October 14, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, ‘I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.‘” (Genesis 22.12-14)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

There is a phrase that has been popularized in the entitlement culture that declares “It is my God-given right.” I have no doubt that those who espouse this are most certainly thinking about the words penned by Thomas Jefferson as he completed the final draft of The Declaration of Independence in 1776. He wrote, “…people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Be assured that those “unalienable rights” were not limited to but included “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Be assured as well, that many who dare to tout their entitlement privilege of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are not so embracing of either the Judeo-Christian God nor the Constitution of these “United” States. They embrace a vocabulary with the same practice as been used many times over of adopting a word and reinterpreting it to fit their agenda and purpose. While they may seek a “consensus” agreement in the “word,” they most definitely do not have such an opinion on what the word means. I can say this specifically as it pertains to the use of “liberty.” The “liberal” application of that word has weakened the intention and integrity of its definitive proposal as the Founding Fathers of this nation presented to the thirteen colonies as well as to the King of England in 1776. We see such radicalization even in the interpretation and application of God’s Word in the modern and common vernacular used in and out of the Church. So disturbing is the practice that even the identity and deity of Jesus Christ is diluted, polluted and convoluted to the point of barely recognizing the gospel and the one it presents to the world for their salvation. What is it that God has said and is now saying? Are we attentive to a more rigorous hermeneutic of scripture in our desire to “hear God and listen with our spirit” than to “overhear and choose with a personal agenda which leans to God saying to us ‘not My will but yours be done“? Mighty ones of God, in the words engraved in the history of NASA in the days of Apollo 13 spoken by Astronaut Jack Swigert, “Houston, we have a problem.”

What does that problem look like? Staying with the story of Abraham as recounted by Moses in the Book of Genesis, the problem today is the primacy of the presence of Israel in what is known as the Middle East. Because of the conflicts which began with this promise God confirmed at the sacrificial altar on Moriah stating, “Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies…because you have obeyed Me,” we see the battles continuing to rage up to and through today until the final conflict when the Glorified and Resurrected Christ brings His thousand year reign of peace to come on earth in the days to come. Mighty ones of God, as we read and remember this history of Israel, we dare not seek to radically reinterpret it or modernize its context based on conflicts globally. There are today, 29 active wars and 282 armed conflicts around the world. We could make a list of the reasons to justify such wars and conflicts and decide how to adjudicate them. However, let’s simply speak the truth in love. There is but one reason for war against our neighbor: the manifestation of sin which is living out our disobedience to God’s design and call in and over our lives. I dare say that those who fought against Abraham and Melchizedek were ones who denied the sovereignty of God, if they even accepted His existence. When humans are not putting their faith and trust in God, they are at war: with themselves, with others and especially with God. God’s call to Abraham to “possess the cities of their enemies,” which often resulted in war, would have been seen as the exertion and the exacting of justice. We know what happened to Pharaoh when he denied the sovereignty of God. Plagues came down on Egypt but Pharaoh himself called out death upon the first born in all Israel creating the definition of “God’s will be done.” I raise this challenge even to myself. I must keep in mind at setting myself against the design which God declared was “good and very good.” Those who seek their own way, truth and life put themselves outside of God’s blessing by their denial and their actions against submitting to the truth. We see what happened to Abraham and to Isaac; for better and for worse. It is a lesson to us all. It is a word I extend to every nation; but especially to the United States and to Israel. Are we listening to God’s word of promise and provision or are we defining it for ourselves and then asking God’s blessing and favor on it. That is not the way it works. Today’s reflection back on Abraham at Moriah demonstrates that. Lesson to be learned.

TODAYS’ PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness endeavor, but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.