God Prepares His People

Jacob's character is changed by the consequences of his sin.

Genesis 29:15-20  Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.”  16  Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel.  17  There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face.  

18  Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.”  19  “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.”  

20  So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.

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Jacob has a reputation for being a deceiver but in reality he came from a family full of deceivers that was as dysfunctional as you can find anywhere. As a result of Jacob's home life he will fail to be a good father and husband for his family and he will repeat many of their mistakes.

Each of Jacob's parents had a favorite child that was their accomplice in the deception that eventually got Jacob thrown out of the house. Despite the sinful and twisted way that Jacob received what God said he would inherit, God kept his covenant promises that started with Jacob's grandfather Abraham. (Genesis 28:1-9)

Jacob left home to run from his brother but his departure was disguised by saying that he needed to get a wife. If he was really going to get a wife he should have packed some essentials before he left home. Remember back in Genesis 24:1-67 when Isaac needed a wife, Abraham sent his servant with everything that was needed but Jacob was running for his life.

Jacob did the initial work that Rebekah did when she met Abraham's servant but then he also worked for fourteen years for the wife that he really wanted. The consequences of sin forced him into working for his bride instead of giving his future father in law the dowry that was expected.

It is ironic that Jacob cheated his brother out of the rights of the firstborn son and then he gets cheated by his father in law because of the rights of the firstborn daughter. Leah treated Jacob the same way that he treated his father when he pretended to be Esau. The cheater was forced to deal with being cheated. (Genesis 29:25, Galatians 6:7-8)

Jacobs new family looks a lot like the dysfunctional home that he grew up in. His parents had two sons and one was preferred over the other and now Jacob has two brides and they both know that they are not loved equally. Imagine on the first morning of married life, your husband wakes up and gets angry when he sees you, and then he storms off to see your father.

But if having two wives that are sisters isn't bad enough, Jacob also slept with their handmaids and had more sons through them, it looks like God allowed Jacob to punish himself through his relationship with these four women.

But wait, there's more, the rivalry between the two wife's rubbed off on their sons and to make it worse Jacob did like his father and had his own favorite son. The trouble that existed between Jacob and Esau was nothing compared to the deception that occurred between Joseph and his brothers.

Despite all of his lies, deception and the times that he made commitments without asking for his will, God used all of this to shape Jacob's character. God allowed Jacob to go through many self made trials before he brought him safely home.

God's Boot Camp
1. Recognize and submit to God’s hand in the daily events of your life.  2. Submit to God when you reap the consequences of your sin.  3. Don’t run from the difficult people in your life until God gives you the okay. 4. Plan to persevere over the long haul. Christianity isn’t a 100-yard dash; it’s a marathon. 5. Thank God for the gracious blessings He bestows in spite of your sin.

The consequences of Jacob's sin took a long time for him to live through. All of us can testify that we have had the same experience. As many preachers have stated, sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay. (Hebrews 12:10-11)

I have been too much like Jacob but I need to remember that all of God's children make plenty of mistakes. We should be encouraged by the imperfect humanity of the people in the Bible. We all have desires that don't need to be fulfilled, we all want what others have and wonder why God has blessed someone else more than we think he should. (James 4:1-3)

1 Corinthians 9:25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.

We tend to think that God's people in the Bible were more adequate for being used by him but most of the examples in scripture show us that God uses ordinary people that must yield to God's work of preparing us into the person that he wants us to be. 

Thank you Lord for being patient and willing to help me learn to be more like your son through my circumstances, places and the people that you placed in my life.

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Steven Cole - God's Boot Camp (bible.org)

Run The Race (biblestudytools.com)

I Am The Vine

God planted a new vine and he tends to it so it will be fruitful.

 

John 15:1-8  "I am the true grapevine, and My Father is the gardener.  2  He cuts off every branch of Mine that doesn't produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.  3  You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.  4  Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me.   

5  "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.  6  Anyone who does not remain in Me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.  7  But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!  8  When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father.

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Our God loves to create, out of nothing he likes to make the most elaborate and complex, out of the dirt he likes to make something clean, and out of the old he likes to make things new. Maybe that is why I like yard work, I like to do my part to create, it is a partnership with God to get things to grow. I do my part and leave the rest up to him.

Our creator is portrayed as someone who has planted and cultivated a vineyard. In the Old Testament God prepared the soil for his vineyard, he built up walls to keep out the wild animals and to keep people from stealing the fruit, his vine had every advantage and should have been the most productive and prosperous. (Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80:8-16, Joel 1:7, Jeremiah 2:21, Ezekiel 19:10)

But after a lot of patient gardening Israel has forfeited its right to be the vine, the New Testament message is of God planting a new vine, Jesus comes along and says, "I am the true vine." Formerly God's life was poured through Israel and you must be connected with Israel to get God's blessings but that's all changed now.

God tends to the vine by looking for two different types of branches, the ones that bear fruit and those that don't, both types are holding the vine back from maximum fruit bearing. It may seem harsh but he uses his knife on both types of branches, the dead branches he cuts off and the fruitful branches get pruned.

He cuts off every branch of Mine that doesn't produce fruit

The way that John MacArthur explains it makes so much sense. If you look at the context of this metaphor it is easy to understand that the first branch that didn't bear fruit was Judas. He was close to Jesus and he played along like he was a fruitful branch but he proved to be a phony. The branches that are being cut and thrown into the fire were never Christ followers.

John 13:10-11  “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

A lot of people try to attach themselves to the vine, John calls them "Judas" branches. They attend church, they go to your small group, they sound like they belong but they are not genuine. Eventually, the fruitless branches are identified and they are removed for the sake of truth and the benefit of the real branches.

He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more

The last words you want to hear from the doctor is "we need to operate." That is the news that the Great Physician has for you. Pruning improves your fruit production. In order for us to operate at maximum fruit-bearing capacity God needs to cut off our sins, our habits and attitudes that slow down the production of fruit.

Hebrews 12:10-11  For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

God's discipline is to bring us to being holy, sanctification is the church word for the process of being made holy and set apart for God. To live attached to the vine is a life of dependence, exercising faith and imitating the vine.

Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God.

-Utmost.org

Jesus is our only connection with God, the only means that we are saved and the only hope we have of living a fruitful life for God. When we are joined to the vine, we are united with Jesus in all our interests, we have common desires, we are delighted in the things that he loves and we hate the things that he hates. We are willing to endure the same trials, contempt and persecution that he bore.

When you produce much fruit you are My true disciples

Every believer bears fruit but not all of them bear much fruit. Jesus' followers should be know by the abundance of fruit and the type of fruit. The fruit we produce is the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. (Matthew 7:15-23, Galatians 5:22–23)

God's Pruning Tool
Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

God never changes, he is still using the same tool that he has always used to prune his vine, he uses the knife of his Word to get rid of the impurities that will hold up fruit production. He takes off the old blooms, the shoots that are going the wrong way and the parasites.

The Gardner's knife causes us much pain, sometimes we wonder why some things have to be cut away and we resist, we don't like it or understand everything that the Gardner cuts off. I have to wonder if I really need so much attention from the gardener. I must trust that he has great things in store.

I need to be a part of the true vine, the world grows their vines that I need to avoid, Their vine may be their bank account, their education, fame, talents or relationships. Many people plant a vine of religion and rules. None of these can bear fruit! The Vine is Jesus and you need to be attached.

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The Cost Of Sanctification (utmost.org)

Standing On The Promises

God's promises compel me to pursue living up to a higher standard.

2 Peter 1:4-7  And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.

5  In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,  6  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness,  7  and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

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God has given me everything I need to live in this world that is corrupt and full of uncontrolled passions. As a child of God I have his nature within me to help me live drastically different than the rest of the world. So much has been given to me that I didn't do anything to deserve and I am responsible for my response to God's promises.

I love how the New Living translation says that I must "escape the world's corruption." As Jesus disciple, I am saved through faith without any effort on my part but now that I am saved I am compelled to discipline myself and make every attempt to live for him. This doesn't come naturally and I will need to resolve to work at the change that God wants to see in me.

True Christians will want to increase in their understanding of God and take on his character. Some of the qualities that I must grow in include:

✔  Virtue (moral excellence)
✔  Knowledge
✔  Self control
✔  Patience
✔  Godliness
✔  Brotherly kindness
✔  Love

My life should honor God in every way, all that I am and in everything that I do, in my worship and in my relationships. It is so easy to do things that dishonor him, we think more about pleasing our friends than we do about pleasing the greatest friend that we could possibly have.

Spiritual Training
1 Timothy 4:7-9  Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives' tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. "Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come."  This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it.

The world wants us to focus on physical training which doesn't do anything for us when we step into eternity. Paul told Timothy that training for godliness comes with a promise of benefits for this life and in the life to come.

Putting my faith in the work of Jesus on the cross is the starting point on a long journey. I need to respond to God's promises by training myself spiritually to become more like him.

Thank you Lord for your promises, thank you for showing us a better way to live, I want to honor you by becoming more like you.

Growing Big Faith - Private Disciplines

Private disciplines help us to be more like Christ.

Matthew 6:1-8  "Watch out! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.   

2  When you give to someone in need, don't do as the hypocrites do--blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.  3  But when you give to someone in need, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.  4  Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

5  "When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.  6  But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

7  "When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.  8  Don't be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him!

Matthew 6:16-18  "And when you fast, don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get.  17  But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.  18  Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

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Discipline is a four letter word to most of us, we don't like being forced to do something that we do not want to do, we feel like we are suppose to do it whether we like it or not. It doesn't matter if it is exercise, budget, a diet or learning to play an instrument. Sometimes we don't always like disciplined people, sometimes they are inspiring but sometimes they get on our nerves, they make us feel bad, so we try to persuade them to be more like us.

Discipline is for our own good and that is even more true of spiritual discipline. Spiritual disciplines are another tool that God uses to help us grow closer to him. Our faith and trust in him will grow as our relationship with him develops, this doesn't happen by accident, there must be an intentional effort to get to know God.

"Students are to be like their teacher."

Right away Jesus tells us to not make a big deal of what you are doing. When it comes to being disciplined and doing good deeds Jesus tells us that we need to be a secret agent. If you are fasting, do your best to not look like you are, don't be a show off when you pray in public, God says that you won't get a reward from him if you have already gotten a reward from the people around you.

Don't mistake the purpose for private discipline, you are not trying to earn God's favor by checking off a bunch of good deeds, doing these things does not change the fact that you have been saved by grace alone. Becoming a better disciple is our goal. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Don't mistake the presence of these disciplines with spiritual maturity. They are not a guarantee that maturity exist rather they open the opportunity for it to develop. Sometimes the disciplines are being done with the wrong attitude but there is still some value in doing it. God can still use the time spent with you to bring you closer to him. You may find that it will get easier and the things that you used to dread will be something that you will look forward to.

Our selfish nature is always wanting to get stroked for doing the right thing but the lifestyle of the Christ follower is one that requires selfless discipline that will probably not get noticed. It is better that way so that we won't start to believe that we are anything away from the power of God.

My secret disciplines should include:

• Helping those that have needs that I can meet.
• Praying with the attitude that Jesus demonstrated in his example.
• Forgiving the people that have hurt me without even mentioning the offense to them.
• Fasting without looking like it I am doing so.
• Bible study, meditation and memorizing scripture helps us overcome Satan's attack.

This is only a partial list of disciplines but it is a great place to start. For more information on spiritual disciplines check out this page.

The life of a Christ follower should be a disciplined life so that your faith can grow. It takes a lot of effort to take up your cross daily and to put on the Armor of God. Without discipline you will be tempted to give up and leave the cross and the armor laying on the ground.

Character Of The Worthy Walk

What does it look like to live a life that is worthy of the call?

Ephesians 4:1-3  Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.  2  Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.  3  Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

John 17:21  I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one--as You are in Me, Father, and I am in You. And may they be in Us so that the world will believe You sent Me.

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In the previous post we learned that we have a responsibility to live up to the position that we have in Christ, there needs to be perfect harmony between who I am and how I live, if I do not walk worthy of the position that I have in Christ then God is not being glorified in my life.

My conduct needs to bring glory to God but what does that look like in practical application? Contrary to popular opinion it isn't about keeping a checklist of things that you are allowed or not allowed to do. We tend to tell people that they need to pray for this much time or read your Bible for this much time or don't do these things but the things that Paul told the Ephesian church to be concerned about are all inner attitudes or characteristics of their heart.

The attitudes that we need to cultivate in our heart include:

✔  Humility
✔ Gentleness or Meekness
✔ Patience or Long-suffering
✔ Forgiving Spirit
✔ Peaceful Spirit

That's what the world needs to see in God's people, we have been called by God to live a very peculiar life-style, but instead we look just about the same as the world. Our divorce rate is the same, the number of God's people that are dealing with anger and pride is not radically different from the rest of the world. The devil has a lot of nice, friendly, caring people that have better hearts than some of God's people.

Remember that it isn't about checking off a list of good things to do and determining in our head that we will live with filters and stay away from doing bad things. It is about heart modification, the Holy Spirit will put these into your life, your human effort will work for awhile but permanent change comes from within.

Walking worthy is a very big issue and one that doesn't get talked about enough. Does the world see the unity that Jesus prayed for us to have? Jesus prayed that we would have the same unity as he and his Father had so that the world would believe. The church should not look like every other human organization, there should be a supernatural difference, a unity that can not be brought about by human effort.

Our evangelism methods often fail because the church has a bad reputation, the message of love, unity and oneness gets lost because God's people don't walk worthy. We cannot have an influence on our world if they cannot see any benefits in our lives. Let's make the world take notice of us and wonder why we are so different.

Thank you Lord for your forgiveness and grace, I need to extend forgiveness and grace to those around me, help me rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to show me how to be radically different from the rest of the world.

The Commands Of Jesus

Jesus only had three years to teach us, what he said must of been important.

If you knew that you only had so many days to live you would probably make the most of each day. No doubt that Jesus make the most of his time with us on earth, he only had three years of public ministry so he wouldn't have wasted his time on things that don't matter. Here is what Jesus said about his commands:

“If you love me, obey my commandments. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them. All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them."

This isn't a complete list but if we start putting this many of them into affect in our lives then we will prove to truly be his disciples. Not as a work unto salvation but as an act of obedience out of love.

Receive The Gift of Power

Baptize My Disciples

Feed My Sheep

Watch and Pray

Keep My Commandments

Be Born Again

Take, Eat And Drink

Await My Return

Love Your Neighbor

Love The Lord

Pay Your Taxes

Bring in the Poor

Forgive The Offenders

Beware of Covetousness

Don't Despise The Little Ones

Deny Yourself

Beware of Leaven

Take My Yoke

Be a Servant

Do Unto Others

Ask, Seek and Knock

Don't Cast Your Pearls To The Pigs

Honor Your Parents

Hear God's Voice

Fear Not

Be Wise As Serpents And Harmless As Doves

Pray For Laborers

Beware Of False Prophets And Teachers

Choose The Narrow Way

Seek First God's Kingdom

What's In Your Wallet?

Repent

That's a lot to keep up with but God's grace will cover where we mess up!