Remaining Calm

To read today:
Genesis 29; Genesis 30; Luke 12

My verse:
Genesis 30:31-36- “What wages do you want?” Laban asked again.

Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks. Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages. In the future, when you check on the animals you have given me as my wages, you’ll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen them from you.”

“All right,” Laban replied. “It will be as you say.” But that very day Laban went out and removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted or had white patches, and all the black sheep. He placed them in the care of his own sons, who took them a three-days’ journey from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flock.

Observation:
Laban was not an honorable guy! He tricked Jacob into marrying Leah instead of Rachel, and now he steals animals from him. Jacob knew what had been done to him but remains above the fray. He finds a way around the dishonor done to him without resorting to violence.

Application:
I’m not sure I could have been as patient as Jacob (although with as much sex as he was getting, maybe he was just tired!) Anyway, I don’t think I could have continued to work for Laban day after day. Somehow Jacob remained honorable to Laban even when he shouldn’t have been. And he was greatly blessed for it.

Prayer:
Lord, I’m sure I miss out on some blessings because I rush headlong with my feelings. Help me to know the right things to do in these kinds of situations. Amen.

Promises and Assurances

Scripture today:
Genesis 15-17; Luke 6

My verse:
Genesis 15:7-8 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

Observation:
God has made a promise to Abraham- He has made many promises to Abraham, but this time Abraham wants to be assured of the truth of the promise.

Application:
Boy, is that me! I know God is faithful, and He will do what He says He will do, but I want to know how he plans to do it. When. What I’m supposed to do to help. Sometimes, I think I get in my own way and I need to get out of the way so that God can do His thing!

Prayer:
Lord, help me be more faithful, more trustful of You, especially when I don’t know the plan or have all the answers.

Choose your friends wisely….

It’s a new year… and I’ve been missing this. The break was nice but it is time to read more..

Today’s Scripture:
Genesis 12; Genesis 13; Genesis 14; Luke 5
My verse:
Luke 5:18-20
Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

Observation:
There are several players in this story. Jesus, the paralyzed man, and his friends. The friends are faithful to the paralyzed man, going to great lengths to get him to Jesus. What is curious to me is that Jesus, based on the faith of the paralyzed man’s friends, offers him forgiveness. What is even more curious to me is that he didn’t ask for it. He didn’t even ask for healing. He was simply lowered down to Jesus.

Application:
This tells me that you need to choose your friends wisely! Jesus forgave on the strength of the faith of the man’s friends. Now I know that we are each responsible for our own salvation, but this passage makes me think that the people we’re surrounded with are important in that salvation, too. Maybe we can’t do it without them….

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for giving me faithful friends. Let me be a friend like this to others, too. Amen.