"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1)

Around 4000 years ago, God gave Abraham four very important promises.

God said he would bless Abraham and he sure did. Abraham became a very wealthy and influential person, wealth not only in flocks and herds but in silver and gold as well.

God said he would give Abraham his own land, the land of Canaan, and this God did. Abraham travelled from Ur to eventually settle in Canaan where his family remained till the famine in the time of Joseph in Egypt.

Now here it gets a bit tricky. God promised Abraham he would be the father of a great nation, yet  Sarah was now too old  to have children. How would God solve this problem? Well, no problem. Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby boy whom they named Isaac. With one child, Abraham would now have to depend on God to fulfill that promise, because, although Abraham had more children, God told him that through Isaac, God would continue the promise. Abraham would not see the great nation - the Hebrews, the Israelites, then the Jews.

The final promise was that through Abraham, God would bless everyone. This seemed even more difficult to pull off, but 'with God nothing is impossible' as back in the beginning of time, God set in motion a plan of redemption, and Abraham became a vital part of that plan. It took 2000 years for God to keep that promise, and like the plagues of Egypt  there were two very different parts to this plan - what you saw and what God was doing.

Jesus was the promised Messiah and being perfect - God's son - he showed up the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who were very anxious to be rid of him. This they thought they did on Good Friday when they nailed him to a cross and watched him die, but what they did not realise was that God allowed them to do this as this was the climax of God's plan of redemption, a plan set in motion thousands of years before and promised to Abraham. 

When Jesus died, God punished Jesus for all the wrongs of people like you and me, instead of punishing us and cutting us off from God. Jesus opened the way for us to be reconciled with God, as the Bible so clearly explains in John 3:16. "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him will not die but have everlasting life". God brought Jesus back to life to show that death and sin had been conquered once and for all. (Unfortunately it did not relieve this world of the God haters who still make life so very difficult for millions of Christians even today.)

Abraham never saw this promise  brought to fruition yet by being obedient to God, he showed that he trusted God to fulfill yet another promise for the distant future. He was listed with  the  people in Hebrews 11 being commended for their faith in God to carry out his promises.

God still has many promises to fulfill and it is easy for us to wonder 'what the world is coming to'. Do we despair and give up, or like Abraham, trust God to keep those promises, many of which we may not see in our lifetime.

Jesus will return completing God's plan of redemption - we can trust him by faith.​ 



 

There is a lot involved in writing and publishing a book and in my case, much help was needed, especially in the editing department.

The wonderful lady who put my book together  started with  a completed manuscript which she wisely suggested having one copy published and checked for final editing. Just as well. We had God playing golf in one story, but the punctuation errors were so obvious which meant re-editing the whole book, page by page. There were lots of corrections to be done, and where I saw 'Bible Stories For Big Kids' as a story of God's love and  care for his people, this lady saw all the battles, blood and guts. She wasn't terrible impressed! I agree, a lot of  the stories involve fighting but the battles show how God looked after his people or how he abandoned them to their own devices when they turned away from him. I guess it depends on your perspective.

It is easy, when listening to the news, to wonder where the world is heading and despair at the behaviour of dictators to footballers, but that does not mean that God doesn't know what is going on. History has some pretty gruesome stories to tell and I am so glad I am not living in the medieval days before hot showers and flushing toilets! Political intrigue such as the story of Esther, is still alive and well today, causing tensions in many parts of the world.

However, one aspect of life today I have found so positive and absolutely intriguing. I am not a 'greenie' as such but  I am  fascinated by the small groups of conservationists working around the globe, doing their part to preserve flora and fauna. One group in outback Australia was on the news recently, so excited about  achieving their goal of breeding these small fish which they thought were extinct. After 13 years, the conservationists were so excited to be putting these fish back in the natural water where they form an important part of that area's eco system. 

Similar good news stories have been part of Simon Reeve's BBC documentaries as well as stories from other travellers to remote areas. These people really are making a difference each in their own small way and often in very trying circumstances.

So what does all this have to do with writing a book? 

Many people see the Old Testament as depicting a judgmental  God, bent on revenge and punishment, whereas I love the Old Testament for its continual theme of a God who loves forgives and cares for his people.

​It depends on your perspective I guess.

 I have a problem.

I am tired of trying to stay positive with all the negativity, sad or bad news around me. 

People I know have become seriously ill, politics is so nasty, people who should know better, display incompetence, corruption in whatever form seems to abound, and to top it off, I can't see my grandchildren because of closed borders. Someone telling me I can't travel to see family, really tugs at my sense of freedom. I am sure there are many more negatives if I choose to look for them, but that is enough for the time being.

I can count my blessings which  far outweigh all that negativity but there are times when even that does not erase the negative thoughts. It is times like this that I keep coming back to the promise in the Old Testament "You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love". There are so many references to this throughout the Old Testament covering hundreds of years and that in itself is encouraging! 

At the end of the story of Moses in 'Bible Stories For Big Kids',   I included many of the messages from God, which Moses related to the people, and on reading these recently, what struck me was how positive God is in his promises  so I shall include that chapter of the book below. Reading this must be the most positive read for the day! Enjoy!

 
“I have taught you all the laws as the Lord my God told me to do.  Obey them in the land you are about to occupy.  Obey them faithfully and this will show the people of other nations how wise you are.  When you hear of all these laws, they will say ‘What wisdom and understanding this great nation has.’”
 
“No other nation, no matter how great, has a God who is so near when they need him as the Lord our God is to us.  He answers us whenever we call for help.  No other nation, no matter how great, has laws so just as those that I have taught you today.  Be on your guard!  Make certain that you do not forget, as long as you live, what you have seen with your own eyes.  Tell your children and your grandchildren about the day you stood in the presence of the Lord your God at Mt. Sinai.”
 
“You will look for the Lord your God, and if you search for him with all your heart, you will find him.  When you are in trouble and all those things happen to you, then you will finally turn to the Lord and obey him.  He is a merciful God.  He will not abandon you or destroy you and he will not forget the covenant that he himself made with your ancestors.”
 
“The Lord has worked miracles to prove to you that he alone is God and that there is no other.  He let you hear his voice from heaven so that he could instruct you.”
 
“So remember today and never forget:  the Lord is God in heaven and on earth.  There is no other God.  Obey all his laws that I have given you today, and all will go well with you and your descendants.  You will continue to live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to be yours forever.”
 
“Never forget the Lord your God or turn to other gods to worship and serve them.  If you do, then I warn you today that you will certainly be destroyed.  If you do not obey the Lord, then you will be destroyed just like those nations that he is going to destroy as you advance.”
 
“The Lord your God is supreme over all gods and over all powers.  He is great and mighty and he is to be obeyed.”
 
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