GENESIS 21-40

We had a wonderful service at church today.  Both Sunday morning and Sunday evening were special to me.  I enjoyed them so much and what a blessing they were.  Thank you people for allowing me the privilege of being the pastor of such great people.   Here are just two thoughts for today: 1) WORDS OR FEELINGS?  In Gen. 27:22, Jacob went into Isaac to steal the birthright of his brother.  In doing so, he wore his brother's clothes and put lamb's skin on his arms.  He spoke in his own voice, the voice of Jacob, but he smelled and felt like Esau.  Here is what Jacob said:  "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."  Now, he trusted his feelings not the words of Jacob.  Now, here is the thing.  He was basing his decision on his feelings.  He should have placed his faith in the words that were spoken by Jacob.  How does this relate today?  Today, so many Christians are concerned with their feelings instead of the Word of God.  They have little authoritative guidelines because they put their feelings above the Word of God.  Now Christianity is certainly an emotional connection, but above all, it is a Biblical connection.  We have deep feelings, but they should all be biblically based.  The Bible gives credence to our feelings, not the other way around.  Our feelings will fool us!  They will miss lead us... remember, the Bible says:  There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.  Our feelings will lead us astray IF we do not keep them in check with Bible truth!  You could have cancer and feel ok, but you need medical treatment.  You could feel sickly and have no medical problem with you.  Our feelings can and do lie to us at times.  Trust the Word of God, and feel very deeply as you fall in love with Jesus in the boundaries of truth. 2) THIS DREAMER COMETH- In Gen. 37:19, we see the Bible saying:  "Behold, this dreamer cometh."  Now, I've always been a dreamer myself.  I see the dream of ministry.  I see the dream of people growing and going for God.  I see the dream of reaching people for Jesus Christ.  I see the dream of serving the Lord with my life.  Now, let me ask you a question:  "Are you a dreamer?"  We need to have some dreams for God.  Why not today think about what your dreams for God would be?  Why not jot down a dream or two.  Something you would like to see happen in your life, or through your life, for God. Well, I'm catching an early plane ride to Kentucky to preach there for a two days, and then home late Wednesday.  I hope I can write to you from Kentucky, but if they do not have internet access, I'll write some more on Thursday.  May God bless you!! Pastor Mike Mutchler

Sunday in Genesis!

Wow!  It's Sunday!  Cannot wait!  Today, I've read the first twenty chapters of Genesis and I'm thinking I could spend two months just writing about what I have read in these first 20 chapters.  Do you realize that the first twenty chapters cover almost 3,000 years of time?  The Flood occurred after about 2,000 and then we have Shem living hundreds of years afterwards.  Wow!  So much is told in these first twenty chapters.  I wish I had the time just to share all I've marked down this morning.  But, here are a few: 1) TWO CONDITIONS & TWO SOLUTIONS- I've read this many times but never had this thought before.  In Gen. 4:7 it says: "If thou doest well, shalt not thou be accepted?  and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door."  Two conditions: "well" and "not well".  Two solutions: "be accepted" and "sin (offering) lieth at the door".  If we do well, then we are accepted by God; if we do not do well, then sin is present and a sin offering is available.  So in other words, both have a provision to be accepted by God... the saint and the sinner.  Now, I know what category I fit into before I was washed in the blood of the LAMB, how about you? 2) TIDBITS OF INFO- Lamech, Noah's father, died five years before the flood.  Methuselah, his grand father, died the year of the flood.  Cain had a decendent named Lamech too.  He was the first one to marry two wives that we know of.  Seth, born to Adam and Eve, had a son named Enos, and the Bible says:  "then began me to call upon the name of the LORD."   It is only in the godly line of Seth, do we see the longevity of life mentioned.  (930 years; 912; 910; 895; 962; 365 (Enoch took); 969; 777; etc.) Enoch walked with God and God took him; Noah walked with God (6:9) and God had him build a boat and put him into it.  In Gen. 10:25 it says in "his days was the earth divided". ( You don't have to wonder about continental shift.... God spread the land around the earth, and then God divided the peoples in Gen. 10:32 "by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood."; and then God "confounded their languages" to produce sub groups of people according to Gen.. 11:7,9; and then God scattered them upon the face of the earth in verse 8 & 9. "So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth:"  God moved the people around to cover the earth He had created, separated, and now populated.... every Island, continent, all over the earth! Well, I'm off to Church!  Have a wonderful day in the LORD.  Pastor Mutchler