…God tested and proved Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. [God] said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you.
—Genesis 22:1-2
Once the Lord said to me, "Joyce, do you love Me? If so, will you still love Me and serve Me even if I don't do everything just the way you want or just when you think I should?" At the time of the Lord's visitation, I had been asking God for a huge ministry. He also said, "Joyce, if I asked you to go down to the riverfront here in St. Louis and minister to fifty people for the rest of your life and never be known by anyone, would you do it?" My response was, "But, Lord, surely you can't really be asking me to do that!"
We always have such grandiose plans for ourselves. If God asks us to do something that isn't prominent, we aren't always sure we are hearing Him correctly or that it is His will for us! When God asked me those questions about my ministry, I felt the way I imagined Abraham must have felt when the Lord asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac through whom He had promised to bless him and all nations of the earth (see Genesis 22).
It seemed God was asking me to give up the very work He had given me through which He blessed many others as well as me. But God wasn't asking me to give up that ministry. He was just asking me to lay it on the altar, just like Abraham laid Isaac on the altar before the Lord.
We must not let anything—even our work for God—become more important to us than God Himself. To keep that from happening, from time to time God calls upon us to lay it all on the altar as proof of our love and commitment. He tests us by asking us to lay down our most treasured blessing as proof of our love for Him.
Understanding the Word
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.”
Luke 8:9–10
One of the most important archaeological discoveries in history was made in 1799 by a soldier in Napoleon’s army fighting in Egypt. The French troops were tasked with building a fort when the man found a stone with written inscriptions in three different languages. Dating to some two hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Rosetta Stone unlocked secrets of the past. The discovery proved crucial to understanding ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics because it contained the same decree written in Greek. By first translating the known language, historians were able to then develop an understanding of the Egyptian language that had not been possible before.
The Bible is not a normal book. While it was penned by men, it is not their thoughts and impressions. Second Peter 1:21 says, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” God has given us what we need to know in His Word. And He has given us the same Holy Spirit who inspired the writing of Scripture to help us understand what it says. Jesus said that one of the purposes of the Holy Spirit coming to live within us was so that he would guide us “into all truth” (John 16:13).
Not everything in the Bible is simple and easy to understand, but if we are diligent students of the Word, we can know what God expects from us. Paul highlighted the vital importance of the Bible in his final letter to Timothy. “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).
Luke 8:9–10
One of the most important archaeological discoveries in history was made in 1799 by a soldier in Napoleon’s army fighting in Egypt. The French troops were tasked with building a fort when the man found a stone with written inscriptions in three different languages. Dating to some two hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Rosetta Stone unlocked secrets of the past. The discovery proved crucial to understanding ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics because it contained the same decree written in Greek. By first translating the known language, historians were able to then develop an understanding of the Egyptian language that had not been possible before.
The Bible is not a normal book. While it was penned by men, it is not their thoughts and impressions. Second Peter 1:21 says, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” God has given us what we need to know in His Word. And He has given us the same Holy Spirit who inspired the writing of Scripture to help us understand what it says. Jesus said that one of the purposes of the Holy Spirit coming to live within us was so that he would guide us “into all truth” (John 16:13).
Not everything in the Bible is simple and easy to understand, but if we are diligent students of the Word, we can know what God expects from us. Paul highlighted the vital importance of the Bible in his final letter to Timothy. “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).
Today’s Growth Principle:
When we tell people God’s truth from His Word, we give them a message with the power to transform lives.
Lay It on the Altar
by Joyce Meyer - posted March 06, 2016…God tested and proved Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. [God] said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you.
—Genesis 22:1-2
Once the Lord said to me, "Joyce, do you love Me? If so, will you still love Me and serve Me even if I don't do everything just the way you want or just when you think I should?" At the time of the Lord's visitation, I had been asking God for a huge ministry. He also said, "Joyce, if I asked you to go down to the riverfront here in St. Louis and minister to fifty people for the rest of your life and never be known by anyone, would you do it?" My response was, "But, Lord, surely you can't really be asking me to do that!"
We always have such grandiose plans for ourselves. If God asks us to do something that isn't prominent, we aren't always sure we are hearing Him correctly or that it is His will for us! When God asked me those questions about my ministry, I felt the way I imagined Abraham must have felt when the Lord asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac through whom He had promised to bless him and all nations of the earth (see Genesis 22).
It seemed God was asking me to give up the very work He had given me through which He blessed many others as well as me. But God wasn't asking me to give up that ministry. He was just asking me to lay it on the altar, just like Abraham laid Isaac on the altar before the Lord.
We must not let anything—even our work for God—become more important to us than God Himself. To keep that from happening, from time to time God calls upon us to lay it all on the altar as proof of our love and commitment. He tests us by asking us to lay down our most treasured blessing as proof of our love for Him.
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