January 13, 2006 - Genesis 31-32 and Matthew 9:18-38
When God chooses to bless us like He blessed Jacob, it is a great benefit to our lives. He is able to bring good out of the worst situations of life. He sustains us through the good times and the bad times in His own way. I pray that you have the blessing of God on your life. If you sense that you are lacking His blessing, by all means, get your heart right with Him, so He can give you His favor.
Genesis 31 explains a lot about Jacob's situation with Laban. God told Jacob it was time for him to return home to Canaan. When he told his wives what God had said, he confessed that God had blessed him by taking Laban's flocks from him and giving them to Jacob, because Laban had mistreated him so badly over the twenty years he served him. (v.9) Now, God was calling Jacob to go back to Bethel, where God had appeared to him in the dream and promised to bless him. I believe that this shows that Jacob's heart had been right with the Lord the whole twenty years, even though he had not done everything right. Now, it was time to go back and reconcile with Esau. The main problem is still fear. He is afraid of what Laban will do, and he is afraid of what Esau will do. Therefore, he acts out of his fear instead of trusting God. He leaves without speaking to Laban, and in chapter 32 he presents gifts to Esau to soften his heart. I believe both of these actions were unnecessary, if Jacob had just prayed and asked God to protect him. However, there is no record of Jacob praying for God's help until the end of chapter 32, right before he wrestled with Jesus. His prayer might be why God sent Jesus to him that night. That is what He wanted him to do all along. We must not allow ourselves to be controlled by fear, but we must grow in our trust and our ability to act in faith. Then, God can bless us even more.
At the end of Matthew 9 there are several things I want to point out. People could see the difference in Jesus' life. (v.33) The Pharisees would not admit it, because of their proud, stubborn hearts, but the masses of people could clearly see that Jesus was different. This should be true of us today, so that our lives give people unmistakable evidence of God's presence. We should be different because Jesus lives in us. Then, look at the compassion of Jesus for the multitudes. He saw them as weary, scattered sheep. (v.36) How often do we see them as dirty, rotten sinners? That attitude causes us to lack compassion and to act in anger or frustration. We must ask Jesus to show us how to react with His love to those who need Him. Finally, the harvest is abundant, but we don't have the workers to bring it in. Pray for God to send the workers. This is so true today. We are busy with other things as people all around us go to Hell. We must look and see the harvest, not the obstacles to the harvest. We must pray, because only Jesus can harvest a soul. However, he uses people to work the fields and bring in the harvest. Will you pray for God to use you to bring in the abundant harvest? I hope you will.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 33-35 and Matthew 10:1-20.
Genesis 31 explains a lot about Jacob's situation with Laban. God told Jacob it was time for him to return home to Canaan. When he told his wives what God had said, he confessed that God had blessed him by taking Laban's flocks from him and giving them to Jacob, because Laban had mistreated him so badly over the twenty years he served him. (v.9) Now, God was calling Jacob to go back to Bethel, where God had appeared to him in the dream and promised to bless him. I believe that this shows that Jacob's heart had been right with the Lord the whole twenty years, even though he had not done everything right. Now, it was time to go back and reconcile with Esau. The main problem is still fear. He is afraid of what Laban will do, and he is afraid of what Esau will do. Therefore, he acts out of his fear instead of trusting God. He leaves without speaking to Laban, and in chapter 32 he presents gifts to Esau to soften his heart. I believe both of these actions were unnecessary, if Jacob had just prayed and asked God to protect him. However, there is no record of Jacob praying for God's help until the end of chapter 32, right before he wrestled with Jesus. His prayer might be why God sent Jesus to him that night. That is what He wanted him to do all along. We must not allow ourselves to be controlled by fear, but we must grow in our trust and our ability to act in faith. Then, God can bless us even more.
At the end of Matthew 9 there are several things I want to point out. People could see the difference in Jesus' life. (v.33) The Pharisees would not admit it, because of their proud, stubborn hearts, but the masses of people could clearly see that Jesus was different. This should be true of us today, so that our lives give people unmistakable evidence of God's presence. We should be different because Jesus lives in us. Then, look at the compassion of Jesus for the multitudes. He saw them as weary, scattered sheep. (v.36) How often do we see them as dirty, rotten sinners? That attitude causes us to lack compassion and to act in anger or frustration. We must ask Jesus to show us how to react with His love to those who need Him. Finally, the harvest is abundant, but we don't have the workers to bring it in. Pray for God to send the workers. This is so true today. We are busy with other things as people all around us go to Hell. We must look and see the harvest, not the obstacles to the harvest. We must pray, because only Jesus can harvest a soul. However, he uses people to work the fields and bring in the harvest. Will you pray for God to use you to bring in the abundant harvest? I hope you will.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 33-35 and Matthew 10:1-20.