Isaac--He Laughs
2009-04-18

Good morning, all. I stayed up way too late last night, playing games, so I'm a little bleary-eyed this morning.


Psalm for Today: 34:1-7

1 I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise.

2 I live and breathe God;
if things aren't going well, hear this and be happy:

3 Join me in spreading the news;
together let's get the word out.

4 God met me more than halfway,
he freed me from my anxious fears.

5 Look at him; give him your warmest smile.
Never hide your feelings from him.

6 When I was desperate, I called out,
and God got me out of a tight spot.

7 God's angel sets up a circle
of protection around us while we pray.

"David here extols the treatness of God, promising to keep in remembrance during his whole life the goodness which he had bestowed upon him.

The Psalmist calls upon the godly to unite with him in this exercise, inviting and exhorting them, heartily and with one consent to extol the Lord."

(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)



Tabletalk Magazine

"Boasting in His Shame"
Weekend Reading

In Galatians 6:14, Paul says, "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Paul is making his ultimate boast in an instrument of torturous execution. Oddly enough, all of the disciples fought against Jesus's claims that he would be crucified. Jesus told his disciples that he would die a dishonorable death between two thieves. They resisted this idea to the end. Yet, here is Paul, boasting in that same cross.

It is easier to identify with the disciples, isn't it? The cross is an embarrassing place to stand. The world will always mock this idea. Just last night, while playing an MMORPG, I was subjected to beligerent mockery from people in the chat box, calling anyone who believed in Jesus, stupid. There is no reasoning with people like this. It's best just to ignore them until the subject changes. But it hurt my heart to see the blasphemy that they were heaping on to my Savior.

Yet, I must stand with Paul, next to this cross. Here is a paragraph that is so brutally honest that I feel the need to quote it directly.

Many of us evangelicals deny that we know Jesus by taking the emphasis away from the cross as we speak to His disciples and present our gospel to the world: "Follow Jesus: he will straighten out your marriage. Follow Jesus: He will make you better parents. Follow Jesus: He will make you financially solvent. Follow Jesus: He will enrich your relationships." Now, that is a Jesus who is easy to like and easy to follow. It is easy to stand in the world and be proud of that Jesus. To attract the world we say, "Come, drink coffee and hang out with Jesus. Be comfortable with Him. Kick back with Him. He is anti-institutional. He is anti-authority. Living with Him is a cool ride."

Hebrews 13:11-13 says, "For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured." The "gospel" presented in the previous paragraph doesn't sound very much like "reproach," does it?

As true believers, we need to pitch our tents ouside the camp, under the cross, and share in the shame of our Savior, Jesus Christ.



Today's Journal Reading: Genesis 21-23; Psalm 8

At the beginning of Genesis 21, Sarah's laughter (remember, she laughed when the Lord said she would have a child?) becomes laughter of joy when she bears a son for Abraham, named Isaac. Isaac means he laughs.

But once again, their attempt to speed things along and "help God" causes trouble as Sarah saw Ishamel laughing at the feast and told Abraham to cast out Hagar and Ishmael. But God told Abraham not to worry about them. Isaac is his offspring, through whom the nations of the world will be blessed. But God said that he would make a nation out of Ishmael, too.

Genesis 22 contains the extreme tale of Abraham being tested by God. God told Abraham to take this son, the promised son, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. I cannot even imagine the pain that Abraham's heart must have felt when he heard this command. But the Scriptures give us no indication whatsoever that Abraham even hesitated! There is no arguing. There is no, "But God..." It simply says that he rose early the next morning and set off for the mountain. But there is a very telling statement in this story. In verse 5 of chapter 22, Abraham says this to his servants: Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you. I believe that Abraham had faith that one of two things would happen. Either that, as he told Isaac a few verses later, God would provide an alternate sacrifice, or that God would raise his son Isaac from the dead after his obedience.

It got as far as Abraham having the knife raised up to strike his son dead, before the Lord stopped him. "Abraham, Abraham! Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

Abraham's obedience resulted in a myriad of blessings.

In chapter 23, Sarah dies and is buried "in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre in the land of Canaan."

Lessons from this reading...
1. God will sometimes even bless our mistakes. God poured out blessings on Hagar and Ishmael after Abraham cast them out. It wasn't their fault, after all...however, Ismael's seed became a thorn in the side of Abraham to this day. Better that we don't try to "help God" work his plan.

2. Obedience to God's commands results in extreme blessings. Faith is always rewarded. Granted, it's not always as immediate as Abraham's blessing upon obeying God's command to sacrifice Isaac. But our faith will be rewarded in due time.



Father, I praise you for the blessings that you have lavished on me and my family. Sure, we have had struggles during these past few weeks. But there are people worse off than we are. There are people with children who have much worse autism cases than Stephanie's. And she is such a loving child! We are blessed that she loves you and loves to listen to and sing music that praises and worships you! We also still have our jobs, which is more than a lot of people can say. Therefore, we faithfully continue to give to you with cheerful hearts!

I pray, as I have before, that I would never run ahead of you with any lame idea that I might be able to help you speed your plan along. I see the disasters that were caused in Scripture by these attempts. I want no part of that! I also pray that you will help me to be obedient to you. I don't expect that you will be asking me to kill my own daughter any time soon. But sometimes you ask us to do things that appear to be foolish in the eyes of the true fools who say that there is no God.

Lastly, this morning, I pray for wisdom as I attempt, yet again, tomorrow, to lead your faithful into a time of worship lifted up to you.



Now, here is today's prayer for the President from the Praying Through the First 100 Days site. I wonder what they're going to do after 100 days?

For each member of the Obama administration to remain strong in his or her faith, seeking a vibrant relationship with God
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
�Psalm 51:10

Lord, we praise You for the cleansing and forgiveness you promise us when we come to You and confess. As David�s cry in the wake of his sin with Bathsheba brings him before You, may we also fervently desire Your purity in our lives. Revive within us a consistent longing to know You and to serve You. O God, drawing us closer to You and Your love for us, so You may fill our hearts that we may please and honor You. We�re grateful for Your forgiveness and compassion, O God.

Heavenly Father, place this same desire for You in the spirit of every man and woman serving in the Obama administration, from the President himself to the White House interns. If they know You as Savior, Jesus, give them more hunger for You. If they do not know You as Lord, work in their lives so that they may seek Your love and forgiveness. Let Your presence and purpose fill our government, in Your name we ask, amen.



Finally, in Psalm 8, we read, "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" I can't even read those words without Michael W. Smith's song popping into my brain! But later, the Psalmist is filled with wonder as he queries, "What is man that you are mindful of him?" Yet, God has given us dominion over the works of his hands! Give him praise this weekend.

Grace and peace, friends!



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