Category Archives: Children

Children, Father / Yahweh, Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Joy / Happiness / Rejoicing, Obeying God, Parenting, Peace / Rest, Speaking, Through Prophets

“You Shall Surely Observe My Sabbaths”

Many argue today that Sabbath is obsolete and no longer relevant. However, to abolish the Sabbath is to ignore not only what Jehovah commanded, but also to reject Jesus’ example of how we should live and His teaching, which constantly pointed back to the prophets and law of Moses as authority and instruction from the Father.

Matthew 23:1-3

  1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.

At first, this scripture is not entirely clear, until you understand that when the Pharisees sat in the chair of Moses, they read only the scriptures, such as the law from God given through Moses. Jesus clearly distinguishes the law of Moses, which is to be followed, from the actual behavior of the Pharisees, which is tangled up with man made laws and traditions that distract from or contradict the law of God given through Moses.

Jesus even clearly stated that He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. He emphasized the importance of keeping and teaching God’s commandments!

Matthew 5:17-19

    17“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Our Father speaks many times definitively about the Sabbath. One such time is in Exodus 31.

 Exodus 31:11-18

The Sign of the Sabbath

      12The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 13“But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. 14‘Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. 16‘So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’ 17“It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”

      18When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.

The Sabbath is a sign between the Father and His people, that we may know that He is the Lord who sanctifies us. The Sabbath is holy, that is to say that it is set aside for the purposes of Jehovah. As evidence from the punishment commanded by the Father, He was serious and this is an important matter. It should not be discarded.

We can have a good discussion on how reconciliation for sin has changed, not in its core principles, but in its administration. We no longer go through an earthly priesthood for forgiveness of sin but rather through Jesus Christ. With new administration of Christ, the punishments laid out in this scripture no longer apply. However, the purpose and principle of Sabbath have not changed. The Father set forth this example even from the beginning after creating everything.

We should remind ourselves further, that the Sabbath rest is for us… for man. Why should we discard it?

Mark 2:27

27Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

My personal experience with observing the Sabbath has been great. At first, for even a month or two, it felt awkward and even left me frustrated at times that I did not have the day to do my work or chores. However, as I adapted my behavior and that of my family to obey scripture and continued on that path it started to change. Now I found I had time to spend resting and with my wife and children that I had not had before… because there is always some chore that can be done. I have more time available to spend with God. The day is already set aside, every week. My children look forward to it and generally are very joyful when Sabbath comes because they know it means a day of rest and quality time with Dad.

Seek prayerfully for the Father to confirm for you the importance of observing the Sabbath. I encourage any of you who observe the Sabbath to continue… well done! Others, who may not observe Sabbath at this time… try it. Just start observing Sabbath and continue for at least a month. It takes a bit of getting used to but is powerful in providing us the rest and time with God and family that we need to live the way the Father desires.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Adultery / Sex Outside Marriage, Children, Consequences of Sin, Holy / Set Apart, Parenting, Wickedness / Evil

Living Amongst Ungodly People Carries Great Risk

We continue with Jacob as he has settled his family in Shechem. He has grown in his relationship with God over many years, but the people of the land in which he settled did not know or fear God. Living amongst the ungodly carries risk and requires intentional safeguards to protect your family. We see in Genesis 34:1-31 where Jacob’s family experiences this the hard way.

      1Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. 2When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force. 3He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. 4So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young girl for a wife.” 5Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in. 6Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.

      8But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage. 9“Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. 10“Thus you shall live with us, and the land shall be open before you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.” 11Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me. 12“Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl in marriage.”

      13But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. 14They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15“Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you be circumcised, 16then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. 17“But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”

      18Now their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 19The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father. 20So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21“These men are friendly with us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them. 22“Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. 23“Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us.” 24All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

      25Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male. 26They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth. 27Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; 29and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses. 30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.” 31But they said, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?”

You can clearly have a lively debate around the way in which Jacob’s sons responded. I am not endorsing their response, but they were right that the situation was not acceptable… that marrying Dinah to an ungodly man who remained unrepentant for his actions of raping her… and then intermarrying and blending their family with other ungodly people would be a big mistake. Ultimately we will see in Genesis 35 that Jacob and his family move away from this land to another at God’s instruction.

We are left to wonder… could this whole event have been prevented if Jacob would have shown greater wisdom in choosing where to settle, whether to remain there after he saw what the people were like, or perhaps prepared his children more effectively to recognize the risk and consequences of socializing and blending with these ungodly people. Only after much pain and suffering does Jacob finally determine that he needs to move his family.

We can likely infer from the text that Dinah did not seek permission from her father or brothers before going to “visit the daughters of the land”. Having reviewed several commentaries on this scripture at BibleHub.com, it may be reasonable to assume Dinah was between 12-16 years old. Knowing the land was ungodly, it seems unlikely that Jacob would send her out without guard or escort. We can also clearly see from scripture that her brothers were very protective of her. Likely Dinah sneaked out without permission to go see what the local culture was like and to watch and learn about the women of the land.

Dinah, like most girls or young women, was safest amongst a loving family. Her curiosity to socialize with the pagans around her and learn their ways led her out of safety into harm, ultimately putting her whole family at risk.

Much of the world pushes for multiculturalism, for blending many cultures together as if it is a virtue. It is not. God wants us to be pure and holy, set apart for God, living according to His word and rejecting other wrong ways of living. To invite blending and socializing with those who do not know God… who reject God or worship false gods… is a big mistake and carries great risk. Whether it is a direct violent act that my occur, as with Dinah, or just taking focus away from doing things God’s ways and instead doing things like the ungodly do… the damage can be significant. Often efforts to blend cultures basically teach children that all ways are fine, and they do not need to do things the right way… God’s way. This ultimately separates them from God.

Today in the US and much of Europe, many push for mass immigration of those who reject Judeo-Christian values and come with such a violence in the name of their religion that they refuse to assimilate, but rather commit many acts of violence on others. They have no respect for those who do not share their false religion. God wants us to be separate from them in order to be holy and set apart for God.

The United States of America was founded as a nation with Christian values by Christians seeking to worship the true God freely. Continuous blending with non believers has not been a strength, but rather a source of degradation of the moral character of the nation over hundreds of years. Our nation is more and more unrecognizable for its proper application of Christian values. It is truly a blend of ungodly customs and culture even among many who profess to be Christian. As a nation, we have forgotten what it really means to follow Christ by submitting our lives to Him.

Many cry out for the need to socialize, randomly, your children with others in public schools and other forums. God never wanted us to be so careless with our children. Instead, carefully choose to whom, to what, and in what controlled situations you expose your children to those you do not know well. Most in our nation do not live according to what the Bible teaches and seem to feel compelled to pull others away from Biblical truth toward popular cultural so as to feel comfortable living that way themselves.

Children are a great gift. Take good care of them and protect them. Teach them why you expose them or protect them from certain things. Make sure you have open communication to help them understand more than the rules but also the reasons and possible consequences. Do not keep them in an imaginary world in which you tell them everyone is nice and good and nothing bad happens. It is not true and it sets them up to make poor decisions and to be hurt. We can only speculate, but perhaps Dinah would have made a better decision if she understood more clearly and bluntly what the risks were of seeking to “visit” a pagan culture of people who have no fear of God.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Bitterness / Resentment, Children, Consequences of Sin, Envy / Jealousy / Coveting, Evidence in Scripture, Family, Love

Doing It Our Way Instead of God’s Way… What A Mess!

Genesis 30:1-24 continues to show us the depth of consequences for doing things our way instead of God’s way. Jacob, who intentionally tricked and deceived his father Isaac, was later intentionally tricked and deceived by his uncle Laban and now finds himself married to two women, one of which he does not love. God has granted Leah several sons because she was unloved by her husband and given Rachel none.

30 When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

2 Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!”

3 Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me,[a] and through her I can have a family, too.” 4 So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. 5 Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son. 6 Rachel named him Dan,[b] for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.” 7 Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel named him Naphtali,[c] for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”

9 Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Soon Zilpah presented him with a son. 11 Leah named him Gad,[d] for she said, “How fortunate I am!” 12 Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah named him Asher,[e] for she said, “What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.”

14 One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes, too?”

Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes.”

16 So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah. 17 And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. 18 She named him Issachar,[f] for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.” 19 Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. 20 She named him Zebulun,[g] for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.” 21 Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said. 24 And she named him Joseph,[h] for she said, “May the Lord add yet another son to my family.”

The first observation I will make is this… what a mess! Surely the scriptures must be true. If someone were willing to change them they would have started by removing the family failures like this one which reflects poorly on Isaac and Jacob. It reflects poorly on Isaac because he raised Jacob and Esau in a family environment where each parent clearly had their favorite child and was content to let the other be loved less or not at all. Thus that sin and failure became part of Jacob’s “inheritance” and he continued it into his family by failing to love his wife, Leah. He clearly embraced Rachel as his favorite.

How could doing things God’s way have helped avert this situation?

  • God intended marriage to be between one man and one woman, not a man and several women. Man can not properly demonstrate love to more than one woman and perhaps even if he could, even the appearance of favorites leads to jealousy, bitterness and division.
  • Jacob having married Leah, should have loved her. Love is not just an emotion, it is conscious act of will as outlined in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
  • Jacob surely must have known or had the opportunity to know  the bitterness between Rachel and Leah, yet he did nothing as the leader of his household to resolve it. He was not dwelling with understanding with his wives as called for in 1 Peter 3:7.  (7You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. )
  • When Jacob was confronted directly by Rachel, he still did not turn to God in prayer or insert himself more deeply into the situation between Rachel and Leah. He basically dismissed Rachel in anger as shown in verse 2. (2 Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!”) What would have happened if Jacob would have listened to Rachel, repented and asked God for help, changing his own behaviors to do things God’s way?
  • There were still yet other opportunities to avert total family meltdown… either Rachel or Leah could have returned good for evil and just smothered the other in kindness and grace as called for in 1 Peter 3:9. (8To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.) Though this verse is intended in context for husband and wife, a similar approach helps between any two people.

Instead of doing things God’s way, they continued to fight and scheme, trying to “win” by doing things their own way. This is clearly a failure of Jacob as leader of the family and we will see this failure continue on into how his sons treat Joseph, who becomes his favorite.

Both Rachel and Leah propose… and Jacob agrees… that Jacob sleep with their maids. The sinful failures of the father continue to the next generation. Abraham and Sarah already went down this road earlier in Genesis and it did not end well. They chose to “help” God provide a son for Abraham through Sarah’s maid. If they made any attempt to share this mistake and its implications with their children, it is not evident. Isaac witnessed the failure through tension within the family regarding Ishmael. Jacob knew of Ishmael… in fact his brother, Esau, went to visit Ishmael at one point. None the less, Jacob and his wives fail and have children through their maid servants… once again doing things their way instead of God’s way.

There are no number of sons that can be had to end this bitterness as having children is not the root of the issue. The root is Jacob’s failure to love Leah and Rachel both. It is their failure to live God’s way.

We clearly see demonstrated that there are natural consequences for our sin and failures when we do things our own way, even if we have God’s blessing as Jacob had.

Each of us should seek to know God’s ways and follow them. When we are faced with trials, we should seek answers in His word and in prayer. Do things God’s way, not our own.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Blessed, Character of God, Children, Parenting

Let the Children Come To Me. Don’t Stop Them!

Matthew 19:13-15 captures wonderful insight into the character of God as revealed through Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. God loves children and families who seek Him. He has time for us. He is never too busy and He never stops caring.

13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

14 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” 15 And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.

This is a simple collection of verses, but take care not to overlook it! I have found myself many times remembering this one to help me try to live my life for Christ. It is so easy to get caught up in everything we think is so important that we have to get done. But Jesus reminds us to take time for the children… to spend time with them and to bless them. Also He shows us the value as parents of bringing our children to Him. Those parents could easily have entertained their children doing something else “fun”, perhaps something the children even preferred at the time, but instead they brought their children to Jesus and persisted even when the disciples tried to turn them away.

This short scripture has been inspirational to me as a father of four.  What greater way to show God’s love to the children than to demonstrate they are important by stopping what you are doing and making time for them? What greater way than to teach them about God through Jesus Christ and help them develop a personal relationship with Him.

What is more pleasing to God… to play or watch sports like football, baseball or basketball… or to help your children learn to relate to and rely on Jesus Christ? Which do your children and your family spend more time on?

Surely my work and my tasks are no more important than Jesus’ ministry was! Surely my need to relax is no greater than His was during His earthly ministry.  It was important to Jesus to spend time with children and help them to know Him. It is then also important to me. Let the children come!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Character of God, Children, Heaven and Hell, Parables

God Loves Each Of Us As Special And Unique

Beginning in Matthew 18, Jesus speaks to His disciples about what it means to be great in the kingdom of heaven. He calls a child over and then speaks about how important it is to welcome little children on His behalf and how bad it is to tempt and mislead them. In Matthew 18:12-14, Jesus then continues on with a parable to give insight into how God feels about caring for His people.

12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

God cares for all of His people as the shepherd cares for all hundred of the sheep. God cares enough to go looking for even one of us that gets lost. This is a wonderful expression of love. God does not view us as interchangeable parts, each the same as the other, such that missing one when you still have so many others is not important. God knows each of us as individuals and none of us is replaceable by another. He made us. We are each precious to Him. He does not want any of us to perish… to get lost and end up separated from Him for eternity in hell.

I have heard people stumble on this teaching. They think the shepherd is leaving the ninety-nine at risk to go seek the one who got lost. Perhaps they feel like ninety-nine out of one hundred is pretty good after all and how important can the one sheep be?

Most who stumble don’t understand the mentality of a shepherd who is tending his own flock. They think more like a hired hand who feels no personal ownership or accountability for the flock. This parable is actually giving us great insight into how God views us.

Consider a family with ten children that went camping in the woods. Would they return with just nine children? Would not the parent leave the nine at the car or camp site if necessary and go look for the one that was missing? Would they not all rejoice more over the one that was found than the nine that were never lost?

God knows us each personally and loves us as His children. He is our father, our shepherd, and we depend on Him. He wants all of us to grow to know Him and follow Him.

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Am I on the path?, Children, Consequences of Sin, Heaven and Hell, Humility, Righteousness / Serving God, Sin, Temptation/Tempting

Who Is The Greatest In The Kingdom Of Heaven?

Many of us in the world seek greatness. Often what is most telling is what is put forth as the standard against which to measure greatness. Jesus addresses this subject in Matthew 18:1-10.

18 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

2 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. 3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf[a] is welcoming me. 6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.

7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. 8 So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.[b]

10 “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.

Where does greatness begin, according to Jesus?

  • Turn from our sin. To turn from our sin does not mean we live sinless lives… but it does mean we strive to. It is a journey away from our sin nature and toward God’s holy standard. We are not to accept and dwell in our sin.
  • Be humble, as a small child. If we are arrogant instead of humble we likely start to think we deserve heaven… we have earned it because we are better than others. We also start to treat others differently, and not in a good way. On the other hand, when we realize that we are not good enough and it is only through God’s grace that we are saved, then we become humble. When we are humble, we treat people, even sinners or those who disagree with us, with love and compassion and not with contempt.
  • Recognize how our actions and words can lift someone up and lead them to Christ or cause them to stumble. We are accountable to God for helping or stumbling others in their spiritual journey.
  • Those who tempt others to sin and reject God will be held accountable and it will be bad for them. Rather than tempt people to sin by rationalizing sinful behavior, always look for ways to encourage others in living in a way that honors and obeys God.
  • There is most certainly life after death and what we do in this life directly has consequences on our life after death.

Jesus’ definition of greatness is very different from the world. The world tempts us to define great as those who get fame, power, money while basically serving themselves. Jesus calls us to turn from sin, be humble, and be seek to help others in their journey to know God and live His way rather than tempt them to live however they want to live, rationalizing sin and ignoring or rejecting God in the process.

Take a few moments to reflect for yourself and your family:

  •  How do you measure up to this standard of greatness? What changes do you want to make personally?
  • Whose standard of greatness do you use to identify your role models and heroes? God’s standard or the world’s standard? Should you change who you consider role models?

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Please share our devotionals with your friends and family and visit our website at www.HearingFromJesus.org to see more.

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Children, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Family, Parenting, Righteousness / Serving God

“What Good Is My Birthright To Me Now?

We see in Genesis 25:27-34 some of the damage inflicted within a family when parents fail. Isaac and Rebekah chose favorites, perhaps unintentionally, but favorites none the less. When parents do this it creates a significant divide within the family instead of uniting the family together. Instead, as parents, we are to love each child for the unique gifts and personality God has given them… following the example of our Creator, who loves each of us despite our differences.

27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)

31 “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”

32 “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”

33 But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

As we continue to read in scripture we will later read in Genesis 27 how Jacob tricks Isaac into giving him the blessing intended for Esau. However, we see clearly in Genesis 25 that Esau showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn and agreed foolishly to give them to Isaac in trade for… yes… one bowl of stew.

There is much we could discuss about the dysfunctional behavior of both Isaac and Esau within this family… and Isaac and Rebekah as well. It is disappointing to see the grandchildren  of Abraham acting so poorly and acting so clearly on their internal sin nature instead of turning to God and following His instruction.

It is a clear reminder for each of us to focus as parents on the importance of following God’s instruction and example in loving and raising our children. We must actively seek God and parent well. Children will not raise themselves in a godly manner. Sometimes parenting can be a very difficult task to do in a righteous and thorough manner. It is not for the lazy or faint of heart.

Join me in praying for Christian parents around the world to raise their children in a righteous manner and help lead them to God. If you are a parent or grandparent,  seek ways you can help raise the next generations. There are many in the world who will try to lead them astray and they must be well rooted in the Bible and in Jesus Christ as the only path to knowing God.

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Abortion, Children, Family, Hearing from God, Interceding for Others, Prophecy

God Answers Isaac’s Prayer With Esau and Jacob

We see in Genesis 25:19-26 Isaac coming before God in prayer, asking for help on Rebekah’s behalf so that she could have children. This scripture takes place after 20 years of marriage in which they have not been able to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer.

19 This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. 20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.

21 Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. 22 But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked.

23 And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”

24 And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! 25 The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.[b] 26 Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob.[c] Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

In addition to answering Isaac’s prayer, God also answers Rebekah when she calls upon Him. His answer is significant. While the children are still unborn, still in Rebekah’s womb, God shares the future that will unfold for these two children. We should note that this is one of many instances throughout the Bible in which God tells His people accurately in advance what will in the future come to pass.

Implicit in this exchange with God is the recognition that the babies are in fact people… are in fact alive… before they are born. While this seems obvious to many of us, it stands in stark contrast to the worldly message that promotes abortion, the murder of unborn children in their mother’s wombs for the convenience of the mother.

God did not say to Rebekah… “Wait until they are born to see if they are people and then we can talk about their lives.” Of course not!

Children are alive from the moment of conception, before the mother is typically even aware she is pregnant. From then on it is a life, independent and created in the image of God and not to be dismissed.

For those who have supported or participated in abortion, you should not stay in denial, trying to justify the mistake, but rather seek forgiveness before God and repent wholeheartedly. Our God is big enough to forgive our sins if we repent and submit to Him! Help others to make the right choice.

For more information regarding counseling or programs to help stop abortion, click the following link.

https://hearingfromjesus.org/resources/crisis-help-abortion/

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Children, Faith / Trusting God, Family, Obeying God

Abraham’s Test – Putting God First

Genesis 22 brings us through likely the biggest test of faith that Abraham experienced with God. Abraham submitted to God and held nothing back from Him. Abraham had strong faith indeed.

22 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

15 Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. 16 “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants[a] beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

19 Then they returned to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham continued to live.

20 Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor’s wife, had borne Nahor eight sons. 21 The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the ancestor of the Arameans), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. 23 (Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) In addition to these eight sons from Milcah, 24 Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

We could have a good debate about our opinions on God choosing this particular test for Abraham, but God indeed chose it. We are called to accept it and trust Him that in the context of the ancient near east culture of the time this was an appropriate test for Him to put before Abraham. It would seem very unlikely that God would use that same test for us in the context of the culture of our world today, but He can just as easily test us in other ways.

Are we putting our children before God as priority? our spouse? Anything? We are to put God first. We are to not only read His word but seek to have relationship with Him such that we can hear and understand His specific will for our lives and then obey it.

Abraham put nothing before God and was willing to trust God with everything. He could have rationalized that he should not sacrifice Isaac because God previously promised many children through Isaac. However, Abraham had a close enough relationship with God to know when he was hearing from God… and he obeyed.

Each of us should ask ourselves what areas of our lives we hold back from God… what areas might we be putting above God… saying “Let me keep this [job, hobby, bad habit, sin, etc.] and I will submit to you in other areas?” God wants to be first in all aspects of our lives. We are called to honor Him as such and we can trust Him.

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Character of God, Children, Faith / Trusting God, Grace / Forgiveness, Obeying God, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Thankfulness

The Lord Keeps His Word

In Genesis 21:1-7 we witness God beginning to fulfill His promise to Abraham that his descendants would be countless. God did not change His mind even after Abraham and Sarah made mistakes regarding this promise. They first looked to adopting one of Abraham’s servants as heir and then to Abraham having a child through Hagar, Sarah’s maid servant. There are consequences to their mistakes, but God still fulfills His promise.

21 The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. 2 She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. 3 And Abraham named their son Isaac. 4 Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.

6 And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter.[a] All who hear about this will laugh with me. 7 Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!”

Abraham and Sarah clearly found great joy in Isaac. Having a child was very important to them, especially after desiring one for so long. Sarah gave credit to God. She did not explain away the miracle as so many people today are tempted to do.

God has much grace for those of us who choose to follow Him wholeheartedly, albeit imperfectly. What a wonderful God we serve!

When you experience God’s miracles and promises in your life, give glory and honor to God. Do not explain it away as happening without God. Please share your testimonies with us or read those shared by others at the Testimonies section of www.HearingFromJesus.org.  Let your story encourage others!

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Please share our devotionals with your friends and family and visit our website at www.HearingFromJesus.org to see more.

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