My name is Keri Reynolds and I am Pastor Erik's wife. I am starting this blog so that we can discuss the sermons from Wednesday throughout the week. I will also lead you into further study to help you get more from the messages. Are we excited?!? I know I am.
I pray that through this blog I will get to know some of you and that we can be an encouragement to each other and that we will draw closer to the Lord through the study of His word.
Lets get started!
First I want to let you know that I really enjoyed being at camp with all of you this past week. It was so amazing to see lives changed and see the fire for the Lord start to burn in your hearts. It will be a shame if we experience God in such a real way one week and then turn back to our old ways the next. I think we should use this blog to start doing more. Lets really dig into what God has for us.
Pastor Erik spoke this week on obedience. Please take a moment to reflect on his message and evaluate your life this week. How obedient have you been with your parents and with God? Are you a young man/woman with integrity today? Are you set apart and holy for the Lord?
What does integrity, holiness, and obedience look like according to God's word?
Let's look at the story of Abraham. This week I will blog everyday with parts of Abraham's story so we can see what God wants us to know about obedience.
Tonight I want you to read Genesis chapter 12.
Go get your bible right now and read it!! Now! Right now!
Got it?
Good!
Now read chapter 12.
(If you don't have a bible at home you can always use the internet. Try that now. You may want to use the New Living Translation or the Message since pastor Erik uses both of those translations during his messages.)
Genesis Chapter 12:1-3
Here we see the command that God game Abram. Abram needed to leave the land of his family and follow God into a new nation. Abram had to be brave enough to pick up all of his things and leave everything that he had known. That must have been scary! But Abram did what the Lord wanted him to do. In verses 2 and 3 we read that God promised Abram blessings if he followed the Lord's command.
Genesis Chapter 12:4-7
Abram traveled at the ripe old age of 75! He took his wife and his nephew with him and went to the land that the Lord promised him. Did you notice the first thing Abram did when he arrived at the promised land? Check it out its in verse 7. What is it? Would you do the same thing if you were Abram? I think if I was 75 and had traveled all of that way I would have taken a nap or something!
So now what? Abram is in the promised land and everything should end on a happy note there right? NOPE! Abram still had troubles even when he followed God's command. Read Chapter 12:10-13 What happened? Why did Abram leave the promise land? What did Abram ask his wife Sarai to do? Look at verse 13 again to find the answer.
Abram decided to lie to pharaoh when he arrived in Egypt. Was this integrity? I don't think so. Abram made a mistake! Have you made any mistakes this week? At first it seems Abram's mistake actually helped him. Look at verse 14-16. Abram was given livestock and servants because of Sarai's beauty! So was the Lord blessing Abram? The answer is a big NO! Abram's lack of integrity caused pharaoh to fall into sin. Pharaoh is with another man's wife and doesn't know it because he was lied to. Because of this God causes plagues over pharaoh and his house. And pharaoh forces Abram and Sarai to leave. Look at verse 17-20.
So how does this story apply to my life today?
Well I can see that God gave Abram a command. I see that Abram followed that command and was led to the promise land. I know that Abram praised God for this, but I also know that Abram walked away from the promise land during hard times and fell into sin. Abram's sin caused others to sin and that led to heartache for all involved.
My life is a lot like this. Sometimes God will touch my heart and I will respond. I feel on fire for God and ready to do what he asked me to do even when it seems to not make sense. But then things get difficult and I stray from God. I act like the world by not standing up for what I know the truth is. Guess what. When I do that I cause others to stumble and fall under God's wrath as well just like pharaoh.
Think about how this story applies to your life. Have you walked away from God's promises before and sinned? How did it affect those around you? What do you think Abram is going to do next?
We will continue with Abram's story tomorrow.
Now would be a great time for you to pray to God about your current situation. Open your heart up to Him and tell him how much you want to take a stand for Him. Be a young person of integrity today.
Until tomorrow... God bless!
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