God appeared to Abraham
at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent.
It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men
standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.

He said, "Master, if it please you, stop for a while with your servant.
I’ll get some water so you can wash your feet. Rest under this tree.
I’ll get some food to refresh you on your way, since your travels have
brought you across my path."

They said, "Certainly. Go ahead."

Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, "Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread."

Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and
gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready. Then he got
curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set
the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate. Genesis 18:1-18 (TM)

I was struck as I read this morning by Abraham’s hospitality – his sense of duty to care for and treat a strange visitor with honor. It reminded me of Hebrews 13:1…Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready
with a meal or a bed when it’s needed. Why, some have extended
hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! Have we forgotten what Jesus taught in the parable of the sheep and goats…"Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being
overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me."

We’ve lost a sense of hospitality in our culture, at least the hospitality I remember as a child. We don’t know our neighbors as well. We don’t make a big deal for guests. We don’t open our homes as readily or "bring out the fine china".

I think we’d do well to get back to truly believing our guests are Jesus’ very presence in our home.

Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face. Genesis 17:3 (TM)

There is something about being on your knees – or in this case, on your face – before God. Not in the public "Hey look at me, aren’t I spiritual?" sense that Jesus warned against, but a very private act of humility before Almighty God. We’ve lost touch with some of those acts of humility in our proud, modern age.

When [God] took [Abram] outside and said, "Look at the sky. Count the
stars. Can you do it? Count your descendants! You’re going to have a
big family, Abram!" And [Abram] believed! Believed God! God declared him "Set-Right-with-God." Genesis 15:5-6 (TM)

When a young man with a healthy new wife believes God’s promisethat he will have a huge family – that’s not faith. When an old man with a barren wife, who’s been trying to have children for years – believes that same promise – that’s faith. Faith is being assured of what we hope for.

What would you do differently in your life if you truly believed that God was for you, and was going to grant you success?

Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine—he was priest of The High God—and blessed him. Genesis 14:18 (TM)

Mel is an intriguing character who we don’t talk about much outside of theological circles. The Bible calls Mel "priest of The High God" before Moses, before the giving of the law, before the priesthood and code of sacrifice was established through Aaron. We really know very little else about him or how this came to be. It’s a bit mysterious. Yet, Mel brought out "bread and wine", becoming a clear picture to us of Jesus – our intercessor who brings out the bread and wine as a metaphor of his body and blood. Hebrews calls Jesus a "priest in the order of Melchizedek", quoting David in the prophetic Psalm 110.

"God told Abram: ‘Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you.’" Genesis 12:1 (TM)

I was at a conference a few years back and Gordon McDonald was the speaker. He made one statement that has stuck with me the rest of my life: "Faith requires leaving". If you are really going to let God lead you to a land He has to show you – you must leave your own country behind. In New Testament terms: If you want to walk on the water with Jesus, you have to leave the boat.

Many people never experience the fullness of God’s promise, because they can’t bring themselves to leave.

When I’m standing at the threshold ready to take that first step I remember an old Eastern proverb: "Leap and the net will appear".

The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have
begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for
them." Genesis 11:6 (NIV)

I believe that there’s a parallel between the Tower of Babel and our own generation. There was one language and society was progressing at an amazing rate -"nothing they plan to do was impossible". God’s confusing of the language was intended to slow things down. Today, we are increasingly a global community with a common language. Look how rapidly things are changing, growing, progressing – communications, technology, cloning, genetics – and with it grows humanity’s pride, arrogance and selfishness.

Cush also had Nimrod. He was the first great warrior on Earth. Genesis 10:8 (TM)

Be careful what you name your children. Take Nimrod, for example. Here he is, the first great warrior on Earth – a "guy" all men should revere – and you load him down with the name ensuring that his would be the moniker given to idots, fools and unsuspecting children on the playground. Oh sure, if he had been born in modern times he could have made a gangsta name from it like "N-Rod" or "P-Nimmy" and escaped some of the teasing – but even that’s a stretch.

Parents – for goodness sake – take the advise of CSN and "treat your children well". Start by refusing to give them a name like "Nimrod" 🙂