Glory!

 1 Thessalonians 2:12 that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. 13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

In referencing conduct, Paul calls those of believers in Thessalonica to walk worthy of God who had called them into His kingdom and glory. We are so blessed to have God who loves us and has called us into His kingdom and His glory. And then to receive His word that will hold us in that kingdom of God and His glory too!

Paul, the Apostle, reminded believers to walk worthy of God while pleasing God. If married they were to be faithful to one spouse and they could expect some suffering as was written in 1 Thessalonians 4:6..that no one should take advantage and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. 7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.

It is the truth that we are to behave with honor and with purity in all our relationships!

Luke 5:36-39 NKJV 36 Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of  the new does not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wine-skins; or else the new wine will burst the wine-skins and be spilled, and the wine-skins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into new wine-skins and both are preserved. 39  And no one having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, “The old is better”.

  God saved us! He sent the Son of His love to redeem us from death, hell and the grave. In this passage of Luke 5, Jesus is describing those who are the satisfied with the old system of the Law and the tradition of the elders.

For you and I, the teaching Jesus talked about was radical indeed. And what He taught could not be used as a patch over the existing form of Judaism (the old garment). New wine is put into those who are of Jesus Christ. They hear His voice and adhere to His teachings! The radical teachings of Jesus moves the complacent out of that recliner and into life.

As we see even in this day, there are many who like the “old” ways of doing and their normal is to do what is good in their sight! But Jesus was bringing light to what God had planned for man to live in accordance with His kingdom that had come.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 NKJV 13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught whether by word or our epistle. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

Like the those in Thessalonica, we are chosen for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and we are chosen to belief in that truth! Amazing GRACE!

Then we are to know that we are called to the same gospel Paul preached, so that we would obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ! From this passage, glory is the salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To which you and I are called by the Gospel, yes, what Jesus taught from the Sermon on the Mount. We stand fast in that faith of the word given us…....we hold to that tradition of what is revealed by the Son of God and those prophets and apostles whom He sent to declare His word! So now may our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father who has loved us, given us everlasting consolation, that hope by grace, comfort our hearts, and establish us in every good word and work. Amen.

It is in the labor of life and that labor of speech that we may know this process that Paul speaks of in that sanctification was not by which a Christian grows in Christ likeness but the initial work of grace in which the Spirit of God works in us the believer to make us God’s possession.

When you and I were born again, we went through that period of time when we did not have the same vitality in our thinking nor in our reasoning. We certainly were " street smart ” to the ways of the world, so we had to learn, to gain understanding of God in His wisdom to express the new life that was within us. And yes, that comes by forming the mind of Christ we see in Philippians 2:5-6.

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. "

Jesus saw  His being of God as something to be given away and not selfishly grasped for or horded. He willing came to earth to live as human being on our behalf, to experience what we experience. Yes He relinquished His glory through retaining His deity. Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls.

Jesus called for an open, yes free, and loyal relationship when He spoke the word yoke. In that relationship to Jesus, we gain the ability of obedience to the Law’s righteousness which was His burden.

From Luke 21:19 By your patience possess your souls. That soul is the seat of our affections, our will, that desire, emotions, reasoning and understanding.

Patience in Romans 15:5 is interesting.  Verse 5: Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Whether you are a weak Christian or a strong one, our conduct in relationships is forbearance and love so that a unity of believers will be seen as that harmony of praise together for God and the Lord Jesus Christ!

 Our conduct should be righteous, being led by the Spirit of God where we are no longer controlled  by issues like depression, anger, anxiety, jealousy, hopelessness, fear, or suicide.  We should not be ruled by our emotions. In Jesus and by His walk to Calvary, His bloodshed to redeem us from the hand of the enemy, you and I are now chosen as God’s instruments. We are chosen for restoration! He has enabled us to be the hearers of His word,  to understand His word and to  embrace  those words that speak a direction and a life! He came to redeem us and to show us that we are of value. Our focus is to be kept on Jesus, who directs us by His Holy Spirit to have that patience to possess our souls and to take charge of all those things connected with it. 

We should be satisfied in Him and understand that satisfaction is not found in the world. No one thing can satisfy you for very long. If you think of Judas Iscariot, he walked with Jesus, heard the teachings, and yet his heart for that one moment was to take the Roman empire down, moved out of Israel and use Jesus to do it! But no, Jesus would not take any throne at that time. If you look back at Esau, he was famished from hunting all day and was really hungering for something to feed his belly. Yet, he wanted it now and sold his birthright to get it. People are never satisfied for very long!

If we refuse Jesus and His kingdom that He brought to us, we are refusing our birthright for His kingdom. Satisfaction is only found in the Lord. Psalm 91:16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation. Those who know God’s name are in covenant relationship with Him. Those who revere and honor Him are satisfied in deliverance, in honor, and preservation. It was a blessing to Israel and is a blessing to us. It means we belong to God and to His kingdom. We have a home in His glory!

Jesus spoke of  glory in John 17! John 17:22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one;

This glory (doxa) is dignity and honor!  John 14:6-13 NKJV  6 Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life:. “No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7 “If you had known Me, you would have known the Father also; and from now on You know Him and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to HIM, “Lord show us the Father & it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known Me, Philip?” He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, & the Father in Me?” ‘The words that I speak to you, I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

No one gets to the Father without first acknowledging Jesus! This passage should epitomize our lives: that encapsulated within the Father and the Son in us so that we experience the same works. Jesus was pointing them to the Father always, pointing them to truth and life revealing the Authority with which Jesus spoke.

Jesus was not a people pleaser. It was always for the sake of the Gospel and for the glory of God that Jesus was active in communicating the Gospel of grace. Jesus did as His Father commanded Him to do so. Jesus obeyed, He gave the Message, encountered conflict and was crucified. His crucifixion was for life to those who required a REDEEMER!                                                     

Paul writes in I Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Consider, though, that many who claim to be Christian today do not consider the idea of forgiveness through crucifixion to be foolishness.

They glory in what the cross produced but foolishness to them is His example of complete surrender, which we are to imitate. As a result, it is the nominal Christianity that has become tolerant of sin, increasingly more human-centered, and less inclined to actions that might involve them in some kind of discomfort or inconvenience that disrupts their day.

Yes, it is the carnal mind that says surrender is folly, because it creates a vulnerability or the possibility of some kind of loss. But it is the same carnal mind that is blind to the vital reality that God is on His throne, overseeing the outcome—gladly using His power on our behalf if we will only but trust Him with our lives.

Glory is comprised of His word, the salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in that truth! Holding to that tradition of what is revealed by the Son of God and those prophets and apostles He sent to declare His word so that now by the Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father who has loved us, has given us everlasting consolation, that hope by grace,  that comforts our hearts, and establishes us in every good word and work.

The message: forgiveness of sins. The response: should be likewise a self-denial, that complete surrender, a reckoning ourselves as already dead to this present, evil age so that we might live for Him with a kingdom in mind, a life revealed and relationship of secure love indeed.

Glory!

 

                                           New teaching at: Voice of Prayer 

Reflecting the Lord in Favor

https://youtu.be/gUaRRY4oiiY

Visit my You Tube channel Voice of Prayer for more teaching 

http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV

New teaching at: Life Giving Wells

Preservation of Revealed Truth

https://youtu.be/qr8ghCsNm8w

Visit Life Giving Wells You Tube Channel for more teaching

ttp://bit.ly/2wgu1kw

There is ROOM for You!

A child always reminds us.....that love is forever!

John 14:1- 4  NKJV " Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you; I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know."

Jesus spoke for His disciples' hearts to not be troubled. In believing in God and His Son is paramount to our receiving salvation by faith.
In sending His only Son, we have salvation, a family (the children of God) and a forever home with God!

And in that work of the Cross, Jesus set us free to live in the presence of the Father!

In the past few days, we had our grand-daughter over and what a delight to laugh with her. We enjoy her company so much. She is a ray of light to us as well as to many others. In our time together, we would ready ourselves with shoes on feet and march outside to be visited by a rain drop or two and a breeze of wind possibly, but the sun was shining and nothing was keeping us indoors. We stepped out the back door, and she took my hand, and I took hers, and we made our way to the tree swing of course. Now the swing she swings on looks nothing like the one in the picture above, but thought of our holding hands. Yes, children hold our hands for awhile and our hearts forever. AND our clutching hands flooded my mind of the memories of those former years. It brought memories of our daughter when she was this very age and how she wanted to hold hands.

As children are welcomed to a couple expecting the child, so God is also expecting His family. He sent His Son that many would believe in Him and for those who do, Jesus said He would prepare a place for us. The way is found in Jesus and it is by faith we see with spiritual eyes the heaven that awaits our arrival!

But there will be many who choose not to go. They choose not to obey the Father of Heaven, they choose not to receive the Son and have the Helper who guides our way through this life to the next. We are to expect Jesus' return. We are to look up and pray.
God has greater for us in His kingdom of heaven. It is a place prepared. When we take each other's hand we go into our future and understand that it has arrived.
If we, my husband and I chose to retire, we would not really know the full life that God has for us. If we chose to "be alone" ....we would certainly miss out of the greatest gift we have since the birth of our own daughter, her marriage and that wonderful birth of our grand-daughter.

We experience rich lives when we can hold each life in our hands and speak God's truth into their hearing. We can experience that richness each time we desire to spend with family here now in this lifetime. Oh, but the greatness of the life to spend an eternity with our family with Jesus in the presence of the Father is a grand thing to think on.

The future has arrived and we are come to the Father through Jesus. He is that life for which we longed for and have seen come to pass in our lives. May we, my husband and I encourage you that taking the hand of that grand-child is worthwhile. We focus on giving all that the Holy Spirit is given to us as we walk this daily life into eternity. Our acts are those that are Christ-centered, and the pursuit of the family is foremost in the mind of God the Father. As kingdom people we are child-like not childish. And within our grand-daughter we find someone who loves us, and her trust is knowing that we will care for her all of her life. Our interactions with her keep us remembering that our Father in heaven desires for us to reproduce the qualities of that character we see from Jesus that will build and sustain those wonderful relationships.

We have learned when we make room for others, we always have other's in our lives. We made room for many, although some refused, but we still seek to speak truth in the light of God's word to others we meet, and pray for those that God sends our way. And we pray also that others will know Jesus as we have learned as the child to the Father.


Yes, we enjoyed so many wonderful moments the past few days, and they are forever etched in our memory files where life is filled with joy, laughter and a song or two from the heart. Our grand-daughter is precious to us. And Jesus is precious to us too! Our commitment in this moment is that we love by choice, prefer God's will to our own, and that we boldly confess Jesus with all our family and those we come in contact with. We choose not to be wrapped in religion, and we guard against it. We pray the Holy Spirit to have His way in our lives and in our home.

In these past few days, we encouraged faith in our grand-daughter, reminded her of the Lord's Supper and to pray. Her zeal was evident, her speech was declaring glory for Jesus and her heart was set on keeping that conversation going all through out the day and evening.

I pray our motives are clear, that our hearts are set for the eternity with the Father, walking with Jesus and ready for His soon return.
Father has a place for you if you have chosen Him. If you have not, choose Him, Jesus, today. Choose life everlasting in the bosom of the Father. Choose to Worship Jesus and give Him all your devotion and much love. It is He WHO rescued us from evil and from repeatedly falling into sin. He has made us His own. And may He hold your hand and cause you to enjoy that life of the child that you so deserved to enjoy but did not get too. Enjoy those kids, and those grand-kids and understand God gives us many examples of devoted and trusting love and when we choose to do the same we find our lives rich with love and peace in the presence of the loving Father. Amen.

Notice: 

The Voice of Prayer  has a new teaching:

Not How We Rule but How We Serve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnmzuR8hljU&t=20s

You can also visit my You Tube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at:  http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV

Let FREEDOM Ring!

In viewing the latest weight loss programs, people still have to cut back on how much they put in their mouths. People still have to consider that food is for energy and not to carry around all day as in extra baggage. But the society tells you to buy more, pay later, you need this, but does not fit you, will not be anything you can use as in comfort, a place to bring people to visit you, is not a place you would want kids to know about, is something that even a spouse may not know anything about, or it is the "I just want it because I deserve it". ( like that second do-nut, that second piece of cake, that second dress, but you ONLY needed one, that new car, but the old one is barely a year old)

 In the health department, I know some people who brought on serious health problems who would not eat at all. We knew a young lady who was in high school back in the 80's who had a severe eating disorder. It cost her  the life God had given her. People can get caught up with not fitting in "some crowd" and so they will do anything to :WIN! (they will drink some water and eat one yogurt a day to stay what size? They will seek others who tell nasty jokes to fit in, but their "saved", right? They will do whatever it takes to be "noticed".)

Our teaching the other evening was about that which controls the mind. It was about the "stronghold". It was given from The Message Bible, but here I have put the amplified version.

The Scripture foundation was: 2 Corinthians 10: 3-5....amplified.  3 For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds. 5 [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

And a wording that the Apostle used the other night in his teaching was that of people's agendas being a cancer that destroys. Their way of thinking has that of negativity towards another or in my terms something that either divides them or subtracts from them.
 I had never thought of that example he gave in the teaching and when we allow our own agendas, our own theories like winning, of being number one in a crowd, can certainly be detrimental to us and to those we lead, may desire to lead, or may regard those who we may be raising up as leaders ( even our children or grand-children).


Of course, I am taking notes, and putting this down to reflect on days later. Had opportunity to view the teaching again yesterday evening and was glad to be refreshed on that powerful word.
Well, yes we all have heard it and hopefully to hear it many thousands of times before this year is done and many before Jesus' return. And the importance is that we realize that when God sends His word it is to heal them. Right?

In view of that Word the Apostle spoke on his sister coming for a visit. Having not seen her in some 20 years, he was apprehensive, yet his trust was in the Lord. As the sister arrived with family, she began to bring up those old things of witchcraft and such from those early days. But the Apostle held on to faith and believe he would give no room to the devil for a foothold of any kind into his life and that of his wife and children. It is truly a wonderful testimony when our faith is in God.

I thought of the scripture below:
2 Corinthians 3:17
 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.  NIV

We each can have a sister, or a brother. And in our relationships we can probably think of something of long past events that were probably life shattering, but today is what counts and how we treat others including the brother, the sister and even our fellow-believers in Christ.

I think today of those visiting with sisters and parents who have come a distance to visit............and to reminiscence the experiences of the "old days".........!

And in that I think on the Apostle's word from God for us to guard our hearts and take no word against what God had given us.......that we were to be the free. I wonder in the meeting of others do we allow the "old" man to resurface, play out that which made us feel number One, the Supreme, the COMPETITOR, the "know it all" or are we the meek who shall inherit the earth.........are we those who will send others off with their visit with us.......inspired to serve the Lord with gladness in their hearts?  Will the questions be opened up about Jesus or will they just be another  hill of beans that helps no one and does nothing to bring or speak life of God into another?

Hey, let's play Yatzee..........and I win! Hey, let's play pin the tale on the donkey...........oh, I win! Let's play Charades, oh, I win! Or........let's play the word game, and make up some parables of our own! It is all about me, the best, the funny, the clever, the top-banana, the comedian, the "lucky" instead of being the talented, the "main attraction". Wow!   And how do we act when we start losing at a "touch football" game, start to lose our current favor with the "boss" at work, start losing at a simple card game, or in a conversation we know nothing about, or when we are called and confronted about some issue we would rather not speak on? Would we act the same around the "new" comers to a Bible study as we would our family: like parents, children, grand-parents? Are we going to shine and make every one else look bad?

In the days of Peter and John, they had the opportunity to minister life! See below:

Acts 4:13-17

13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name." 

NIV

When we are in a crowd of people, what face will others see before them? What part of your past will play out for them? Will you have to be the "main attraction"?
I believe that testimony the Apostle gave was one of victory in that he does not live in that place any more. He is filling up daily on the Word of God and truth. I know my husband to be one like that as well. He fills up, reads aloud to me and we spend time together to pray. We take time together just like Jesus took with His disciples and with His Father. APOSTLE RANDY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS! 

I do not know about you, but I keep before me that Judgment Seat of Christ. I know He will play before my eyes and His all that I spoke for Him and that which I spoke about me. And I repent daily when I know when He is not first in my life. It is a walk. It must be in faith. And it must be that which we will know and understand that others are watching us. And is our life today measuring up to God's standard or you and I being the "same 'ole man"?
Do we throw a tantrum when we do not get our way when a crowd is around like for a holiday gathering, a birthday celebration, a special dinner to celebrate what a child has accomplished in school? Do we pretend that all is well within our home life and no one is talking to each other? Has the spouse stopped encouraging his wife? Has the wife neglected her duty to her child/children?

Are we training up our children in the way they should go? Are we training them that is more important to win and do it however you must to be the "one, the main man (woman), the main thing". Yikes!

I give honor to those today who stand their ground in the Word of God and will not give way to the devil's schemes of that lust thing of the flesh, the eyes, and pride of life. (1 John 2:16)

Are we the mere animal who indulges in that which is worldly? What gratifies our appetites?Well, that is the lust of the flesh!   In the lust of the eyes, what will gratify our pleasure place? Will it be that spectacular furniture or that new car?  And in the pride of life: well that is just boasting! And with it is a tendency to promote it to a greater level and greater degree of pride in themselves. Not a good place to be!

To you who have held the conviction that God is greater and have placed your trust in Him, I commend you. Letting Freedom ring in our lives is paramount. For my own sister and Mother, I see a greater gift of giving of oneself to serving the other. In my sister and brother-in-law I see a love that comes from wanting to serve another as they do with our mother in her loss of husband and her health issues. They do not give up, but continue to speak life to her and pray for her daily to know Jesus as they do.

I commend those who do not give in to the "flesh" creature, but serve the Lord gladly so a sister and her husband can receive Jesus as Lord. I pray our children and grand-children will know this is not a race in RELATIONSHIPS.  There is no speed dating with the Lord!
I pray that people will know Jesus in the intimate that reflects in esteem for the other person.
I pray that it will NOT BE in the how I can beat you at cards or how I can be No. 1 at work, or at home or how I can have more knowledge of the worldly things by going back to hang out on-line with those who tell foul jokes or blaspheme another because of their race or color!

What will our children see of us and in us? What will stand out most in their young minds and thought processes............that is better to win, and if we do not, we will throw a tantrum and walk off stomping our feet or do something worse. "Well, I saw ________(mommy, daddy, auntie, grandfather, lady next door) act like that, so I can do it too!"

Galatians 5:13-15
13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!    NKJV

Will your sister be saved? Will your mother finally meet Jesus? Will brother-in-law get to know Jesus before that terrible event happened in his life? Did I have opportunity to give them Jesus before they died? The Apostle spoke that his sister and family left in a better shape than they had come. He said his home remained in the peace of God. Amen!

I close with this:

My husband and I had just read a book by Perry Stone and we highly recommend it. ( It answers some questions like: What will we look like in heaven? Another is : Will we judge the angels? Plus many others)  It is called 'Chronicles of the SACRED MOUNTAIN".  From chapter 13 of that book, he teaches of "all things new" from Revelation 21:5. The previous memories from earth, with any we might have known as of people and events will be erased. They are those who will not receive Jesus as Lord. If they exist in your bloodline and they refused Jesus, then they will be erased from memory for all time. I had always wondered about that. And it was a question I had asked before.

For any not entering into that place with Christ, who remained to do their own thing, their own way will have no place in Heaven with Christ Jesus or God. Perry Stone wrote that past memory of them in our lives would be erased forever.

It would not be heaven, if we remembered all those family members or friends who were NOT with us in heaven. And in that,there would be pain, many tears and grief! (forever) That would NOT be heaven!

Revelation 21:4 God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.

We have today, and while we have life in us.........we can make the difference for some one and their destiny into hell or into heaven. What place do you expect for that Mother, that sister or brother-in-law or maybe that youth who has turned away from God? We have today that can make the difference in life for another!

It is not about how many times we can win, how fast I can run, or how much you weigh. It is not about what you look like or how you laugh or about being "the main attraction" in a crowd of people. If we have that opportunity to give life  to another, how will you represent the One who died for you?
Let FREEDOM Ring!

May we touch others today with the testimony of faith that leaves them encouraged and free to serve God gladly.

Father, in the name of Jesus I pray for our sisters, brothers, children, and grand-children who may not believe in Jesus yet. We together pray they will come to their senses of knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord. May they each obey their parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. I pray that they would not be provoked by their father so that they do not become discouraged according to Colossians 3:21.

 I pray that each will honor their father and their mother. We pray they will be a wise son who hears the father’s instructions, and will not consent to going with sinners. We pray they will not walk on the path with them but they will be kept from their path for their feet run to evil and they make haste to shed blood.

 According to James 1:19-23, May each we pray for today be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; knowing that the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. We pray that they  will continually lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with  meekness,  the implanted word, which is able to save the soul. May they be a doers of the word and not a hearer only, deceiving themselves. May they know that God desires His relationship with them. May they know that He treasures them greatly!

It is According to Proverbs 22:24-25 that these sisters and brothers/children and grand-children will make no friendships with angry men and they will not go with the furious.  They will refuse them and their ways.  Help them Holy Spirit to see and know that God loved us so much, that he gave his only begotten Son Jesus , so that we would have everlasting life by believing on HIM. May these we pray for today become those confessing with their mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in their heart that God has raised HIM from the dead, and they are the saved.

May freedom truly ring in the lives we believe to be saved in Jesus name. We believe You have heard our prayer. Thank You Lord for answering us. Amen.

You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at (http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV)

NOT by Rules BUT BY LOVE or A Fork in the Road!

HAVE you ever been given some directions to something so remote in the country, knowing you should be almost to the place you desired, only to find the road has a fork in it, either to your left or to your right..........and IT WAS NEVER MENTIONED IN THE DIRECTIONS? Well, we were given that once.........."yeah, just follow this road for about 5 miles, turns in to dirt about two miles out..........and go pass Johnson's red barn, and then the Frederick's chicken farm, and you are there!"
Yes, that old red barn was there for sure...........and the noise of that chicken farm was showing the way clearly, but there is the fork in the road.........which way, now? Oh, and did I mention it was getting dark, and we had not been on the road before?

Those Directions as in rules and instructions are so important to us! Those directions are used daily, in living, going to school, carrying a child for nine months, taking driver's license test, even going for that CT scan. We must heed directions when staying safe, following the course set in motion by rules, regulations, speed limit signs, dosages for small children when giving them an aspirin, or medicine, dosages in vitamins, minerals and the sort, and even when trying to stay a certain size. Yes, so much applies to our daily living.

Was going over some scripture our pastor had given us some weeks ago. And was in Galatians 5:1 when I thought on the two roadways. In that chapter we had been given some things to think on about that "walk in the Spirit". We are given those examples of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

But in this chapter as a whole, Paul is giving us some things which are are evident in the walk of the flesh creature, yes, man of the flesh can be seen in that of adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like.
Of these, we are told that anyone who practices these will NOT inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:21)
As we make our way through this short but enlightening chapter, we find in verse 24 that those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.


Galatians 5:1-6
5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.  NKJV

Yes, we have two roadways here, that which is of the free in Christ, and that of bondage under the Law.

But Paul was saying in Galatians 5:1 in (NSAB) "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery". Yes, two choices here, guys! It was like Peter trying to get Gentiles believer's to obey those rules of the Old Covenant.

Galatians 2:14-21

14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, "If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? 15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. 17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."   NKJV

In all this, it is being pointed out by Paul that when we even begin to obey the rules of that Old Covenant, we are moving into the place of those for whom that covenant was first given...........and that was for sinners. If we are that sinner, still in the place of the Old Covenant, we are to be judged and certainly punished for being a "sinner".

Choosing the covenant Jesus placed for us through His death and burial.........we are dead to sin but alive to righteousness. We had become the sons and daughters of the Father through Jesus's shed blood on the Cross. To stay in the Old Covenant, is saying Jesus's death was for nothing and no effect to us. When there are rules like in the Old Covenant, and someone lives by them, then all rules have to be obeyed, every breathing moment night and day! Paul said in verse 20....that we no longer live but Christ in us continues to live..........and that life.........which we now live in the flesh is by faith in the Son of God, WHO LOVED US AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR US. THERE IS NO RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH THE LAW!

Just like following those rules of the roadway, God's Law is good. In that Old Covenant, we saw the need for redemption. But it was only through Jesus' death we could gain life eternally with Him. In anything else, we were lost forever in those rules and regulations. That was of a man keeping a mindset by the law was with all of  the aroma of sin and death. But our relationship was to be set by having a one to one relationship with the Lord, not by rules, but by obeying those things of God that protect a relationship with Him.

We saw the same when He addressed Peter in John 21:15-18

John 21:15-18
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" 

"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." 

16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" 

He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." 

17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" 

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.  NIV

Jesus was asking Peter if he loved and to protect that relationship. Protecting that relationship, helps us see others who would benefit in knowing what we know about Jesus and that love that covers a multitude of sins. Sheep certainly do not need rules and regulations. But giving, through caring and feeding we see the little ones grow up. We can know His love, experience His love and give it to others. That starts the moment we receive Jesus and goes all the way to the end, when we are the grown ups but still the children of God!
Take care of the sheep of the Lord =LOVE
Feeding the lambs of the Lord =LOVE
DO we love Jesus more than all that is going on, all that is involved including people, love Him more than anything or anybody + that Love in and from HIM will fill us and overflow to those around us. It is a love that KNOWS NO BOUNDS!!

John 14:15-18

15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 

NKJV

Jesus had said in verse 15 to keep His commandments. He said, "I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.".............Is that not awesome.........that the Holy Spirit is not just with us now, but for always and forever? "He, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."

He was telling them, that He was not leaving them ever, and the Holy Spirit would be their comfort. He would like Jesus remind them of what they might do when veering from those Commands He left in place, but the Holy Spirit was to guide us not by the rules BUT BY LOVE!

In dealing with relationships, and if we spend time with others, adds strength not doubt more than if we never spend time with others. Our pastor has been desiring us to spend time together and have a meal together that strengthens us not only as a team member but in the relationship with God Himself. I believe him to speak truth in this. And we are finding fun, fellowship and food in relationships with others as Jesus did with those around Him. When we truly operate in His love.........that is a BRIDGE BETWEEN TWO HEARTS.......THAT IS BOTH APPEALING AND NOTHING LIKE THE WORLD!

As that scripture says in Galatians 5...........that "walk in the Spirit" looks a lot like those examples of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

I believe that is why so many churches cannot grow, why so  many churches keep losing attendees, and close after years of trying to implement the rules.............that Law! Service at this time. Two songs and two only............thirty minute message..............prayer two minutes............CLEAN UP! YIKES, how could any one wrap their head around that one? NOT ME!

WELL, Shelley, rules are important! Yes, particularly if you are driving 100 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone! Cars are a lot like guns..........they can kill people, too! But it is love that saves people, not keeping a hundred rules................certainly one must keep to a schedule, to stay within some time limits enforced, but the hard-fast rule here is to allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in every service, every time of ministry and every day in our homes, our lives and our children's lives.

In those moments to heed the Holy Spirit.........and pray ....and encourage others.............or clean, which will we choose........?
 For whether on Thursday night,  we have clean-up at 8 pm or 9 pm could be the difference in allowing someone to see the love of God! 

God is not a tyrant, and He is not dealing out destruction. He surely can give us a vision or a dream........but we can see that fulfilled in our lifetime, and not in the next thirty minutes. It is a "WALK OF THE SPIRIT"........NOT A HURRY UP AND DO MINISTRY! God wants us first...........in relationship with Him, with our spouse....if you have a spouse......(see blog: LET NOT MAN SEPARATE),..........relationship with our children...(see blog:How Often Do We Tell Our Children We are Well Pleased With Them?) and how we deal with others!

Many years ago, our daughter had gotten her license. She had taken driver's education and she got her license taking the test once. We were proud of her. She followed the rules of the road. There were two things we did go over the first probably 100 times she left in the car, and that was that she wear the seatbelt and do not use cruise control. Why?
Well, when she was first learning to drive, with licensed driver's with her, we allowed her to drive us into the next state over. But in doing so, she used cruise control, and ultimately those long straight lines of a divided highway can makes some people drowsy, she is one of them, and she started to drift off the road. My husband was next to her and grabbed the wheel. He never misses anything. Then cruise-control came off and she was not allowed to use it..............ever!
One time, she was going out to a friends house to grab something and asked if I wanted a ride out to the country with her. Well of course, I thought, this would be fun. I liked the rides out to the country and especially in the spring or the fall seasons. So I got in on the passenger side of truck and off we go. She gets into downtown traffic and makes it through in great time to other side of town, but I had noticed as she talked with such enthusiasm ......was that she had made the last three lights on yellow. I asked her to pause a second on her conversation and asked" "do you have your license?" Oh yes, of course Mom, I have my license."  "Okay, just making sure in case you need it..........." And we continued to make our way out of the city and into the country with the vast green fields, rolling hills and grazing cattle.
I did not speak out in "fear" to her...........and demand she turn around and go home "this instant". No, I just checked for her license, and spoke about those three yellow lights and ................! I did not operate in fear to demand my way, but just reminded her of the rules of the road.
She certainly continued her talking........and our conversing continued with much laughter involved as well..............we enjoyed the trip and each other's company.

Are we in a panic to fulfill ministry or get that job that pays a million a year? Are we in a panic should our child bring home an F on the report card? Are we in a panic when the night is falling, the sun has departed from the horizon and there is still school lunches to prepare and dishes to wash? Jesus did not come to accommodate a culture, He came to set up His kingdom without rules..........HE CAME TO ESTABLISH LOVE!
That love was in cultivating relationships with others. It was expressed through Jesus' everyday life. He taught them and ate with them. He did not send them home empty of anything!

Our pastor mentions that word "cultivate" a lot. And cultivating is like that garden.......cultivating.....is to develop.....as in a crop of whatever seed you sow........or....to gain as a skill as in "relationships". I have had a testimony I spoke of years in the Jail Ministry and at the Women's shelter......and it is that of being  THE "CONTROL TOWER"........AND yes I tried doing that for years........well, decades and it brought me sickness in body and such a weakness to not be able to get out of bed in the mornings. I was that woman who was up at or before 6 am........preparing breakfast and getting child off to school. I cleaned and kept a clean home. You could do the "white glove test" on it and find no dust or lint anywhere. The carpet was shampooed some 4-5 five times a year. We had a small dog at the time, so cleanliness to me was next to godliness. Yes, I thought that. Exercise between 8 am and 9 am unless it is the six mile walk today. Start laundry, by noon............start dinner by 3:30 pm...........clean dishes and kitchen by 5:30 pm. Have talk with husband.........and help child with homework...........go for walk with husband and child by 7 pm........unless raining out. Child ready for bath at 8 pm and bed by 8:15 pm. Prepare lunch for husband to take for next day and get ready for bed. Ahh...........rest...........nope, because I spent the next two to three hours thinking of what I needed to get done the next day. Yes, CONTROL TOWER" had some issues...........and it should have been about how much can I love you today in what I should do and how much should I forget about doing.

We have a lifetime to complete what God has for us to do. It is not a test to see when it gets done, but how much we involve Him into each situation, every decision and if we are involved in knowing others and spending time with them.
How can we love God and not our neighbor when He made them in His image? There should be no blaming games among families or those in the body of Christ. We should not be blaming someone if they might not be where we are in our walk, but certainly those priorities that apply will always include the relationship we have first with God. Second it applies to our relationship with our wife/or husband, and third will always include our children and grand-children. Our walk is one that is led by the Holy Spirit of power. He is well able to see that what has been committed is in the safe hands of God and will come to pass. We just need to be patient to see the way before us, a holiness highway ....that respects and reveres God first, respects and honors our wife or husband, gives life and much love to our children and other people's children..........AND  not with a lot of rules but WITH a lot of guidance with the wisdom in the love of God and to always love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

A fork in the road indeed, but one is clearly displayed in that pathway that is love, kind, gentle, faithful and self-control without panic or fear of God's Word when spoken.

Thank You Lord today for showing us the better life, the better way........in loving others first, putting them first and in all that, we see God our Father's hand arranging that in our lives that is for good and not evil to give us a hope in our final outcome. To God be all the glory.............Amen!


You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Me!

Ever thought of the importance of naming the generations like we see in
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Have you ever thought when God told Abram, "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, go to a land that I will show you....THIS WAS NOT A WEAK LITTLE SUGGESTION.........IT WAS "GET OUT"!

Abraham moved from the place people knew him! He moved from the familiar. I am thinking it was important as we saw with Jesus.........familiarity was breeding contempt toward Him.(SEE MATTHEW 13) Abram was to become Abraham, he was the signal of movement from the ordinary to the extraordinary in God.

Genesis 12:1-9....................2:1 Now the LORD had said to Abram:

"Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father's house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. ............. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.  NKJV

In reading the end of Genesis 11, we find Abraham needing to be separated from his father Terah. For Abraham needed to move to Canaan, the land of promise. We sometimes need to be separated to that which God has called us. And Abraham needed to be separated, as we see from Genesis 12...."get out of your country".....get away from that which is familiar! And told Abraham that he would make him a great nation. "I will bless you and make your name great."
Ever notice today how so many what to be famous? Ever see how many will take over a meeting and the podium to get their say in? AND the meeting is "not even about what these intruders come to speak about!!!!
Interesting how people want to speak, yet it makes no sense when they finally do get to do it. It certainly takes time with God, to see our place, what He has planned for us and how to get there by following and THEN BY LEADING OTHERS, AND THAT IS HOW IT WORKS AND BY NO OTHER WAY!!!

Then we read, that God went even further to remove Abraham from Lot. He was going to do a new thing in someone ready to run with the "God thing".
Genesis 15:1-21............15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." 2 But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." 5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

7 Then He said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it." 8 And he said, "Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?" 9 So He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."

17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates-- 19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites." NKJV

And we finally see Abram become Abraham, Sarai become Sarah and see the birth of Isaac.

Genesis 17:5-22.......................5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

9 And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

15 Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her." 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" 18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!" 19 Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year." 22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.  NKJV


Abram became Abraham. He moved from a place known for idolatry! The city of Ur.....was ..UNDER a kind of theocracy. They worshiped a diety of the moon. If you remember, he came from the same area where the Tower of Babel was built in Genesis 11:3-4.    But Abram became a man of faith, and resisted the pollution of an idol based society.

Then we find Isaac, the son of promise!  But we also find, that when Abraham tried to do it his way, he got an Ishmael. He certainly was not allowing God to be the beginning of this adventure for a child. And in doing it is way, he suffered heartache and caused much grief to himself and to other's.
Genesis 21:1-7........... 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him--whom Sarah bore to him--Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." 7 She also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age."     NKJV

Isaac, was the promise, the "laughter" that God presented to Sarah. Long after, when all is done, then she too, inherited the promise of a child. The barren had become fruitful and produced a son. As Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah under the leadership of God, he became wealth under the same mighty Hand. Those issues of family life in Ur were gone. Isaac, the promised, now had life, and was to raise children of his own. Not under the idolatry of early years for parents in Ur, but become the separated unto God. Even in marriage, Isaac was given a wife. He would not intermarry among the Canaanites, but would have a marriage with someone from his own people. And we see Rebehak take her place. As Isaac came to wealth by birth, so too, his receiving did not stop there. Even his wife was given to him. When the servant was sent out to find the woman for Isaac, guidelines were furnished. The instructions from God were made plain. Isaac was in "receivership".

Genesis 24:19-47.....19 After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking." 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. 21 Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful. 

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.   23 Then he asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" 

24 She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor." 25 And she added, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night." 

26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, 27 saying, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives." 

28 The girl ran and told her mother's household about these things. 29........(she) had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. 30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. 31 "Come, you who are blessed by the LORD," he said. "Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels." 

32 So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. 33 Then food was set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say."

Genesis 24:34-49....................34 So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. 35 The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master's wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. 37 And my master made me swear an oath, and said, 'You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, 38 but go to my father's family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.' 

39 "Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not come back with me?' 

40 "He replied, 'The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father's family. 41 Then, when you go to my clan, you will be released from my oath even if they refuse to give her to you--you will be released from my oath.' 

42 "When I came to the spring today, I said, 'O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. 43 See, I am standing beside this spring; if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar," 44 and if she says to me, "Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels too," let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master's son.' 

45 "Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.' 

46 "She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also. 

47 "I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?'........(she answered..) 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.'

"Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48 and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son. 49 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn."      NIV

Genesis 24:50-51.............50 Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has directed."    NIV

Genesis 24:62-67............62 Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. 63 He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. 64 Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 65 and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?"

"He is my master," the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. 

66 Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. 67 Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.    NIV

Isaac was the son of the covenant. It was his life that had the evidence of favor by God. In Isaac we see a child become that which was destined by God. He became a man of peace as we see in Genesis 26:20-22............20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.   22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land." 

In devotion, we see him in verse 67 that Rebekah became his wife and loved her. He became devoted to his wife. To love her all his days, he was comforted by her in and after his mother's death! And of faith, we see Paul writing about both Isaac who was born of the free woman, Sarah in Galatians 4:21-23.........21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. 

And then we come to the twins born to Rebekah and Isaac. We see one loved greatly by Isaac and one loved greatly by Rebekah. That will cause problems, will it not? As we see in Genesis 25:23....the elder Esau, the favored by Isaac, would be declared to serve the younger. And Rebekah conspired, yes, to scheme, plot, get her own way, for Jacob to receive the blessing. We find Jacob running to Laban in Paddan-aram to get away from the violence that erupted between the twin brothers. Many years passed and the two were joined in peace finally to give respect to those to which it was due!  

Genesis 35:27-29.................27 Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. 28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. 29 So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. NKJV

In Jacob, we find him gaining the birthright, that which is leader over the family, in giving the prayer, the teaching of the Word of God and in wisdom for decisions.........remember Esau sold that birthright for a cup of soup! YIKES! Jacob was the supplanter, a sure liar in getting his way. But amidst all the turmoil and trials, he left Esau, and ran into the waiting arms of Laban, that selfish person who was always grasping for what others had. In always taking what he wanted, he found that retribution ....that punishment or penalty came out of gaining a wife, not of his choice......again, what he wanted. But one thing showed an evidence that he was serving many years for two wives and then many years to tending Laban's flocks. He gain Leah and Rachel. Leah gave him....Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulin.......a daughter Dinah. Then Leah's maid, Zilpah, gave him two more sons...................Gad and Asher. (Genesis 30:9-13)

Leah was not loved like Rachel was, but Judah came through Leah. And out of the tribe of Judah came Jesus the Messiah.

Rachel had two sons, one Joseph and one who caused death for her, Benjamin.

Rachel was a liar as well....and it was interesting that she chose to take things that were not hers in .....regard to Laban & his covetousness. Her life depicted one toward God but she held superstitions of her country and in worshiping the teraphim....Genesis 31:19.

When God is not in the beginning of the plans, then we resort to odd superstitious things, but is in faith that we walk. And in so doing, that faith must grow, and we see it in Rachel. She was well remembered long after her passing as seen in Ruth 4:11-12......11 And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the LORD will give you from this young woman." NKJV

Why do I write all this? Why do I see the importance for there to be generations mentioned.........? For we must have our beginning in God. Each had their own thoughts and processes going on, but each would fail until they hooked up with God and had HIS leading them to their future. That leading was not going to be in failures, and lack and disappointments, but in each, we saw a fulfillment of what was promised them. 

WHAT has been promised to you? In Abraham, we see him receive direction and instruction from God. And when they did, he and his wife had much laughter added to them. They had to move away from idolatry and look to God, their source. In Isaac, we saw a young man receive his inheritance as a son. Because his parents believed, he gained life. We saw him act in fear of man much like his father did earlier in our reading of this great lineage. In weakness, Isaac too, told those that his wife was his sister......

Genesis 26:1-9................... 2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws." 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 

7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful." 

8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?"

Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her." NIV

But in all this, we see a man pray for his wife to conceive a child.

Genesis 25:21-23.................21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. 

23 The LORD said to her,   

"Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated;

one people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger."  NIV

And came two individuals......twins who would be total opposites.

Genesis 26:34-35.....................34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah. NIV  


AND IN JACOB, we saw the liar become the "one who contended with God". Yes, his polygamy was contrary to the original law. It was evil!!
In that which he left behind, the ignorance, the inexcusable, he gained a higher life in God. 
Hosea 12:3-6.........3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb,
And in his strength he struggled with God. 
4 Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
He wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in Bethel,
And there He spoke to us-- 
5 That is, the LORD God of hosts.
The LORD is His memorable name. 
6 So you, by the help of your God, return;
Observe mercy and justice,
And wait on your God continually. NKJV


Isaac was to bless the elder. He was to bless his son Esau, and have him lead the "family", but Jacob wanted the blessing and in deceit he took it. He planned out how to do it and deceived an old, blind Isaac. AND WE READ in Genesis 26:35...we see Esau and his wives....Judith and Basemoth.......and they were grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
Jacob contended and God received that which Jacob had prayed for. Jacob received his name change "contender with God".....see Matthew 11:12."I will not let go except Thou bless me."......Genesis 32:26.
Jacob had been driving himself, to be what he believed was his. But now God would lead him. Now he would return to peace with his brother and live for God!

In the three generations, we saw one move from the land they knew (Ur) to move to Canaan. They would receive an inheritance in trusting God. In their plans, they failed, but God caused them to rise higher than before. Isaac received his wife without seeing her. Can we the children of God, do as much and receive what God has for us without first seeing it, but JUST READY TO RECEIVE IT? IT IS TIME FOR RECEIVERSHIP!!!!

Will we grow and become those who will contend for the faith? 
In this day and time, I am what you would call the spiritual mother. As that spiritual leader, I am to speak words of wisdom, that comes from a heart that is the throne of God. We must know our leading, and that it must come from Him and His wisdom. We must know that we are there to encourage those like Isaac..........that laughter is good, but you need wisdom as well. In those moments of laughter, we look to the future and we see the choices that can be made. But we must expect to receive with faith that which God is wanting to entrust to our keeping. We can see the Jacob or the Esau.......we can see the liar, the one who appears peaceful but always attracts other covetous men and women. Or we can also look to the robust type in Esau, who looks like someone out of FIELD AND STREAM. BUT.....we must look to God, the beginner of all things. It is in Him , that we live and move and have our being. If we like, Jacob submit to authority, we too, can have that name change that will be one of respect and honor and NOT one of shame and dishonor.

In closing: in the time of Jesus, he too, faced the familiarity......and this is what occurred. 

In Matthew 13:53-58......NKJV.....53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. 54 And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?" 57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. In this we see familiar was breeding contempt toward Jesus , the Messiah. These people were so familiar with HIM, they could not understand how He spoke with wisdom and did mighty works. "Is this not the carpenter's son"? "Is not His mother called Mary"? ....."and His brothers James, Joses, Simon and Judas"?  AND THEY WERE OFFENDED AT HIM! THEY COULD NOT RECEIVE BECAUSE THEY DID NOT LOOK ON THAT HE WAS THE CALLED.......HE was just Jesus, the carpenter's son. But those who would receive, called Him the Son of God! He was the anointed, Bread of Life...... John 6:32, Dayspring ..........Luke 1:78, Good Shepherd.......... John 10:11, Holy One of God...Mark 1:24, Horn of Salvation....... Luke 1:69, The Life....John 14:6, Light of the World....John 8:12, Lamb of God.....John 1:29, and Prince of Life.....Acts 3:15. 

Jesus went on to say,............ " a prophet is now without honor except in his own country and in his own house."
For that which we deem not useful to us, not gain, will be like those in Jesus' hometown disdain the prophet, the man or woman with the wisdom of God who speaks with authority? Will we be those who " are so familiar" just cast off the good and remain with the mundane and mediocre life?
Mine is to chase after the Spirit of Prophecy Who is Jesus! I hope it is yours as well!



Father, thank You for the Spirit of Prophecy that is Jesus. (Revelation 19:10) It is that testimony of faith just like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had! I pray that any who read this would be captivated by the love God had for each successive generation and how God wanted to guide them through to health and wealth. We desire to be hooked into the vine, that place of the Lord that will increase our lives. We desire to hear His directives for our lives. Like Paul, we too, desire to be those who will be the intimately acquainted with You.
Wherever we stand in our walk with You, may we be ever moving toward You and hearing You give us the plans for our lives. May we be those "faith" people who exercise that faith like the generations before us. It is in YOU that we live, move and have our being!
Father, may we look to You and hear all that is being spoken about what we must need to know about for our families and communities. Help us to see those who speak with wisdom and have a relationship with You that we will be receptive to hear all that You speak to us through Your word and through those men or women you send on our pathway. May we always look out for the other's best and may we be those men and women of honor and not of the dishonored. May we be fruitful in delivering words of wisdom to those who are in need of guidance today. We thank You for filling us with the knowledge of Your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding that we may walk worthy of You Lord, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of YOU. We thank You for past and present relationships. We learn from those who oppose us and from those who are for us. We also give thanks for discernment and spiritual understanding. We enter Your gates with thanksgiving in our hearts. It is Jesus' name we pray and give thanks. Amen and Amen.

You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV