Laying Issac Down

Battling through blood pressure and sinus issues, we had a great time in the Lord on Sunday continuing our series on "Giving Back to God". The worship of the Lord was high long before the "traditional time" because God blessed our Sunday School time.

The Lord instructed us to restructure our Sunday School and remove the separation and sexism that existed. One of the classes we added was a "Marriage class". Husbands and wives studying the Word of God together from a tag-team teaching approach with couples teaching couples. Deacon Kevin Howard and his wife Sister CoCo Howard stepped out of their comfort zone and started teaching. Today, Deacon was in A-flat at the end of the lesson. The growth and energy of that class carried over into service as we had a great time in the Lord.

The Choir was on point and the mixture of hymns with praise songs felt right today. I wasn't too concerned with being limited physically as every Sunday I am limited mentally but I can do all things spiritually so we challenged Macedonia to Lay down their Issac. Issac is that beloved thing; that cherished item, that sought after blessing, the thing you love more than life itself. What if God said to you today, "Give me your Issac"!

Carol Kent in her book, "When I Lay My Issac Down": Unshakable Faith in Unthinkable Circumstances replays her "Issac Moment"-- situations that are thrust upon us without warning or instructions and all we can do is follow God. Her moment was when her son, a U.S. Naval graduate with an impeccable record shot and killed his wife's ex-husband. She had to lay down her Issac.

The losses that are Thrust upon us which can be Issac experiences can be: Terminal illness, infertility, death, loss of job, giving birth to babies with disabilities, unwanted moves, the desire to marry with no one in sight, however, there are other Issac experiences that are personal choices such as: giving up on a dream for a greater good, giving up our control over a child who is becoming an adult, surrendering my ideal life for the reality of what I actually have, longing for a more ideal spouse but staying in a difficult marriage and believing in God's promises even when our lives are in a personal Hell.

This personal Hell is what Abraham must have faced when God said, "Give me your Issac; however the way he handles this situation teaches us how to lay our Issac Down. Abraham did two things so God could do one:

Abraham Relinquished--He Let Go--Laid Issac on the Alter
Abraham Relied--He Trusted God- Lifted His Hands up To God
God Returned- God Gave Back- God Exchanged--Ram in the Bush

Laying down your Issac is following a simple outline: It is:


Trusting in God without knowing why you are doing it
Trusting in God without knowing when it will be over
Trusting in God when you don't know How it will be done.

One might say it is impossible to do this, that's because you are so busy trying to figure out the when, how and why you haven't discovered the who. Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord Will Provide. "Jireh" translates into "Provide" which is a word with wonderful Latin roots. Pro means "before" and video means "to see". So it means to see in advance or before the need is known. God is preparing an answer before we know that it is a need. It was over for me after that and although I felt bad, I felt better right there. Many surrendered to the will of God today and we give HIM the glory for those who came.

The IMA had the MLK service today and Pastor Raymond McDonald II of the St. John Baptist Church in Gary, Indiana killed everything in the house from Acts 16:9-10, Keeping The Dream Alive. Great day all day. Dr, Ziboh, see you this week!!!!!!

Owens