Bible In One Year-Day 11 (January 11, 2014)

In chapter12 Abram moved from the place of revelation after his call, Gen12:7-8. As Abram increased, Lot also increased;

Genesis 13:2&5 “And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. … And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.”

There are family problems that grow with us as we grow also. They gather strength and dominance if they aren’t dealt with decisively. Abram was seeking for a ground that would accommodate him and Lot as many a seeking for the ground that would accommodate them and their problems. He found none; rather, he started lying to be accommodated in Egypt. Christians who still engage in worldly tricks and pranks to gain status and positions are just definitely far from the point of salvation. Since Abram moved from the place of first revelation, all other altars he build did not bring revelation. But when he came back to that first altar and called on the name of the Lord, the God of that altar moved to separate him and his problem, Lot. Gen13:9 talks about his decisive confrontation with his problem, v11 talks about how they were separated;

Psalms 18:44-45 “As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.”

Lot was a stranger in Abram’s dream (God’s vision). When you locate what the stranger is in your God’s given vision, separation is absolutely allowed; otherwise, the stranger will choke the vision and perhaps truncate it. The manner of separation is not a partial one but as Abram suggested and acted on; back to back and in opposite directions;

Genesis 13:9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

Not until the separation was effected, Abram did not see the deeper and detailed revelation (compare Gen12:7 with Gen13:14-17)

Genesis 13:14 “And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him …”

Sodom offered Lot beauty and unholy splendor; he accepted and preferred it to Abram, the called. The Sodom offered Abram material splendor, but Abram rejected it;

KJV-R (Webster) Genesis 14:21-23 “And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:”

Lot contended with Abram and in separation, he faced Sodom because of the spirit in him; you will always head and take steps towards where you face. He first perched at the border of Sodom and ended up in the township of Sodom, Gen14:12. Abram loved Lot, but Lot was not in God’s agenda for him. Abram loved Lot as a person but rejected the spirit in him. Lot never heard God, though he walked after the manner of Abram. The scripture even called him the righteous (just) man, but the spirit of Sodom influenced him to miss the fruit of righteousness;

2 Peter 2:7 “And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:”

As time went by, Lot became a judge at the gate of the land of Sodom and of course, an in-law. His ruin is written in Gen19. Everything he gathered while with Abram was carted away in Sodom. Many grew up to be Christians just because their parents, brothers, uncles or aunts were Christians. They never had any encounter with the Spirit of God. Lot grew to see the life style of his uncle, Abram; he never had the spiritual experience of Abram. To follow the law as taught in the Bible School and life styles as seen in relatives is not the same as encountering the power of God by His Spirit. The first part of Saul of Tarsus’ life was full of the knowledge of the law. The second part as Paul was of experience of GRACE. His life was re-branded and story changed totally. When you encounter Jesus, your life cannot remain the same; there shall be the re-branding of your life by His Spirit;

1 Samuel 10:6 “And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, …, and shalt be turned into another man.”

You cannot be the same person, a newness of life comes in. you can’t worship God pleasingly without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will reveal more of Jesus to you;

John 15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”

To receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit, you must give the totality of yours to Jesus, the giver of life and to the reading of His word.

Our reading for today is Genesis 19-21. Keep the fire burning and alive.