June 26, 2008 5:49 AM
Tony wrote:
Abraham and Sari, Isaac and Rebakah they both like to tell lies when it comes to their wife. Though they were related either than marriage, a lie is still a lie. It is amazing what happens when you follow Gods will. Isaac becomes so rich and powerful that the king of the country asked him to move because he was a threat if he wanted to be. Issac moves and God makes him even richer. He digs wells only to have other people say the water is theirs and take the well. Keep in mind that these wells are hand dug, no tractors or drilling machines yet he just walks away, would you(we)? Abimelech decides to come over to Isaac and create a treaty with him as he had with his father, how old was Abimelech since Abraham died at 175. It seems that Isaac is following his father footsteps from lying about his wife, moving to a foreign country, obeying God and prospering to creating an oath with Abimelech. I guess he want's to follow in his father's footsteps. Reply to this
June 26, 2008 6:42 AM
rik wrote:
one would think Abraham would have had a talk with Isaac about his lack of trust in God and, in fear, he said his wife was his sister. This may have taught Isaac to trust God more. Do we as parents, as fathers have necessary conversations with our children about things we have done in our past that was wrong and how it damaged our lives and the lives of those we love. I believe it is helpful for our children to know we went through the same struggles and they can make better decisions then we did. I think we as fathers, far to often, feel we have an image to keep and we do not want to tarnish it. Do not worry about your image, worry about your children staying away from many of the teen troubles that plague the US today. Let them know the mistakes you made and how it effected your life. Let them know they can make better decisions then we did. Reply to this
June 26, 2008 6:55 AM
Rich wrote:
Great advice, though difficult to do. We all want to look so good to others. We want our children to look up to us. As Rik says, they will look up to honesty and humility and love much, much more than they will look up to perfection (or at least the appearance of perfection). Thanks Rik - I really take what you said to heart here. Reply to this
June 26, 2008 6:52 AM
Rich wrote:
We have promises from God that are similar to the promise God made to Abraham and continued through Isaac. We are told that we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, that we can have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, that we will have many brothers and sisters, that we will have eternal life, and on and on. So in many ways we are similar to Isaac.
We too are blessed by God. It is interesting that others SEE how Isaac is blessed by God. It is evident to Abimelech that Isaac has a special relationship with God. Sure Isaac was wealthy and powerful. But I believe there was something more than money that made Isaac stand out. Maybe, like Tony said, it was his willingness to give up his wells in a dispute and move on without arguing and fighting. Maybe it was his wisdom, or humility, or kindness, or the way other people talked about him - something special.
I sit here this morning wondering whether other people SEE that God has blessed and continues to bless me. I think not. And that is because I have not been spending time daily with God. It is amazing how different I feel in just 2 days of making the decision to read my Bible and pray. I have made this same discovery before only to have the same fallbacks. God please help me to be consistent and through my consistency to impact other people. Let my love for you and my upholding your standards in my life be evident to others, not in what I say but in the way I live. Reply to this
Abraham and Sari, Isaac and Rebakah they both like to tell lies when it comes to their wife. Though they were related either than marriage, a lie is still a lie. It is amazing what happens when you follow Gods will. Isaac becomes so rich and powerful that the king of the country asked him to move because he was a threat if he wanted to be. Issac moves and God makes him even richer. He digs wells only to have other people say the water is theirs and take the well. Keep in mind that these wells are hand dug, no tractors or drilling machines yet he just walks away, would you(we)? Abimelech decides to come over to Isaac and create a treaty with him as he had with his father, how old was Abimelech since Abraham died at 175. It seems that Isaac is following his father footsteps from lying about his wife, moving to a foreign country, obeying God and prospering to creating an oath with Abimelech. I guess he want's to follow in his father's footsteps.
Reply to this
one would think Abraham would have had a talk with Isaac about his lack of trust in God and, in fear, he said his wife was his sister. This may have taught Isaac to trust God more. Do we as parents, as fathers have necessary conversations with our children about things we have done in our past that was wrong and how it damaged our lives and the lives of those we love. I believe it is helpful for our children to know we went through the same struggles and they can make better decisions then we did. I think we as fathers, far to often, feel we have an image to keep and we do not want to tarnish it. Do not worry about your image, worry about your children staying away from many of the teen troubles that plague the US today. Let them know the mistakes you made and how it effected your life. Let them know they can make better decisions then we did.
Reply to this
Great advice, though difficult to do. We all want to look so good to others. We want our children to look up to us. As Rik says, they will look up to honesty and humility and love much, much more than they will look up to perfection (or at least the appearance of perfection). Thanks Rik - I really take what you said to heart here.
Reply to this
We have promises from God that are similar to the promise God made to Abraham and continued through Isaac. We are told that we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, that we can have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, that we will have many brothers and sisters, that we will have eternal life, and on and on. So in many ways we are similar to Isaac.
We too are blessed by God. It is interesting that others SEE how Isaac is blessed by God. It is evident to Abimelech that Isaac has a special relationship with God. Sure Isaac was wealthy and powerful. But I believe there was something more than money that made Isaac stand out. Maybe, like Tony said, it was his willingness to give up his wells in a dispute and move on without arguing and fighting. Maybe it was his wisdom, or humility, or kindness, or the way other people talked about him - something special.
I sit here this morning wondering whether other people SEE that God has blessed and continues to bless me. I think not. And that is because I have not been spending time daily with God. It is amazing how different I feel in just 2 days of making the decision to read my Bible and pray. I have made this same discovery before only to have the same fallbacks. God please help me to be consistent and through my consistency to impact other people. Let my love for you and my upholding your standards in my life be evident to others, not in what I say but in the way I live.
Reply to this