June 24, 2023

My daughter and I went to the farmers market. My garden is still producing; however, it is beginning to give out, and I wanted to can some spaghetti sauce and needed more tomatoes. It was quite an experience! Semi-trucks and forklifts were moving produce to different booths they had set up to sell to the public. I had to restrain myself; otherwise, I would be working myself to death trying to put away all the delicious vegetables before they spoiled. As it was, I bought too many tomatoes. I wish I had taken a picture of it because it was as if we were in a different country. It made me think about what it must have been like to feed a lot of people like Abram had. 

Yesterday I wrote that I wondered why in the stories of the Bible, the people always went to Egypt. Genesis 13 explains that it’s like the garden of the Lord. When Abram and Lot split up, Lot chose the portion near the Jordan Valley because the land was well watered, like Egypt. Did Lot choose the best land out of selfishness? Abram let him choose first, but God gave Abram a much more significant portion and blessed him with land as far as the eyes could see and promised offspring more than the dust of the earth. That’s a lot of people to feed! I spent all day making sauce, and 25 pounds of tomatoes only made 7 quarts! 

Lot may have taken the best land, but it doesn’t say that God blessed him as he did Abram. Be careful with your choices. Don’t be selfish and arrogant. God blesses the humble.

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Genesis 13:10

June 23, 2023

All the cards are on the table when you’re hungry, but should they be?

God told Abram to move away from his kinfolks. He gathered his belongings, took his wife Sarai and nephew Lot, and moved away. Famine hit the land, and Abram and Sarai went to Egypt. I wonder why they always go to Egypt in these stories. Anyway, Sarai was a beautiful woman, and Abram was afraid the Pharaoh would kill him and keep Sarai, so he lied and told them she was his sister. It worked, but Pharaoh still took Sarai into his house. Things went terribly wrong because plagues hit Pharaoh’s house, and they discovered that Sarai wasn’t Abram’s sister but his wife. They made them leave. The Bible doesn’t give us a time frame, at least not that I could see without digging, but it makes me wonder how long they were there and what happened to Sarai when she was in Pharaoh’s house. It doesn’t say, but we can guess because it caused plagues. 

Abram trusted God when he instructed him to leave his family; why didn’t he trust him when they went to Egypt? But don’t we all do the same thing? God gets us out of rough situations, but we sometimes try to handle things independently. You can see by this example that your actions can affect others when you go it alone. Promise yourself today that you will include God in everything you do; it will keep you out of trouble and may save the lives of others.

And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Genesis 12:18

June 22, 2023

Here we are in 2023 and back at the Tower of Babble. Because of the internet, our languages are no longer confounded. It is easier than it's ever been to communicate with others who are of a different language. I have many tenants who come from other countries and don't know our language, and I use the translation button on my messaging app to understand them and get my point across. How much longer before God scrambles the languages again? 

There must be some things that God doesn't want us to know about; otherwise, why would he care about a simple tower? We've sent rockets into the sky, and they've never reached heaven. What about the technology that supposedly got astronauts to the moon? How could that get lost? What about all the ridiculousness about going to Mars? According to "experts," it would take 21 months to get there, and then you would have to wait another three months to come back so that the earth is in a suitable location for the rocket's trajectory. How much fuel would it take to travel that far and back? If an electric vehicle can only drive about 300 miles on one charge, batteries won't work as a fuel source. If they can't reach the moon anymore, how do we expect them to get to Mars? Did the people building the Tower of Babble have more technology than we do now? I won't lie; I don't believe any of it. One day everyone will wake up and realize that the government spews its propaganda to control the information people receive. We wouldn't have the story about the Tower of Babble if any of it were true. God knows what will happen in the future. The enemy has a purpose for his lies; confusion is part of his game. Start reasoning in your mind the things you hear and compare them to the truths of the Bible. If it doesn't make sense, don't believe it. Pray for discernment. 

Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:9

June 21, 2023

I may stir things up today. Over many years I've read and studied different versions of the Bible; the New International Version, New Living Translation, and most recently English Standard Version; always avoiding the King James Version because of the "thees" and "thous." Over the past year, we've gone to a church that uses the King James Version exclusively. Don't get me wrong; I've always referred back to it when studying because the Strong Concordance is in the King James, so it's not that I've disregarded it; it's just hard to read. I'm over it now, especially when some meanings may seem lost in the other translations. Here's an example:

From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations. Genesis 10:5 English Standard Version 

Compared to:

By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations. Genesis 10:5 King James Version

"The isles of the Gentiles" verses "the coastland peoples;" the vision in my mind is entirely different when reading these separately. 

This portion of scripture refers to the sons of Japheth, the eldest son of Noah. I'm guessing that most of us are probably descended from Japheth because the Bible talks about Gentile nations. It is unclear that the Bible is referring to us in the other versions. My question always leads to, "Are we being led astray on purpose?" What else are they changing that might give us a different vision in our minds? I may end up having to go back to an old paper Bible. Isn't it interesting how a few words can change an entire meaning?

June 20, 2023

God made a covenant with people, creatures, and the earth that he would never drown it again. God was serious and repeated that promise over and over again. I found it fascinating that the covenant was also with the animals and every living creature of all flesh, not just man. That shows us how much he values his creation, so much so that every time it clouds up or rains, a rainbow appears in the sky as a reminder of that promise; it's not only for us but for God. It is an everlasting contract. The rainbow is sacred and holy and should be respected by all. It is a precious gift that is humbling; that the creator of all things thought it necessary to assure us of his commitment by giving us a beautiful sign. When you see it in the sky, thank God for valuing our lives. 

And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. Genesis 9:15-16

June 19, 2023

When we tell the story of Noah's Ark to children, we give them the short version and only explain some things, so most of us only remember the childhood version. Did you know that Noah, his family, and all the animals were on the ark for an entire year? We know the animals came two by two, but did you know that Noah took seven pairs of all the clean animals? For example, seven pairs of cows, sheep, and so on. God had a reason for that; when they got off the ark after a year, Noah built an altar and made a sacrifice from each of the clean beasts and foul to God. I believe the sacrifice was so that Noah and his family could start fresh and free of sin before they started replenishing the earth with people. I'm sure it was also a thank offering because they were allowed to live. Noah's sacrifice pleased God, and he determined in his heart that he would not curse the ground anymore for man's sake because the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. 

And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. Genesis 8:21 KJV

Another observation question for you to ponder is; where did the water go? There was already water on the earth because we have fish. Maybe he put it back above the sky. "And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so." Genesis 1:7 KJV. What do you think? Or do you know of another place in the Bible where it is explained?

June 18, 2023

When devastation comes upon the earth to rid mankind of the evil forces, Jesus is our Ark. It will be a day of rejoicing, for salvation will come to those who've trusted in him, but for everyone else, panic, for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God! It is imperative that we continue to pray for the lost. Can you imagine being on the Ark, knowing every living creature will be robbed of their last breath? Living through such a time will be harsh and mentally draining for someone with compassion, which I assume every Christ-follower has. Even if we don't see those we prayed for struggling for life, I'm sure we will still experience loss. Noah knew people who were snuffed out by the flood; their decision to entangle themselves in evil matters rather than righteousness sealed their fate. I imagine Noah hired many people to help build the Ark, yet their work didn't save them; they did it for a paycheck and probably mocked him behind his back. They had a rude awakening when the rain came, and the springs bubbled up. It shows that not every person who built the church will be saved; only those who trust Jesus with all their heart will see salvation. Don't stop praying for your loved one's salvation through Jesus; He is our Ark.

And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. Genesis 7:23