| | And the LORD appeared unto Abraham in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. Gen 18:1 | | Listen to the newsletter audio here | This is one of the most beautiful passages in scripture. On a hot summer afternoon, Abraham is sitting near the front of the tent house and suddenly he gets 3 visitors. Being a hospitable person, he welcomes them in and requests them to stay and have lunch at his place. He senses that these are heavenly people. Bible straight away gets to the point, “And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre”. It was Jesus who came down to have a time of friendship and to bless Abraham and Sarah. By this time Abraham had spent about 2 decades (24 yrs), walking with the Lord. First he messed up, marrying Hagar, then came Ishmael and these years seem to be wasted years with no end in sight. Then Jesus comes on the scene, they have lunch together, and Jesus tells them that they will have a son Isaac soon, and Christ goes back to Heaven (and two angels to Sodom to destroy the city). Their life is renewed. Sarah (90) and Abraham(100yrs) have a baby, Isaac and the whole line of believers is renewed. | Friend you may be wondering, “these years and decades seem to be a waste. Nothing much has happened, in fact more evil, suffering and pain has happened after I started walking in faith than Blessings.” Let’s look at David. The teenage boy was anointed by Samuel in Bethlehem, then one Victory over Goliath, after that started Jealousy, innumerable murder attempts on his life, for years (~10-12 years) he was fleeing from Saul, no stable family life, no town to call his own, no address, nothing, just a guitar and his love for the Lord. Out of these years of pain came the poems he wrote unto the Lord, cries for help, which billions of us read today - Psalms. But God, finally makes David King (at the age of thirty), and out of his family line, came Jesus. | A month ago we celebrated Christmas. Eilzabeth and Zechariah were an older couple, no children, no hope for a kid, going about their walk with the Lord, and service in sanctuary as Levites. One day the desire to go to Jerusalem and serve there, buds in Zach’s mind, and off he goes to the Temple and luckily (God ordained lottery!) the lot falls on him to minister. And that day, God sends an angel and tells him, your prayer is heard, and then John is born who prepares the way for the Lord. Imagine a village couple, living a righteous life, just reading their Bibles and following God’s commandments, wasted years, and then God intervenes to reset their lives. Lives renewed, baby born and the child turns an entire nation to the Lord and reveals Jesus to Israel. |
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