Lead By Example

Genesis 12:7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.

Gen 13:3-4 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord

Gen 13:18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord

Gen 26: 24-25 And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee and will multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well

We can use two words to understand Abraham's life and what was important to him. TENTS and ALTARS.

When God first called Abraham he was to leave everything. From there on out, he would rely totally on God and would go where God sent him and do what God told him. No questions asked and no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Tents- Tents signify his nomadic life. Our life here is temporary. We are on our way to our permanent home with Jesus Christ when He returns to take us home. We are but pilgrims and sojourners here on this earth. We are just passing through. This is why we must live with an eternal perspective and not get too comfortable in this world. We are in this world but not of it. A tent in Abraham's life meant that wherever he was, his home wasn't permanent and that the moment God asked him to pick up and move he would and he easily could since he hadn't gotten too comfortable where he was. He lived a life of faith and complete trust in God and obedience to God.

Altars- Altars are a place of sacrifice and total surrender to God. They are places of worship and praise. They give God His rightful place in our lives. Whenever Abram settled in one place for a period of time, he "built an altar and called on the name of the Lord." They were tangible reminders of an invisible God and commemorated his enounters with God.

Let's take a look at Isaac. I'm sure Isaac watched his father growing up (as most children do- they learn by example- you can tell a child what to do but if you don't do it yourself he/she will never do it) and Isaac saw that wherever Abraham went he did this. His life consisted of altars and tents. So we see later on in Isaac's life that he learned to do the same. Why? Because he learned from his father's example and because he, in his own life, had come to know God and walk with Him.

Leading by example isn't easy. It is easy to talk about living a certain way or looking like Christ but when it comes to living it out or "doing" these things we will find ourselves falling or failing at times. The most important thing is that we never get to a point where we are unwilling to learn from our mistakes and get right with God. Our God is a God of second chances and His mercies are "new every morning" - praise God!!

Abraham's life can be described by two words : tent and altar.

What two words describe yours??

-Lisa