The Temptation to Run

11/09/2006

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                  Focus:  The Temptation to Run

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Genesis 26:1-6

Message of the verse:  1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2  The LORD appeared to him and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you. 3  ‘Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. 4  ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5  because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.’

6 So Isaac lived in Gerar.”

I can remember a sermon that Pastor Burns gave to our church on the first Sunday of a New Year that was entitled something like “Digging again your Father’s Wells,” and it had to do with Isaac repeating the same sins that his Father Abraham had done.  While Isaac did not go down to Egypt during this famine, he did run from it and he did go to the same place where his father Abraham had gone, and that is Gear and to Abimelech king of the Philistines.  This probably was a title that these kings had for it was about 100 years since Abraham had gone there and unlikely that that king was still alive.

It seems that history does repeat its self and people have to do the same things over and over again, things that are sinful and wrong, in each generation because Satan has the same temptations to give out and mankind has the same nature.  Mankind can seem to be more intelligent because he has the ability to build upon the things that have been learned and therefore his knowledge gets greater, yet mankind only seems to find more clever ways to do wrong things.  There are more powerful weapons to kill more people, there is radio and TV and the internet to help increase communication yet is many times used for sinful purposes thus repeating the same sins but doing it in greater numbers because of the increased technology.

Spiritual meaning for my life:  Knowing that I will be tempted and tested as I go through life I need to trust the Lord to use the tests and trials to make me better and not submit to the temptations that come from the evil one to bring out the worst in me. 

The Word of God has be convicting and challenging to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

My Steps of Faith Today:  To continue to trust the Lord as I go through the trials that He has sent me into, and to remember that the lessons comes after the tests.  Continue to learn contentment and to seek to in every way acknowledge the Lord in every way so that He will direct my path.