Gen 20:6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
We see here that it was God who kept Abimelech from sinning. Even though Abimelech had no intention to sin, and didn’t set out to sin, it was the Lord who kept him from sinning.
We can start out so many times with an intent to do good, and to do the right thing, but it’s the Lord who keeps us on the path.
In Philippians 1:6 Paul writes:
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
No matter what we think or do, it’s the Lord who works in us and keeps us on the straight and narrow. Watchman Nee ( to paraphrase) wrote that he quit trying to please the Lord. And, at first, this seems crazy. Why would he not try to please the Lord?
Because we can’t! We are wicked and carnal beings. Granted, we are made holy by the Lord, but Phil 1:6 tells us that God’s going to do it all. We just have to be willing to let Him work in us.
Gen 23:6 Oyenos, señor mío, eres un príncipe de Dios entre nosotros; en lo mejor de nuestras sepulturas sepulta á tu muerto; ninguno de nosotros te impedirá su sepultura, para que entierres tu muerto.
Leemos aquí que le llamaron a Abraham un <
Gen 19:8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
Gen 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Gen 19:31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Gen 19:32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
We read these things that happened in the life of Lot, and we think that they’re terrible, awful things. And the truth is, they are. He offered up his virgin daughters to the townspeople to do whatever they wanted to do to them. That’s not what I would call good parenting skills.
His wife was turned into salt. Talk about marital problems. Lot lost the woman who had given her life to be with him, and loved him, as well as the mother of his daughters. He lost a valuable asset in his life, forever.
His daughters got him drunk and slept with him. Incest. It’s not something one would want to partake in, at any time. And they got him drunk to do it. Taken advantage of by his own daughters.
But how did Lot get to this point where all this was happening in his life? Well, way back in chapter 13, Lot made a choice.
Gen 13:11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Gen 13:12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom
Lot chose to go and pitch his tent towards Sodom. And we know that the plains in that area looked good and well watered from what the Bible says of them. And that’s where all the misery of Lot began.
See, Lot made a choice to go after what looked good. And that choice, though it seemed good at the time, would lead him to all the things in chapter 19. I think of my own life, and how true the Word of God rings, where I’ve made decisions that seemed good, but weren’t necessarily a godly decision, and later brought me much strife and discomfort.
And, when making decisions, it’s always, always, always best to seek the Lord first, and not our own get and gain. Abraham decided to be humble, and let Lot have the choice of where to go. And the thing about that is that Abraham was the one going! Lot was just tagging along for the ride. But Abraham was humble, and let Lot pick, even if it meant giving up the land that was best for the cattle!
But because of his humility, Abraham never went through all the strife that Lot did, or any of the mess that we read about in chapter 19.
So the next time we’re making choices, or decisions, I think we would do well not to seek after what looks good to our eyes, but rather to seek after the Lord, even if it doesn’t always look like the right, or bountiful choice to make.
Gen 17:26 En el mismo día fué circuncidado Abraham é Ismael su hijo.
A mí no me gustaría circuncidarme con la edad de Abraham. Sería un gran dolor y no sería buena para la salud…infecciones, sangre….qué terrible!
Pero, fue un mandamiento de Dios. Y Abraham, como un padre y un líder, hizo lo necesario para ser un ejemplo a su hijo, y sus siervos y seguir a Dios.
Y este es un gran líder! Un hombre que hace las cosas que no siempre traen gozo y placer, pero hace lo que Dios quiere.
Gen 9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
Gen 9:21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
Gen 9:23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
Today, we should do the same thing. And what I mean by that is that when people make mistakes, and do things they shouldn’t, we shouldn’t just let them lay in their sin and mire. We would do well to help people in that manner today.
After all, this is very similar to what Christ did for us on the cross; we were totally unable to help ourselves, and He, not seeing our nakedness and sin, covered us with His blood.
Gen 11:8 Así los esparció Jehová desde allí sobre la faz de toda la tierra, y dejaron de edificar la ciudad. Gen 11:9 Por esto fué llamado el nombre de ella Babel, porque allí confudió Jehová el lenguaje de toda la tierra, y desde allí los esparció sobre la faz de toda la tierra.
Aunque hacían cosas malas, Dios todavía hizo una obra buena. La gente quería deshonorar a Dios, el les regaló las idiomas. Y qué gran regalo!
Y me encanta mucho estudiar y hablar idiomas afuera de ingles. Y mucha gente puede tener gozo (que no es un pecado) a cause del pecado do otros. Y este es el poder de Dios…que puede hacer buena de mala.
Gen 6:22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Even though Noah was told to do some pretty tough things, he still did them. No one had ever seen rain before, so why build an ark, right? But Noah knew better than that. Noah, having found grace in the eyes of God, listened to Him.
And we should be the same way. The things the Lord wants us to give up or to take up don’t always make sense, but we would be much better off to heed his call than to let it fall on closed ears.
I mean, what would have happened to Noah if he ignored God?
Gen 8:1 Y ACORDOSE Dios de Noé, y de todos los animales, y de todas las bestias que estaban con él en el arca; é hizo pasar Dios un viento sobre la tierra, y disminuyeron las aguas
Este es otro ejemplo del poder de Dios. Cuando tengo que remover agua, necesito una cubeta. Pero, Dios usó el viento. Y yo pensaría que el viento solamente movería el agua y no removerla, y este es el poder de Dios!
El no tiene límites o leyes que tiene que seguir. Dios puede hace lo que no podemos, y lo puede hacer en metódicos que no entendemos. Cuando solo podemos mover nuestros problemas, Dios puede removerlos, exactamente como yo movería el agua, pero Dios lo removió.
Y es una otra pregunta. Sabemos que el agua cubrió toda la tierra. Entonces, ¿adonde se fue cuando Dios lo removió?
Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Paul writes some pretty strong words in these two verses. First off, we see that anyone who is under authority, is to be subject to that authority, even if you don’t like that authority. And personally, I sometimes struggle with authority, and respecting it like I should.
Even if my boss or whomever, does treat me with a lack of respect, and a lack of character, I am still to obey, and follow him/her as a leader, because it is God who has put him/her above me. And should I try to resist, and “buck-up” against that authority, I’m really just fighting against God!
So, even if I rebel against my authority, and get what I want, I still rebelled against God, which is the opposite of what I want! It’s best just to submit to authority, and realize that God’s put it there than to fight against it, and try to prove a point.
Rom 15:8 Digo, pues, que Cristo Jesús fué hecho ministro de la circuncisión por la verdad de Dios, para confirmar las promesas hechas á los padres,
Rom 15:9 Y para que los Gentiles glorifiquen á Dios por la misericordia; como está escrito: Por tanto yo te confesaré entre los Gentiles, Y cantaré á tu nombre.
Cristo vino a la Tierra para glorificar al Señor. Y debemos hacer la misma cosa. Pero, no debemos enfocar solamente en que le glorificamos, pero que los otros glorifican al Señor también.
Porque, si solo pongo énfasis en mi trabajo, nunca ayudaré a alguien más. Y sí, puedo dar gloria al Señor en mi propio ser, pero, si ayudo a alguien más, ahora, hay dos personas glorificando al Señor.
Y este debe ser nuestro gol: que Dios recibe tanta gloria como sea posible. Y debemos hacer cualquiera cosa que sea necesaria para glorificar a Él.
Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
I saw a picture frame one time, and it had a picture of a city. It was a pretty large city, easily a million people. And that was just what was in the picture. I’m sure there were many more. And written on the frame was, “Untold millions of millions untold…and how shall they hear without a preacher?”
And that’s a very valid question? I didn’t lead myself to the Lord. Someone else had to show me I was a sinner, and needed God to save me. I’d even heard the gospel at that point more than enough to understand what it meant.
And there are millions of millions of people, every day, slipping off into an eternity in hell, and we’re not doing anything to even slow them down on their way. Sure, people will reject the gospel, but our job isn’t to save. Our job is to tell, and to make the gospel available to those who want it.
Not everyone is a preacher. But everyone can help send a preacher, or a missionary. I really like to describe it like this: “If you aren’t going to the field, you’re sending someone to the field.”
Which are you doing?
Rom 12:1 ASI que, hermanos, os ruego por las misericordias de Dios, que presentéis vuestros cuerpos en sacrificio vivo, santo, agradable á Dios, que es vuestro racional culto.
Isaías 53:5 nos dice que Cristo se ofreció por nosotros. El nos dio su proprio ser como un regalo. Entonces, debe ser muy fácil ofrecernos a Dios, como un sacrificio vivo y santo. Y muchas dirán, “Que locura! Este es demasiado!” Pero, La Biblia dice que es un culto racional.
Jesucristo dio su vida por ti. ¿Has dado su vida a Él?
For me, the most applying part of these chapters is 8:1 and 8:30. It shows me how much God truly loves me, that no matter what I do, He won’t condemn me for it. It’s easy to love someone when he or she isn’t doing anything wrong, but when he/she makes a mistake, or does something that’s bothersome, that love is quickly tested. Not so with God.
Not only does He love us and won’t condemn us, but He’s already glorified me. Because verse 30 is all in the past tense, which has to mean that my glorification has already taken place. But I’m not glorified on the earth, so it must have taken place in heaven.
It’s so good to serve a God who knows all the mistakes I’ve made, or will make, yet holds nothing against me, and decided to glorify me.
Romanos 9-
A mí, la cosa más impresionante de este capítulo es al amor. Pablo amaba a sus hermanos tanto que él quería recibir su castigo y quería que ellos fueron libres. Deseo tener este tipo de amor por los que están en mi vida.
Pero, al otro lado, el amor de Dios es más grande y mejor que el amor de Pablo. Aunque no éramos el pueblo de Dios, El decidió a llamarnos para ser su pueblo. Y no hay otra manera de mostrar un amor que este. Aunque Dios no tenía que llamarnos, el nos llamó, por su Hijo, a cause de su amor.
Now, I love football (soccer) as much as the next guy, but I also understand that, at the end of the day, it's just a game. Granted it's a game that can make a day great or turn it sour, but it's still a game. I'd never fight anyone or do anything ridiculous over a game...even with a Chelsea fan.
Because it's just a game....I wish some people knew that. I take this quote from espnsoccernet.com…
"The Togo national team bus has been machine-gunned by Angolan rebels on the Congolese border ahead of the African Nations Cup. Two players are reported to be injured and a Togolese sports ministry spokesman said the bus driver had been killed"
It’s a shame that people can take something so trivial, such as a sport, and take someone’s life because of it. But when it’s all people have, it become more than just a game. People can get all worked up over things that don’t matter, yet we, as Christians, having knowledge of the things that do matter, and will matter for eternity, aren’t doing anything about it.
In Angola, people are machine gunning busses over a game of footy. In the states, you have to hold people at machine gun point to get them to even think of taking the gospel to Angola.
Now, I’m not saying we should go and machine gun busses, because that’s a pretty good way to ruin a testimony, nut I think we could be a little bit more passionate about the God we serve. Grown men will paint their bodies from head to toe for a two hour match, and we (myself included on this one) hate wearing ties for more than two hours at church.
Oh, to see a day when humans were as passionate in their service to the Lord as they were about sports.
Rom 4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
Rom 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
This is such an encouraging verse to me. Abraham was old, and stricken with age, yet he believed that God would fulfill His promise, and give him a child. Even though Sarah was old, and seemingly barren, Abraham still knew God would come through on His promises.
And those promises are still as poignant today as they were for Abraham. Any promise that God has made us, through His word, will not fail us. He’ll always be with us, He’ll always provide for us, He’ll always work things out for good, and He’ll never condemn us.
Another interesting point about these verses is that Abraham was persuaded. If someone is persuaded, it means that his/her opinion has been changed, or made to be a certain way. In this case, Abraham believed God because of all the other things He had done in his life.
And that’s a very important thing. If we look at what God’s done for us in the past, it will be much easier to trust Him in the future.
Rom 6:19 Humana cosa digo, por la flaqueza de vuestra carne: que como para iniquidad presentasteis vuestros miembros á servir á la inmundicia y á la iniquidad, así ahora para santidad presentéis vuestros miembros á servir á la justicia.
Creo que, muchas veces, pecamos porque es un hábito y porque solemos pecar. Pero Pablo dice aquí que no debemos vivir así. Y debemos reemplazar nuestro pecado con las cosas de Dios. Y los pecados que hacíamos de hábito, debemos entregar a Dios para que el nos de algo nuevo, que no es un pecado.
Rom 1:14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
Rom 1:15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
I really admire Paul’s view of people. In this scripture, he views everyone as equal, because they all need the gospel equally. It becomes so easy, at times, to let personal grudges stop us from preaching the gospel, and carrying out the work the Lord has for us.
And that’s why it’s important to die to ourselves. Because is we preach to who we want to preach to, then the gospel won’t get taken to the whole world. But if we preach to everyone, even those we might not want to preach to, the gospel will be carried to the ends of the earth.
Rom 3:3 ¿Pues qué si algunos de ellos han sido incrédulos? ¿la incredulidad de ellos habrá hecho vana la verdad de Dios?
Rom 3:4 En ninguna manera; antes bien sea Dios verdadero, mas todo hombre mentiroso; como está escrito: Para que seas justificado en tus dichos, Y venzas cuando de ti se juzgare.
Hoy dia, hay muchas personas que no creen en el Señor. O no creen que Jesús es el Salvador del mundo. Y aunque ellos no creen, no cambia la verdad. Por ejemplo, so yo tengo 5 dólares, pero digo y creo que tengo 7 dólares, la verdad es que tengo 5 dólares.
Es el mismo con Dios. Si alguien no cree en Dios o en el cielo o infierno, no cambia la verdad. Pablo dice que no habrá hecho vano la verdad de Dios. La verdad de Dios es la verdad, si la creemos o no. No podemos cambiar la verdad, pero podemos aceptar y vivir por la verdad.
Act 27:22 Mas ahora os amonesto que tengáis buen ánimo; porque ninguna pérdida habrá de persona de vosotros, sino solamente de la nave.
Act 27:23 Porque esta noche ha estado conmigo el ángel del Dios del cual yo soy, y al cual sirvo,
Aunque estaban los varones en un gran tempestad y habían muchos problemas por todos partes, Pablo tenía fe en Dios. Y Dios le dijo que nadie moriría. Y leemos que Pablo tenía buen ánimo. Y este ánimo viene de su fe en Dios. Fe en Dios el necesario a tener animo cuando pasamos por las cosas peores en nuestras vidas.
Act 28:9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:
Act 28:10 Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.
Even though Paul was stranded on an island, he didn’t stop doing the Lord’s work. No matter where we are, we ought to do the same thing. There is no place in the world where the Lord’s work should not be done, and we shouldn’t ever let anything stop us from doing it.
We also see that Paul, as an added bonus to being kept alive and safe, was given many honours from the people of the island. God is faithful to provide our needs no matter what, but sometimes, as a result of our work, we can be given an extra blessing.
Act 19:10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
From the little bit of research that I’ve done, there would have been about 9 million people in Asia at this time. For 9 million people to hear the gospel is a pretty amazing feat. And that’s the power of God, working in a man. The next verse tells us that God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul.
I think it would be amazing, what would happen, if we were to ask God to work a special miracles by our hands in the world today.
Act 21:13 Entonces Pablo respondió: ¿Qué hacéis llorando y afligiéndome el corazón? porque yo no sólo estoy presto á ser atado, mas aun á morir en Jerusalem por el nombre del Señor Jesús.
Pablo, misionero de misionero, y un hombre quien estaba presto a morir. Pero, no estaba presto solamente a morir, sino a morir por el nombre de Jesús. Todos van a morir. Pero, moriremos solamente porque somos viejos? O moriremos por el nombre de Jesús?
