'And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, hat he said, escape for they life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest though be consumed'(Genesis 19:17)
1. We need to be more like Abraham- who was kind, gracious and loving. He had a deep concern for family-which wax a priority for Abraham. ' Let there be no strife' a soft answer turneth away wrath.
2. He also had faith in the Lord. He had his tent pitched toward Zion, toward the Lord and all things righteous and good. Lot however had his tent pitched toward Sodom(a very wicked city)
3. Lot was selfish, Abraham was unselfish. You can't have one foot in Babylon, and one in Zion. "And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door therof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them;"(Mosiah 2:6) They pitched their tents toward the temple, just as we must learn to do as well. In Gen 14- Melchizedek arrives and establishes the Sacrament. He is also called Shem, a righteous high priest. "The sacrament of the Lord's supper is a ordinance of salvation in which all the faithful must participate if they are to live and reign with him. It may well have been prefigured , some two thousand years before its formal institution among men, when 'Melchizedek, king of Salem, bought forth bread and wine, and he brake bread and blest it, and he blest the wine, he being the priest of the most high God. and he gave to Abram'....It had its beginning as an authorized ordinance and as a required rite when Jesus and his apostolic witnesses celebrated the feast of the Passover during the week of our Lord's passion"(Bruce R McConkie, The Promised Messiah)
4. Avoid even a thread of unrighteousness, if we do, it has the potential to grow and spread to immorality. We should want to become like Abraham. We need to take the time to accept the Lord's message. Even one person can make a difference, if we are righteous and be able to be helping others as well.
