The Family Bible Journey Podcast

Abram is given wonderful and borderline unbelievable promises from God. How is a man, whose wife was barren, become a father, let alone the father of nations? God knows how, because the God of promises is powerful enough to accomplish all He plans and proposes for His people.

Abram is a hero in this chapter as he rescues his nephew Lot from trouble. We are introduced to the enigmatic Melchizedek, who is the only person in the Bible besides Jesus who is a prophet, priest and king. We also stumble across one of the few archeological sites you can visit that connects us to the life of the patriarchs of 4,000 years ago.

The Beatitudes are a list of blessings God's children receive by the work of His Holy Spirit in our lives. Too many miss the blessing of this passage because they take it as a list of to-dos, turning the Lord's blessing into a burden. You are blessed by God, our Father in Heaven, to be a blessing! What great news it is, to know that the very same Word Who spoke light into existence brings faith and love to bear on our lives simply because God loves us.

Abram is chosen, of all humanity, to be the one through whom God's promise of salvation will be carried. God calls him to faith and he leaves his idolatrous hometown to follow the God of Promise. But when the prospect of trouble comes, Abram trusts in his own wisdom over the Lord's provision, exposing his wife to danger and causing all sorts of problems. Here we learn of the Lord's faithfulness to His foolish people.

How quickly could Noah's family repopulate the earth? Simple math shows that it is much quicker than many imagine, with a global population of over a billion people within Noah's lifetime. We'll do the math on repopulation before considering the impact of confused languages and the tremendous cost to human productivity the language divide still inflicts today.

Jesus shows us what it looks like when heaven comes to earth. He performed mighty miracles to demonstrate His power over the darkness of this present world. He gave eternal significance the the lives of those He called to be His disciples. Our lives are likewise transformed when God calls us to faith and makes us His own.

Noah and his family quickly learned that the sin which caused the deluge of God's wrath was still present among them. Sadly, Noah himself was the victim of abuse at the hands of one of his sons. These chapters offer hope for the victims of abuse as we consider the blessing of God's unconditional love.

In His temptation, Jesus was tempted in every way we are, yet was without sin. Satan attacked His mind, body and spirit during His fasting. Through it all, Jesus refused to avail Himself of His divine power, fulfilling God's law with perfect obedience as a human being. Even though we succumb to temptation and sin, Jesus's victory is our victory, because we are God's beloved and forgiven saints.

How did humanity become so corrupt, so quickly, that God decided it best to wipe planet earth clean and start over with faithful Noah and his family? We will consider how sin plays on our deepest desires, leading us away from God, and how Noah represents hope for all who are saved by faith in the God who forgives and rescues His people.

The baptism of Jesus marks the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New. Here we see all three persons of the Godhead present, as the Father affirms His Son and the Holy Spirit anoints the Him. Great things are spoken of Jesus in His baptism, and these blessings are yours by the power of God's Holy Spirit. What a blessing we receive in our baptism!

We consider how the fall into sin changed everything for Adam and his descendants. Humanity lost far more in the fall into sin than we could ever imagine. Their life became a struggle. They fought to survive. They were at war within themselves. Yet God was still there, blessing and providing for them every step of the way.

Nazareth was a backwater, hill country town of just a few hundred people when Joseph moved there with his young family. All Mary and Joseph wanted, when they returned to Israel, was a safe place to raise their baby boy in the faith. In Nazareth they found just the right place. Here Jesus would learn and grow as the son of a humble tradesman, fulfilling prophecies time and time again, before He even had a say in the matter.

Eve thought she had given birth to her savior when Cain was born. Instead of bringing life and love into the world, he brought hatred and death. Learn how Abel is a "type" or a foreshadowing of Christ as he suffers the injustice of being hated and killed for doing the right thing.

The faithful magi star in this episode of the podcast. These men waited hundreds of years and risked their lives, likely traveling a thousand miles to greet the newborn King of the Jews. All the while, most of God's people Israel missed it. May you be encouraged by their humble faith.

satan's schemes haven't changed one iota since the Garden. (That "s" is lower-case on purpose because some beings don't deserve to have the first letter of their name capitalized.) Every temptation begins with a simple question. There are four steps in every fall into sin. There are four ways human beings try to deal with their sin apart from God. But God, in His love, promises to save His people despite their sin, and blesses Adam and Eve with the first promise of salvation in Genesis 3:15. If you understand the meaning of that one verse, you are well on your way to understanding the rest of the Bible!

The circumstances around the birth of Jesus were complicated, especially for Joseph. If you ever wonder what in the world God is doing in your life, you have a friend in Joseph. Learn from his faithful example the blessing of following the Lord even when you don't understand and have no idea what He's up to.

Why did God put the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden, if the second tree opened the possibility of death? We consider the perfect place God created for His favored beings, Adam and Eve. We will learn how real choices with real blessings and curses opened the way to real love-and-trust-based relationships, even in the Garden of Eden.

Matthew's gospel focuses on the humanity of Christ. Even in His genealogy, we see those who are often looked down upon exalted. Five women are listed, each with a questionable, if not downright objectionable past. Yet God exalts each and used each to bring the Savior, His Son Jesus, into the world. If you have some "baggage," find good company in these women, as God loved them and used each of them to accomplish His loving plan for us!

Right from the beginning of the Bible we are introduced to a God who is never not doing something. He's acting, in love for His people, before He's even named! This is no random God, nor is He an indifferent God. Hear how His love created all things, in ways we can't imagine, as He prepared the perfect place for His favored creation, you!

How Bill, a retired bull-dozer driver, inspired me to begin journaling through the Bible by faithfully journaling through the Bible for over a dozen grandkids. Now I invite you to join me on a journey through the Bible, journaling along the way, to leave the legacy of faith for a loved one.