We have been walking through the book of Genesis for several months … it’s not a race to the end.  We are enjoying the journey, learning and growing.  I believe this is one of the secrets of contentment in life, enjoying the journey.

Today I was thinking about Jacob.  He is the Jacob of the Abraham, Isaac, Jacob family.  The men that God chose to be the fathers of His people.   Jacob wasn’t really a very nice guy, in the early years of his life.  He lied to his father and deceived him and stole his older brother’s birthright and blessing.  Not so good …

And then one day, he had a personal encounter, or experience with God and things began to change inside of him.  He was actually fleeing from his home, from his brother who wanted to kill him, he had to run for his life; leave all that was familiar and comfortable.

He stopped for the night to rest on this journey and when he fell asleep, God came to him in a dream.  A dream where the heavens opened and angels descended and the Lord God spoke to him.  And the Lord told him good things were to come, that he was a blessed man.  And that encounter changed Jacob’s heart and he made a commitment to God.  (Genesis 25-35)

Now God knew Jacob’s heart, knew he was deceitful … yet God had made a promise to Abraham many years before and Jacob was part of the fulfillment of that promise.  And God didn’t give up on Jacob, simply because Jacob’s actions were not matching God’s plan.

No … God came to Jacob.  And Jacob received him.  And God changed who Jacob was inside.  And God’s promises were fulfilled.

My heart wasn’t so good before I had my own encounter with God.  But God didn’t give up on me.   And now my heart is changing.  Day by day, becoming more like God’s.

God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things for His Kingdom.  We see it time and time again throughout history.  Example after example.  Regular men and women who encounter God and He changes them, from the inside out.

So … if you are feeling a little ordinary today … take heart!  You are just the person God is looking to have an encounter with;  to bless and to use to fulfill His purpose for your life!

As I studied the Word, a scripture popped out at me that brought me hope.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.  (I Peter 5:7-11)

The section that really encouraged me was,  after you have suffered a little while.  

I think, we have the impression that when we are Christians, we won’t have to suffer, that our life is going to be somewhat peachy keen.  (whatever that means?)

But Peter tells us we will suffer, but after we suffer a little while, God will restore us.  The God of the universe, who created all things, will restore us!  Not our pastors, not our spouses, not our children, not our friends.   God will restore us!

• We have an enemy who wants to kill, steal and destroy us.
• We have a Savior who wants to restore us.

So my friends, if you are suffering, be encouraged … there is hope!  His name is Jesus!

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

These were the last words Jesus spoke, before descending into heaven.  We will receive power from the Holy Spirit and that power will allow us to be His witness, everywhere we go.  Our job, here on earth, is to be a witness for Jesus.

Sometimes through our speech, but always through our life actions.  We may be the only example of Jesus that someone sees.  So the question is, are others seeing Jesus through your life?  What spirit comes forth from you?  The Spirit of God or the spirit of the world?

We read in Galatians 5:16-26:

Life by the Spirit

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

This portion of scripture is telling us that the acts of the spirit are contrary to the acts of the flesh.  We are in constant conflict with our spirit and our flesh.  But, if we have the Spirit of God in us, we need to allow His spirit to rule through us.

What comes out when your fruit is squeezed?  When the pressure is applied?

Now, don’t beat yourself up if you fall, simply ask God to help you be more like Him. Ask Him to show you what parts of your life are still controlled by your flesh and allow Him to lift those areas from you and fill you with more of Him.  He is a gentleman, He will not take something from you.  You must be willing to give it to Him.

Next we visit James 1:19-27:

Listening and Doing

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,  because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James is encouraging us to not just say we are Christians, but actually be Christians!  That is a powerful statement.  Examine your heart.  Are you walking out your faith?  Be honest with yourself.  You can’t hide the truth from God.  Again, don’t beat yourself up if you are less than stellar in your walk.  But don’t be satisfied with being less than God wants you to be.  Jesus died for you.  Step up, step out, make a decision to follow Him, in all areas of your life!

We wrap up our study with Paul’s encouragement:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)

We are not there yet, but we must continue to press on; to not dwell in our past, but to push forward towards Jesus and all that He has for us.

Your past is a place to learn from, not live in.

Paul’s wisdom goes on to say:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6,7)

We must stop worrying and begin giving thanks for everything so that God’s peace can surround our hearts and our minds.

Remember Proverbs 4:23: Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

God will do His part, we must do ours.  We must guard our hearts; a hardened heart is the cause of broken relationships.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8,9)

Our actions reflect our thoughts.  And once we know these things, we must practice them.  A sports team doesn’t win a championship the first time they play together.  It takes much practice.  Anything worthwhile takes practice.  It takes practice to train our thoughts from flesh to spirit.  But the reward is God’s peace … peace that covers all!

And when we do these things:

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

I am so thankful that God meets my needs. I don’t do so well on my own.

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey … (Genesis 22:1-3)

What is this? We’ve spent the last 10 chapters reading about the covenant God made with Abraham and the blessings that would come through his descendants and now God wants him to sacrifice the son that he waited so long to be born.

And what’s even wilder is that Abraham didn’t argue with God. No … immediate obedience once more. Early the next morning he set off to do as God asked.

Wowza … no wonder God gave Abraham the honor of being the father of his children.

Abraham obeyed God because Abraham trusted God …

I want the faith of Abraham … but will I pass the test?

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.  On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  (Romans 12:9-21)

Earlier today, I was thinking about the statement ‘practice love’.  Paul gave us some great advice on how to do that. But as I read it, I kept saying “ouch”.

I can handle hate what is evil, cling to what is good.  I can try to be devoted, honoring, hopeful, patient, faithful, hospitable.  And truthfully, lack of zeal is not really an issue with me.

But then it gets a bit more difficult.  I have to bless those that persecute me.  I don’t want to bless them. I want to slap them in the face.  Well, not all of them.  But someone really did me wrong one time and all I could think of was flying to her home, knocking on her front door and slapping her in the face.  I didn’t do that.  But I surely did not want to bless her.

I need to be happy with people that are happy and sad when people are sad.  I need to get along with others … whether I want to or not.

I need to remember that I am not better than anyone – period.

When I receive bad, I need to return good.  I don’t like this one at all.

I need to watch my actions, because others are watching me.

I need to live in peace with everyone – regardless.

I’ve got some work to do.

The story of Lot and his daughters is a bit disturbing, I have to admit.  They were holed up in a cave, hiding from what, I do not know?  But the girls decided that they would never be with a man, so they decided to sleep with their father, to preserve their lineage.  Not sure that was a smart idea?  In fact, pretty sure it was not!  But they got their father drunk, slept with him and they each got pregnant.  This is where the Moabite and the Ammonite nations began.  From sin … Interestingly enough, these two nations went on to become bitter enemies of Abraham’s descendants.  Abraham saved their lives … yet they turned on him and became his enemy!

Umm …. Sin begets sin.  From the beginning of time.

If there is sin in your life, break that chain today!  Ask God to reveal anything in your life that is not of him and release it.  Be gone with the sin and allow the spirit to flow through you!  Let a new story for your family be written today … it starts with you!

Then we see Abraham moving once again.  Boy, that guy got around.  And once again, he lied about his wife, Sarah, and told King Abimelech that she was his sister.  The king took Sarah for his own.  Now this is interesting.  She has to be about 89 years old at this point. She must have been something, at that age, for someone to take her as his new wife.

But God’s plan was not for Sarah to be with King Abimelech.  The line of Abraham was to come from Abraham and Sarah.  So God came to the king in a dream, told him to give Sarah back to Abraham.  And the king did.  Abraham was caught in his deception, yet the king blessed him.
Interesting …. Not sure I understand this part.  I guess that is the unexplainable story of grace.  None of us deserve God’s grace, yet he gives it to us freely.

So Sarah and Abraham are back together, Abraham is even more wealthy and this king had an encounter with God.  Wildness!

One other point I want to make, it seems that whenever Abraham makes a move, he resorts back to his fearful self.  When he moved to Egypt, he lied about Sarah.  When he moved to Gerar, he lied about Sarah.  He lied to protect himself.

After all that God had done for him.  He still felt fearful and tried to fix things himself.  For me, this shows us that we all have a chance!  If God can call Abraham a righteous man, because of his faith, even after his mess ups; well maybe, just maybe I have the same opportunity.

And I do … and so do you!

This was an interesting section, Abraham and Sarah had to wait a long time for the birth of their son. And sometimes they didn’t wait patiently, Sarah took matters into her own hands and the consequences of that child are still being felt throughout the world, many thousand years later.

It’s interesting that even after God showed himself faithful, Sarah didn’t truly trust God with Ishmael in their lives, like he (Ishmael) was still going to steal Isaac’s inheritance, she sent him away from them.  But the truth is, Isaac was always going to be the father of God’s nation, with or with an Ishmael to contend with.  God had a plan.

Sometimes we try to manipulate our lives to go the way we think they should.  Today, let’s stop trying to make life happen our way, and allow God to guide and direct our lives for His glory!

• Looking back to her past actually destroyed her.
• How many of us allow something in our past to destroy our future?

Today ….

• Ask God to reveal to you if there is a something in you that need to let go of.
• Freely release it to HIM!
• Ask Him to fill that spot with His peace and love and move forward in the confidence that GOD loves YOU!

Come near to God and he will come near to you.  (James 4:8)

This verse came real to me in September 2000.  I allowed God to heal my heart and that huge chasm that seperated me from him simply vanished.

I had this picture in my mind of me walking towards God and him running towards me.

In the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-31), the father saw his lost son coming from a distance and ran to him

Man, I was that lost son.  I had left God and was living in the pig pen, but like the son in this story, I finally came to my senses and returned home, home to the father that showered me with love. He didn’t reprimand me for all the things I did while I was away, but welcomed me with open arms and a heart of love.

Let’s see … the pig pen or my father’s house.  Glad I made the right choice.