Paulson Post

Cutting the wood to sacrifice Isaac was the last thing that Abraham did when he set out for Moriah. He had prepared the servants, he had saddled the donkey and then went to cut the firewood! See the sequence of events:  'So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him' (Gen 22:3, ESV). He should have cut the wood the previous evening, before going to bed. Preparing the servants, and saddling the donkey could be in the morning. Taking time to cut the wood in the morning would certainly delay the journey. We can't explain Abraham's peculiar behavior; only some guesses. Maybe he was expecting God to intervene before they set out. Did Abraham think that getting up in the morning, saddling the donkey and getting the servants ready will send enough clues to God that he is willing to obey and expect him to ...

When things happen not the way we prayed for, it could mean that what we prayed was not in God's will. This is one of the many possibilities. Other possibilities are that we did not have enough faith in God when we prayed. As James says, we should ask in faith with no doubt. He said further that the person who doubts 'is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord' (James 1:7-8, ESV). Lack of faith, or prayer with doubt that arises out of a double-mind could be one reason why prayers are not answered. However, the possibility remains for prayers in full faith to be unanswered. It could be that what we prayed for is not in the will of God. I can think of the case of Paul where he says that he prayed three times for the 'thorn in the flesh' to be removed. It could be ailment that he prayed for healing. However, God did not answer his prayer for healing but just assured him ...

Doing good could be very tiring in many ways. I know it from my experience. I have helped people who pretended to be helpless. Moved with compassion, I shared my resources with them. Once I took the money that I kept for my children's school fees and pooled it with donations from other people to get a poor girl college education. She went to college but the first thing she bought was an expensive phone which most of her benefactors could not afford. She had the resources, it seems, for the college fees and also for the phone. We felt cheated. It had happened to me many times in one form or other. Every time, when I discover that I was cheated, or I realize that my money ended up in something that was not genuine, the will to do another good ebbs away. It requires so much will power and optimism to believe that this time it will be okay. But patience has its limits. Our moral stamina also reaches its boundaries. That is when Paul's advice to the churches in Galatia comes to stre...

Nowadays, we don't talk about  'conquerors' nor 'conquering'. Those words belong to the by-gone days when military victory was the by-word of human success. Roman military heroes were nominated to the Senate, were promoted or even became emperors on the basis of their conquest of foreign lands. The language has changed with the times. In our days, we talk about achievers, nothing much is left to conquer. However, the language of conquest still should prevail in some aspects of our life, particularly in the area of our spiritual relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. I prefer the language of 'conquering' over 'achieving' since it has the nuance of defeating something that opposes. However, though achieve also involve some effort from the part of the achiever, there may not be resistance from the other side. Spiritual relationship with Christ is one of love. He lavished his love upon us on the cross, and we respond to that love. We love because he fi...