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Showing posts from January, 2020
My God Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will ... then the Lord will be my God." (Gen 28:20) Jacob, on a great journey through many lands, has in this narrative of his life laid out what on the surface would appear to be a list of requirements for God to be his God. God, if You do x,y,z, You get to be my God. Maybe you have one - a list of qualifications of what it means for God to be your God. Jacob's list went something like this, - Be with me in all that do and everywhere I go - Give me a safe journey in life - Provide for my physical needs - Bring me home safely But Jacob was not making a deal with God. He was not saying, my God must be this to me or do this for me. Remember, Jacob's life (Jacob who was soon to be Israel) was the result of a promise; and he knew it. He knew that God was the God of his father and that God was the God of his grandfat her. But to this point, Jacob had yet to embrace Him as, my God - it wasn't yet "personal".
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Foiled Plans Is it possible for people, those in a position of power for example, to foil the plans that God has for me? Can man interfere with the road laid out by God for me? In the book of Acts we read,  Then Paul declared, 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as any of you here today. 4 I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and the whole Council can testify about me. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to apprehend these people and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished. (Acts 22:3-4) If God can change Paul, a man who was a thorn in the side of the church, He can deal with the situations of life where we are inflicted by others or where people seem to have the ability to delay or derail the plans
What's the Point? You may be asking yourself, "What's the point?" I work, I raise my children, I care for the home, but I don’t really feel like I have any big or lasting impact in this world. It has been suggested that the efforts of Ezra and Nehemiah would not have been possible if it had not been for the role of Esther in biblical history. She played a foundational part in the plan of God to return His people to their home. In her imperfection God made her what she needed to be for the time she was in. And her life made it possible for Ezra and Nehemiah to have their impact. The mother of John Newton, the ex-slave trader and writer of the hymn Amazing Grace, died when John was just a child. Yet the seed of faith that she planted in her son never left him and grew into a great faith that influenced and impacted many.  John the baptist made a way for the Savior of the world. He had his place, but realized that it was not about him. He decreased while Jesus i
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I Know That My Redeemer Lives Back and forth goes the sparring, the accusations, the reasonings, the theories as to why's and what's of what is going on. Job, a man of integrity, sits in his pathetic and helpless condition being schooled by his so-called friends why his life has taken a turn for the worse. Job, further burdened by the bitter words of his "comforters", grasps for relief, and searches for reasons for his current condition.  Life's big question remains unanswered - "Why?" But not really, for we have the curtain drawn back, the blanket lifted, on what is really happening here. Played out before us is a heavenly sparring, a battle in the celestial arena, a fight over the truth that Job belongs to God ("Have you considered My servant, Job?") Here we gain insight into the source of Job's difficulty - a battle between accuser and Defender. And in the end, we will see that Job is lifted from his depths to his rightful place