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"Cause us to hear Your lovingkindness for on You do we lean and in You do we trust. Cause us to know the way wherein we should walk, for we lift up our inner self to You." Psalm 143:8
"Cause us to hear Your lovingkindness for on You do we lean and in You do we trust. Cause us to know the way wherein we should walk, for we lift up our inner self to You." Psalm 143:8
3 comments:
I recently read The Pursuit of God in the Company of Friends by Richard Lamb, and one part was about how salt and light are corporate images. One grain of salt or one photon of light is ineffective on its own. On the other hand if all the grains of salt stick together in the saltshaker, they are useless. Lamb also mentioned that the city on a hill image implies that Christians should be distinguished from the world, in it but not of it.
In Acts, verses 25-27 popped out at me. "Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not...He tried to reconcile [two Israelites]...but the man...said, 'Who made you ruler and judge over us?'" I think a lot of times I try to do heroic things for God and for other people, which is really pointless if they are not things God wants me to do.
I want to laugh at Esau for getting a third wife after learning that the first two displeased his father, but I'm sure I've done something similar before, trying to fix a problem using my own foolish ideas but only making it worse.
I'm a little confused while reading Genesis...so Jacob gets his father's blessing and God's blessing after deceiving his father? And in 25:6 it mentions Abraham's concubines...can someone help me out?
It is interesting in Matthew 5:15 where it says Neither do men light a candle, and put it undera bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Jesus is telling us that a candle that is put under a bushel cannot effectively do what candles are meant to do, which is to give light. But candles that are put under a bushel not only cannot serve their purpose, but without oxygen, just extinguish and die. Our Christianity is similar to this, because if we hide our hoard the good news, we not only are not serving God's purpose for us, but our faith will eventually die out.
In Acts 7:1, when Stephen is accused of many things, he uses the opporutnity, not to defend himself and salvage his reputation, but to preach God's word and shed light to all that are in the house. We must preach God's word in all situations, whether they are comfortable or not, despite how we might have to sacrifice ourselves in the process.
Gloria, I also found that really confusing, so I checked with my handy footnotes :]. I think that God's original plan, and command to Isaac is that Jesus' seedline be carried out through Jacob. The Lord says unto Rebekah in Gen 25:23, "Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger." Isaac, in attempting to give the blessing unto Esau instead of Jacob, was actually going against God's initial plan and disobeying His command. He also loved Esau for a weird reason, because "he did eat of his venison" (Gen 25:28) So Isaac loved Esau because Esau brought home tasty meat. Jacob, in tricking his father, was actually being obedient to his mother. Rebekah, in tricking Isaac, was being obedient to God's initial plan. I think that Jacob and Rebekah were not really sinning, but that God used them in order to put his plans back to the right place. Even if Isaac had not been tricked in this way, the blessing would have fallen onto Jacob anyway, because no man can thwart God's plans. Hope that helps :]
I have no comment on the concubines. I always thought it was weird that adultery was so common back in times of the Old Testament, including among people who were used greatly by the Lord.
In genesis, I was just struck by how God has appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob individually in order to reinforce His convenant with them. And the idea that a blessing and birthright was so important in those days. I really am awed by how intimate God is with His people in those days and how their enemies can be frightened of them for fear of their God.
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