I want to encourage everyone to begin 2012 afresh reading through the scriptures.  We need to feed ourselves on God’s Word daily.  Do you have a bible reading plan?  Start afresh  and expect to have your soul refreshed and renewed. 

I’ve begun mine again, and I’d like to share three gems I see in today’s reading from Genesis.  I don’t want to keep them to myself!

In Genesis 16 we see the familiar story of Abram and Sarai trying to fulfill God’s promise of a son carnally by Sarai giving Abe her maid, Hagar.  Not a good idea.  The new thing I see here this morning is in verse 9.  Sarai and Hagar had a dispute and Sarai kicked her out of the house and Hagar went into the desert.  Actually Hagar had not done anything wrong but found herself pushed out of the house.  In verse 9 God told her that He would honour her prayers and bless Ishmael but He told her to “return to your mistress and submit yourself under her hand.”  Wow!   God honours a situation when we obey Him and in this case it was to be under the authority and covering of Abe and specifically Sarai. We often take too lightly God’s view of submission.

Secondly I love the way God describes Himself in 17:1.  “When Abram was 99 years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am Almighty God (El Shaddai), walk before Me blameless.’”  God is El Shaddai, Almighty God.  Don’t you love the sound of that?  Is He El Shaddai in your eyes?  Later on in 18:14, in response to Sarai’s laughter about the promise of a son, God says “Is anything too hard for the Lord?  At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”  Is anything too difficult for the Lord?  Soak in this today for your life.  May our faith rise in 2012 to loving God as El Shaddai.

Lastly, I am going through the 32 hour teaching conference of Henry Wright called “For My Life.”  Today I listened to a teaching on the principality of bitterness.  The teacher taught there were 7 other aspects of this that are demonic areas that need to be dealt with, each getting progressively worse.   If you are interested, here are the seven:

1.  unforgiveness  2.  resentment  3.  retaliation   4.  anger & wrath   5.  hatred    6.  violence    7.  murder

We were also taught that rejection often opens the door to these sins and bondage in our lives.  The situation with Cain and Abel is a good example.  Cain felt rejected by God and took out his resentment on Abel and retaliated against him, ultimately by murdering him.  You can see the progression in Cain’s heart.

Now back to Genesis 17.  Abraham wanted and expected God to fulfill His promise of a son through Ishmael.   God said He would bless Ishmael and multiply him “But My covenant I will establish with Isaac.”  (17:21)  It is easy to see how Hagar and Ishmael would feel a huge rejection from God here.  History shows a similar pattern as Cain.  Ishmael  felt rejected by God and took it out on Isaac and the Jewish people.  This rejection opens the door to Satan coming in with unforgiveness resentment, retaliation, anger/wrath, hatred, violence and ultimately murder.  This gives much light even today to see the hatred and animosity of the Arabs towards the Jews.  The seven steps above are being played out today ending in a spirit of murder towards God’s chosen people, the Jews.  The world stumbles over them and over God’s blessings upon them.  I believe the root problem in the Middle East is not land for peace or battles over borders or walls, but hatred, violence, and murder originating in jealousy and rejection.  The final lesson in this is that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age … (Ephesians 6:12)