May 29, 2022- One night when I first became Christian, I was sound asleep, but I awoke in the middle of the night to a booming voice. “Maeghan!” I was startled and shaking. It took me a minute to awake to a state of comprehension. I looked around the room, and noticing the darkness, I realized it could be no later than 2:00 a.m.
“Maeghan!” the voice called again.
Finally, I came to full alertness, and recognizing the voice, I said, “Here I am.” I knew that voice, and it belonged to God, the great I am. (In Exodus 3:14, God says to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM…Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”)
What God wanted that night; I cannot recall. However, I expect that it was not only a call of action, but a test to see how I may respond.
Does my response to God’s call sound familiar to you? If not, please allow me to introduce you to Abraham.
The Father of the Jews
The story of Abraham can be found in Genesis 11:27 through Genesis 25:11. However, he was the son of Terah from the land of Ur of the Chaldeans (Genesis 11:28). Terah begot Abram, whom God later renamed him to Abraham. While under the identify of Abram, he married Sarai, who the Lord renamed her to Sarah.
The Lord told Abram to leave his family and country to a land that He would show him. God then made a promise to Abram that included making him “a great nation” and making his “name great” (Genesis 12:2). Later in Genesis, God tells Abram that his descendants would be like the stars in heaven (Genesis 15:5). Just try and count how many stars there are. You will not be able to do. This was God’s other promise to Abram. At the time, Sarai was barren, and they had no children together.
Despite not having a child, Abram believed the Lord, and God “accounted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Earlier in the book of Genesis, we see God promise salvation long before Abraham was born (Genesis 3:15). Because of Abraham’s righteousness, God’s promise of salvation extended from the Jews to the Gentiles (Romans 4) and passed through Abraham’s descendants to Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-17). Praise God! Eventually, God begins to fulfill His promise, and Sarah births Isaac.
Here I am!
Let us look at Genesis 22:1:
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
God called Abraham, and Abraham said, "Here I am." He did not say to God, "five more minutes" like when you hit your alarm clock in the morning, or think to himself, "call on someone else.” No. He said, "Here I am". When God calls you, what is your response? Do you even hear Him? I know I hear him sometimes, and sometimes I do not.
Now, God tells Abraham to take his son and go to the mountain in the land of Moriah where he is to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice (Genesis 22:2). I do not know about you, but if someone told me to take my only son (of which I do not have any), and offer him as a sacrifice, I would skip town, and run like mad. But Abraham listens and takes Isaac there.
When they arrive, Isaac notices that the materials are with them, but not the sacrifice. So, Isaac says, "My father,” and again, Abraham says "Here I am, my son." Isaac asks, "where is the lamb"? Abraham tells Isaac, that God will provide the lamb. (Genesis 22:6-8).
Abraham begins building an altar, where he bounds his son. As he grabs his knife, an angel of the Lord calls to him. Again, Abraham says, "Here I am" (Genesis 11). The angel tells Abraham, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now, I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me" (Genesis 22:12).
The Lamb
This story is a foreshadowing of the lamb that was to come. The lamb that was put up on that cross, and crucified, because God loves you. Before Jesus Christ of Nazareth, people would perform atonement to sanctify and consecrate themselves (Exodus 29). Jesus would then become "the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6). If you have a hunger for God, it is because Jesus is calling you!
Yet, after Jesus, we now have a way to pray to God, and to be close to God. All what we need to do is live by the Holy Bible, confess our sins to Jesus and God and to one another, and speak about God and Jesus. In the Holy Bible, James 5:16 says, "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." The Holy Bible has guidance for becoming reborn, and being a Christian! Hallelujah!
In the name of Jesus, I pray that anyone who reads this will have a full understanding of what God is saying. I pray that they will know, understand, and accept the truth, and that they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit as promised to believers by Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen!
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