Day 7 or January 7.
It's never too late to live positively.
Our thought today is rooted in Genesis chapter 18 verse 2.
Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby.
When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them, and bowed low to
the ground.
First the big picture surrounding this verse.
God appears to Abraham and Sarah again, but his promise of a son is once again greeted
with a laugh, this time from Sarah, who is asked, Is anything too difficult for the Lord?
This is almost the same question posed by the angel when he speaks to Mary, mother of
Jesus, when she is told she is to have a baby, even though she is still a virgin.
Meanwhile the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed, just as God predicts, through
two angels who visit Sodom where Lot lives.
Abraham pleads with them for a stay of execution, but in the end the inevitable happens.
The angels, who appear as normal men, see the wickedness for themselves, and Lot has
to give them shelter in his home before they finally escape.
Sadly, Lot's wife perishes in a unique way by becoming a pillar of salt.
Lot's daughters both have sex with him, and produce a son each, one is called Moab,
whose descendants become the Moabites, and the other is called Ben-Ammi, whose descendants
become the Ammonites.
Both these groups of people hate the Jews for centuries, and are hated in return.
And now our action step for today.
Abraham is still childless and getting older and older, but he sets an example for all
of us to follow.
In chapter 18 we read that he runs, hurries, and runs again.
Not bad for someone just short of his hundredth birthday.
He doesn't let the fact that everything in his own life isn't perfect affect how
he relates to others.
Sometimes things just rub us up the wrong way.
Sometimes it's people who do it to us.
Don't let people determine how you will lead your life today.
Lead it joyfully with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.