The first book in the Old Testament, Genesis, is the storyline of the ancient family tree which was Jesus’ lineage. Because Jesus was Jewish, his ancestry can be traced all the way back to Abraham. One day, God called upon Abraham and asked him to pack up everything he owned but requested that he leave his family behind. In return, God offered Abraham (then named Abram) land and a nation under his name which would be his to rule over as king and father and which would be set aside and blessed by God. Abraham was tremendously faithful and although he had some misgivings, overall proved his faith in the Lord.
The interplay of faith and reason in the trial of Job is similar to that of Abraham (and the story of his son), as they are both put to trial in order to test their faithfulness to God. Even though this ‘test’ is beyond logical understanding, reason becomes overridden by their steadfast belief in God, meaning, although God presented challenges that seemed unreasonable to his believers, Abraham and Job both kept faith in Him, even if it meant losing their loved ones and properties, all for the sake of keeping God alive in their life. In detail, Job is a well-respected, god-fearing man who is very devout to his faith. There came a time when Satan approached God so that he may put Job to the test and prove to Him that his faithful servant was only loyal because of his abundance in material wealth. What seems incomprehensible to reason is why God, an almighty and good being, would let Satan freely oppress Job, an innocent man.
That's why I preach my way through entire books of the Bible, dealing carefully with each verse and phrase--even though that occasionally means spending time in passages that don't readily lend themselves to anecdotal or motivational messages. I am grateful to the Lord for the way He has used this exposi- tory approach in our church and in the lives of our radio listeners. But now and then someone tells me frankly that my preaching needs to be less doctrinal and more practical. Practical application is vital. I don't want to minimize its importance.
Did Abraham lose sight of God's blessing and promise? Another possibility is that God allowed these incidents to happen in order that His name may be feared among unbelievers. Also, Abraham gained thru these encounters, despite his untruthfulness. It is an important lesson to all leaders that despite our weaknesses, God is able to work out His plan. Another example of Abraham's weakness is listening to Sarah's advice that he lay with Hagar in
Job had direct communication with God and he often exclaimed his faith, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God” (19:25-26). In ancient Israel, God was seen as a physical being. Job thought that through his sufferings God would appear to him and be one with him. God the Almighty still exists in today’s day and age but there are many skeptics, non believers and atheists who disapprove of the thought of God and faith
When Abraham was about to sacrifice his son of prophet, God told Abraham to stop and use a sheep instead. So when God had trusted Abraham with all these things a lot of responsibility came upon him. Even though there are a lot of stories in the bible that teach us, I chose Abraham because he did all these things for God. Now relating to us today, we can do all these things that Abraham had done for God but we could do all this for a friend, a family member or even a stranger. So are the Hebrew Scriptures relevant to us today?
Jesus chose these twelve for a specific reason. Though their faith waivered, their talent was average and there was no great leader among them, the one attribute they all shared was their willingness to obey Jesus. He understood the task at hand and the need for help, he also recognized that in them his ministry would continue. He endowed them with his authority, and they played a large role in the development of the early Christian church. Alone they were ordinary men but together the comprised a group who would serve God in a powerful way.
His notion of virtues differed, however, from the Puritans who believed that being close to God was most virtuous and focused on reading scripture and prayers instead of being good citizens. Also, unlike the Puritans, Franklin wasn’t as deeply devoted to God. He did not attend mass every week and had respect for other religions and other religious principles. He did not follow God’s orders unquestionably, like the Puritans, and saw doubt and altered his behavior even though to other Christians it would be a sin. Franklin and
Expound on how the many barriers that attempted to keep the character from fulfilling his worldview were overcome and finally I will elaborate on my own reaction to the movie. The worldview represented in The Book of Eli is that the main character, Eli allowed his faith guide him on his journey for the purpose that he set out to complete by delivering the Bible to those who would protect and preserve in an effort to save humanity for years to come. In giving insight on the movie, Eli has imparted on a quest travelling across the land to deliver a copy of a book to a secure location. The movie setting is reminiscent of a post- apocalyptic era. A voice speaks to Eli and tells him to set out on his expedition.
God also has standards for man regarding morality and/or ethics. He gave us the ability to choose, even knowing that we could choose to disregard His guidelines or Commandments. In Exodus 20:6 we are told how to please God. Though we may please God, in Ephesians 2:8-10, we see what we must ultimately do to atone for man’s fall from God. “How a Christian lives their life reveals their spiritual condition” (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011, p.65).