Of Abraham and Air Shows...

Not that there were Air Shows when Abraham was walking the earth- at least not the kind I go to...

There was one question that came up briefly on Sunday that we did not really discuss. Do we change God's mind? Does our persistent and passionate prayer change the course of God's action? To tell you the truth, I am not really sure. I would value your comments and thoughts and opinions. There are some things I do know-

I do know that in Luke 11 we read the story of a man and a neighbor and an unexpected visitor and a midnight request for bread... you know the one I am talking about? In that story, Jesus says that "because of the man's boldness" the neighbor will give him what he wants. In the following verses Jesus urges his disciples to ask. I think it is inherent to the command that we should ask boldly.

I do know that God is a relational God and that he does like to hear the requests of His children. If you have your own children, you are not completely unfamiliar with this. You know how it is... you don't want to give your kids everything they ask for because that is not good for them. But, boy do we love to say yes whenever we can! There is not much better than to see your kid respond when you are able to give them something they really want. I cannot help but think that it is a bit this way with God. We don't control Him. We don't manipulate Him. But when we prove that we really want something and want it for the right reason, I think that it gives Him great pleasure to grant our request.

I find the encounter in the second half of Genesis 18 interesting because of the nature of the discourse between Abraham and God. Abraham is rather bold before God in the passage. Now, one of two things is going on here. For someone to be so bold as to say the things that Abraham said, you have to be one of two kinds of people. You are either someone who is unfamiliar with who God is and you do not know any better than to open you mouth, or you are someone who is intimate enough with God that you can, in a respectful manner, be confident enough to speak your mind. I do not think there is much "in-between" here. Well, it doesn't take much reading to know which of those Abraham is. And it is here that I think we see a wonderful example for us all. Who of us would not like to feel so intimate with God that you could say things like "far be it from you to do such a thing..." (Gen. 18:25) I just think that the whole exchange between God and Abraham in Genesis 18 shows the give and take between two who have walked together and lived together and shared together on a very consistent basis. And I want to be like that.

I won't be there Sunday, but I will be hanging out with Angels!! (The Blue Angels!!)

Just Keep Swimming!

Jon