James Reed's FORGE

Do you remember the Tower of Babel? Have you ever heard about Jacob's ladder or a stairway to heaven? Have you ever tried to make a deal with God? The Psalmist writes in Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These O God, You will not despise.” What does all this have to do with Genesis 28? Listen to this episode to find out. 

God's choice is not determined by the ways of men. God is working all things for the praise of His glory! Once God has called and appointed you, no manipulation on the part of mere humans will ever enhance or change that. Christianity is something which is revealed by the Holy Spirit, so let us walk by faith-- not by sight.

Esau and Jacob- the two sons of Isaac. One is favored by Isaac. One is favored by Rebekah. Do you know which one was favored by God?

In Genesis 24 we read an amazing story of love, and we see a picture of things to come. We have as characters in this story: a father, a son, a helper, and a bride.

This summer has brought some changes to our episode schedule to be sure! I'm trying to get back on track as we continue on with Genesis 22 and 23. Here we find some beautiful shadows of things to come. We will also read about the death of Sarah, but we will also be reminded of the hope of life we have in Christ.

Sorry for the delay in getting this out there. It's July and there's been a lot going on. In this episode, we will see how God defines love. We also see a shadow of things to come. May this podcast continue to be a blessing to all those God has called!

This episode is a little short. I am also not recording in my studio, so the quality suffers. Give it a listen anyway! We see in this chapter that Abraham and Sarah lie to another king about their marriage. Apparently, this was a pre-arranged story between the two of them. They knew what they would do if a king or other ruler wanted to kill Abraham and take Sarah. They would just tell their lie. But God was faithful-- even when Abraham was not. There was never a time where God was not protecting Abraham. Dear Christian, God is faithful to you too!

In this chapter we see what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. We also see God's provision for Lot. Lot was blessed because of his relationship with Abraham; however, we see a sad conclusion to Lot's part in the narrative. Interestingly, Jesus makes reference to Lot in the New Testament (Luke 17:28-37). Jude 7 also makes mention of the events found in Genesis 19. This is significant because once again it shows the intricate weaving of scriptures together in such a way that to take away part is to take away all.  

We're going to cover a lot of material in this episode. First off- there's something I overlooked in our last study. So, there is a little bit of back-tracking to make sure we get that covered. Next, we're going to take a look at God's revelation of Himself to Abraham and Sarah. This is where He changes their names and reminds them of a promise He intends to keep in their old age. We're also going to give some consideration to circumcision as the sign of the covenant and how this relates to water baptism today. Why do we believe in and practice infant baptism? We close out this study with a look at yet another visitation from God to Abraham and Sarah. Is anything too difficult for the Lord? And finally, we will see the precursor of judgement upon the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. What lessons can we take from Genesis and apply to our world today?