Jan 12
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patdryburgh added a text contribution El-roiHagar, a servant who is asked to sleep with another woman's husband, bore his child, is forced from her home as a refugee, and is now alone in the wilderness, is seen by God. God is "the God who sees" Hagar. God is the "The God who sees me". He is El-roi. Read more » -
patdryburgh added a text contribution Bread and WineThe story of Melchizedek reminds us that humans were not made to live under a law. Abraham gives Melchizedek 1/10 of all he had recovered, bestowing on Melchizedek what was reserved for Priests in the line of Levi. Melchizedek's story is a promise to us that we no longer need the law of Moses to reconcile us to God. Instead, as Hebrews 7 says, we are under a new system with a solemn oath, that Jesus will be our priest for ever. Its a promise that no matter what I do to screw up my life and… Read more »
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patdryburgh added a text contribution AltarsSeveral times in this chapter, Abram has interactions with God. Generally, it is God blessing Abram, telling him that he will be the father of a great nation. Each time Abram has an encounter with God, he builds and altar to mark the spot. As I think back on my life, there are definitely points in my life where I have mentally placed a mile marker, reminding myself of my encounter with God. I wish I could see more of these posts as I look back, yet I am grateful for each of them. I hope I can bu… Read more »
Jan 5
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patdryburgh added a text contribution Proud"The proud may not stand in your presence." Bam. That hits like a ton of bricks. Read more »
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patdryburgh added a text contribution Watching Over MeWe all shape our expressions of God through a frame of personal experience. We find it easy to praise God when things are going well, and harder when they are not. We find it easy to accuse someone of not having faith when they are struggling, and easy to applaud someone of great faith when they are succeeding. This perception of blessing/cursing goes back as far as human history. Even in a verse like this, we see how our experiences frame our perception: "I lay down and slept, yet I wo… Read more »
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patdryburgh added a text contribution Wisdom"She wanted the wisdom it would give her." Too often in my life, I look to other people to provide me leadership, guidance, affirmation, worth, etc. Eve didn't eat the fruit of the tree because she wanted to disobey God. Her intentions were actually quite pure: so she may have wisdom. I wonder in what areas of my life I desire certain things, but am going about getting them in entirely the wrong way? Read more »
Jan 2
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patdryburgh added a text contribution InnocentImagine you wake up one morning and cannot remember anything you've ever done wrong. You have no feelings of regret, shame, or guilt. Instead you only feel joy, peace, contentment. I wonder what it was like to live as Adam and Eve did in time between Genesis 2 and 3. There were no moments where one felt the other was holding something back. There was no feeling of jealousy. Adam hadn't gone out for the night and left Eve wondering where her husband was. Eve hadn't struggled with… Read more »
Dec 22
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patdryburgh added a text contribution Real life.It interests me that Jesus states that eternal life is knowing God. For most of my Christian life, I have viewed heaven/eternal life as the reward for believing in Jesus. If I believed the right things, lived the right way, spoke the right words, for as long as I am on this planet, then at the end of my life my reward will be "eternal life." But Jesus had something different in mind. Really, he wasn't pointing to a reward for a distant time. He was pointing to another reali… Read more »
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patdryburgh added a text contribution Know people. Know God.I was invited to speak at an Anglican (Episcopal) church a few years back. It was interesting because it was in my hometown, and I knew so many people at the church. Some, I knew some dark secrets about. Some, I had only heard rumours (good and bad). Dressed in my nicest suit (read: my only suit. The one I wore to my high school grad), I gave a talk about the importance of knowing God (Jn 17:3). I shared that in my opinion, one of the best ways of knowing God is to know people, because a… Read more »