Kim E.

Ishmael may have already been quite wild and he probably carried his mother

God obviously wants our attention to be drawn to Him. I

Lot

Her mother

There could be any number of reasons why Lot hesitated. Lot in his carnal state may not have been fully convinced of the certainty and severity of the judgment. He may have hoped by his delay, to stall for time, in order to preserve friends and family knowing that judgment could not come until he had departed. Lot was so attached to this

Homosexuality is always considered sin in the Bible. It is a sexual sin. I am convinced that homosexuality is only one symptom of sin in our society. I keep balance by remembering what is said in I Corinthians 6:15-20.

Abraham knows God so well that his actions became more like God

God has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us to maturity in Christ. We should be developing an intimate fellowship with our Lord, daily. We should be seeking to shift our attention from self to others. Love of God must reflect itself in a concern for others. We must know when to work and when to wait. We should pray, knowing that when we are helpless, we are not hopeless. We should be developing thoughts like our Lords. If there are problems and circumstances that we cannot understand then we should rest in knowing our God is all powerful. If we employ justice, truth, mercy and love, as our Lord would, what a comfort we can know and share with others. I don

From this Scripture we can see that Sarah

Previously, in this Scripture, God had disclosed Himself to Abraham in more splendor and glory. This time God would not have been known, except through previous knowledge of Him and the eyes of faith. God was known by His promises, His word, rather than through a spectacular presence or splendor. The mature Christian becomes less dependent upon spectacular manifestation of God and more involved in intimate day-to-day fellowship. I believe in daily miracles. I am willing to believe that because of my relationship with God. Someone else may see mundane happenings in my life, but I do not see it that way. It

In my mind circumcision was a sign that God possessed that person. Circumcision was only for males so that limited the sign of rememberance to males. Also circumcision was performed on male infants who were 8 days old and this only evidenced the faith of the parents. Circumcision was also private. Although these things are true and this was the covenant of God and Abraham, it still holds strong imagery for us in the circumcision of the heart. I wouldn

The believer's heart is totally Christ's, to use as he wills -- all his emotions, mind, intellect, and will are dedicated and available, ready at the command of Jesus Christ to be used for his purposes. Paul says to the Philippians, "We are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh," {Phil 3:3 KJV}. We are to have no reliance upon ourselves, but rely totally upon him. Every thought, every imagination, is brought into captivity to Christ. That is the circumcised life. We are to love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul and to be essentially different we must recognize the right of Jesus to be the Lord of our life. To continually discover the glory of the circumcised life, we must turn to God everyday in prayer, we must go to the Scripture, we must remind ourselves of what our life was like before Christ. We must grow in intimacy with God. Which one of us can say that we have come to fathom the doctrine of the grace of God or of the atonement? Who would be willing to claim that he had seen all of its implications? Not me. I know that there are times in my life when the cares of the world seem to come down around me. I have to come to grips with my desires and my desire to rely on God. God continues to return me to the great truths He would have me know and respond to, testing me, and revealing more of that truth than I had known before. It seems simple to say but it is much harder to grasp and some days I will feel like I

Circumcision was a sign intended by God to be the mark of His possession, that they were God

God isn

I believe I

Hagar felt abandoned and hopeless. She was surprised that the God of Abram would come to protect her and comfort her. I think this gave her faith that she did not have before. She could now see how God was really in control no matter what the circumstances. God called her to submit to the circumstance she found herself in. Knowing that God saw her affliction and cared for her helped carry her through the difficult years that lay ahead. Anyone willing to accept God, trusting in the promises of God despite the problems, and knowing with God all things are possible, focuses on God instead of their problems will ultimately have a more peaceful life. When I encounter friends who are discouraged I have told them to pray and focus themselves on God instead of their problems. Sometimes they can

The question,

Sarai presumed to know what was best for her family but Sarai found that her scheme had backfired. A child was born, but while loved by Abram, Sarai despised him. Ishmael had driven a wedge between Abram and Sarai, rather than drawing them together. Even the once loyal Hagar now despised her mistress. Abram had given Sarai what she had wanted, but now she insisted that he had failed her in doing so. In spite of all the pious words Sarai spouted, they did not cover her blame for what had happened. While Sarai was angry with Abram, she must have known that it was she who had made Hagar

In the ancient world of Abram, legal and binding agreements were not put on papers written by lawyers and signed by the parties involved. Instead, the two parties would arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement, and then they would formalize it in the form of a covenant. The covenant was sealed by the dividing of an animal (or animals). In fact, the technical term literally means

I don

Verse 6 describes Abram

To have God as my shield is to have the shield of faith. When doubts come I take the shield of faith and say

Seems I jumped ahead in my last answer, so I

Melchizedek

Whether it was a matter of faith or honor I can