Re-Blogged: A Loving Pursuit: Part 11 (Love Is Patient)

November 15, 2018 at 4:12 pm (A Loving Pursuit, abiding, advocating, Assurance, Bible study, chastisement, correction, Devotional Series I Have Written, Devotional Thoughts., Discernment, Empathy, Faith, Family, Fear, Forgiveness, Grace, Guidance, Home Education, Homeschooling, Hope, Knowledge, Life, Lighter Burdens., Love, Love, Marriage, Mercy, Obedience, Our Unchanging God, Parenting, Patience, Relaxed Homeschooling, Repentance, Restoration, Sins, Sovereignty of God, Trusting, Truth, value, Veteran Homeschoolers, When you are afraid, When you feel bitter, When You Feel Like Crying., Wisdom, worth)

Scripture references;

 

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:16 KJV

“⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;^[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV

“¹⁴ I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. ¹⁵ That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.” Ecclesiastes 3:14-15 ESV

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.¹¹ When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, ¹² and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” ¹⁴ When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.¹⁵ And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁶ And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸ So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” ²⁰ And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had. Genesis 12:10-20 ESV

Abraham and Abimelech

20 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned inGerar. ² And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.”

And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. ³ But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him,

“Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” ⁴ Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? ⁵ Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” ⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

⁸ So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. ⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” ¹⁰ And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” ¹¹ Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ ¹² Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. ¹³ And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

¹⁴ Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. ¹⁵ And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” ¹⁶ To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all^[a] who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” ¹⁷ Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. ¹⁸ For the Lordhad closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.  Genesis 20 ESV

 

Genesis 12 and Genesis 20 say a lot about people…..even people of faith.  Those chapters say a lot about the Lord, too. I am so thankful He is patient and good even when I am older, but not much wiser. I am so thankful that we have a God who cares.

 

Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord?  Please click here:
https://pronetoponder.wordpress.com/category/about-salvation-very-important-words/ and make sure.

Do you have a Bible? If you don’t have one, you need not worry. Just click here: www.biblegateway.com  They have many versions and translations of the Bible that you can read. Some of the best things in life are free!

photo credit:  pixabay.com

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