Have you arrived at Bethel to stay?

                                                                              
As many if you know I have started a two year course from Liberty University on Biblical Studies. I felt like this was what God had planned for me. So even though I am not attending seminary, I am taking the college courses that I feel God wants me to have. I have really been blessed by these courses even though I just got into them. God has really started to reveal a lot to me and it amazes me how you think you know something that's in the Bible and then BAM you get into the study of the word and God reveals something that you never had seen before. It makes you feel so small in the grand scheme of things, but at the same time you feel like you are on top of the mountain because God himself is revealing his secrets to you so that you can share them with others and help others to know the word of God.
      I am currently studying the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Right now I am studying Abraham and as I was reading and studying I connected with Abraham in a way I could never imagine. You see in Genesis 11:31 we are told that Abraham's father, Terah, takes Abraham and his wife Sarai, Abraham's nephew Lot, (for Lot's father Had died previously), and himself and they leave Ur of the Chaldean's, their hometown per say, and he heads out. They travel until they come to Haran, later known as Charran, where they stop and settle for awhile, and this is where Terah passes away. Now we are not told in Genesis why they decided to leave but in Acts 7:2-3 Stephen tells us that "The God of Glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia,before he dwelt in Charran, and told him to get out of the country, away form his kindred and go to the land God wold show him". I picture Abraham running back to the house and saying you guys are not going to believe this but God himself just appeared to me and said we have got to go, and go now and he will lead us to a new home which he will show us. Well he almost got it right but God told him to get away from his kindred, or his FAMILY. but as many of us do , he only heard part of the story and took his dad and nephew with him. So being the good son he let Dad lead and dad settled in Haran. Now this is where it kind of gets interesting to me. The name Terah, means "Delay". in other words Haran as we know was not the land God was leading him to and he had let the dad be the leader, which are 2 strikes against Abraham because God told him to leave his family and go, not gather the family and let dad take you on a journey. He got Delayed in Haran, which after studying about Haran I can see how that would happen to someone. Haran was the last green civilization before you entered the desert of Arabia, so it was a thriving city probably full of life and zest, but it was not the spot God intended for Abraham. The Bible never says but had Terah not died in Haran, Abraham may have been content to stay there and reside.
     With Terah gone and out of the picture, God speaks to Abraham, he does not appear this time he just speaks to him and he says again in Genesis 12:1 "get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from the Father's house, unto a land I will shew thee." So what does Abraham do , he gathers up Sarai and Lot, and off they go until they get into Canaan and they stopped in Shechem, which is about 30 miles north of Jerusalem, which is where God once more decided to APPEAR to Abraham and he told him (Genesis 12:7) that "unto thy seed will I give this land". So Abraham builds an alter in that place and then off they go until they get the Bethel, which means "House of God".
      Now this should have been the spot where we see Abraham settle in and go about doing Gods work as God commanded or led, but just like we all do, circumstance come about, sin creeps in and we get ourselves in so much trouble it's not funny. Abraham's circumstance was very shortly after he settled in Bethel. A famine hit Canaan and like most Husband/Father's he was worried about how he was going to feed his family so what does he do? He decides to move the family to Egypt. Now first things first, what he should have done was trusted God, I mean after all God led him to the land and promised to give it to his Seed so he knew from God's own words he was going to survive, but the fleshly part of man took over and says let's get out of here this is getting to rough. How many times when things get tough do we jump and run away from the situation instead of saying ok Lord it's in your hands. I cant do anything about it so I am not going to worry about it. I am just going to pray and trust in you to help get through it. Now I am not saying it will be easy. Becoming a christian, being born again does not guarantee us no problems in life, but what it does promise us is that we have the comfort of the Holy Spirit and the Strength of God to get though it. But most of us run and when we do it causes more trouble than it's worth. Abraham did the same thing. He ran to Egypt, but before he gets there he hatches a plan to stay alive by having his wife, Sarai who is a "fair woman to look upon", lie about who she is. He is so afraid that they will kill him if they find out she is his wife, because of their desire to have her beauty, that he has her lie and say she is his sister. Well guess what Pharaoh brings her into his house, gives Abraham sheep, oxen, menservants, maidservants, donkeys and camels. He made Abraham a very wealthy man per say. He even decided he was going to marry Sarai and then God said enough is enough and he plagued Pharaoh's house with great plagues. When Pharaoh found out why this had happened he called Abraham and asked him (Genesis 12:18-10) " What have you done to me? and Why?" So since you did this get out of my country, take your wife and nephew and get out. So he does and they go back to Bethel,where he once again calls on the Lord at an altar of prayer.
      Now Lot has become pretty well off himself and the land really cant support the herds and flocks of both men so Abraham tells Lot lets split up and you take the lands you want, to the left or to the right, I'll take the side you don't and that way there is no strife against each other. So Lot looks up and says I'll take that area over there because it's well watered . This was the area where Sodom and Gomorrah was, before God destroyed it (Genesis 19:24) and we know how that ended.
     What I am getting at is that had Abraham listened the first time and just took his wife and left Ur of the Chaldees, leaving Father and nephew all others behind, things would have been a lot different, because when we do not give 100% obedience to God, our actions affect everyone around us, Christian and non Christian. And not in a positive way for the most part. I know this for a fact. Roughly 23-24 years ago I had an encounter with Jesus and it scared me so I did not move upon it. I ran! Several years later I had an encounter with Jesus at an alter and I gave my life to him. I remember saying what ever you want Lord I will do. Well God called me to Preach the word and that scared me big time, so I started to withdraw from God, I moved my family to another town, we didn't go to church and Sin crept in and destroyed my family. My refusal to obey God destroyed lives. My sons grew up for many years not knowing there Father except every other weekend, I stumbled to make a living and I slipped so far away from God into the things of this world that I sank into the pits of darkness. I started Drinking and partying and living just a life full of Sin. I was offered a job in North Carolina so I took it and left mother, father and children behind in Texas. So here I was moving to North Carolina where I knew one individual, that was the brother of the woman I was "Dating". Then  God decided one day that enough was enough. He removed that woman from my life and  began to work on me once again. It was then that I met my beautiful Wife and we began to grow together. I found myself going through trials and tribulations with my wife and the joy of having our baby girl, who would be the catalyst for me returning to my calling, or my Bethel. You see she loves God and loves going to church. But I just didn't want to go, and I wouldn't go.  Then several years ago while working out of town she told me one morning that She missed me and then the next Sunday she came straight out and asked me, Why don't you go to church with me? Well that was it. I remembered how running from God destroyed several other lives, including almost killing me. I said right then and there ok here I am God, I'm yours and whatever you want I am here to do. Even though alot of times I feel overwhelmed and scared to death, but like Abraham I have returned to Bethel, and I shall not depart again, for this is the "land" God has showed me and I have heard the voice of God say (Luke 15:24) "For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found"
      I ask you today Brethren are you at your Bethel, and if not pray that God would reveal where your Bethel is and then go there and wait upon the Lord. Have you made that decision to be 100% committed to God?Have you made the decision that you shall follow Christ all the days of your life? If you have never made that commitment and feel the urging of the spirit of God to repent of your sins and come home to Christ, then I urge you to make today the day of your salvation. If you would like someone to pray with you please contact me and I will do just that. If you are unsure of how to give your heart to Christ and would like some guidance, contact me. I am here for you, I will help guide you and pray with you and together we can see Christ do a work in your life, leading you to the "Land" he has for you at "Bethel." God bless you all and have a great day.

In Christ's Love,
  Bill Roy
The general text for the above writings is from Genesis 12 and Genesis 13:1-11