" Spiritual Shortsightedness"

The Birth of Esau and Jacob


19Isaac was the son of Abraham, 20and he was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel. She was also the sister of Laban, the Aramean from northern Syria. [a] Almost twenty years later, 21Rebekah still had no children. So Isaac asked the LORD to let her have a child, and the LORD answered his prayer. 22Before Rebekah gave birth, she knew she was going to have twins, because she could feel them inside her, fighting each other. She thought, "Why is this happening to me?" Finally, she asked the LORD why her twins were fighting, 23and he told her:  "Your two sons will become two separate nations. [b] The younger of the two will be stronger, and the older son will be his servant."  24When Rebekah gave birth, 25the first baby was covered with red hair, so he was named Esau. [c] 26The second baby grabbed on to his brother's heel, so they named him Jacob. [d] Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

27As Jacob and Esau grew older, Esau liked the outdoors and became a good hunter, while Jacob settled down and became a shepherd. 28Esau would take the meat of wild animals to his father Isaac, and so Isaac loved him more, but Jacob was his mother's favorite son.  29One day, Jacob was cooking some stew, when Esau came home hungry 30and said, "I'm starving to death! Give me some of that red stew right now!" That's how Esau got the name "Edom." [e] 31Jacob replied, "Sell me your rights as the first-born son." [f] 32"I'm about to die," Esau answered. "What good will those rights do me?"  33But Jacob said, "Promise me your birthrights, here and now!" And that's what Esau did. 34Jacob then gave Esau some bread and some of the bean stew, and when Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and left, showing how little he thought of his rights as the first-born.  Gen. 25: 19-34 (CEV)


Question?


Do you ever feel as though you are missing out on God’s rich blessings? Certainly hardship is a part of life, and we can’t have everything we ask to receive. But if we act foolishly, we might also miss out on some of the good things the Lord has in mind to give us.

That is exactly what happened with Esau in today’s passage. He was famished when he returned from a hunting trip. His brother Jacob offered a bowl of soup in exchange for Esau’s birthright. And the trade was accepted. Doesn’t it seem foolish that this older brother would make such a swap? Yet we, too, can give up what is excellent for temporary satisfaction, if we’re not careful—that is, if we are spiritually shortsighted.

A person acting in this way exhibits certain characteristics. For one thing, he makes decisions based on today, without considering tomorrow’s consequences. Next, he is blind to life’s essential values, giving higher priority to his appetites and emotions than to the Lord. In addition, he’s willing to sacrifice what is lasting for something that brings only fleeting satisfaction. Similarly, he focuses on things that are temporal and not eternal. Finally, he makes decisions in times of physical, emotional, or spiritual weakness.

At the time, it may seem desirable to base a decision upon an immediate want. But are you willing to pay the price for that kind of shortsightedness? It will never satisfy your heart. Instead, rely on God’s Word for truth, and let His Spirit guide you in making every choice.


Be Blessed & Be a Blessing to One another!
 
Dawn

"WHY GOD CLOSES DOORS"

23) Lord, I know that our lives don't really belong to us. We can't control our own lives.  24) Lord, correct me, but be fair.  Don't punish me in your anger,  or you will destroy me. Jer. 10: 23-24 (NCV)


A blockaded opportunity is a useful teaching tool. God’s ultimate objective is to mold us into the image of His Son, and toward that end, He at times prevents us from doing or having something we desire.

1. Closed doors prevent mistakes. Just because a path is clear does not mean it is the one God intends for us to follow. Sometimes we won’t have the information we need to make a wise decision, so He bars the way either spiritually or physically. The Holy Spirit can see the whole road map for our lives, which is why we are to follow His guidance.

2. Closed doors redirect our walk. Rest assured, God never leaves a willing servant with nothing to do. The alternate opportunity He has in mind will yield bigger fruit, more satisfaction, and greater glory for Him.

3. Closed doors test faith and build perseverance. Waiting for the Lord to speak or act is hard, particularly when our desire has been denied. But we’ll learn wisdom, patience, and trust by pausing prayerfully until He reveals His will.

4. Closed doors buy us time. We are not always as prepared as we’d like to think. God may temporarily hold shut an opportunity for service until a believer is properly equipped for kingdom work.

In spite of the repeated use of “closed door” in this devotion, the real message is that God opens doors. He has created a perfect pathway for us to follow. Keep your feet on it, and you will walk over thresholds leading to service, satisfaction, and glory for your Lord.
 
BY PASTOR CHARLES STANLEY
 
BE BLESSED!
 
DAWN

"God Makes Us to Be Like Him"

(26-28) Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.  (29-30) God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.
(31-32) So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?  Romans 8: 28-32 (MSG)


The Lord manifests His love for mankind in many ways, including a beautiful planet filled with creation’s wonders, the promise of His care and protection, and an offer of eternal life with Him. But have you ever considered that God also shows His care through the transformation of His children? The Bible tells us that He is in the process of conforming believers to the image of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29).

In the beginning, God’s design was to make humanity in His image (Gen. 1:26). But the plan seemed disrupted when Adam and Eve succumbed to temptation. Of all the privileges they forfeited—Eden’s perfect environment, harmony in relationships, and a pain-free life—the greatest loss was their likeness to the Creator. A sinful man and woman do not look much like their holy God. Since each of us has inherited the first couple’s “flesh” nature ( a mindset that opposes the will of God), we don’t closely resemble Him either.

God wasn’t surprised by this turn of events. His plan went on just as He’d always intended, in that He still provided salvation for mankind. Through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, sins are forgiven and the sinner is reborn as a holy and blameless person. The Holy Spirit enters each new believer’s life and begins molding the renewed heart and mind into Christlikeness.

Like any good Father, God is pleased by a child who resembles Him. He is glorified when we put Scripture into practice and act like Him, talk like Him, and live like Him. What could bless the Lord’s heart more than for you to bear His likeness to those around you?
 
**FROM PASTOR CHARLES STANLEY**
 
BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!
 
DAWN

"How to Handle Criticism"

“I cannot come down…” Nehemiah 6:3

Nehemiah teaches us three important truths about handling criticism:

(1) Expect it. When spectators watch a race, where do they focus their attention? On the front runners! Someone said, “Criticism is something you can avoid easily; by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” But those three options don't work. So Nehemiah answered his critics, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down… “ (Nehemiah 6:3). Don't step down to the level of your critics.

(2) Evaluate it. “Sanballat… sent to me, saying, "Come, let us meet… " But they thought to do me harm” (Nehemiah 6:2). When people say, “I'm going to tell you something for your own good,” often they've nothing good to tell you. When you're criticized, ask yourself: (a) 'Who criticized me?' “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6). Has this person earned the right to speak into your life? (b) “Why was this criticism given? Out of a personal hurt, or for my benefit?” Hurting people hurt people; so maintain the right attitude, looking for the grain of truth, making the necessary changes, and taking the high road.

(3) Outlive it. When Nehemiah's friends told him to run and hide, he replied, '"I will not"… So the wall was finished… in fifty-two days… when all our enemies heard of it… they perceived that this work was done by our God' (Nehemiah 6:11-16). Sometimes you're in more danger from the counsel of your friends than you are from the criticism of your enemies. That's when you must know who you are, what God's called you to do, and outlive the criticism!

“At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.” 2 Timothy 4:16-18
 
BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!
 
DAWN

"LIVING BY FAITH"

(16-17)It's news I'm most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God's powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God's way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: "The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives." Rom. 1: 16-17 (MSG)

In Scripture, we read that strong faith is essential for facing life’s uncertainties. It prompts us to look beyond our trials to the One who’s promised to guide and sustain us.

As trust in the Lord increases, obedience becomes a higher priority than pleasure or profit. Moses’ life illustrates this—he chose to forsake the advantage of Egyptian royalty in order to be identified with God’s people. Placing his future in the Almighty’s hands, he became the Israelites’ leader and gave precedence to the Lord’s interests over his own.

As devotion deepens, a second outcome is spiritual discernment—believers develop an ability to look beyond the external appearance to see things as God does. The attractiveness of sin will decrease, and its offer of satisfaction will be recognized as false. At the same time, eternal matters will become more valuable to us. Moses left his livelihood of 40 years to become God’s appointed leader. Pursuing the Lord’s plan became more important than anything else in his life. Despite his misgivings and sense of inadequacy, he placed trust in his heavenly Father.

Finally, a growing faith will not permit misunderstandings and criticisms to deter us from pursuing God’s plan. The Hebrew slaves didn’t make it easy for Moses to lead, but his beliefs enabled him to move forward.

The Hebrew leader’s faith became the defining quality of his life. The Lord wants the same to be true of you. By trusting God deeply, you, like Moses, will be able to meet each day’s challenges with courage and determination.

We are made right with God by placing our faith in

Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes,

no matter who we are.

Rom 3: 21-22 (NLT)

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!

DAWN

"God's Mirror"

Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was

given, for its purpose is to keep people from having

excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.

 Romans 3:19

Some people say, "Well, I don't need Jesus Christ because I live by the Ten Commandments."  My response to someone who said that would be, "Let's start by asking if you can name the Ten Commandments."

"Uh, thou shalt recycle?"  "No. . . . Have you broken any of them?" "Well, I don't know."  Those who want to live by the law are in trouble, because the Bible says, "For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws" (James 2:10). God's law was never given to make a person righteous; it is a moral mirror that shows us our true state before God, to drive us into the open arms of Jesus. The law says, "You are not good enough. You need God's help."

The Bible compares God's law to a mirror. Mirrors are helpful, because they reveal truth to us. If you go out to lunch with your friends and don't know why they seem to be laughing as you are talking, then they probably haven't told you something that you need to know. When you go into the restroom, you realize that when you put your lipstick on in the dark that morning, you missed your lips. Your friends didn't tell you the truth about yourself, but the mirror did. So God's law was not given to make you righteous, but to show you that you have fallen short of it.

Romans 3:19 says, "Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God." Everyone who has been exposed to the truth of God's law will be held responsible.

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!!
 
DAWN

"A Freely Chosen Path"

Hell was not made for people; hell was created for the devil and his angels (see Matthew 25:41). It was never God's intention to send a person to hell. He does everything He can to keep us out of it. But God has given us a free will. We have the ability to choose, and God will not violate that. If you want to go to heaven, then you will—if you put your faith in Christ. If you want to go to hell, then you will. It is your choice.


People will protest on that final day and say, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" (Matthew 7:22). And Jesus will sadly but firmly say, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (verse 23).

Some people might say, "Wait! I went to church on Sunday!" And, "Wait! I received communion!" And, "Wait! I was baptized." But Jesus will say, in effect, "But I never knew you. It was just a thing you did. We never had a relationship. You broke My commandments left and right. It's your own choice that you are facing."

It is not enough to say you believe in God. It is not enough to acknowledge that God exists. You need to turn from your sin and put your faith in Jesus Christ, and Him alone, as Savior and Lord.

As Timothy Keller said, "Hell is simply one's freely chosen path going on forever." If that is what you want, then that is what you will get. God wants you to go to heaven, but He will not force you. He gives you a choice, and it is up to you what you do with that choice.
 

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you,

that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing;

therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

— Deuteronomy 30:19

 BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!


DAWN