The Lord Calls Abram

December 4, 2011

Background Scripture: Genesis 11:27 – 12:9
Lesson Passage: Genesis 12:1 – 9

Today’s lesson affords us the opportunity to examine some details of God’s calling of Abram. I believe that there are elements of Abram’s call that all who have been called of God to a specific ministry can identify with. However, since God has made it clear in revealing Himself to us through His word that He desires a unique personal relationship with each of us that would allow Him to express His love through us, I stop short of suggesting that we can define a pattern here of “how” God calls every person that He calls into service—as though He is limited to only one way. There are three elements of Abram’s call that I believe are noteworthy. Abram’s calling of God was vocal, explicit, and it required a response.

The bible affirms in every place where Abram’s calling is mentioned that God spoke to Abram. Abram heard the voice of God and he responded verbally to the Lord as well. The bible does not suggest that Abram felt like the Lord was trying to tell him to do something. Nor does the bible suggest that Abram did what he thought would be pleasing to the Lord. Abram responded to the voice of the Lord. Although his response was not always in complete obedience to God’s instructions, Abram’s response was directionally correct according to God’s verbal guidance.

The second element of Abram’s calling is that it was explicit. God told Abram to leave his land of birth, leave his family, and travel to a land that God would guide him to. Our background scripture shows the movement of Abram’s family away from the land of his birth (Ur of the Chaldeans) to the land of Haran. We learn that this was the result of an explicit statement from God to Abram in Acts 7 when Stephen addresses the Sanhedrin Council. Stephen said that God appeared to Abram in Ur and gave him these instructions. As we follow Abram’s life we see him moving in the direction God has prescribed but he takes along family with him through the early steps all the way to the land where God led him. Little by little God ordered the circumstances of Abram’s life to cause him to become separated from his family as prescribed.

The third element of Abram’s call was that it required a response from Abram. Again, if you follow Abram’s history, you will see that each time Abram responded in the direction of God’s instructions (although his response was not always in complete obedience) God reappeared to him and affirmed the calling. In fact, the Epistle of James states that Abram’s trust in God was demonstrated through his response to God’s directions. By responding positively to God’s instructions, Abram demonstrated that he trusted God’s guidance. Abram not only mentally agreed with God, he acted according to God’s instructions to him. The Apostle Paul said that it was Abram’s trust in God that caused God to affirm that Abram was in the right type of relationship with him spiritually. Abram demonstrated some ethical lapses along the way but it seems as though he continuously moved in the direction that God led him. The Lord called Abram and Abram accepted the calling and became the friend of God.

Robert C. Hudson
November 28, 2011

Facing Life Without Worry

November 27, 2011


Background Scripture: Matthew 6:19 – 34
Lesson Passage: Matthew 6:25 – 34

Food, clothing, money, and indeed all material possessions can be causes for worry. And why shouldn’t we feel this way seeing that the society in which we live is bombarded with daily messages of how important those things are. In fact, we are encouraged to believe that those things define who we are and what we are worth. No wonder we spend so much of our life accumulating material things to the point of even devaluing relationships. Once accumulated, then the new worry is about securing them so that we can hold on to these material possessions. We don’t want to lose what we have invested so much of ourselves into obtaining. What will others think of us if they see that we can get this stuff but we don’t have what it takes to hold on to it? Will it rust or deteriorate in some other manner? Will thieves sneak in and make off with it? Will burglars confront us and take it? Will it be destroyed by some unexpected natural disaster? It seems as though we sometimes worry more after we get stuff than we worried about not having it. It can be a cruel irony that the very things we crave can become our biggest source of stress once obtained. The society in which we live can cause some strange groups to emerge. The rich will sometimes appear to have almost nothing and the poor will pretend to have everything. Clearly these two groups have a very different view of the meaning and importance of material goods. The rich appear to give away or donate much of what they have and yet their wealth continues to grow without end. On the other hand, the poor attempt to keep everything they obtain and in the end lose almost all of it anyway. One of the things that appear to be common to all people is worry or stress. It seems as though we have come to expect a certain amount of worry as the normal order of things for people. This type of thinking can cause us to become concerned when we are not worrying about something. We wonder if we have forgotten something or perhaps there is something going on that we should know about but we don’t. We even worry about not worrying. Our lesson today looks at a portion of the Sermon on the Mount that invites us to live a stress-free life. Not only does Jesus suggest that it is possible to live this way, he also makes it clear that this is the desirable way to live. The key to stress-free or worry-free living is dependence on God. Jesus points to the birds and wild grass as proof of God’s ability and willingness to supply the needs of His creation. How much more would He do the same for His new creation (regenerated mankind)? We can only come to face life without worry when we place all of our confidence in God. We must believe that He cares about our needs as well as our wants. If we place God at the top of our list in everything, then He promises to supply the material things we would otherwise crave. Seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness is all about seeking God’s face and not seeking His hand. Only then will we live worry-free lives.


Robert C. Hudson
November 16, 2011

Praying Sincerely

November 20, 2011


Background Scripture: Matthew 6:1 – 18
Lesson Passage: Matthew 6:5 – 15

Why do people pray? How should we pray? How are prayers answered? Jesus addresses these questions by contrasting the actions of two groups with that of true disciples. The first group Jesus refers to are the hypocrites. The word hypocrite comes from a Greek word, hypokrites, which means actor. The word referred to the leading characters in ancient Greek plays. The most essential part of their costumes was the mask. The mask allowed single actors to play many different roles in the same play. The facial expression on the mask expressed the temperament of the actor to indicate whether he was happy, sad, scared, or otherwise. Whereas the Greek word was descriptive of an occupation designed to entertain an audience, the English word has a very negative connotation. In English the word refers to someone who assumes a counterfeit personality. The English word is used to refer to someone who presents himself differently than he truly is for the purpose of deceiving others rather than entertaining them. In a real sense, they also wear a mask. To charge someone as a hypocrite is a serious matter. Jesus referred to two groups as hypocrites: those who prayed publically for the purpose of being seen by others and those who publically displayed a facial expression to indicate to others that they were fasting. Jesus declared that both had received their reward. There was nothing further to be given to them since they had received the public attention they desired. The second group that Jesus referred to is the heathens. He described the heathens as having long public prayers that used empty and repetitive words. They believe that the length of their prayers has significance as far as whether God will hear them or not. Simply put, heathens are persons who do not know God. So people do pray for different reasons and how they pray is often based on the reason they pray. Hypocrites pray to be seen of men and heathens pray out of ignorance of God. Disciples of Christ—or Christians, more specifically—should not follow the example of either group. Christians should pray to be heard by God and not to be recognized by men. Note that Jesus does not suggest that public prayer is never in order. He is referring to the reason the prayer is being prayed not where it is being prayed. How should we pray? He gives the model for prayer in our lesson text. Prayer should acknowledge God for who He is by showing Him reverence and acknowledge us for who we are by asking Him to forgive us—for all have sinned against God. Our request for forgiveness should be based on our willingness to forgive others. This is a condition that Jesus placed in the Model Prayer. We should make our requests known to Him—not that we are informing Him of our needs for He already knows what we need before we ask. When we pray for the right reason and pray in the right way, then God will reward us openly for those prayers we have offered in secret.


Robert C. Hudson
November 10, 2011

Loving Unconditionally

November 13, 2011


Background Scripture: Matthew 5:38 – 48
Lesson Passage: Matthew 5:38 – 48

The children of God are called to walk in a way that reflects His character in us. We are asked to do a hard thing. To do this is to go against the very nature we were born with. This is why we must be born again so that we can become a new creation on the inside. The challenge for us is that the old nature is still there as well. We are commanded to crucify or put to death that old nature in us. This is the only way to allow the Spirit of God in us to have control of our will and guide our actions in a godly manner. Our old way of thinking, talking, and acting must all be given the death sentence in favor of God’s way. This is how we are to reach spiritual maturity. In the New Testament, spiritual maturity is called perfection. Although we do not expect to ever reach physical, mental, and emotional perfection as long as we live in these corruptible bodies, we are expected to move in that direction by crucifying the works of our flesh on a daily basis. To not do this is to remain babes in Christ. God does not want us to remain spiritual babies so He admonishes us to be perfect because He is perfect. In other words, God wants us to grow up spiritually. To this end Jesus offers the character of God as an example for us to follow.

In our lesson today, Jesus points out three ways we can begin the process of maturing spiritually. The first method Jesus presents in this passage is to resist evil by flowing with it rather than fighting against it. If someone strikes us physically, we are to offer ourselves as a target for them to continue. If someone decides to sue us and take away some of our possessions, we are to give even more than they have legally requested. If someone constrains us to go a distance, we are to go twice as far as they require. By now the flesh should be reacting to these statements. These are all difficult statements to accept because they all go against man’s nature. If there is any hope that we would do any of this, then we must put to death our old nature that will surely rebel against it. If we are to grow up spiritually, then we must die to self daily. The second method Jesus presents in this passage is to give willingly to those who ask whether as a gift or as a loan. This appears from the context to refer to the poor or needy as those who would be making the request. The third method Jesus presents is to treat our enemies even as we treat our friends. We are to love them, speak well of them, do good to them, and pray that God would bless them also. These are all things that we would readily do for our friends without them even requesting it. But here Jesus suggests that we should extend these same actions to include our enemies also. All of these behaviors are reflections of the divine personality of God. God allows His enemies to be blessed in this life along side His children. They receive the rain and sunshine just like everyone else. The difference will come in the Day of Judgment when God separates us. Saints are called to be like God and therefore we must reflect His personality. As we do this, we learn to love others unconditionally.


Robert C. Hudson
November 2, 2011