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Day 7 or January 7.

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It's never too late to live positively.

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Our thought today is rooted in Genesis chapter 18 verse 2.

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Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby.

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When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them, and bowed low to

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the ground.

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First the big picture surrounding this verse.

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God appears to Abraham and Sarah again, but his promise of a son is once again greeted

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with a laugh, this time from Sarah, who is asked, Is anything too difficult for the Lord?

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This is almost the same question posed by the angel when he speaks to Mary, mother of

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Jesus, when she is told she is to have a baby, even though she is still a virgin.

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Meanwhile the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed, just as God predicts, through

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two angels who visit Sodom where Lot lives.

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Abraham pleads with them for a stay of execution, but in the end the inevitable happens.

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The angels, who appear as normal men, see the wickedness for themselves, and Lot has

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to give them shelter in his home before they finally escape.

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Sadly, Lot's wife perishes in a unique way by becoming a pillar of salt.

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Lot's daughters both have sex with him, and produce a son each, one is called Moab,

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whose descendants become the Moabites, and the other is called Ben-Ammi, whose descendants

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become the Ammonites.

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Both these groups of people hate the Jews for centuries, and are hated in return.

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And now our action step for today.

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Abraham is still childless and getting older and older, but he sets an example for all

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of us to follow.

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In chapter 18 we read that he runs, hurries, and runs again.

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Not bad for someone just short of his hundredth birthday.

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He doesn't let the fact that everything in his own life isn't perfect affect how

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he relates to others.

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Sometimes things just rub us up the wrong way.

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Sometimes it's people who do it to us.

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Don't let people determine how you will lead your life today.

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Lead it joyfully with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.