraham teaches us a bit about prayer.  Abraham knows and acknowledges that he is nothing and over and again pleads with God until God agrees to save the cities if even 10 righteous people are found.  Abraham knows that God is just and good so he pleads with Him again and again.  In the end Lot is rescued even when he didn’t want to leave because of God’s compassion for Abraham and his persistence in his conversation with God.  This is how we should pray.  Acknowledging God’s place and ours before Him while still boldly presenting our requests because we know how much God loves us.  Today, humbly and boldly approach the throne of your God.  He loves you and wants the best for you. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Have you ever found yourself arguing with God?  Maybe questioning or pleading or even crying out.  Chapter 18 of Genesis includes 2 such encounters today we will look at Sarah doing it and tomorrow we will look at Abraham. 

And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant…  They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Sarah argues with God because she feels guilty about her doubt.  She doesn’t truly believe that God can or will do what He has promised and she is wondering why He didn’t do it in the way that she would have expected.  That is often the way with God.  He often acts in ways that we wouldn’t have expected and brings us to places we would never go on our own.  I was incredibly honored by you all this past Sunday as I celebrated 10 years of incredible ministry at Advent.  The thing is Advent was never part of my plan.  If it wasn’t for a series of difficult and painful circumstances I would never have ended up here.  Yet, God had a better plan in a way that I would have never expected.  That’s what God does in our lives.  He brings us to places we wouldn’t go on our own in ways we would never travel.  God ends up using the unexpected birth of Isaac to increase Sarah’s faith and to build a great nation.  Be on the lookout for the unexpected great things that God is doing in your life today.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Have you ever heard something so good, unbelievable, or amazing that it actually made you laugh?  I know I have a couple of times.  What about when that comes from God?  That is Abraham’s response when God tells him that he and Sarah will have Isaac.  Abraham laughs and suggests that God use Ishmael instead.  Let’s look at the passage together found in Genesis 17. 

And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.” 22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Abraham should have known at this point that God could be trusted even with outlandish promises.  The kind of promises that make you laugh.  He suggests to God another plan and God simply says no and lays the plan out for Abraham.  Abraham believes God after this interaction and as a result circumcises all the males in his household as a sign of the covenant.  That shows that he is committed to this crazy plan of God’s and that he believes God.  The question for us is do we believe some of God’s more difficult promises that He has made to us?  Promises to use us to do great things.  Promises to always be with us even when He feels far away.  Promises to answer our prayers.  May we all take a little lesson from Abraham and believe the unbelievable from God today. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Throughout Abram’s life there are many stumbles in his faith journey.  He often gets it right and is remembered in history for his faith.  When he messes up he messes up big though and Genesis 16 is one such occasion.  Let’s look at it together today. 

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

Abram and Sarai have now been promised multiple times that their decedents will be greater than the stars in the sky.  Not only has doubt crept in but even contempt.  Sarai says that it is God who has prevented her from having children.  Abram and Sarai decide to take matters into their own hands.  The result is that they end up making things worse.  That’s usually the way it is when we try things our own way instead of waiting on God.  What are you expecting or waiting on God for today?  Turn to Him in prayer instead of trying things your way.  When we patiently wait on God He has a way of showing up even bigger than we hoped and prayed for. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Genesis 15 is an incredibly significant moment in the life of Abram and for all of us today.  It would be easy to pass by it quickly as just another of God’s promises and a sacrifice made to seal the promise.  The significance is in the details.  Let’s look at the passage together today. 

8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi[e] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

Abram is beginning to doubt God’s promise and cries out to God about the fact that he still has no child.  God reassures him that His promise to Abram remains.  Abram asks for a sign and God asks for a sacrifice.  Abram gathers what is needed for the sacrifice and then falls into a deep sleep.  God then reassures Abram once again and tells him exactly how he will fulfill the promise over time.  Then comes the beautiful part.  God actually makes the sacrifice to himself as He causes a flaming pot to pass between the pieces and burn up the offering.  This is a picture of the way that God interacts with us.  He fulfills both sides of the covenant.  He does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  Today and every day thank God for His incredible grace in our lives and how He fulfills both sides of our covenant with Him.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

We continue the story of Abram with his first rescue of Lot.  Lot is captured when the people of Sodom are captured because he is living there amongst them.  They are captured along with all of their possessions.  Abram comes to the rescue.  Let’s look together at the account found in Genesis 14.

13 A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. 17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying,“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

There are a few valuable lessons to learn from Abram here.  First when he recovers the goods he gives a tenth immediately to God.  He is thankful that God has delivered Lot from his enemies and worships Him in response.  Abram has an opportunity to acquire great riches as a result of his victory in battle.  He is not enticed by the riches of Sodom as Lot was.  He refuses anything but what his men need to eat. He wants nothing to do with Sodom at all.  He demonstrates great wisdom and integrity by simply rescuing them and then separating himself.  The question for us is who what in our lives should we separate ourselves from.  We are called to step in and help and share the gospel.  The difference between Abram and Lot is significant though.  Abram intervenes and leaves.  Lot remains linked with those who are wicked and want nothing to do with God.  May we all follow the example of Abram and not be enticed by some of the things that might distract us away in our own faith journey. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Have you ever heard the phrase, “choose your friends wisely”?  It is certainly an important principle in life.  When Abram and Lot choose to separate so they have enough land for their flocks, Lot chooses an area that looks nice but is surrounded by wicked people.  Most of you know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and the penalty Lot pays for this simple choice.  Let’s look at the passage found in Genesis 13 together.

 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” 10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. 14 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” 18 So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.

When Lot pitched his tents near Sodom he made a choice that cost him his family and almost his life.  Sometimes little choices in life seem little but are actually huge.  Lot could have chosen the other direction.  Abram gave him the choice but Lot was enticed by the well-watered fields and the potential to acquire even more.  This ultimately led to his downfall.  Both Abram and Lot knew of the wickedness of Sodom.  Yet, he still chose to pitch his tents there.  This reminds us of the incredible importance of surrounding ourselves with others who will build us up in the faith.  When we are surrounded by people like that we thrive.  When we “pitch our tents near Sodom” bad things can happen. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Today we continue the story of Abram (Abraham).  He takes the initial great step of faith in leaving his family and country and following God by faith.  We come to a slight hiccup in the story in the second half of Genesis 12.  Let’s look at it together today.

10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. 17 But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Abram has a faith crisis.  He had trusted God and even boldly acted as a result but now he feels uncertain about his own safety.  He essentially lies, gives his wife as a slave to Pharaoh, to save himself.  He knows that God has promised he will make a great nation out of him and Sarah’s offspring, but in the face of danger doubts creep in.  He decides to take matters in his own hands.  That is the problem in all of our lives when we begin to doubt God’s promises and take matters into our own hands.  When we act as though our way is better than God’s way.  Today rest in the promises of God.  Trust in Him with all your heart. Don’t rely on your own understanding. Let Him make your paths straight!

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Hello Advent Family,

One of my favorite Biblical characters is Abraham or Abram when the story begins.  He jogs back and forth between extreme faithfulness and taking matters into his own hands.  I’d like to take some time to walk through his life together.  We will pick up the story at its beginning in Genesis 12.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

It is interesting that we do not know much about Abram before this point other than that he comes from the line of Terah.  God’s call to Abram is extremely impressive and yet also demanding.  He asks Abram to leave everything that he would have depended upon up to this point in his life.  He promises to bless him.  To make a great nation out of him and even to bless all people through him.  We don’t seem to have a moment of pause of lack of faith Abram simply goes.  When God promises land to Abram’s offspring who do not even exist yet, Abram builds an altar to worship God and to remember.  To worship and remember are two important aspects of our faith.  We worship God because of who He is and we remember His faithfulness to us.  Today may we all worship and remember the goodness of God.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave