10/11/16
Genesis
28:15 - I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring
you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have
promised you."
Sometimes
in order to understand how to go forward, we have to go back. In Genesis 28,
God is talking to Jacob regarding His plan for the world. Jacob does not quite
grasp the fullness and the vast size of this picture, but Jacob was obedient
and followed God’s call. Long story short, we go on to read that from Jacob,
his two wives and two handmaidens, came twelve sons that would go on to be
known to the modern world as the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Who is Israel? Israel
is Jacob. He was given this name because of his wrestle with God. In Hebrew, it
means, “to contend with God.”
Stop and
reflect on your past and your life today. You will see that we have all been
Israel at some point or another in our lives. We wrestle or contend with God.
Only to find, just like Jacob, we lose every time. It just doesn’t work. But
what does work? Well, look at what God tells Jacob in Genesis 28:15. God is
saying, stop fighting me, I’m not your enemy, I’m not the one you’re mad at, we
share a common goal, to get out from under oppression, to do better, be better,
live better, love more and pass on greatness to those who follow in our path.
God is literally saying, hey! I’m on your side! Let me help you! I’ve got this
and I know the path you are on the way of your life and where I want you to be.
God is telling us that as long as we stick with Him and follow His plan, He
will bring us back from the battlefield; back home to bigger, better, brighter
days. But we must choose to follow Him
and believe in Him. This is Mission: Possible-not Impossible! It is your
mission if you choose to accept it.
The Bible never
contradicts itself. The Bible is the Word of God and Jesus is the Word. This is
on purpose for a purpose. Before the world and man were made, God already had a
plan on how to restore mankind from sin. Christ was already in the Divine
Design before you and I were brought into creation. It’s like having AAA and a
spare tire already in the trunk before you get a flat. God knows you will break
down along the way and through Jesus and the Spirit, gives you a spare so you
can stay on the road and get home.
This verse should
speak to every Christian. You were bought and paid for with a price. You belong
to God. You matter. You are part of His Plan for all people to know Jesus so they
can be reconnected and remembered to Him. If people ask what’s the point?
What’s all this God stuff about? You tell them, that’s what it’s about! Bring
the Gospel to them so they too, will know and make their own choice.
This is the
cornerstone of Christian faith. Jesus was born, died and rose again to remove
sin from us so we can be made one with our Father in Heaven. Everything that
happens in your life; good, bad, pleasant or ugly, makes up your testimony.
What do you do with it? Share it! You will be surprised how God takes your
story and makes it His. That’s why it’s called ‘history’ because it’s His
Story! You and everyone you reach in His name become part of His great
manifesto.
You are
Israel: a nation among nations. God kept his promise to Jacob, to Jesus and
will keep His promise to you. In your life will have troubles. Do not let that
stop you from sharing the Gospel with anyone who seeks Him. The Spirit will
grow the seed you plant. And when it is all said and done, you will hear the
calm sooth of your Master’s voice saying, “well done good and faithful
servant.”
The time
from Christ’s Resurrection to The Second Coming is referred to in theology as
the Grace Period; because we are saved by grace and sustained by the Holy
Spirit. And in God’s promise to you, the Holy Spirit will not leave you until
you are adjoined with Christ in Heaven in His Father’s Kingdom.
DeMaster 10/11/16
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