We can enclose ourselves with our own recycled thoughts so long that we can't break out of the pattern.

And I love to think that there are times when God just says, would you come outside where the fresh air is, where the big sky is, where you can see something.

You are in Genesis 18.

I am going to make my way slowly through the first 15 verses of that chapter.

But in just a moment, I'll read verses 1 through 8 and we'll do a little bit of a history lesson to get us in the right context. I had a pastor in my childhood church back in

Arkadelphia, Arkansas, that used to call this book as an endearment, the book of geniuses.

And you can see why he would mean that as a little bit

of a tongue-in-cheek endearment when you get into the pages and you see that it has always been

the habit of God to work through people who were frail and weak in their natural selves and given by their natural

selves to unbelief and to a whole lot of wavering and to a whole lot of wobbling.

So if that happens to be you in Bible study tonight, know that you were in good company

as we open up these pages. Genesis

Chapter 18, and I'm going to read verses 1 through 8. The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks

of memory while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. He looked up and he saw three

men standing near him. And when he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them,

bowed to the ground and said, my lord, if I found favor with you, please do not go on past your servant.

Let a little water be brought that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves

under the tree. I'll bring you a bit of bread so that you may strengthen yourselves. This is why you've

passed your servant's way. Later you can continue on. Yes, they replied. Do as you have said. So Abraham

hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, quick, need three measures of fine flour and

make bread. And Abraham ran to the herd and got a tender choice calf and he gave it to a young man

who hurried to prepare it. Then Abraham took curds and milk as well as the calf that he had prepared

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