“Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.”
~ Genesis 18:18
Hi James and Ellen,
What do your dad and/or ma do with a visitor who unexpectedly shows up at your house? Do your dad and/or ma invite an unplanned for visitor into your house? How do your dad and/or ma show that he, she or they are really interested in a visitor who has suddenly shown up to visit him, her or them? Do your dad and/or ma bow down to the guy and/or gal who showed up without warning to visit him, her or them? How do your dad and/or ma communicate to an unforeseen visitor that shows his, her or their visitor that he, she or they are genuinely appreciative that his, her or their visitor wants to visit him, her or them? Do your dad and/or ma communicate to an unanticipated visitor that he, she or they are honored for his, her or their visit? Does your dad wash the feet of an unexpected visitor who has shown up to visit him? Does your dad ask your ma to bake bread for his unplanned for visitor to eat? Does your dad ask one of his servants to kill one of his calves for his visitor to eat who suddenly showed up out of nowhere? Your grandpaa knows that your dad does not have any calves but . . . what would you do if one day Jesus suddenly showed up at your door with a couple of angels? How would you treat Jesus if perchance you see Jesus standing on the sidewalk outside your house’s front door with a couple of angels? Would you ask Jesus and the angels with Him to come into your house? How would you treat Jesus and the angels after you have asked them to come into your house? What would you give Jesus and the angels to eat once they are in your house? Abraham one day had the Lord and two angels visit him. Abraham’s best friend was God the Father. The Lord here was God as God the Son. Genesis 18 is about the Lord – as God the Son, visiting Abraham in his tent. Abraham had set up his tent near the big trees that were growing near Mamre. The day that God the Son visited Abraham, Abraham was sitting outside his tent’s opening. It was the middle of a hot day. When Abraham spotted God the Son – and the two angels with God the Son, Abraham immediately went to God the Son and bowed way down before them. After bowing down to God the Son and to the two angels, Abraham got water for them for them to wash their feet, he had Sarah – his wife, fix some bread for them to eat and he chose a tender young calf for his servant to kill and to prepare for them to eat.
Do you think that Abraham was surprised to see God the Son and the two angels who were with Him when God the Son and the two angels visited Abraham where he had set up his tent near the big trees near Mamre? Your grandpaa does not think that Abraham was surprised at all to see God the Son and the two angels with Him on the day that God the Son visited him where he had set up his tent near Mamre. God the Son had a couple of reasons why He spent planet Earth time with Abraham. God the Son showed up at Abraham’s tent that day to tell Abraham that he and Sarah were going to have a son by this same time next year. As Sarah was by now really old and past the time when she could have a kid, Sarah did not believe what God the Son had told her husband. Moses recorded what God the Son said in verse 18: “Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.” Abraham and Sarah would have a son born to them within the following year – just as God the Son had said would take place. God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids – the Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids, had their lineage begun with Abraham. The second reason why God the Son spent time that day with Abraham was to tell Abraham that He was going to do something about the immorality that was going on in Sodom. Abraham had a nephew – Lot, living in Sodom. The Lord wanted Abraham to know that because the guys and gals who were living in Sodom and Gomorrah were involved in so many depraved actions that He was going to destroy the two cities and almost all the guys, gals and kids who were living in the two cities. There were not even ten guys who were living in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah who could call God the Father as their friend so . . .
Why do you think that God the Father allows to happen what your grandpaa calls a ‘natural disaster’? Do you think that because guys and gals are doing a lot of corrupt, evil things that God the Father allows ‘natural disasters’ to take place that kills guys, gals and kids? Do you think that God the Father to get guys and gals to realize that they need to look to Him for His help that He allows ‘natural disasters’ to happen that kills guys, gals and kids? Guys and gals are led after ‘natural disasters’ to help guys and gals who they normally would not help. Five months or so after your grandpaa arrived in Bolivia, there was a ‘natural disaster’. Your grandpaa wrote in the last James and Ellen that he sent to you about this ‘natural disaster’ that took place in and between Portón and Chochís – two villages that are located on the railroad line. During the time that your grandpaa and the two South American Mission missionary guys – Todd Ecker and Brad Prillar, were in Chochís, they walked to the small farm that a Chochís Christ-follower couple has about three kilometers towards the back of the steep, high butte that towers over Chochís. While your grandpaa, Todd and Brad were at Enrique Klava’s small farm – which your grandpaa calls The Bolivia Ponderosa, an old couple showed up at Enrique’s mud walled house. The wife was riding on a burro while her husband was walking. The clothes that this old couple were wearing were like rags. During the ‘natural disaster’ when the heavy, prolonged rains carved deep ravines around Chochís, this couple had their house demolished. They lost everything. This couple was obviously really grateful when Enrique gave them an empty tin, a couple of glass jars, some dried orange rinds to make tea, . . . as you honor and bless an unexpected visitor, God the Father in turn will bless you.
Genesis 18 (292)