Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Jan 26th, 2023 Grown-Up and Disrespectful Children by Ashley Acosta

Today’s Passage – Exodus 19 – 21 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Luke 7 – 8; Proverbs 26; Psalms 126 – 130)

Read the “0126 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – “Come As You Are,“ and “Sound Advice“

“1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” (Exodus 20:1-12)

“13 Thou shalt not kill. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15 Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” (Exodus 20:13-17)

Here we see where God meets with Moses on Mount Sinai and gives the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel. We see the process that goes into them even receiving these words, so we understand the importance of God speaking them. This is such a pivotal moment in the Old Testament. These were the fundamental principles that God sent for them to follow.

For us today the ten commandments are a reminder of the standards of Holy living required by God. Obviously, things are different in the New Testament, and we are under grace and not the Law; but God definitely puts a huge importance on them throughout the New Testament and refers to them often. There are so many nuggets of truth to go through here, but one that God has really been convicting me about is the extreme importance God puts on honoring your parents. Sometimes as an adult we tend to think that this commandment is just for children or teenagers, and we are somehow exempt from this commandment. God has been tugging on my heart recently that I am not honoring my parents today. It’s really sad when you see the older generations being treated so poorly by their children. Once we become adults we suddenly think we really know so much and almost look at our parents as less than, or we have a condescending tone to any of their remarks. Maybe we have been hurt by our parents, or maybe they aren’t walking with the Lord. God doesn’t give us a list of exceptions for not honoring them, He says, “Honor your parents.”

As our parents get older it’s even more important to take care of them and honor them. My husband has parents that are now my parents. I think God wants me to honor and respect them too, and not discourage my husband with any negative thoughts I have. Sometimes, I don’t always agree with things my parents do, but the absolute last thing I need to be doing is talk poorly about them or bash them to other people, even if it’s my siblings. It’s also extremely prideful of me to think that I am perfect and my parents just don’t have it together like me. God put this in the Ten commandments for a reason; it’s important to Him. Let’s stop rolling our eyes or acting like our parents are less than. If we were little children we would be extremely disrespectful in doing that, but as adults we feel no remorse. Maybe, someone is hurting today and your relationship with your parents is not good. Perhaps you hurt them or they hurt you. You need to restore your relationship with your parents before it’s too late. There is also a promise here that God is telling us: IF we honor our parents our days will be long on the earth. He is equating this commandment to Life and Death; that’s how serious it is. Let’s honor our parents in every stage of our life.

Jan 25th, 2023 Remember Sunday?

Today’s Passage – Exodus 16 – 18 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Luke 5 – 6; Proverbs 25; Psalms 121 – 125

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 34:1 – 4

Read a previous post from this passage – “Sound Advice.”

Read the “0125 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.” – (Exodus 16:29-30)

I remember when I was a young boy just about everything was shut down on Sunday. The supermarkets were closed, the department stores were closed, the home improvement stores were closed; it seemed like everything was closed. I remember when the first supermarket in our area opened up on Sunday. It was big news. Soon, all of the other supermarkets started opening. At first, Sunday was the worst sales day of the week for the retailers. I remember the managers telling me that it was a waste of time to even open because they didn’t do enough business to justify it. Fast forward to today and Sunday is the best sales day of the week. How did we ever get away from Sunday being a day when just about everyone had the day off, and most people went to church? I bet those businessmen that started it all thought that it would be a way for them to get a little ahead of their competitors. I wonder if they would look back on their decision and consider it a good thing? Come to think of it, the particular company that started it in our area is bankrupt today. What a shame.

In our passage today, God says that He would supply the Israelites with enough manna on the sixth day so that they would not have to gather it on the seventh. Now, before you fuss at me: I am well aware that the Sabbath for the nation Israel was Saturday, not Sunday. However, for Christians, the day that we set apart for worship and rest has traditionally been Sunday, the day of the resurrection. I think America was a much better place when she observed a day of rest on Sunday. Just about everybody went to church, with very few people who absolutely had to work.

The devil and the world have made it very difficult for Christians to be faithful to the Lord in setting aside Sunday as the Lord’s day. It has always been my conviction to keep Sunday as the day that our family worships the Lord. We have always made it a practice to attend both the morning and the evening services at our church. It is the Lord’s day, not just the Lord’s morning, and we are supposed to gather together “so much the more as we see the day approaching.” God has always been faithful. He has always met all of my family’s needs. We haven’t lost a thing by keeping Sunday as a day set apart from the rest of the week for the purpose of rest and worship. However, if you are like me, you may not be getting much rest on Sunday because you spend much of the day in the work of the ministry. I actually kept track of my hours on a recent Sunday. My day started at 4 AM and I finished just after 9:30 PM, with only about a half an hour lunch break. Therefore, if I am going to be in obedience to Lord’s principle of resting one day out of seven, I must choose another day.

Christian, if I can offer you one piece of advice from this passage, it would be this: set aside Sunday as the Lord’s day. Do everything in your power to get the day off from work. It may take a while to arrange your affairs so that this can be done, but work toward it. Go to church and then spend time together as a family. Eat a meal together on Sunday afternoon. Take a nap, or maybe have a little fellowship with some family and friends.  Make Sunday a special day; a day that you look forward to all the week long. Don’t worry about how you will be able to meet all of your obligations due to the fact that you have eliminated a day of earning income. Remember God is able to give you enough in six days to cover the seventh. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God” and He will take care of everything else.

I hope to see you this Sunday at church!

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” – (Hebrews 10:23-25)

Jan 24th, 2023 When I Came Forth Out of Egypt by Issan Acosta

Today’s Passage – Exodus 13 – 15 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Luke 3 – 4; Proverbs 24; Psalms 116 – 120)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Isaiah 51:11

Read the “0124 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from this passage – “He Brought Us This Far” and “Quit Griping!“

“And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.” (Exodus 13:8-10)

One of my favorite moments that I see repeated through out the Old Testament is the importance placed on memorials.

We see this with the Passover, Altars Built, Rainbows, the 12 Stones taken from the Jordan River and we even see it with names given. In this passage of scripture we see Moses preparing the children of Israel for the crossing of the Red Sea out of Egypt. We see the beautiful picture here of the believer being called out of the world(Egypt) and identifying with Christ through believers baptism(crossing of the Red Sea). Moses used this critical moment in the lives of the Israelites to remind them about the importance of keeping this memorial from generation to generation.

Some Christians are blessed to have a godly Christian heritage. Others may be a first generation Christian. Whatever category you may fall in, it is important that you pass down the “Faith of our Fathers” to future generations. There are three key areas that we can all use to influence our children

Your Salvation Testimony

Sharing your testimony with your children is such an effective way of sharing the gospel with them. We all have a unique and personal way on how we came to Christ. Being able to hear how someones life was changed in a moment in time is something that has always been eye opening for me. It is such a powerful moment, especially when you are able to to tie it to the individual you are sharing it with. Never get over the joy of your salvation!

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. (Psalm 51:12 – 14)

Your Bible(s)

Being able to pass on your Bible(s) to your loved ones Is something so special. There is something very special about your children seeing your spiritual development through notes written on the margins of your Bible or favorite verses underlined. Teaching our children the word of God is so important in preserving our Christian heritage. 

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)

Your Church Involvement

Worshiping God in church together as a family is one the best built in memory makers we can provide our children. Encourage your children to engage in every part of the service. There are so many teaching moments that we can share with our children that involve the church. Look for them and you will find them! 

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)

Jan 21st, 2023 A Dry Thirsty Land – The Saturday Morning Post

Today’s Passage – Exodus 4 – 6 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Mark 13 – 14; Proverbs 21; Psalms 101 – 105

Read the “0121 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.” (Exodus 4:9)

Good morning. Did you know that in Philadelphia – the city of brotherly love – in 2022, crime in the city ranked 162% higher than the national average? Violent crime was 420% higher. I had read that about 10 years ago, a Vietnam War veteran had his jaw broken and his skull fractured by a youth gang. What happened? America has gone dry: it’s a dry land. And it’s because people’s hearts have gotten harder.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2Timothy 3:1-7)

Many of us are to blame. We are afraid to stand on what the Word of God says. We are afraid to speak out and say that any Jew, Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Atheist, Agnostic, Unbeliever, Charismatic, Evolutionist, Secular Humanist, self-proclaimed Christian, or anybody else not mentioned in these groups are going to Hell if they have not received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. This is not being hateful to any group. This is not a hate crime. This is what God’s Word says in 1John chapter 5…

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1John 5:11-12)

Do you know what a real hate crime is? Allowing souls to slip into hell without giving them the Gospel: telling them about Jesus. Even if you are shy, you can still leave a Gospel tract. Leave one with a tip when you dine out. Give one to the gas station attendant when you get gas in your car or truck. You could even mail some out to addresses in the phone book. Can you afford 60 cents a week? That’s 52 people you could reach with God’s plan for salvation in one year.

Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission [of sins]. We need to pour out the water of God’s Word on this dry land, and let the people know that the blood of Jesus cleanses you from all sin.

“And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.” (Exodus 4:9)

“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; (20) And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:19-20)

Peace.

Jan 20th, 2023 The Call of God

Today’s Passage – Exodus 1 – 3 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Mark 11 – 12; Proverbs 20; Psalms 96 – 100)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 121

Read the “0120 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – “Growing Through Affliction“

“And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.” (Exodus 3:4)

Forgive me for reminiscing a little this morning, but when I read this passage of Scripture dealing with the call of God to Moses, I cannot help but remember the times that I heard clearly the voice of God as He was directing my life. The times that I will share with you happened after I had already trusted Christ as my Saviour, and after I was also already serving Him and growing in Him the best I knew how through my local church. Notice in the passage that Moses also had to get close to God in order for him to hear God’s call.

The first time in my life that I felt God call me was when I was attending a evening service back at Ocean County Baptist Church many years ago. I was probably 25 years old at the time and had only been a Christian at that point for a short while. Anyway, we had a guest missionary speaker that night. I must confess that I do not remember the preacher’s name, or the place where he was a missionary. I don’t even remember his message title or text. What I do remember, however, was his invitation. It went something like this: “If God were to call you to do something, and He were to make it clear to you that it was His will, would you surrender?” To me, that was a no brainer. The man was not asking me to surrender to some specific place or ministry at that moment; he was merely posing the possibility of a call, and asking what my response would be. I went forward, and frankly I thought the entire congregation would have walked the aisle with me; but when I got up after praying, I was shocked to see that there were only two of us up at the front. At that time in my life, I had no idea what God might do with me, but I told Him that night that I was willing to go “if” He were to call me. I often think back on that moment as the beginning point of God directing me to where I am today.

The second time, I heard God’s call clearly was when He called me to go to Bible College. I had already been to college once and had a degree in business administration, and I was perfectly content with just serving with my pastor at my home church while I learned what I needed to know there. I remember my pastor and I agreeing that I should take some correspondance classes so that I would not have to uproot my family and go off to school. God, however, had other plans. While I was attending a conference down in Longview, Texas, God revealed clearly that He wanted me to be trained at Texas Baptist College (now Texas Independent Seminary). I do not regret that move for one minute. God taught me much there, but the main thing that He taught me was how to trust Him.

The third time I heard the voice of God in my life was when God called me to be the pastor of Jersey Shore Baptist Church. I never candidated at any other church. I really didn’t even candidate here. God, through a very miraculous set of circumstances placed me here. That was over twenty-one years ago now and one thing is for sure, knowing that I was genuinely “called of God” has been the thing that has kept me going for all these years. There have been many blessings along the way, and there have also been some difficult days; but I know that I am exactly where God wants me. The certainty of God’s call is what helps keep me going.

What is God calling you to do? Maybe He has called you to do something in the past and you have not heeded that call. the Bible tells us “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29). God has not changed his mind about His call on your life; He is just waiting for you to surrender to that call.

Jan 19th, 2023 God Wants To Use You – By Camille Stahl

Today’s Passage – Genesis 48 – 50 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Mark 9 – 10; Proverbs 19; Psalms 91 – 95)

Read the “0119 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Genesis 49:33  And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

Genesis 50:1-3  And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.  (2)  And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.  (3)  And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.

When we read about people in the Bible, we believe they lived perfect lives. Sometimes we think what we read are just stories, but they’re not. They were real people who had real problems like us who God greatly used. So lets look at the family of Abraham to Joseph.

When God put Adam and Eve in the Garden, everything was perfect until the fall. Then we get to the Tower of Babel were God scatters the rebellious world. In the second half of Genesis, we read about one family who God made a promise to. God is going to use this family to restore humanity back to the Garden and His original plan. So Abraham had Isaac, Isaac had Jacob and Jacob had twelve sons. In each of these generations God assured them of His blessing of making them a great nation. So because of this great family, one would think they would be a great example to follow to become a great Christian. But lets look at how dysfunctional this family really was.

Abraham – Gave his wife Sarah, away to other men, so he could save his own life.

Sarah – Got impatient and tells Abraham to have a child with her servant. This caused problems in the family that are still going on today.

Isaac- Then had Esau and Jacob and things seem to be going well until Jacob deceives Isaac and receives the Blessing which belonged to Esau.

Jacob – He had twelve sons and loved his eleventh son more then the others. This caused problems for the brothers, in so much that they wanted to kill him. So instead of killing him, Joseph, the eleventh son, was sold into slavery.

And to shorten the story, we know that God elevated Joseph over the land of Egypt under Pharaoh.

Jacob, Israel, had a funeral like no other besides Pharaoh. The people mourned for him seventy day and they mourned for Pharaoh seventy-two days.

But Jacob was a liar and deceiver until we get to Genesis 50:1-3, a man who was greatly used of God and loved by the people.

Not a perfect family, but God still used them all and kept His promise.

When man keeps turning to evil, God directs man back to HIM.

So how about us. To many times we convince ourselves that we’re not worthy to be use of God because of what we did in the past. There is nothing we’ve done that could stop us from being used of God. It’s important to remember who we are in Christ. We are a child of the King of Kings and He loves us more than we can ever imagine.

What is God calling you to do that seems unattainable?

Remember this

Philipians 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

TRUST GOD!

Jan 14th, 2023 Ye Shall Have – The Saturday Morning Post

Today’s Passage – Genesis 36 – 37 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Matthew 27 – 28; Proverbs 14; Psalms 66 – 70

Read the “0114 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.” (Genesis 37:23-28)

“And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. (12) And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. (13) And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, (14) That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: 15) And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out. (16) And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. (17) And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: 18) And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. (19) And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. (20) And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.” (Genesis 39:11-20)

Good morning. Poor Joseph, Hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, accused of hitting on his master’s wife, thrown into prison, woe is him. When I read this passage I immediately thought of my verse:

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

When we walk with the LORD we know that bad things will happen. The world hates God, so why do you think it’s weird that the world should hate Christians also. We push for the truth; the world says truth is relative (what’s true for you. May not be true for me). No, truth will always be truth: it is unmovable. If truth were to change, it would cease from being truth and become a lie. The world will lie to a child and tell him, or her, that he can become a girl, and she can be come a boy. We say that God made you for a purpose, and He made you a boy or girl for that purpose. And then there is the mutilation of the boy or girl by so-called doctors who are supposed to preserve life, not destroy it.

“Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! (2) It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” (Luke 17:1-2)

And what about the politicians who support this idiotic thinking. They also get parents to agree with their lies.

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

What will happen to them? What will happen when they have to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, and give account?

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23)

Their only escape is to receive Jesus as their personal Saviour. Pray that they will hear and embrace the Good News that Jesus died for their sins, and they will become a new creature. And pray for the safety of the children.

Peace!

Jan 13th, 2023 Worried Over Nothing

Today’s Passage – Genesis 33 – 35 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Matthew 25 – 26; Proverbs 13; Psalms 61 – 65)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 55:17

Read the “0113 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from today’s reading – “Lead On Softly;“ and “Boys Will Be Boys.“

“Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; … Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.” (Genesis 32:7, 11)

“And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.” (Genesis 33:4)

For twenty years Jacob lived with the fear that his brother Esau was going to kill him. His fear of Esau was likely part of the reason why Jacob spent so many years in Padanaram working for his father-in-law in a less than ideal arrangement. But when Jacob finally got fed up with Laban and his in-laws Jacob determined to go back to Canaan and face his brother. For more than two decades Jacob had the fear of his brother in the back of his mind, but all of his worries and fears were for nothing. Not only did Esau not want to kill Jacob, He actually welcomed him in love.

I remember when I worked as a salesman in my father’s wholesale candy and nut business. My job was to service supermarkets, making sure they had enough product, etc. For most of the accounts I took care of, I would need to be in the store at least once per week. Every once in a while, I got backed up and could not get to the stores, sometimes for two or three weeks. I would dread facing those store managers when I was late, and I always imagined the worst-case scenario. In my head, all kinds of bad stuff was going to happen – “the stores are going to be completely empty or a mess,” or “the manager is going to fire my company as a supplier” – but rarely, if ever, did my fears ever prove to be true.

Jacob’s fear of Esau did not go away until he faced him head on, and your fears will not go away either until you face your problems. Don’t allow your problems (or your worry about them) to become larger over time by not dealing with them. Jacob finally resolved his problem with Esau, but it was only after a few things happened:

1. Jacob could no longer run from Esau. God made Jacob’e situation so unpleasant in Padanaram, that Jacob finally realized that he would be better off going back home.
2. Jacob spent a lot of time on his knees getting right with God. Much of Genesis 32 records Jacob praying and preparing to face his brother.
3. Jacob made things right with Esau. Esau was legitimately wronged by Jacob twenty years earlier. Jacob and his mother had deceived Isaac into giving him the blessing that was intended for Esau. Notice in Genesis 33:10 – 11, however, that Jacob wants to make things right. He wants to give the blessing to his brother.

“And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.” (Genesis 33:10-11)

So if you are worried about something, face it head on, but only after you have thoroughly prayed about it and are willing to do whatever is necessary to fix it.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6)

Jan 10th, 2023 Savoury Meat – Guest Post by Wade Thompson

Today’s Passage – Genesis 27 – 28 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Matthew 19 – 20; Proverbs 10; Psalms 46 – 50)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 48:1 & 2

Read the “0110 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – “A Disfunctional Family,” “I am with Thee,” “The House of God” and “Savory Meat“

“18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. 20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me. 21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. 22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.” (Genesis 27:18-23)

In Genesis 27, we read the very familiar passage of Jacob deceiving his father, Isaac. We see a level of treachery that no one would ever want to see in their family. As I read this passage God stirred a couple of thoughts in my head about the New Testament Church Age that we live in. Just as Jacob was Esau’s brother, we in the family of God have our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

1.     Jacobs Subtlety 

Jacob was willing to go to great lengths just to deceive his brother for his birthright and also to deceive his father for his blessing. What lengths are we willing to go to do the same to our brothers and sisters in Christ? We as Christians are supposed to work together in unity:

 “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and [that] there be no divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.)” (1 Corinthians 1:10)

A lot of times all we do is strive for recognition, praise, and the “Blessings of God.” The problem is when we do that we bulldoze everyone in the way to get there and miss what it’s all about.

“And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.)” (Genesis 27:35)

The devil is all about subtlety; if we are not careful, he will lure us through pride into dividing the church family. 

2.     Isaac’s Lack of Discernment 

Isaac was very fast to just give the blessing to Jacob without discerning who it was.

 “And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, the voice [is] Jacob’s voice, but the hands [are] the hands of Esau.” (Genesis 27:22)

To Isaac, Jacob smelled, felt, and cooked like Esau, but he sounded like Jacob. Just as Isaac was deceived, Satan is out trying to deceive us.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

The devil will always try to trick you with a cheap replica. It will always seem just like the real thing but something is always off. That is why we need discernment from God, so when the devil tries to trick us, we will know it’s him and not God. 

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

The devil is very subtle. We saw that in the Garden, but because of the warnings in the Scriptures, we know that and need to have our guard up. We might just want to be lifted up, be recognized, and have praise, but don’t be fooled, the devil is using you to divide and sow strife in God’s church. 

3.     Esau’s Anger

Esau did everything he was supposed to do, he obeyed his father, went out hunting, cooked the meal, and brought it to his father, but his own brother went in before him and stole his blessing. In the Christian life there will be some point where someone you loved, someone who is close to you, wrongs you. Sometimes you are doing exactly what you are supposed to, and the betrayal still happens. In those situations, we cannot act out in anger 

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (Proverbs 16:32)

I think the best New Testament example of this is Jesus. Obviously being Christ, he never did anything wrong. He was doing all the things God commanded Him to do, yet there was still Judas. Jesus didn’t act out in anger but still loved judas. As Christians, we can’t control what others do to us, but we can control our reactions, sometimes the best thing to do after someone stabs us in the back is pull out the blade wipe off the blood and hand it back. If that person betrays or wrongs you and gets a reaction out of you, such as anger, your testimony and the cause of Christ is blasphemed. If you react in the love of Christ and “turn the other cheek,” the other person will see that and will not forget, and will see what it means to be a true Christian. As Christians, we need to live by the truths found in God’s Word because, as this passage spoke to me today about my life, His Word will do the same to you.