Abraham - Barbara Lynn Seibel

April 16, 2023April 15, 2023

Do You Have an Intentional Father?

Some of us know our biological fathers or grandfathers. Others do not.

Regardless of which camp you are in, would you describe your biological or other father figures as intentional?

An intention can simply be a determination to act in a certain way.

Intentions can be good or harmful.

Which end of the spectrum would you place your father or father figure on regarding their intentionality? Mostly good? Mostly harmful? Other?

Did your father figure receive their intentional traits from their own father figure?

March 26, 2023March 26, 2023

Overcoming Deceit by Choosing God

Have you ever found yourself in a deceitful situation?

Sadly, most of us will probably say yes to that question.

Were you or someone else the one practicing the deceit?

Again, most of us, if we are truly honest, have experienced both being deceived and being the deceiver.

What motivated the deceit to occur?

Deceit occurs because we believe we have no other option to get or do something we want.

How can choosing God’s ways help us overcome deceitful situations?

November 20, 2022November 20, 2022

When a Nonbeliever Forgives You

Have you ever been caught lying?

Maybe it was when you were still a child, or perhaps it was just last week!

What prompted you to lie?

How did the lie get discovered?

How does God use our moments of failure to bring not only correction but healing?

Consider with me the story of Isaac in Genesis 26.

November 13, 2022November 11, 2022

Why Have You Come To Me?

Imagine what types of contexts you might ask, “Why have you come to me?”

Does a positive or negative context come to mind first? Why do you think that is?

Have you ever asked this question of someone? Or maybe someone asked you this question?

Why did the question need to be asked in either situation?

Join me in looking at a time Isaac asked this question in Genesis 26:27.

October 30, 2022October 28, 2022

When Prosperity Brings Envy

Prosperity is the condition of being successful or thriving.

We derive success from a favorable or desired outcome, often involving the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.

Success or prosperity characterizes thriving.

As a result, we typically consider prosperity a positive situation.

Yet, prosperity for one person or people group can stir envy from those who are nearby.

Envy is a painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage or to cause pain, injury, or distress to the one envied.

Join me in looking at Genesis 26:14-16, when Isaac’s prosperity brought envy to the Philistines.

October 16, 2022October 15, 2022

Responding to Someone’s Lie

How do you respond when you discover someone lied to you?

Years ago, my sister and I received two female kittens from our grandparent’s farm to take to our home. My sister named the all-white kitten Cinderella. I named the calico kitten Charlie. But after enjoying them at our home for a short amount of time, we returned them to the farm. I do not remember why.

We would regularly visit the farm and call out for Cinderella and Charlie, seeing them scamper toward us.

I do not recall how much time had passed until one day she and I were sitting on the fence calling for the two cats when my sister suddenly blurted out a tractor had run Charlie over months ago.

My sister further revealed that everyone had been lying to me about this for some time.

How do you think I responded?

What does this have to do with Gen 26:9-11?

October 9, 2022October 8, 2022

Caught for Truth Spinning

Have you ever spun the truth for any reason?

Children to adults are bound to have practiced truth spinning.

Over thirty-three years ago, I did some truth spinning when I missed an agreed-upon time for a date.

I told the truth about why I was not present at the agreed-upon time while leaving out the details I was late because of a date I had planned with a different person.

Oh, the webs we can weave with partial truth and lies!

What compels us to spin the truth?
Is truth spinning something we learn from others or a prime instinct for self-preservation?

What does this have to do with Genesis 26:8?

October 2, 2022October 2, 2022

Whose Advice Do You Heed?

When facing a crisis or hard decision, whose advice do you heed?

Friends?

Relatives?

Coworkers?

Professionals?

All the above?

Does your answer change depending on the type of decision you are facing?

Last week, I shared some about how my husband and I settled in South Carolina.

The motivating factor behind our relocation was my husband’s initial job loss. We needed advice regarding a variety of needs. So, our process involved talking with all the above relationships to meet these needs.

As I shared last week, we moved to South Carolina, even though we had zero friends, relatives, or previous coworkers in the area.

What does this have to do with Genesis 26:6?

August 21, 2022August 21, 2022

Where Are You From?

Shortly after moving to South Carolina in 2003, I received an invitation to join a local women’s group where I received advice to say I was from Oklahoma instead of Kansas when introducing myself to the members.

The reasoning for this advice came from Oklahoma’s history as an unorganized Indian territory, while Kansas was a loyal free state between 1861-1865. These dates refer to the American Civil War, sometimes referred to as the War of Northern Aggression.

The encouragement to lie about my birthplace was accurate advice for being better received by this group of women. When I stopped following that advice, the facial expressions of members who were meeting me for the first time revealed they immediately disliked me over something that happened before I was even born!

How does this connect with Genesis 25:20?

August 14, 2022August 13, 2022

The Value of Redundancy

First, what is redundancy?

Merriam-webster.com defines redundancy as the quality or state of being redundant.

Okay, Merriam-webster.com, what is the definition of redundant?

Merriam-webster.com defines redundant as exceeding what is necessary or normal or characterized by or containing an excess, specifically: using more words than necessary.

Second, how do we define value?

Some options from Merriam-webster.com include:

Relative worth, utility, or importance
Something such as a principle or quality intrinsically valuable or desirable

So, when do we value redundancy?

As one continues down the list of viable options, we find redundant can also mean serving as a duplicate for preventing the failure of an entire system (such as a spacecraft) upon failure of a single component.

How does any of this relate to Bible study and specifically, Genesis 25:19?