Be Selective

“So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, ‘You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. And may God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you; that you may possess the land of your sojourning, which God gave to Abraham.’ Then Isaac sent Jacob away,” Genesis 28:1-5a


Isaac knew God had a plan. Isaac also knew about temptations and wanted to minimise the risk of Jacob turning to his own solutions. The journey to Paddan-aram must have seemed senseless to Jacob who would have been surrounded by a community of women eager to be his. Yet, he chose to be obedient to his father’s wishes, and unknowingly was to learn obedience and patience through this decision. God wishes to guide and teach us, so we can be better for HIS work, so we grow slowly into the image of His beloved Son!



Take care to know God’s Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene



PS: Continue to pray for: Fred’s wife, Nancy, to recover from a near critical head injury, Rachael for hope & clarity of purpose; Nancy’s recovery from brain surgery; Adrian with life changes; Barb to find satisfying work. Isaias’ mission work in Philippines. Tim & Barb to be encouraged. God’s grace on USA. Billy & Michelle for recovery. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack.

Focus on Disappointment

“So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, ‘The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.’ Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, ‘Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you, by planning to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, fell to Haran, to my brother Laban! And stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury subsides, until your brother’s anger against you subsides, and he forgets what you did to him. Then I shall send and get you from there. Why should I bereave of you both in one day?’” Genesis 27:41-45

Esau did not realise that, his mother, (not Jacob) was the ultimate plotter in this situation, nor did he recognise or acknowledge God’s hand – he only saw his lost and his loss drove him consider to the second sin, to kill a brother. When disappointment becomes our focus we may lose the plot!



Take care to know God’s Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene



PS: Continue to pray for: Fred’s wife, Nancy, to recover from a near critical head injury, Rachael for hope & clarity of purpose; Nancy’s recovery from brain surgery; Adrian with life changes; Barb to find satisfying work. Isaias’ mission work in Philippines. Tim & Barb to be encouraged. God’s grace on USA. Billy & Michelle for recovery. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack.

Unfair of God?

“Now it came about, when Isaac was old, and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his older son Esau and said to him, ‘My son,’ And he said to him, ‘Here I am.’ And Isaac said, ‘Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death. Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; and prepare a savoury dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.’ Genesis 27:1-4

A father’s love thwarted. Esau and Isaac must have had a special relationship, because Esau WAS the eldest son and would have expected and been expected to take over his father’s world after he died. Yet God had a special plan for His people that meant His promise would come through Jacob. I think of the willing eagerness (perhaps even determination to thwart God’s plan) in the heart of Esau as he took this journey to please his father. Yet it was not to be!
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. -- It was said to her, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’ What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs; but on God who has mercy.” Romans 8:28 & 9:12-16
Take care to know God’s Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene



PS: Continue to pray for: Fred’s wife, Nancy, to recover from a near critical head injury, Rachael for hope & clarity of purpose; Nancy’s recovery from brain surgery; Adrian with life changes; Barb to find satisfying work. Isaias’ mission work in Philippines. Tim & Barb to be encouraged. God’s grace on USA. Billy & Michelle for recovery. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack.

Father's Sins

“So Isaac lived in Gerar. When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, ‘She is my sister,’ for he was afraid to say, ‘my wife,’ thinking, ‘the men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.’ And it came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimlech king of the Philistines looked out through a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah. – Now Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the Lord blessed him, and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy. -- Then Abimelech said to Isaac, ‘Go away from us, for you are too powerful for us.’ And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settled there.” Genesis 26:16-17


Isaac learned from his father, Abraham. As parents, we may live through a life lesson and then try to teach it to our children. Children will do as you do and watch to see if the values you talk are in harmony with what you do. Regardless, God may still bless, as he did Isaac. For God’s love and forgiveness is not dependent on our obedience but on our helpless dependence on Him and His sacrifice for us.



Take care to know God’s Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene



PS: Continue to pray for: Fred’s wife, Nancy, to recover from a near critical head injury, Rachael for hope & clarity of purpose; Nancy’s recovery from brain surgery; Adrian with life changes; Barb to find satisfying work. Isaias’ mission work in Philippines. Tim & Barb to be encouraged. God’s grace on USA. Billy & Michelle for recovery. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack, Adrian’s ageing uncle. Praise for safe return of Michael & Diane.

Obedience

“Now there was a famine in the land besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. And I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statues and My laws.’” Genesis 26:1-5



To obey is to do what you are told to do and like “don’t think of a pink elephant”, typically when we are told to do something or not to do something, there is some part of us that would rather do anything else than obey (unless of course it means we will be harmed or disadvantaged if we do/don’t do). We learn this from the beginning.


When we come to Christ and make a decision to put Him and His desires above our own there is a new obedience that fills us as the Holy Spirit moves within our hearts to remind us of His will for us. We obey for love or fear; and there are consequences and rewards for obedience as Isaac and those before him learned.


Take care to know God’s Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Continue to pray for: Fred’s wife, Nancy, to recover from a near critical head injury, Rachael for hope & clarity of purpose; Nancy’s recovery from brain surgery; Adrian with life changes; Barb to find satisfying work. Isaias’ mission work in Philippines. Tim & Barb to be encouraged. God’s grace on USA. Billy & Michelle for recovery. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack, Adrian’s ageing uncle. Praise for safe return of Michael & Diane.

Provision

"So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. And on the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. And Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship and return to you.' and Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father!' And he said, 'Here I am my son.' And he said, 'Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' And Abraham said, 'God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.' So the two of them walked on together." Genesis 22:3-8

It is impossible for any of us to imagine the heaviness and dread, mixed with faith and hope that filled the heart of Abraham. Sometimes we are asked to be ready, to prepare, to hourney where we do not see how we can survive, yet God DOES provide for us for His purposes, even those that remain forever mysterious and pointless to us.

Take care to know God's Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Pray for: Fred's wife to recover from near critical head injury, Rachael for hope & Clarity of purpose; Nancy's recovery from brain surgery; Adrian with life changes; Barb to find satisfying work; Isaias mission work in Philippines; Jo in NZ for her new direction. Tim and Barb to be encouraged; Michael & Diane for travelling mercies. God's grace on USA; Billy & Michelle for recovery; wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack (Adrian's ageing uncle).