kingdom

Read Genesis 35:1-15.   For the believer in Jesus Christ, life goes from disorder to order, from the deep pit to the highest mountain, from disobedience to surrender. We go from power to greater power, from strength to greater strength, from one point of glory to another.   I realize that things don’t always feel this way in the Christian life. Take Jacob, for example. He acts selfishly and dishonestly, but then he has an experience with God and begins to live by faith. Then time goes by, and he gets busy, and suddenly he’s operating out of his own strength again. But then he’s reminded of God’s promises, and his spirit is renewed. Is it any wonder that when we read about Jacob’s life, we see a bit of ourselves?   In Genesis 35, we read that Jacob was reminded of an experience he had had with God some twenty years earlier. God had spoken to him, saying, “Go […]

Read Genesis 33:1-20.   When a person surrenders to God, they are changed on the inside. They are freed from their striving, and they can rest in the goodness of God. As a result, they do not look at the world in the same way again. But this inward change cannot stay on the inside; it must overflow into every relationship.   We see this happen in the life of Jacob. When God appeared to Jacob as he camped on the bank of the Jabbok River, the pair had wrestled till daybreak. In that experience, Jacob surrendered to the Lord, and God changed the patriarch’s name from Jacob to Israel. God touched him, and he was never the same again.   The next day, Jacob finally met Esau. Although Jacob was a very different man from the schemer who had left home twenty years earlier, he still needed to clean up some past business. It didn’t matter how much time […]

Read Genesis 32:1-32.   Jacob was afraid. The entire reason he had fled to his Uncle Laban those many years ago was to escape his brother, Esau, who had threatened his life (see Genesis 27:41-45). Now he was on his way back home with no assurance that Esau’s feelings toward him had changed. So, he tried to buy his brother off. He separated his flocks and herds and counted out a substantial gift for Esau. “For he thought, ‘I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me’” (Genesis 32:20). It was a smart plan, but it was unnecessary. God was with Jacob and was watching over him as He had promised (see Genesis 28:15). No evil thing would come upon him without the Lord’s say-so.   Of course, Jacob didn’t understand that. He let his fears and worries overtake him. But then, in the midst of his […]

Read Genesis 30:25-43.   The word prosperity often has a bad connotation today. When we think of prosperity, we frequently associate it with the prosperity gospel—a false gospel that entices people with promises of wealth and material possessions. Of course, if someone bends their knee to Jesus in order to receive money, then money is their god, not Jesus. And there is no greater tragedy than for a person to neglect the true riches of heaven for the poverty of financial security in this life alone.   With that said, we need to understand that prosperity is a Biblical word. God does, at times, prosper His people with financial and material blessings. He prospered Abraham (see Genesis 12:1-3, 7). He prospered the Israelites (see Acts 13:17). He prospered King David and King Solomon (see 1 Samuel 18:14, 1 Kings 3:11-14). And God also prospered young Jacob.   If you recall, Jacob had gone to work for his Uncle Laban. Laban […]

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts” (Psalm 139:23). Yesterday we began looking at some of the things that can hinder our communication with God. Today we will look at three more pitfalls we must watch out for. Covetousness is also a hindrance to prayer. Covetousness is not only wanting what other people have but also wanting to keep resources that belong to the Lord. God said through Malachi, “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8). When we hold on to resources that belong to God, we are coveting and stealing from God. Yet when we joyfully give back what is rightfully His, we can experience “so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (Malachi 3:10). Another hindrance to prayer is habitual disobedience. King Saul’s greatest flaw was his disobedience to […]

“Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3). Do you feel like your prayers are powerless and that God is not listening? This is not the experience God intended for prayer. He wants us to find joy and fellowship with Him, not frustration and loneliness. Jesus opened the communication lines between us and the Father; however, our sinfulness can affect our prayer lives. We must remain on guard against potential pitfalls so that we can maintain open lines of communication with our Lord. The first hindrance to prayer is a marriage relationship that is off kilter. Scripture warns us, “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter 3:7). God has given us a balanced formula for a […]

“For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord” (Psalm 117:2). Do you sometimes struggle with the right words in prayer? Or do you wonder exactly what to pray for? You are not alone. But God will empower you for meaningful prayer as you begin to praise Him. Praise reflects our acknowledgment of all that God is and all that He has done, is doing, and has promised to do. Praise sets the stage for prayer that is focused, specific, and powerful. And the more we praise God, the more we realize that He not only knows about our needs but also desires to provide all that we need. God wants us to ask Him to meet our needs, not so that He’ll become better informed about them but so that we will become more aware of what is truly burdening us and tugging at our hearts. By praising God for […]

“Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3).   Read Matthew 7:1-21. Many today point to the words of Jesus to defend an “anything goes” way of living. They remind us that Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1). But is Jesus really saying that we should turn a blind eye toward sin?   Our Lord is not telling us to accept perversion—shrugging our shoulders and saying, “Who am I to judge?” As we’ve seen throughout this study, the entire Sermon on the Mount presents a contrast between the righteousness we receive from Christ and self-righteousness; between internal faith and external rituals; between God’s way and man’s way.   My friend, when Jesus says, “Do not judge,” He means that we should avoid judging the unseen motives of other people. Only God can see the heart; only He […]

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).   Read Matthew 6:19-34. In the Christian life, we face endless decisions every day. We need heavenly wisdom to choose wisely. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offers us four choices that have the power to shape our life here on earth. How we handle them today will echo throughout eternity.   First, He gives us a choice between two investment banks. We can either store up treasure on earth, “where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal,” or store our treasures in heaven (see Matthew 6:19-20). Where will you ultimately invest—in the local bank, where they give a fraction of a percent interest, or in the bank of heaven, where you’ll earn a hundred-fold harvest?   Second, Jesus gives us a choice between stumbling around in the darkness or walking in the light. He says, “If your eyes are healthy, your […]