Read the scriptures below. What is the common theme of all the scriptures?
Genesis 13
Abram Inherits Canaan
13 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. 6 Now the land was not able to support them that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.
14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you."
18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre,which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.
Ruth 1:6-22
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread. 7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, and return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband."
So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, "Surely we will return with you to your people."
11 But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters, go—for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, 13 would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!"
14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said:
"Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
17 Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The Lord do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me."
18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.
19 Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, "Is this Naomi?"
20 But she said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?"
22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
John 13:18-30
18 "I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.' 19 Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. 20 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."
21 When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me." 22 Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke.
23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke.
25 Then, leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said to Him, "Lord, who is it?"
26 Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it." And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly." 28 But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. 29 For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, "Buy those things we need for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor.
30 Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.
Well, have you guessed the common thread? Do you understand what each of these verses are saying? Each one is an example of a person having to separate ways from someone who will not help them become successful.
In the first scripture, Abraham and Lot separated ways. Each of them took their families and possessions and lived in different parts of the land. When they first parted ways, they were both wealthy and had an abundance of possessions.
Of course, a little later in Genesis, we find out that Lot had to be rescued and gets out of Sodom and Gomorrah with only his daughters and the clothes on his back. Abraham, on the other hand, continues to grow in wealth and succeed in life.
Naomi told her daughter-n-laws to go home to their families. Eventually, she convinced Orpah to go home. Nothing is said about Orpah after she leaves her mother-n-law. Ruth, on the other hand, refused to leave Naomi.
The Bible never says that Orpah was bad. Ruth was the key to Naomi's success, though. Orpah was eventually convinced to go home unlike Ruth who refused to be persuaded from her destiny. Naomi needed the daughter-n-law that was persistent, and the one who would not be dissuaded from her purpose.
Now, let's look at Jesus and his selection of disciples. He picked twelve to teach His message, but only eleven actually went on from the original twelve to teach Jesus' message. In the last scripture above, Jesus actually told Judas to go and do what he needed to do. He was telling him to leave them. Jesus was separating himself from Judas, because he knew that Judas would betray Him.
Each of the other disciples went on to reach the world for Christ. Judas was the one who would trade Jesus for silver. He was a hindrance and not a help.
In my life, I have made decisions to spend time with people who were negative. The truth is that I was a negative young person, so that is who I attracted. When I was 20 years old, I decided to change. I started to think more positively about myself, others, and the purpose that God had put within me. That year, God brought Brenton into my life. He saw beauty and intelligence. The moment he met me he began to speak positive words into my life.
Until Brenton came along, I had never heard anyone say that I could go to college and get a degree. I was overwhelmed by his persistence. Finally, I agreed to go to college and, now, I have a bachelors and I am in the process of getting my masters. This taught me a valuable lesson on who to spend time with. It also taught me to watch who my kids hang out with.
Spending time with positive and successful people is the key to success. Most of the time, when I see a successful person, I also notice that they spend their time with positive and successful people. If we dread seeing someone due to their constant whining, that may be our cue that we shouldn't hang out with them. Even if they are family, we should be careful about the time we spend listening to their negative conversations.
This Weeks Challenge: Make a list of people you hang out with. Now, go through and cross off all the people who are negative and constantly complain. Next, put a star next to the person who is a positive influence and motivates you to be your best. Finally, spend more time with the people that have stars next to their name, and stop or limit the time you spend with the people you crossed out. When you spend time with positive, motivating people, you will notice that you have become a positive, motivating person, too.