New Beginnings

Fear Thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10

Yes, it's that time again, back to school. Whether back to public school, private school or home school, this is the season for new beginnings. Everyone is anxious as to what the year will bring.
Jacob was anxious about returning home. He got especially fearful when he learned his brother Esau was approaching with four hundred men! But Jacob did a wise thing. He talked to God.

Genesis 32: 9-12 is Jacob's prayer. A lot of the prayer seems to be reminding God what He promised to Jacob and his forefathers. I think he was really reminding himself of all God promised to do for him. Verse 12 says, And Thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
I want to laugh at Jacob because he knew exactly what God said but he really needed to remind himself that God was going to work everything out for good. But are we not just like Jacob. We run into a rough spot and we get all bent out of shape and wonder if God is going to keep His promises. I often find myself quoting scripture, not to remind God of his promises but to remind myself that God's got me and there is nothing man can do to me that trumps God.

Going into the new school year my have us a little bent out of shape, but remember God's got you and there is nothing that is going to come up that He can't handle.

The rest of the week's readings from chapter 32-36 helps us see the kinds of troubles we may face in our families, but Jacob knew where to turn and how to repent to restore the fellowship with God. Esau knew how to become great in a land but did not give his family the promises and peace that comes from God.

Thank you Lord, for knowing just how to handle our fears and problems. Help us to remember that our help comes from You and Your desire is to only do us good, even if it seems grievous at the time. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Blessing for the new school year,

Gail

Returning to God

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Observations:                                                                                                                   

Genesis 28:18

I remember as a child, my grandmother showed us how to make a Jacob’s ladder with string. It gave us a visual for the story. God gives Jacob a visual in the form of dream so Jacob knows that God is with him and is watching over him. Jacob also created a visual for himself, a standing stone. Anytime he or his family passed that way, the story could be remembered and retold, just as it is to you today. Although we cannot see the stone, the story is being retold thousands upon thousands of times because Jacob raised up a stone of remembrance.

Genesis 29:35

Leah seeks to please Jacob, to be his lover as well as his wife. When she saw that he would not love her, she took consolation in how good God was to her in giving her sons. She praised the Lord. God is not a respecter of persons but he will give help and comfort to the downtrodden. Leah saw that rejection by man, even one she loved, was not rejection by God. God blessed her and she finally recognized it.

Genesis 30:17,22,34

Rachel blamed Jacob for her barrenness. Leah blamed Rachel for taking her husband. Jacob blamed Laban for changing his wages. All three used their own means to try to get what they wanted. It was all very unethical. They were not blessed because of what they did. They were all blessed because they cried out to God and He moved in each of their situations because of faith, certainly not because of their efforts to fix things themselves.

Genesis 31: 42,53

Jacob leaves without Laban’s knowledge. Rachel takes her father’s idols and hides them unbeknownst to Jacob. When Laban catches them, Jacob allows Laban to search their stuff for his idols. Laban fails to search the trunk Rachel is sitting on. Jacob chastises Laban and says that had it not been for God Laban would have sent him away empty handed. Laban wants to pretend that he serves the same God.

Application:

What about us? We say - we worship God; we are a Christian nation founded on Christian principles…. But do we not live as Laban? We are concerned about money and other things we idolize – cars, clothes, sports, houses, etc., etc. Who are we kidding? Certainly not God.

Prayer:

Father, help us recognize when we are idolatrous. Help us not to try to fix things our own way, but learn to lean upon You, crying out for Your help. Help us to humble ourselves before you and seek to be true worshipers and witnesses to our families first and also to world.  In Jesus name. Amen

Blessings,

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?  II Corinthians 6:14

I recently asked a group of teens what a yoke was? Their answer was not surprising. They thought it was the yellow of an egg. Scriptures uses a lot of agricultural allusions which our society is fast moving away from. This week we want to see how a yoke in marriage works for the benefit or dysfunction of our families. Remember each day we read an entire chapter but listen for God to point out something specifically for us and our families. My babblings may not fit your situation at all. That’s why I encourage you to share your experiences in our comments section.

 

Observations:

Genesis 24: 12,63 Abraham, his servant, and Isaac had strong prayer relationships with God. Abraham had received the promises of the land and the family that would bless the world. He built alters and worshipped. He was concerned with the marriage of his son. His servant prayed about how to conduct the mission his master had sent him on. Isaac was in the fields meditating, probably praying about the servants return and the wife he would bring. Yoked with God and passing the faith along.

Genesis 25:21,22 Isaac prayed for his wife and children. Rebekah prayed for her children. God answered their prayers. They were couple yoked together with God.  God seemed not to be moving until He had their attention, but life gets busy and our prayer life seems to be the thing that suffers first as we see in the next chapter.

Genesis 26:34,35 Abraham had sent for a wife for Isaac. Esau has waited forty years. When no one has sent for him a wife, he decided on two of his own choosing, two heathen women from the tribes living near them. It was a grief to Isaac and Rebekah but …. They were still yoked in their thinking put little action had come from that yoke.

Genesis 27:33,46 God will bring His plan to pass in spite of us. Isaac was ignoring God’s will to pass the blessing on to the younger son. Isaac wanted to follow the custom of blessing the elder son. The plan Rebekah came up with was deceitful and would cause a lot of harm in their family. We see how far the praying couple at the beginning of their marriage has strayed from the path of raising a godly seed. The yoke is broken. She wants to appear to turn the whole thing around to looking for a godly wife for Jacob in her efforts to save his life.  Now Jacob is on the run without truly knowing how to turn to God for help. He fears man but has not yet found the fear of God in his life.

Application:

To raise that godly seed that we as Christians all want is going to take a continual effort. Prayer for a godly spouse. Prayer for children. Prayer to direct our children. Meditation on God’s Word. A willingness to follow the Word regardless of the pressures of the culture around us. Truthfulness between spouses and children. A true yoke together in marriage that is one with each other and with God.

Malachi 2:15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none of you deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

Prayer:

Father, help us not lose sight of the goal, to raise up godly children for the sake of their eternal salvation and the salvation of our family for generations to come. In Jesus holy name we pray. Amen.

Blessings,

Gail

Instincts in Action

 

 

 Picture from a plaque in my Grandmother's kitchen.

This week we want to look at Abraham’s relationship with God and his family and the effects of that relationship.  Remember your observations from a chapter certainly do not have to be the same as mine. That’s why I welcome your comments and discussions. God shows us all different things for our place and time and expects us to share to help others to grow.

Observations:

Genesis 20:17,18   In Abraham’s travels, he tells Sarah to say she is his sister so other kings won’t kill him and take his wife. He was willing to let Sarah be used in an adulterous situation to save his own skin. Self-preservation is a natural instinct. In the case of Abimelech, God caused his royal household to be unable to bear children. This was serious business. The nation was essentially dead without an heir to the throne. I wonder what plans for self-preservation we as Christians have that might be causing the downfall of our own nation? Matthew 6: 33

Genesis 21:22  Abimelech saw God in Abraham’s life and it caused him to have respect for God even though he chose not to worship God. Abimelech probably thought making a deal with Abraham would give him clout with God. Abimelech followed his natural instincts for self-preservation as well. God would have us dwell with all men peaceably so Abraham agreed to the deal. Romans 12:18

Genesis 22:9 There is so much in this chapter. Isaac had learned what was needed for worship; wood, fire, a lamb. He had obviously been a part of worship. Imagine yourself as a strong teenager and your father is over a hundred years old! Would you let him bind you and lay you on wood to be slaughtered and burned for an offering? Our natural instinct would be to break and run from a crazy old man. But, Isaac trusts his father. He understands the meaning of the burnt offerings. God was working in his heart as well as in Abraham’s heart to create the picture of Jesus and God the Father.

Genesis 23:17 Machkpelah, a double cave, a cave within a cave, was the place Abraham chose to bury Sarah. It was a beautiful place, a field and trees and a cave, cool and peaceable. Here was a place Abraham could come and visit and know that one day his son would place him here in this peaceable place with the wife he loved. That natural instinct of the love and commitment of a husband for his wife took over even in death with the best place regardless of the price, for the one he loved. Christ loved us so much He provided the best place for us even though the price of His sacrifice was great. Ephesians 5:25

Application:

 We see the examples both good and bad that Abraham set for his wife, his son, and the neighboring peoples. Sometimes the natural instincts of self-preservation got in the way. Sometimes the honoring of a father and God over-rode those natural instincts. What examples are we leaving for our families and neighbors that they might choose to worship, honor, and serve the true God? Deuteronomy6: 5-9

Prayer:

Lord Jesus may we honor You with our hearts, our minds, and our strength, teaching these things to our children and showing the example to all we come in contact with that it might become our natural habit it not instinct to lift up the name of Christ in all our lives. In Your name we pray. Amen

Blessing,

Gail