The Seed of Abraham

Photo by Starr Environmental 

The story of Abraham and Sarah (or Abram and Sarai, before God changed their names), is rich with history and with present-day meaning for Christians. There is so much in the story of the "Father of Faith" that it would probably take a life time to study it and ferret out all of the symbolism and meaning. But there are a few things about this story that the Holy Spirit wanted to make sure I didn't miss today. 

This might not be anything new and earth shattering to you, after all, there isn't anything new in scripture. It was all written thousands of years ago. But every now and then, I hear or read something that I never heard or read before -- at least not the same way.

We know that the Kingdom of God works on the principle of seed, time and harvest; sowing and reaping.

 "So is the kingdom of God, as if a man 
should cast seed into the ground..."

~Mark 4:26 

The 4th chapter of Mark and the 8th chapter of Luke explains how this works -- and correlates the seed with the Word of God. Not only is Jesus the Word of God (John 1:14 "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us...") but he was also the seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16 "And to thy seed, which is Christ.").

Reflections on Life Lived

Of course, at the end of our journey, we want that to read “a life lived well”, or “a life well-lived”.

I have spent time over the last several days contemplating and reflecting on my life thus far. I look at my birthday as a sort of personal “New Year”. The changing of the calendar year doesn’t mean that much to me, really. I’m not much into making New Year’s Resolutions. But, my birthday I take a little more seriously – not in a celebrating, let’s party kind of way. In fact, I prefer that not much is made of my birthday. Yes, I appreciate the “happy birthday” wishes, but don’t rely on a party or presents. In many ways, it’s just another day.

By Thy Words

 

Words (c) ninasauresrex via Flickr.com

"For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." 

~Matthew 12:37

A small passage of scripture, but so packed with meaning! What was Jesus saying here? First, we need to look at this in context. Jesus had just performed an exorcism, casting a devil out of a man who was blind and dumb. The man was healed, and instantly, we see the two types of people spring into action:  the believers begin praising God and calling Jesus the son of David; the Pharisees begin talking among themselves saying he cast out the devil because he is, in fact, the devil.

Lessons from the Past

2012: A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

Day 16: Today, I'm Thankful for Lessons of the Past

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day. The banks and post offices were closed. Some offices were closed. But many of us went to work just like any other day.

I was a young girl when Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. It was a brutal, deadly time in American History. It seemed we went from one tragedy to another.

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 2, 1963.
Lee Harvey Oswald was killed on national television 22 days later, November 24, 1963.
Bobby Kennedy was killed on June 5, 1968.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated only 5 days later, June 10, 1968.

It was a lot for a small child to take in.

Wholly Strange and New

"When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name; the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 16 Assignment: Wholly Strange and New by Bridget Pilloud

Can you remember a moment in your life when you had life in yourself and it was wholly strange and new? Can you remember the moment when you stopped walking a path of someone else, and started cutting your own?


Write about that moment. And if you haven’t experienced it yet, let the miracle play out in your mind’s eye and write about that moment in your future.

Surprise!

"I will not hide my tastes or aversions. I will so trust that what is deep is holy, if we follow the truth, it will bring us out safe at last."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 13 Assignment: Surprise by Ashley Ambirge

Think of a time when you didn’t think you were capable of doing something, but then surprised yourself.  How will you surprise yourself this week?

Fear

"These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 12 Assignment: Fear by Lachlan Cotter

I'm really struggling with yet another prompt on fear.

Frankly, I just don't see myself as being that fearful.  I already dealt with the psychological, subtle fears having to do with self-esteem.

Now Lachlan Cotter asks: Is fear holding you back from living your fullest life and being truly self expressed?

Distraction -- Faith's Biggest Enemy

Wow, I can hardly believe it's been three months since I've blogged.  Time flies when you're... distracted. It's interesting. Distraction seems like such a small thing. But, it can destroy your faith without you even realizing it's happening.


Remember the parable of the sower? This was one of  the most powerful lessons Jesus taught. It is repeated in three of the four gospels, and Jesus told his disciples that if they didn't understand this parable, they wouldn't understand the others.