I would like to wish everyone that reads this web site a blessed New Year and you’ll find God Hands Reaching Out to You as Never before. It seems like every day now, we are experiencing very troubling things, from what is going on in the Church, Government and the Economical world. The Lord is getting ready to reveal Himself to men and women, as never before and I want to make sure I am doing all I can to abide in the Vine, that is the Lords presence. This is a time when we need to be praying for one another and encouraging all to continue to resist the enemy of our souls. I hope you feel your need of admitting your dependency upon the Lord and you will experience the Power of the Holy Spirit in your life. Let’s make sure we learn from past history of the great men and women of the Bible.  Now back to Abram:

Abram did not want to accept the responsibility Sarai had given earlier so he says to her in verse 6  So Abram said to Sarai, "Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. Men remember when Eve gave Adam the fruit to eat and Adam did not ask any questions, he just ate it and as soon as he did, they felt like they should hide? Men we should ask questions before we accept what might not be Gods Best for our lives, if we expect God Hands to be outstretched to us still. No one can blame another for what they did not do, it is me, oh Lord! standing in the need of prayer. Abram gave the responsibility right back to Sarai, for he wanted to please his wife above anyone else. So Sarai dealt very hard with Hagar making life difficult, to where the only alternative was to move out. Husbands we have a responsibility, that we do not provoke our wives to anger, but to good works. Parents we need help to make sure we love out kids, to the degree we can discipline them with out provoking them to leave home. We will never know the power of the enemy, as he is after destroying our souls, so we need to continually give ourselves to obeying His Word and not question and imagine what we want to. The question we need to ask is how hard are we to be on others that seem to cause us discomfort? Do we ever get even for our mistake?

It is great to see the Hand of the Lord stretched out still to Hagar as we read in verse 7 Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸ And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai." God even knows were our enemies are and ministers to them. Where did you come from and where are you going? These are difficult question that are asked by the Lord, and I am sure we have been asked the same questions many times through out life. What caused you to do that? Who do you think you are? Don’t you know someone was watching? Who do you think has more control you, or God? Let’s be careful, our sins will find us out, we do reap what we sow. It is great to know that we all have ministering Angels just as Hagar had and they come at the most difficult of times. One needs to understand this was a comforting place, even while in the wilderness as she was by the water. When you have water in the wilderness, it has to be an oasis, a place where there is greenery showing signs of growth. Hagar was quick to let the Angel know exactly what was happening, and the Angel responds with "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand." Now that is shocking news! Can’t you see the look of disdain, what do you mean return back, don’t you know what I have been through? We will never know the freedom that God has for us until we completely put our confidence in His hands, that are Outstretched to us still. I do not know many times what the Lord means when He say follow me, but I have to trust him and now we see Hagar having to put her trust in what the Angel of the Lord said, if she expected to receive anything from God. The Angel speaks on "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." ¹¹ And the Angel of the Lord said to her: "Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction. ¹² He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." This was not what she was expecting, but God has a way of reaching out in unexpected ways. Ishmael meaning whom God hears. Do you think Hagar or you understand all there is to understand about this name? He is a wild man like a wild donkey, doing what ever he wanted to at anytime he choose. Matthew Henry Unabridged says: 1. It is a pity that any of the children of men should covet such a liberty, or value themselves on it. It is better to labour and be good for something than ramble and be good for nothing. But if, among men, Providence sets some at liberty and suffers them to live at ease, while others are doomed to servitude, we must not marvel at the matter: it is so among the brute-creatures. 2. An unenclosed lodging, whose house I have made the wilderness, where he has room enough to traverse his ways, and snuff up the wind at his pleasure, as the wild ass is said to do (Jeremiah 2:24), as if he had to live upon the air, for it is the barren land that is his dwelling. Observe, The tame ass, that labours, and is serviceable to man, has his master's crib to go to both for shelter and food, and lives in a fruitful land: but the wild ass, that will have his liberty, must have it in a barren land. He that will not labour, let him not eat. He that will shall eat the labour of his hands, and have also to give to him that needs.