Thursday, November 29, 2012

Sibling Rivalry


Abraham’s descendants who fathered nations:

1. Jackob was the second son of Isaac and Rebekah and he was the Father of the nation of Israel through his 12 sons.

2. Esau was the first son of Isaac and Rebekah and the twin brother of Jacob. He was the ancestor to the tribe called Edomites, well he had six wives so he had lots of children. King Herod the Great was from the tribe of Edom.

3. Ishhmael was the first son of Abraham by the Egyptian slave Hagar and he became the father of nation of Midian the ancestors of the Arabs.

Sibling rivalry among the children of Abraham is still going strong today. Now you know!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Word for Advent 2012

 The Living Word

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen his Glory … Full of Grace and Truth.” from the Gospel of John chapter one.

Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent 2012 I love this scripture and the idea that “The Word Became Flesh.” It has been very interesting and challenging for me to take a different word for that phrase each week to use as the focus for my devotions. This week I will focus on “Flesh” as the direction of my thoughts.

From the very beginning the “Word” was there alive and creating all things and then it became flesh and dwelt among us. The “Word” is still dwelling among us as the living Word of God in our lives. Once Christmas has come and the baby boy is safely delivered we then must deal with the “Word” being with us. Now what do we do?

As we are also busy getting ready for the year 2013 perhaps we need to think about how the “Word” lives in us through out the coming year. How does the “Word of God” come alive in our living in the here and now? How will those around us be affected by the “Word” living in us? What difference will it make in 2013 that we accepted Jesus the Christ into our lives as Lord and Savior?

The real challenge is for each of us to have more than words on pages in our bibles but have “The Word” alive in our hearts.