Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell

When Abraham disinherited Ishmael and abandoned him in the wilderness, he instantly turned Hagar into a single mom. Being the single mother of a teenage boy is quite a challenge, but Hagar took steps to see that her son would successfully grow into manhood. Many women and men who face the prospect of raising their children alone, without the support of a spouse, may find themselves wondering if their efforts are doomed to failure. ...

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah became infamous examples of what happens when people let their sexual appetites run wild. Throughout human history their names have been associated with cultures which defied God's moral standards. One of the sins practiced in these cities was homosexuality, and today in America this subject has become very controversial, both in our society at large as well as in certain Christian denominations.The...

God was working with Abraham's heart and teaching his mind so that he would have a faith that could be passed on from generation to generation. Here the Lord uses the judgment of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to teach some foundational spiritual truths. These are truths that God knew he must understand, and they are truths that we also must understand if we are going to live lives that are not corrupted by the temptations that s...

As humans we have a tendency to be passive and self-centered. We stand back and wait for life to come to us and we choose things on the basis of how much pleasure or benefit we get out of them. Both of these are poor attitudes in any situation, but when it comes to our relationship with God they are exactly the opposite of what we should do. In this chapter of Genesis Abraham models qualities which should be foundational for every ...

Everyone of us is getting older a day at a time, and there is no stopping the process. People do what they can to preserve their youthfulness, but the passing years still sweep us along until one day it occurs to us we're getting old. How we handle this revelation is one of the most important keys to productivity and happiness in life. Many people don't like to talk about getting older because It reminds them that in the end they'l...

If you were to put into a simple statement God's goal for Abraham it would be this: God made Abraham into a great father. Even his name reveals God's plan: Abram means "great-father" and "Abraham" means "father of many." When we read the story of his life we are reading about one of the major events in God's plan to offer eternal life to humans. Through Abraham and Sarah a family was begun which passed saving faith on to their chil...

If you were to put into a simple statement God's goal for Abraham, it would be this: God made Abraham into a great father. Even his name reveals God's plan: Abram means "great-father" and "Abraham" means "father of many." When we read the story of his life, we are reading about one of the major events in God's plan to offer eternal life to humans. Through Abraham and Sarah a family was begun which passed saving faith on to their ch...

There are many people who would like to walk with God but are convinced that their weaknesses, fears and foolish mistakes make it impossible. They might say something like this: "I know God is powerful, but it isn't God I'm worried about; it's me. I don't seem to have what it takes to live a victorious life. I'm afraid I have already or will in the future mess up His plans for me. I make bad choices, I fear stepping out in faith, I...

Hagar was only an Egyptian slave who had been given as a maid-in-waiting to Sarai by the Pharaoh of Egypt. She was part of the dowry he paid to Abram for Sarai's hand in marriage (Ge 12:15,16), so whatever Hagar knew about the true God she had learned from this Hebrew couple she served. Sadly, she was drawn into the middle of their marriage as a solution to their painful barrenness. Trouble quickly erupted, as one would expect, but...

Just as a natural parent conceives life and nurtures a growing child, it is possible to be a spiritual parent who reproduces spiritual life in another and nurtures a growing believer. As we are go through the life of Abraham and Sarah, we see that the main thing God is doing is preparing this couple to not only be physical parents of one son but spiritual parents of many people. Like them, we are also spiritual parents. God wants t...

When we try to motivate people to do something, we can either use a carrot or a stick. In other words, we can motivate a person with a bribe or by frightening them. Some people think using fear or bribery motivates people to tithe, but God does not raise us to tithe with these techniques. God motivates His people entirely differently. He places His Holy Spirit inside us, and He changes our desires from the inside. And He becomes ou...

We are going to see in this account, and in the account of Chapter 14, that Abraham is free from the love of money. We see it when he refuses the treasure of the Mesopotamian kings; we see it when he lets Lot choose which way he would go. Abraham takes some remarkable steps in generosity.

Many of us feel we have to fight for what is ours or else we will be run over. And in the world, that's the way it is. But if we can have the re...

The Bible teaches us that God sees people very differently than we do. We look at appearances and actions, but God is able to look at motives (1Sa 16:7). He sees not only what people do, but He knows why they do it. And this knowledge seems to play heavily into how He deals with each person. I believe this truth helps us explain why He showed mercy to Abram and Sarai, even though Abram had made foolish choices that had gotten them ...

Not only does it take faith to find God's will for our lives, but it also takes faith to stay in His will. Predictably, after we finally arrive at a place where we are confident we are doing what God asks us to do, forces rise up to oppose us. One of the most devastating is the drying up of financial support. If we don't have enough money for the basic needs of life then we can't remain in a place. This was the predicament that Abr...

Some people think God randomly chose Abraham to leave his land because God really liked him. But the Lord was not playing favorites. In Abraham and Sarah, He finally found someone who would obey Him! That's why God chose them. God found someone who was willing to obey His call and walk in faith. 

The Bible is full of lessons on walking in faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God." Faith is not just s...

When God prophetically speaks a promise to us, He's telling us what He plans to accomplish through us. But He is not predicting the future as if to say this is what will happen to you no matter what choices you make. In order for God to accomplish great things in our lives, He must first grow our faith to a level where we can receive His promise. God promised great blessings to Abraham and Sarah, but as we see in this passage they ...

Something recoils in all of us at the sight of blood. Some may even faint when they see it. So when we open the Bible and find so many references to blood, it can be a bit disturbing. In the Old Testament animals are sacrificed and their blood sprinkled on people and things, and in the New Testament Jesus uses shocking analogies involving His own blood (Jn 6:53-56; Mt 26:27, 28) and his apostles went on to refer to His blood repeat...

The Bible lays out the high points and the low points of its heroes. We have seen Noah's extraordinary obedience over a long period of time. But today it brings up a sad occurrence from Noah's life. And with this passage of Scripture in Genesis 9 there has also come wrong theology known as the "curse of Ham" that people have used to excuse racism. In this episode we delve into the origin of racism and discuss what racism is, why it...

As we have studied Noah over the past few weeks, we've seen in him several important qualities: First, he knew how to hear the voice of God; second, he did the will of God; and third, he patiently waited for the timing of God. So, it should come as no surprise that today we read, "And God blessed Noah and his sons..." This means that God committed Himself to watch over Noah's life so that the good things in his life would increase....