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Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well. Genesis 26:25 (NLT)
In the early days of the Old Testament it was common for people to build altars to the Lord. Noah, Abraham, Isaac Jacob and Moses were the ones who most often built altars to the Lord. The altars during this time bore special significance because they involved an action or promise by the God of the Universe and a sacrifice as an act of worship by man because of what God had done for him. Altars spoke to God’s working on behalf of man.
The early patriarchs of the Old Testament weren’t just known for building altars. The land in which they lived was dry and there was a constant need to provide water for the livestock. Out of necessity wells were dug to provide life and refreshment for the animals as well as the families that owned them. On several occasions these wells were dug as special reminders of God’s blessings and promises. As the altars reminded man of God’s forgiveness and awesome power, the wells were a reminder that God is the provider of life and refreshment. Just as all living things need water to live, mankind needs the living water that God grants us for spiritual life.
God instructed the great patriarchs of the Bible to build altars and wells, not cities and houses. The reason for this is that life isn’t about settling in and being content. Life is a journey. It’s a journey that leads us through lush valleys, desert wasteland and mountain top highs. But along the way we pass the altars and the wells and remind ourselves that God is on His throne. He is all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful and longing for a relationship with us.
In Jesus Christ we have the ultimate sacrifice so we no longer need to build altars for sacrifice. In Jesus Christ we have living water that satisfies eternally so wells are not necessary. While we no longer build physical altars or dig physical wells where God has met us, it is important for us to note spiritual benchmarks where God has met us in a real and powerful way.
These are not to be worshipped or held onto tightly. They are simply to be reminders along the journey that Jehovah God has come to us. A personal relationship with Jesus brings forgiveness when we fail and new life for eternity. Each of the most well-known altar and well builders, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses made major moral mistakes in their lives. Still God used them in mighty ways. He longs to do the same for each of us.
Live in such a way that God can reveal Himself to you so that you can build altars and wells that those who come behind you will see and use to find their own way along the journey God has for them. Altars and wells. They aren’t just for you. They aren’t just for today.
PRAYER: Father God. Thank you for the examples of men like Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Isaac and Moses. Men who failed, yet experienced your love and forgiveness. You know my heart. You know my failings, my anger, and my impatience with others. You know my tendency to be content to rest on yesterday’s victories. Empower me through your Holy Spirit to move forward so that the life I live will be altars and wells that those who come behind me will be able to use as a guide to following your ways. Amen.
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:22-24
Why is it that some people seem to have the ability to pray for things and see those things come to pass while others pray and it seems like their prayers never get past the ceiling? The Bible is full of examples of great men and women of God who have prayed for personal or national healing and deliverance and seen great things happen.
Even in our world we hear of people who have prayed for miracles to happen in their lives and seen God work mightily in making things happen. Yet for many of us, while we ‘believe’ God CAN do anything, in those quiet times we confess to ourselves that ‘He won’t do those things in me.
There are many lessons we can learn from the story in the Gospel of Mark about faith, about prayer and about doubt. The fact of the matter is, if we believe God is who we say He is, and if we really believe that His power can accomplish anything, and then we have to believe that Jesus’ words are true. If we have the faith, we can move mountains.
When we pray for miracles to happen, one thing we must ask ourselves is this. “Who gets the glory for my answer?” Many times our prayers are self-seeking. That’s not necessarily the same as self-ish. Selfish can have a negative connotation. Self-seeking simply means that in reality, we want this miracle for us. It will make us feel better about ourselves, it will make others respect us more or it will in some way make my life easier.
There are many times in Jesus’ ministry when He made the statement that ‘this was done so My Father will be glorified’. Our Father in Heaven is more than willing and able to do ANYTHING we ask, but our motives must be in the right place. Everything we do in life should be with the desire to see God glorified and His name proclaimed to those in our world.
Secondly, when we pray for miracles we must remember that God has promised that He knows what is best for us. In one of Jesus’ teachings on prayer He asks this question: “If a child asks his father for bread would that father give him a stone?” The answer of course is, “NO, never!” We know that a loving father would never give his child something bad for him when he needs something good. But the opposite is also true. If we ask our Heavenly Father for something we honestly think will be good for us, but in the big picture it could be harmful, He won’t give it to us. He loves us to much to give us things that will hurt us.
Draw close to Jesus. Walk with him daily. Read His love letter to you. Pray believing that He CAN answer your prayers and trust Him to answer those prayers in the way that will be the best for you and bring glory to him.
PRAYER: Father God, I have to admit that there are many times when I’ve prayed and been disappointed in your response to me. There are so many things I’ve prayed for that haven’t happened and now, when I pray I doubt you will really answer. Forgive me for my lack of faith. Empower me with Your Spirit to pray believing you hear me and that even when I don’t get what I want, you will give me everything I need. Amen.
When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7
I used to work at a factory where there was this old man, I’ll call him John, who was a walking Bible Encyclopedia. He was a short, stout little man who walked with a bit of a limp due to years of hard work on the farm and arthritis which had attacked him.
John wasn’t afraid to open ever conversation with something from the bible, a verse, a thought, a question about where you were with the Lord. He was a humble man with a captivating smile and a twinkle in his eye, and although he was a humble man, he wasn’t afraid to ‘boast’ a bit about the fact that he’d read the Bible through every year for 40 years! The man knew his Bible and he loved Jesus dearly.
While there were some that mocked John when he wasn’t around, no one turned him away when he stopped by to talk. He was a well respected man and when he died a few years later the church was packed with fellow factory workers, community people, family and friends, some of whom John had lead to a saving faith in Jesus.
The interesting thing to me about John is that there was nothing that would really draw you to the man. He was sort of, well, goofy in some ways and simple in others. He didn’t press himself on you, but he wasn’t afraid to ask how you were and give you advice on how to live life. He wasn’t concerned about how other people thought of him. He WAS concerned about what Jesus thought of him.
In the wisdom of Proverbs we see the way to living a life of peace. The way to living in peace is to focus on living for Jesus. It’s interesting to note there are three players in this short verse. Myself, God and my enemies. But my enemies are the third player and not directly involved in the process. The most important players are me and God.
There will always be those people who oppose us. We’ll be judged for our past, our family background, our gender, or life-style, our convictions, even our hair color. The list is endless of things people will be able to find to judge you on. Opposition in life is inevitable. If you aren’t opposed by SOMEONE in life about SOMETHING then you are doing NOTHING! It’s God’s job to deal with our enemies. Our only responsibility is to make sure we are in right relationship with Him.
What is important for us as Christ-followers is that we don’t give the enemy any ammunition. Peter tells us “Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.” (1 Peter 2:20). Many times we complain about persecution or attack and fail to realize that sometimes the actions against us are at least partially our own fault.
The message of Proverbs 16:7 is this. Make the main focus of your life today, to live for Jesus. Rely on His Spirit to guide your thoughts, actions and words. In this way, even though people will oppose you they will have no evidence to back up their attack. They may not like you, but they will have to admit (if nothing else to themselves) that their attacks are unjustified. Each of should live in such away that even our most vicious enemies will say, “I don’t like them, but I have to admit they seem to have their act together!”
PRAYER: Father God. You know better than I that there are people in my life that oppose me for many reasons. Some of those reasons may be justified. I ask that you would give me the wisdom and strength to resolve those to the best of my ability. I also pray that you would empower me to live from this day forward in such a way that others will have no evidence to convict me of their negative feelings about me. What I really want God, is for you to be glorified in my daily life to all that I come in contact with. I give you all the praise and glory for this. Amen.
Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” Numbers 13:30
The journey was over. The Israelites stood at the border of the Promised Land. God had brought them out of bondage. He’d provided all of their needs. He’d shown them great and mighty acts of power. Now he’d told Moses that the time had come to enter the land promised them. Moses sent spies into the land to see what kind of cities there were, what the people were like and to bring back some of the fruit of the land.
When the men returned they showed the people some of the great fruit that they’d found in the land. They described the beauty of the valleys and the plains. It was good land. It was profitable land. Then they told the people the bad news. The land would never be theirs. The people were too strong. They’d built huge, walled cities and the men were heavily armed. The men were to give an account of the condition of the land and people, but they offered a commentary on the likelihood of conquest and victory.
Enter Caleb. Caleb saw the same cities, the same warriors, and the same fruit of the land. But he looked at it from a completely different perspective. He didn’t see people; he heard the promises of God. He didn’t see obstacles to conquest; he saw opportunities for God to work in mighty ways. While the men offered commentary, Caleb did exactly what the leader had asked of him. He told the facts based on God’s promises.
Caleb stood alone against all the ‘popular kids’ of the camp. He stood for what he knew to be right. He didn’t talk about conflict, He talked about possession. To him the battle was already won. There was no doubt in his mind.
We can all learn from Caleb. There are too many times when our biggest obstacles are people. It could be the peer pressure that keeps us from doing what we know is right. Peer pressure isn’t just a junior high or high school thing. It follows us all our lives. We are afraid to be different. We don’t want to stand out in a crowd.
Don’t let people stand in the way of the things God wants to accomplish in you. He has given you the power to stand against the giants in your life. He’s made a way to destroy the walls others have built to keep you from pursuing your goals. Move forward with confidence. Look at the ways God has worked in the past in your life and in the lives of others. Regardless of your past or your present situation, He wants to see you have victory. Take possession of that victory.
PRAYER: Holy Father. Today you know what giants are haunting me. There are walls in my life that keep me from experiencing the joy I should be having in you. There are people and events that are keeping me from claiming the things you want me to have. Forgive me for my doubt. Empower me to move forward and not listen to the voices of those who want to bring me down. Like Caleb I claim victory over my giants through your Holy Spirit. Amen.
