TUESDAY, August 26th, 2008

Wow! Where was everyone yesterday?? Only 11 different people did their devotions! Can you believe it?? If you know someone who was not on the devo blog yesterday then call them up and tell them to GET ON HERE!!

So some of you have no school today?? Already? How did you manage that?

Thoughts From Yesterday:
Michael: I answered your question in my comments? Did you read them? I explained why God would change their languages for building a building. Go back and read it.
Everyone: I would encourage you to read my explanation of the passage. If you do not, that is ok, but usually I break down the passage and explain it to you in a way you might not have understood before.
Rachel: Great Job on the devos yesterday! I like your new picture too!
Bethany: Wow!!! You get to do 100 full court suicides tomorrow too?? Can I Come!!!!!! NOT! :)
Brooke: I think it is funny that you said... My "puppy" is about to have "kittens"... wow! That is scary! I don't even want to know! J/K!
Bethany: I am praying for you girl, I am sorry you are going through something tough! Let me know if I can help in any way!
Alex: I was about to tell Josh how good his devotions were then I read yours and... WOW!!!! GREAT JOB ON THE DEVOS YESTERDAY!
Rachel: You are exactly right! Thry found the people they could communicate with and they left and went to start their own city.
Josh L: DO YOUR DEVOTIONS AND GO TO BED EARLIER!!!!!

Genesis 12

1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

Abram in Egypt
10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.
11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance.
12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13 Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”
14 So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful.
15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.
16 He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17 But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.”
20 So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.

Wow! Can I just say: SIN MAKES YOU STUPID!!!! So the story starts off Great! We see that Abram is told by God to take his direct family and all of his belongings and go to a place that God will give him. Abram obeyed. God explained that Abram would receive many blessings for his obedience, God explained that Abram would be the father of many blessed nations!!

Every heard the song: "Father Abraham... had many sons" well, there you go"

So the story is going great, God commands, Abram obeys... WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENS NEXT?? There is a famine in the land... so what does Abram do? He turns to man for answers. The passage says nothing about Abram tunring to God for help through the famine. Abram simply decides to go to Egypt.

I don't know how to say this in the MOST APPROPRIATE way, so I will say this passage makes it clear that Abrams wife, Sarai, was hot! She was absolutely beautiful! I mean what kind of woman walks into a city and EVERYONE notices how beautiful she is, so much so that they go straight to the KING and tell him about her, and she ends up going to his "house".

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? What a coward? Abram let his BEAUTIFUL wife go to be with Pharoah so that he wouldnt be killed? I can tell you right now... You would have to kill me before I let you just take my wife away... and you better hope I don't get to you first!

Sin makes you SO STUPID... Abram was willing to give away his wonderful relationship with his beautiful wife, just so that He wouldnt get killed... can I explain it like this: GOD HAD HUGE PLANS FOR ABRAM!!! THERE IS NO WAY THAT PHAROAH WOULD or COULD HAVE KILLED ABRAM.

If Abram would have TRUSTED GOD... then he would have kept his beautiful wife for himself (the way God planned it in the first place). That is what happens when we stop trusting God and obeying Gods plan for our lives. We often cheat ourselves out of the great plan that God has for us!

We must not fall into this trap of tusting in our own plan, and in our own strength... even when times get tough, or scary: we must simply trust God and obey God! It will be worth it! Don't cheat yourself and your family by not trusting God.