Musings From A Rolling Eyed Turtle

It was a tenuous position to be in but it didn’t deter him… Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,” (Gen 18:27) Abraham recognized that he, as a man, made up of nothing but dust and ashes, was speaking to the Almighty God and he did not know how his words would be received. Other translations use similar, but slightly different words, for the phrase “I have been so bold to speak”.  Such wording might give us further glimpses into how tenuous Abraham’s position might have been: Since I have ventured to speak; for daring to speak to you like this; I have been brave to speak; I may be so bold as to ask you; I dare open my mouth; Before Abraham spoke so boldly, the Lord had indicated that He would allow Abraham to know what He was about to do in judgment against the wicked in Sodom (Gen 18:17).  The account doesn’t, however, seem to give any indicators that permission was being ...

The natural world of plants sometimes gives us glimpses of how we, as Christians, should function. Plants normally send roots downward and grow upward.  And fruit bearing plants normally produce fruit. That carries over into how God works in our lives on a spiritual level:  “And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.”  (Isa 37:31) We take root, not in soil, but in Christ:  “having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” ( Col 2:7). And much like a plant, we can grow upward:  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:5) Furthermore, we are to be like a fruit bearing plant and bear fruit:   “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and tha...