Abundant Grace

Friday, July 31, 2015

The Blessed House of God

“Let us arise and go up to Bethel.” Genesis 35:3

The psalmist said, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord {Bethel}’.” Another psalmist said, “I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” Still a different psalmist said, “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.” Bethel is the place where God had met with Jacob as he was running away from home. Now God was calling Jacob to go back to where he had first met with God.

God wants to constantly direct our steps to where we met Him and remember there the care and promises He has for us. Where we met Him was at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. There we knelt in humble faith believing God was big enough to forgive our sins and save us. It is there where He reminds us He is also big enough to keep those He has saved. We all need to have many trips to Bethel.

Dear Father, Help me stay close to the promises of the cross. Amen.

The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend. Amen

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Thursday, July 30, 2015

This World Is Not My Home

“So you shall dwell with us.” Genesis 34:10

The book of Hebrews makes it quite clear that in this world we have no enduring city. Too often we forget that truth and expect us and ours to last forever. Satan also wants us to think in the wrong way about this world. He tempts us with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; all things that are fixed here on earth and are temporary at best.

The people of Canaan offered just such a relationship to the sons of Jacob. Dwell here with us, they urged, and we can all be one big happy family. But the Canaanites had nothing to offer. God had already promised their land to Jacob’s descendants. They couldn’t give what God had already given. Satan always offers what he doesn’t have the ability to produce. God’s promises alone are sure. As believers we need to keep our focus on the certainties of God and not be tricked by the failed promises of men.

Dear Father, Help me keep my focus on eternal promises and not Satan’s empty ones. Amen.

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Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Getting Safely Home

“Then Jacob came safely to the city.” Genesis 33:18

God had promised Jacob that He would go with him on his journey. God had promised Jacob that He would bring him back to the land of Abraham. We have seen in the past five chapters that the life of Jacob was not easy. He faced deception, threats, violence, and the general torments of the world. But now we see that God has done exactly what He promised. He has brought Jacob safely home.

God has called us through Jesus Christ to be His children. When He brought us into His family He promised us that He would bring us safely home to Him in heaven. The way may not be easy. We may stumble along the road or wander where we shouldn’t, but God has promised to bring us home to Him. We cannot merit our invitation to heaven nor can we merit God’s favor along the way. It is by His invitation that we come to Him and by His grace that we arrive at home.

Dear Father, Uphold our hearts in the precious promise that You will bring us home. Amen.

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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Clinging to God, Beseeching His Blessing

“I will not let You go unless You bless me.” Genesis 32:26

Twenty years after God had met Jacob at Bethel and assured him of His presence and promises, we come to this verse. Jacob was returning to the land of his fathers. He was returning with a family, flocks, herds, and servants. One would think that Jacob already had the blessing of God, but Jacob knew otherwise. He still faced tremendous danger from his brother, possible rejection from this father, and hostility from the inhabitants of the land.

While Jacob is alone a Man came to him and they wrestled together all night. As dawn approached Jacob said, “I won’t let You go until You bless me.” Sometimes we may think we have it all and don’t need God’s blessing, but we are wrong. The world is hostile to God and His people. We need His blessings and we need to cling to Him and expect Him to give them. We should never let go of God for even a minute and we should call upon Him to bless us on our way.

Dear Father, Bless us where we need it most today. Amen.

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Monday, July 27, 2015

I Will Never Leave Thee or Forsake Thee

“This is none other than the house of God.” Genesis 28:17

I don’t know about you, but I prefer a soft pillow to a rock for sleeping. But a rock for a pillow was not Jacob’s only discomfort. He had been caught in a lying scheme that upset his father, angered his brother to the point of murder, and got him exiled from home and the mother he was so deeply attached to. He was alone, displaced, humiliated, and you could add much to that list. But in that estate, God met him and offered him comfort and assurance.

When we are God’s children we must remember that we are not alone. We may feel alone, or displaced, or abandoned, or forsaken, or even forgotten by God, but we are not forgotten by God. He knows where we lay our head and He knows the needs of our heart and life. God met Jacob in Jacob’s darkest hour and gave him precious promises. In our times of greatest distress, He offers them to us as well.

Dear Father, Thank You for Your constant love and care. Amen.

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Friday, July 24, 2015

When Famines Come, Where Do You Go?

“There was a famine in the land {but God said} ‘Do not go down to Egypt’.”

Gen. 26:1-2

Have you or are you facing a famine in your life? Have times become so tough that you don’t know what to do? Christians are not immune to famines in the land. We live along with all men who suffer in the flesh the common ailments of every kind. Paul wrote the Corinthians and told them that we suffer like others and that we are comforted in Christ so that we may offer comfort to others as well. What God doesn’t want to happen to us in our famines is for us to return to Egypt.

Egypt is the place of sin, of abandonment of hope in God, of returning to bondage and forgetting God. After the Exodus, when things were hard in the desert, the Israelites wanted to return to Egypt. When foreign nations threatened the kingdom of Judah, they sought their help in Egypt instead of God. What God said to Isaac He says to all His children, “Don’t go back to Egypt. I will provide.”

Dear Father, In our famines help us to remember Your promises. Amen.

The Friday Benediction

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Thursday, July 23, 2015

Holding Up or Tripping Up the Brethren?

“But Jacob said, ‘Sell me your birthright’.” Genesis 25:31

Yesterday we saw how Esau despised his birthright, but the additional tragedy is that it was his brother who induced him to do so. We are called to assist the brethren in their walk with God, not to seduce them to walk like the world. Jesus had harsh words for those who cause another to stumble. Paul had harsh words for those who put stumbling blocks before the brethren. We are called to support and encourage one another.

It wasn’t just Esau who suffered. While he despised his birthright and lost everything, Jacob lost years of happiness as well. He was exiled from home, tricked and deceived by others, faced ongoing family turmoil all because he robbed his brother. The book of Hebrews tells us to encourage one another. Paul tells us to be kind and tenderhearted to one another. Let us strive to uphold one another for the glory of God’s calling to all His children.

Dear Father, Help us to be helpers and a support to our brothers in Christ. Amen.

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