Would you obey what God told you to do?

Did God ask you to do something? Are you doubting? Do you have insecurity?  Lack of confidence? Fear of failure? Worries about an uncertain future?  If God told you to something do not let any of the above stop you from doing it. Why? The LORD says and it is recorded in Zechariah 4:6, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” You see it is not your might, ability or power that is going to make you successful in what God asked you to do.  Mark it- It is the LORD who will do it by His Spirit.

Obedience to God’s calling always involves taking a risk. You are venturing into something you have never done before. Not sure about because there are unseen, inexperienced and unknown elements in the step of faith and obedience to God. You won’t have anything else other than the Word of God that spoke to you. You have to walk on the Word and nothing else. It takes vulnerability and an aspect of risk in taking a step of faith in obedience.

Mathew 14:22-33 describes an incident of faith and obedience to the Lord. Jesus was walking on the water (on the lake) and coming to their boat. The disciples were in the boat buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. When the disciples saw someone walking on the lake, initially they thought it is a ghost and cried out in fear. However, Jesus immediately told them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Peter said to Jesus “if it is you, tell me to come to you on water.” Jesus replied, “Come.” Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water and came to Jesus. Don’t you agree when you walk on the lake, you are in a supernatural environment? Nobody walked on the water except Jesus Christ until then. Now Jesus is God and it is not a big deal for this to walk on the water. But for Peter, it is definitely a supernatural event. He did not know how he is going to walk on water. There is an unknown aspect but he stepped out from the boat on the word of Jesus. In short, peter walked on the word of Jesus. To be more specific, he was not walking on the water. But was walking on the word he heard from Jesus in full trust and obedience.

What made Peter different from other disciples? Peter was vulnerable and willing to take a risk in obedience to obey. Other disciples sat in the boat. They were not willing to take the risk. Now Peter can testify he walked on the water. No other human being can claim such an accomplishment in human history.

If you want to be a true follower of Jesus, you must be willing to act on His word. If God asked you to something, once you make sure, it was God who asked you to do it, then you have to step out in faith and obedience. Remember that old hymn, “trust and obey and there is no other way…”

When you think about the faith warriors that are listed in Hebrews 11 they all exhibited vulnerability and obedience to God. They were all ready to step into the unknown future based on His word only, although there was nothing to look forward at that time. They walked and acted on the Word of God. Think about Noah. He spent 120 long years of his life to building the ark, preparing for the big rain that God told him. It did not make human sense to him or anybody in his family or friends. Why? There was no rain happened on the earth until then. He was preaching people to enter into the boat to escape from death due to heavy rain from heaven. Now everybody must have ridiculed and mocked him. They must have thought he was a crazy fellow with some type of mental disease. However, it makes sense for him because God told him to do and he fully obeyed and did it. You see at the end his obedience and the risk he took in the midst of embarrassment and ridicule was paid off when heavy and not stopping rain poured out from heaven and all people except the ones who entered the ark in faith were destroyed in the rain.

Think about Abraham. God told him to leave from his country, and from his relatives and from his father’s house to the land which I will show you. (Genesis 12:1). A lot of unknown elements. Nothing to see in front of him. Much risk involved in leaving the familiar and to step into unfamiliar. However, Abraham took the risk of obedience and stepped out in faith. As God promised him in Genesis 12:2-3, God made him a great nation, God blessed him, his name became great, he became a blessing. God blessed those people who blessed him and his posterity and God cursed those who cursed his posterity. Finally, in and through Abraham, his lineage and the promised seed (Jesus Christ) all the families of the earth are blessed. As promised, the promised seed-Jesus- the savior of the whole world came through his lineage and the world is blessed by the savior. Look back the results and was the obedience of Abraham paid off? Yes, paid off in front of all our eyes. History testifies the faithfulness of God in and through the life of Abraham.

There were other great people who took the risk of obeying God in the midst of trials and heart-aching issues. Job is an example who took the risk of staying in faith in the midst of fiery trials. He experienced loss and severe trials like no one else may have ever encountered. But he did not sin against God or blame God but took the risk of staying with the Lord in faith (Job 1:22). He did not forsake his faith in God. That requires courage and stamina to remain faithful. All his doubts, frustrations and depression were paid off when the LORD restored the fortunes of Job twofold at the end. (Job 42:10-17).

You see, when God asks you do to something, it may not make much sense to you or the people around you. God gives you a dream. Those around you do not possess that wonderful dream from God. He asks you to walk on His word. It could not make logical sense to others around you. That is the risk- the risk of an unknown element. However, you ought to trust His word and step out in obedience and faith.

Henry Varley a British revivalist once told D.L Moody who was a shoe salesman these words- “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him.” D L Moody responded, “By God’s help, I am going to be that man.” The rest is the history God made out of him. He became the well know evangelist who attracted thousands and thousands of listeners in this crusades. According to Moody Bible Institute, Moody was the greatest evangelist of the 19th century.

We began this article by talking about Peter. Peter left everything to follow Jesus. He let Jesus use his boat to preach the sermon one morning after all-night fish-catching endeavor when he did not catch any fish. After hearing Jesus command to put his net into the deep water and let it down for a catch, he obeyed although he already worked all night, tired in the morning and did not catch any. Peter’s response to the command of Jesus is noteworthy, He said, Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but because you say so, I will let the nets down again. When he obeyed the word of the Lord Jesus, he got a great quantity of fish and because of the heaviness, the nets began to break. (Luke 5:1-7).

You see the all the fish were there in the lake all through the night. But they could not reach out to one of them although they tried their best. However, at the word of Jesus, they got a great quantity of fish. You see, Jesus has authority over nature, diseases, sickness, demons and devil and death. (Refer daily insights in teachbible.org on these points and read the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament section of the Bible) because He is the Son of God. He is the savior of the whole world. You can come to God, the Father, only through Jesus Christ. As Jesus Himself said, “”I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. Jesus said and it is reported in John 14:9, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus also said and it is reported in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.”

When they brought the boats to the land, Peter understood who Jesus is. He understood Jesus is God. Do you know what he did upon that awareness?  He left everything and followed Jesus from that point onwards. (Luke 5:11).

Can you be vulnerable to God’s calling? Would you obey God if He asked you to do something? Think-what is that He asks you to do these days? Make sure you heard from him and then walk on His word. As  Henry Varley said and it is still true, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to  him.” By God’s help, you can be that man. It does not say what God can do with an educated or wealthy or healthy man. Nothing like that. What God can do with simply a man fully consecrated to Him.

Remember: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. God asks you to do- not based on your might, power or strength. He gives might, power, strength and all needed requirements by His Holy Spirit. You will accomplish and finish what God asked you to do by His Spirit’s might, power, and ability.

The Lost Son thought he was missing the fun of life. Read on and discover the eternal truth about God, your perfect Father in heaven.

Luke 15:1-24

“To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home, even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’
“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.” Luke 15:11-24.

Jesus, why do you associate with sinners?

Our this weekly insight begins with the statement “to illustrate the point further.” What is the point Jesus tried to illustrate? You see verse 1 of the chapter records the truth that the tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus. Did you note it says, “notorious sinners”? Dictionary says notorious sinners ‘famous or well known, typically for some bad quality or deed.’ People with a bad name or reputation or deep-rooted sinners often came to and listened to Jesus. Pharisees, the so-called religious and pious people in Jewish religion did not like it. On top of that, verse 2 says the Pharisees saw Jesus associating with such bad reputable people and listen – even eating with them. They wanted Jesus to associate with them and eat with them- not with notorious sinners. Therefore the question is why notorious sinners and tax collectors came to Jesus and why did he eat with them?

In order to illustrate why he did this, Jesus said the parable of lost sheep and lost a coin. Now he is telling them a third parable-the parable of the lost son. Jesus repeating the parables to make sure they understood the point of why He did what He did.

The parable touches the heart of all people, doesn’t it?

The parable of the lost son, I believe, is the best parable Jesus ever said. In addition, this is the best parable or short story ever told in human history. The two parables we studied in the last two weeks-the lost sheep and the lost coin-touches our inner being or soul. The parable of this week- the lost son-identifies human nature and that is why we love this parable and so dear to our hearts and minds. Every time when we read or hear this parable, it goes deep down to our soul and has the divine power to produce divine results from our innermost being. We all know it reveals the truth of humanity because we all know someone in our life who were rebellious and went astray-a child, a friend, a brother or someone close to us. We experienced it in our lives.

Something was going on in the younger son’s heart for a long time.

Jesus said a man had two sons. The younger son came and told to this father that he wants his share of father’s estate/inheritance right now. He did not want to wait until the death of the father. In fact, he was saying, I do not care you live or die. I want my inheritance right now. The father was an unusual father. He agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. I believe he must have discussed with him to wait before he gets his estate. However, understanding the adamant and rebellious nature of his son, finally, he agreed because he loved his son. However, as soon as he got the share he packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land. He wasted all his money in wild living. The money and wealth gathered and kept by his father over many many years, he spent carelessly in loose living. No sin and disobedience happen in the flash of a moment. He must have been thinking about such sinful and loose life for a long time. He wanted to have pleasure and enjoy his life. He thought he was missing the fun in his life. He wanted to have more freedom, fun, and enjoyment. Therefore he was thinking about it for a while and he could not continue living in the father’s house anymore. You see what we put in our heart has the potential to determine our decisions and actions. Be watchful and careful what you feeding in your hearts and minds. Philippians 4:8 says in the Bible, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Feed minds with noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy things.

The boy lost inside the house by going after the fleeting pleasures of sin

Secondly, the younger son was in the house with his father. It tells us he was not an outsider. He knew and experienced the love and care of his father. In Christian terms, the lost son was a church going -person who knew the father God. However, he thirsted for the world and its lusts. You see our first parents Adam and Eve were also in the same situation. They knew God created them, loved them and cared for them. However, they started doubting the good plans/intentions of the Lord God. When the devil told them God does not have the best interests for them, they started believing his lie. Devil told them Lord is hiding good things from them. You can read about it in Genesis 3. The devil said to them God was telling them a lie- he said if you eat the forbidden fruit, you will not certainly die. However, God already said to them they would. The devil, the deceiver, liar and murderer got influence in their heart to disobey loving God’s words.

You see the same thing happened in the younger son’s heart. The devil started working in his heart slowly by tempting him to disobey God to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of life. Bible says in Hebrews 11:24-26 this regarding the great leader of Israel, Moses. It says, “By faith Moses when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Because of his faith and trust in God, when Moses grew up, he rejected the fleeting pleasures of sin. Why? He considered forsaking the fleeting pleasures of sin has greater value than the pleasures or treasures this world can offer. However, sadly, this younger son of the father chose the opposite way. He thought he is missing the real fun of life and chose the fleeting pleasures of sin. You see Bible says sin has pleasure. However, it is only momentary. It is only short term. Sin has temporary pleasures. However, you see, the pleasures or enjoyment of sin are fleeting. It fleets away pretty soon. The people will be left with the dire consequences of the fleeting pleasures of sin. How true it is!

Watch! Let no one deceive you.

Beloved, let not devil or no one deceive you into the way of the fleeting pleasures of sin. It will only leave you with regrets, pains, sufferings and a long period of severe consequences. You see he was thinking about this sinful life for a long time because he was tempted by the pleasures of sin. It did not happen overnight. He filled his mind with the fascination of the pleasures of this world and eventually devil got full control on him. He demanded from his father his share of the estate ‘now’. He could not wait anymore. You see, if you allow the devil and the world to influence your mind and thinking, eventually he would get control over your thought process and action. Instead, you fill your heart with the promises of the word of God. Fill your heart with Bible verses. Keep a thankful, prayerful and contented attitude. Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:6, “But godliness with contentment is a great gain.” If you have fear of God and have contentment with what God gave you, the Bible says it is a great gain for your life. In contrast, people who allow this world and devil to influence in their heart and thinking process get into temptations, traps and many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. (6:9). The young man had no contentment, thankfulness and he allowed his mind to be continually tempted by sinful desires.

Pay me now pay me later.

Our parable continues in verses 14-16 and it says his money ran out. A great famine swept over the land. He began to starve. You see when he had money he had friends around him. He went to nightclubs, partying, girls and spending time enjoying the ‘fleeting’ pleasures of sin. He never knew these pleasure that sins offer is fleeting and big consequences are on the way. Now, pay day came. There is a saying, “Pay me now or pay me later.” You see you can honor and obey God and his words now. Or you will pay later the painful consequences of disobedience and rebellion.

Payday arrived – lowest of all.

No more friends around him. No more beautiful girls around him. Why? They were all around him for his money, not for him. Once the money ran out, they all left. Not a trace of them to find anywhere. Does this ring bell to you?
He began to starve. No money. On top of that famine swept the land. He started paying for his rebellion. He went to see a local farmer believing he can get hired by him. The man sent him out to his fields to feed his pigs. Look, there is nothing more degrading than this for a Jewish young man to desire for the pods of pig food. It says he became so hungry that even the pig’s foods looked good to him. However, no one even gave him the food of pigs to him. He was starving to death.

Beloved, this is how you finally pay for your sins. When we leave the loving God and his presence and travel to a distant country the result would be unimaginably bad. Are you a child of God? Are you thinking you are missing something in God’s house and pondering to go to the world and fill the joy and pleasure of this world offer? You are at the brink of danger. Think again. Bible portrays God as your loving Father. He has good and beautiful plans and inheritance for you. He is richer and wealthier than all the human fathers ever lived combined together. The whole earth and the universe belong to him. Do not leave your loving, wealthiest and loving father in heaven to go to this world and disobey him by giving you over to the fleeting pleasures of sin.

Aren’t you glad he came back to sanity?

The parable of Jesus continues by saying, he finally came to his senses. He started talking to himself. He said to him, “at my home, even the hired servants have food enough to spare.” You see nobody would spare him even the pig’s food in this far country. He is left alone. No wonderful, exciting friends, no girls, no help. His farmer does not even spare pig food for him. Lowest of low state, right? Therefore he said to himself, “I am dying of hunger! He said he will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”

I am glad he finally came to his sense. You see, there are many people who do not even come to this sense but continue in their lost state of the dire and painful consequences of sin. It is important to come to sense so those good days would come again in your life by the forgiveness and mercy of the Lord.

Bible says he returned to his father. I am so glad he did. Aren’t you glad he returned to his father? He knew he is not worthy to be called his son. His wish was to work in his father’s field as one of the hired servants. He knew his hired servants have decent food to eat. You see, sin always takes us to places where we never imagined in our mind. Sin always results in consuming things we never thought off. Sin always leads us to serve things we never thought we would serve. For example, drugs, addictions, immoral sexual life always leads you to serve these very things with no way out. Only repentance can change the course of life. Repentance and asking God (your father in heaven) forgiveness and walking back to him would restore you. Nothing else would do. The younger came to his sense and did exactly this. He thought what I am doing here in this distant country away from a loving father. How lowly I became- lower than lower I ever thought. He had memorized what he would say to his father when he comes back to his father. He practiced the words he would say on the way back home.

He never expected to become the son of his father again. He knew humanly it is impossible because he got all the shares of his inheritance and wasted it all in loose and sinful life. He does not have any claim now. He just wants to work for his father as one of his servants.

Beloved, when you go away from loving God’s care and presence, when you ran away from his home, you may be thinking something better is waiting there for you. It is a lie of the devil. He used the same lie from the very beginning or dawn of human history. Listen, there is nothing out there for your good. You may be thinking that God is holding something back from you. The truth is God has all good things for you in his home. He is not holding any good thing from you. He only protects you from harmful and destroying things. He loves you and cares for you.

Nearing Home.

As he was near to his father’s home, his heart started beating fast in anxiety. He was thinking what would happen? Would my father accept me as his servant or get angry and threw me out from his presence? Bible says while the boy was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. That tells us from the day the body left home in rebellion, this father was always looking for his return. Every day the father was looking for his son’s return. The father was broken over him and longing for his return. You see father had filled with love and compassion for his lost son.

Father running out to his lost son.

Bible says his father ran to his son when he saw him coming a long way off. His father filled with love and compassion, he ran toward him, embraced him and kissed him. He did not get angry or upset with him. He did not criticize him or blamed him. When the son returned, by seeing him a long way off, he ran toward him, embraced and kissed him. Father’s thought was this- son, the day you left home, I was always looking for your return. My heart was broken over you because I loved you. You were always in my mind. I always longed for this day.

Heart of God-your heavenly Father is revealed.

Beloved, why did Jesus say this parable. He said this parable to show you and I the heart of the heavenly father toward a sinner who lives in disobedience, rebellion, and sin. The son said to his father, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.” This is all he could say. Before he says, “Please take me on as a hired servant”, Father cut him off and said this to his servants, “‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ (Verse 22-24).

You see, the son confessed his wrongdoings. However, the father did not want to hear anything more than this. He cut him off. He ordered his servant to bring the finest robe to put on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for the feet. Kill the calf that has been fattening- the best calf. Verse 25 says, “so the party began.”

Jesus said this parable because of tax collectors and notorious sinners were coming to him to listen to him. Beloved, beloved where are you now? Jesus talks to you right now. You see we all stray like sheep. Some of us are lost inside the church. You may have raised in the church. However, later decided to leave the church in pursuit of sin and it’s fleeting pleasure. Remember the pleasure of sin is only temporary –fleeting. It will lead to a place where you ever imagined to end up.

Come Home! God is the perfect father who has mercy, love, and compassion.

Jesus taught through this parable-God is the good father. Some of you may have bad fathers. However, God in heaven who created you is different from all the earthly imperfect fathers. He loves you and has compassion on you. He wants to restore his love and fellowship with you. When you come home, his mercy, forgiveness, and love waits for you. Walking back home to your father in heaven means confessing your sins. It means repentance and turning away from where you are like the lost son did. You can do this by a small prayer wit

The lost coin.

Are you a lost coin? The whole heaven searches you to find you and save you.

The lost coin.

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10.

We discussed the lost sheep in the previous article. Today we will discuss the lost coin. Jesus said four parables to make us understand the lostness of humanity. The number one is the parable of lost sheep. The second is the lost coin. The third is the lost son, and the fourth, of course, is the lost elder brother.

The lost sheep was lost by straying. The sheep nibbles through different things and get lost. This is the character of the sheep. People are also like sheep. We look there and here, go after our heart’s desires, end up breaking the barriers and boundaries and get lost from the presence of the loving Lord and his care. We end up in dangerous places and we do not know what to do. If on-time help does not arrive, we can get be destroyed and ruined not only here on this earth and also for eternity.

Take care of your soul; do not neglect it.

You see, Jesus said our soul is more valuable than all. Our soul has eternal value. When the soul gets, lost destruction and ruin is the result. Jesus, and it is recorded in Matthew 8:36-37, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Your soul is valuable than the whole world put together. If a man gains the whole world and loses his own soul, there is no profit for him. Moreover, there is nothing you can give in exchange for your soul. Your body dies. However, your soul lives forever and ever. God placed the soul inside you. When you die, your body is buried here. Your spirit goes to live in heaven with God provided you accepted the salvation available in and through Jesus Christ, His Son. If not Bible says, your soul will be in torment forever and ever away from the loving and caring presence of God.

You see people take care of their health, their money, their human relationships, etc. But they neglect to take care of their soul. They do not think about it. The Bible says you are lost. Lost means destruction or ruin here in this world and eternity if you are not found and delivered by the Savior of the whole world – Jesus Christ.

This is the reason why Jesus always wanted to talk to sinners. He knew they are lost. They do not realize they are lost. However, the truth is without the Savior, your soul is lost forever. Bible says Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the whole heaven is on the hunt for lost souls to save them for eternal destruction. When a person is delivered from their lost condition, there is rejoicing in the whole heaven. A big party goes on in heaven each time a person is delivered from their lostness.

Lost without recognition.

You see, the world does not recognize they are lost. People think they are ok. You may think you are ok and fine. Jesus gave four parables to drive home the truth that you are lost without the Savior sent from heaven by God. The Savior is Jesus Christ. He paid his own divine and sinless blood to save you from your bondages and slavery, to forgive your sins and iniquities. His blood is the ransom for your sins and crimes.

Jesus always found time to reach out to the sinners and downcast people of society. Pharisees, the religious gurus, of the day did not appreciate it. They should have known better. However, they always murmured and criticized Him.

Therefore, Jesus gave these parables to make them understand why he spends time with the sinners.

Last time we discussed the parable of lost sheep. This time we discuss the lost coin, the second parable Jesus said.

The immeasurable value of your soul

First, it is a precious coin that was lost. It says in verse 8, “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it?” This was one of the ten precious coins that she had as part of her dowry and regularly wore as a headdress or as part of her garland or necklace. Not only it had intrinsic much value as a precious expensive coin, but also it had much more emotional value for a married woman. This is the reason why she lights a lamp, sweeps the entire house, and searches carefully until she finds it?

Bible says you and I are valuable to God. Why we are precious to God? Because the Bible says, you and I are made in the image of God. The stamp of his image is imprinted inside you- in your soul. I heard someone said, “we are small God.” I am sure he said because of the intellectual abilities and potentials a man has over other animal creatures. The Bible never says we are God, or we can become God. That is a lie Devil always tried to inject on people by saying you can be like God (Genesis 3: ) However, the Bible says people are made by God in His image. Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Verse 27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Secondly, you are valuable to Him because God placed spirit inside you. God created first man, Adam, out of the dust, and he was lifeless at that time. Listen to what God did, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7. The LORD God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. There is a beginning time to your existence. It all happened when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. God invested in the earthly vessel a valuable eternal soul. 2 Corinthians 4:7 says, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” Your spirit or soul is eternal. You can gain the whole world, and if you lose your soul what benefit it gives you. Nothing! You will be eternally lost from the presence of the loving God.

The precious coin that is lost shows the value of your soul. God looks at you and knows you are lost without the Savior who shed his blood to save you. That is why He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to search and find you.
Jesus himself said his mission statement in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Lights the lamp, sweeps the floor and search continues.

You see, the woman lost her precious coin, and she lights the lamp, sweep the whole house and searched until she finds it. Why? It was so valuable for her. You are valuable to God. God lights the word of God, which is the lamp to your feet and look and search you to save you from the lost condition.

Romans 10:16-18 says, “So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ.
But I ask: Is it true that they did not hear the message? Of course, they did—for as the scripture says:
“The sound of their voice went out to all the world;
their words reached the ends of the earth.”
Verse 13 says, “WHOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Like the lost coin, you can be found and saved now.

You are now hearing the message now again through the teachbible.org because the loving Lord lights the lamp (the word of God) and search you all the nook and corners to find you and save you. He does not want you to perish. He wants to save you lovingly from eternal ruin and destruction.

You can be lost inside the church like the coin was lost inside the house.

Another point is this- you are a church attended does not mean that you are saved by the love and grace of the Lord. There are a lot of people who attend nominal Christian churches where the real and truthful gospel is not preached or heard. They have a little bit understanding about the gospel that saves you from eternal destruction but not really understood or accepted the message in their heart. Is this your condition? You may be attending church or you may be a religious person. You see that religion or church attendance would not save you. What saves your soul is your personal relationship with the Savior, Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, the coin was lost inside this woman’s house. It is possible you are lost within the church if you did not call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance of your sins for salvation.

People are lost inside the church and outside the church. I am not saying church attendees are lost. However, there is a possibility that you are a religious person and attend all the meetings of the church meticulously and still away from the saving grace of the Lord. There are many people like this in today’s world. Are you one of them? Think for a moment.

Bible says how you can get saved. You can read this in Romans 10:8-10, “God’s message is near you, on your lips and in your heart”—that is, the message of faith that we preach. If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved.” Another Bible verse is John 1:11-12, “He (Jesus) came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him. Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God’s children.”

Jesus when he was preaching and teaching said, “the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.” Gospel is the good news that “God sent his one and only Son (Jesus) that whoever believes in him shall never perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.

Have you repented and prayed to God to save you? Have you confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believed that God raised him from death? Bible says by confession of your sins and acceptance of Christ as your Savior, your soul, and the whole of you will be saved. God gives eternal life with Him in haven upon your death here on the earth based on this confession.

Beloved, religion would never save you. This is the lesson the fourth parable-elder brother- teaches us, which we would discuss later. It is the relationship with Jesus Christ that saved you.

You can be lost coin inside the church today. Alternatively, you may be an outsider and understand you are lost. Holy Spirit of God works inside you when you hear this message and convicts you to come to Jesus and be born again into God’s family right now. Jesus calls you now. You can be saved from your lost condition by knowing and accepting the truth of the Gospel. A sort of fake gospel influences many. They think they are saved. However, they have never been born again.

A divine/opportune time is now to get saved.

You are now saved from your lost condition by a small prayer with me acknowledging and accepting the truth in your heart. It is not the prayer that saves you. There is no magic in the prayer. It is your complete faith and trusts in the Lord Jesus that saves you. Understand that God loves you. He sent His only begotten Son to this earth to die in your place for all of your sins that separated you from God. You acknowledge you are a sinner. You recognize you need the Savior whom God gave you to save your soul from destruction. Bible says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. No exception. All have sinned, period! There is not even ever lived who never sinned (except Christ Jesus). Acknowledge and confess Jesus as your only Savior and Lord by the words of your mouth when you pray. Ask Lord Jesus to come into your heart and save you eternally. Jesus said, and it is recorded in Revelation 3:20, “‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

Say ‘by’ to your lost state by accepting the invitation of Christ right now.

The parable of the lost sheep end with the statement of Jesus, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

The parable of the lost coin end with Jesus’s statement, “And when she finds it (lost coin), she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Both reveal the thrill and the joy of the whole heaven over one sinner who repents and accepts Jesus Christ as the Savior of life.

Let no one deceive you.

Beloved, let no one tell you are not important or valuable. In the sight of God, you are valuable than the whole world. All men, no matter what they did, bear the image of God. The stamp of God is inside all men. It does not matter where you have been. It does not matter what you did in the past. You see, Luke 15 says, ‘notorious sinners’ came to listen to him because Jesus cared about them. Devil may say to you-you are not eligible to be saved. You may be a thief, murderer, prostitute, or maybe hatred by people. Listen, God does not hate you. He loves you. He wants to become your closest friend by saving you, forgiving all your past and granting you eternal life with him in heaven.

Got a moment for prayer? “Father in heaven, I know I am not saved yet and I am still in a lost state. I want to be saved by you. I confess with my mouth that I am a sinner. Please forgive my sins. I believe Jesus died and rose again for all of my sins. I accept Him as my savior and Lord. Thank you for saving me. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen. 

“In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” Luke 15:7

Son of God friend of sinners? Pharisees vs Jesus.

Bible says tax collectors and other notorious sinners came to listen to the teachings of Jesus. There was something special the way Jesus was talking. He talked like the one who had the authority. Jesus was not like the religious leaders of his day. Jesus had love, kindness, compassion, and care for sinners. Jesus welcomed sinners and did not keep them away as Pharisee’s did.  Therefore, they murmured against Jesus and said,  “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners”. (Matthew 7:33).  Pharisees always looked down on sinners because they erroneously were on the impression they are on a higher level than them. On the contrary, Jesus does not have any difficulties in keeping friendship with the outcasts and sinners. It does not mean Jesus accepted the way they lived, but he was on a rescue mission with compassion and love to save them from their sins so that they too can enjoy the love and blessings of God. On top of that, the Pharisees started a campaign against Jesus Christ saying Jesus is not good based on their standards, because he was associating with such sinful people. Not only associates with them but also eat with them. Detestable and despicable for them.

Pharisees type religious hard bellies are still around us, aren’t they?

Don’t you know the above type of Pharisees is in our midst even in our days today? Religious facades who do not have the heart and mind of Jesus Christ who think they are better than the sinners or other bad people. Because of Pharisees’ criticisms, Jesus told a parable about four items that are lost. A lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost son and a lost brother. These parables in Luke 15:7 are meant to disclose the level of ignorance and spiritual immaturity of those who believed they are “righteous”, “pious” and “most spiritual”. Such pharisee like people base their status on externals-good life, good name, and testimony from people around them, and the law of God. They do not know the true heart of God or the truth of the eternal word of God. You see, Jesus was not after a good name and good testimony from so-called religious people.

The Lost Sheep

We discuss today the first parable -the lost sheep. Jesus said, “If a man has hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep. Listen, then Jesus said, “In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away.”

You see, Jesus never looked down on people who are hated by others. He never looked down on sinners and tax collectors. He always found time to sit with them to talk to them. Remember Jesus went out of his way to reach out to the Samaritan woman who had five husbands in the past and was living with another man. Jesus sought after Zacchaeus, the tax collector, who was hated by people and went to his house. There numerous other examples of Jesus reaching out to people who are lost in their sins and wrongdoings. In fact, the whole purpose of the coming of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, to this world was this. Jesus said this and recorded in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Again Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

People are sheep in their core

Why did Jesus give an example of sheep to describe what he is doing for people? Sheep easily gets lost. The shepherd will testify this truth if you ask them. Sheep naturally drift away from the flock, from the shepherd and end up in strange places. They would not know how to get back to the shepherd. The shepherd should take the initiative to go and seek the lost sheep. Otherwise, the strayed sheep would never come back home.

Like the sheep wander off, drift away from the shepherd and flock, people naturally drift away and stray off from the great shepherd, our creator God. Bible says in Isaiah 53:6, “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all. Bible says you are like a sheep strays away. I am a like sheep drifts away. Did you notice it says, “all of us like sheep have strayed away.” God had a path for us to follow. Instead, we follow our own paths. Then it says the LORD laid on Jesus Christ the sins of us all. Did you notice it says, “sins of us all.”?

Sheep drifts away. They wander away from the shepherd and his flock. We do the same thing, don’t we? No one is exempt. All of us goes our own path. You see, when a sheep drifts away by following its instincts, it is prone to get into dangers. It smells and feeds on the grass and slowly and progressively moves away from the shepherd. It crosses over the safe boundaries and walks away. Then later it gets tired and lies down in a place. When it is alone if it rolls back and falls on its back, it can never come out from that condition. It needs the shepherd to make him stand again on its foot. When he rolls over and cannot get back to the normal state, it becomes prey to wild animals. Wild animals can attack and kill him.

Danger looming- the urgency of the rescue

The time is the essence because of the urgent situation and dire need to seek and save the strayed away sheep. Does Jesus say what a good shepherd will do? He would leave the ninety-nine safe sheep there because they are in a safe condition and immediately goes searching for the lost sheep.

Beloved, people drift away from the Lord and nibble after things this world offers. Some try drugs thinking they will get peace and joy there. Then they found themselves in a condition they can not get out of it. Others try alcohol and become addicts and cannot get themselves out of it. People go after different things, and they become addicted or destroyed. Then they realize they cannot get back and return to safety. The suicide rates of celebrities are going up every year. They had fame, money, reputation. The reason is they are also sheep. Sheep strays. nibbles after things that can give them short term happiness and hooks into danger and are unable to save themselves. So is with people. Did this happen to you? We all experienced it in our lives in different fashions.

Bible says Jesus is the good shepherd who searches for the lost people to rescue them. Without the Savior, Jesus Christ, people get ruined and destroyed not only here on the earth. They get lost permanently by going into eternity without God. They end up in eternity where the devil and his demons are. What a horrible place that would be!  Jesus knows this truth, and that is why Jesus and His Holy Spirit are on the search for lost people. To Jesus, your soul is more valuable than the whole world put together. That much he values you and loves you. He wants to save you from destruction with that kind of urgency.

We read incidents of kidnapping and how terrible it is to become a victim of abduction. Think God created us and we belonged to the loving God. However, the devil kidnapped us and placed us in his bondage. You can not get out of his dominant bondage. The devil is stronger than you. you need someone stronger than the devil to attack him and get us released from his prison. This is what Jesus does. Devil kidnapped you, and he wants to keep you captured here on this earth and all through the eternity. However, God sent his wonderful rescue mission. The rescuer is Jesus Christ who paid for all your sins and shortcomings. He paid the ransom by his divine and sinless blood. The payment is paid. Now Jesus searches the lost ones consistently and wants to bring them back home. Bible says in Colossians 1:13-14, “or he (God) has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” God purchased your freedom from the bondage and grants forgiveness by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus searches and finds you, God transfers you from the kingdom of darkness (of the devil) into the kingdom of His Son. What a marvelous change and freedom. The chains of the devil that bound you will fall off from your hand. You become free. Jesus said and it is recorded in  John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Beloved, you cannot save yourself. It is not going to work your way. People want their way. Their way is going to lead them to eternal damnation. Only God can save you. Your best intentions or hard and good works can never save you. God saves you in and through the person and work of Jesus Christ. The truth is this -like sheep cannot save itself, you can not save yourself.

Jesus by the help of the Holy Spirit searches and saves you because you are lost by wandering away from God. When Jesus finds you out, it says he does not blame, criticize or beat/punish you, but He lovingly joyfully carries you on his shoulders home. Where do you find such love, care, and compassion? Jesus loves you. He does not want you to get hurt and ruined here on earth and all through eternity. To Him, you are more important and valuable than the whole world. The entire world, the whole universe is all in his hands. However, do you know this truth, He is more concerned and always thinks about your lost condition. He does not want you to get perished. Bible says in John 3:16 this beautiful verse, “For God so loved you that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” If you accept the salvation from Jesus by placing your faith in Him you will never perish, but you will have eternal life in heaven with Him.

Jesus rescued me- He will rescue you also lovingly and joyfully

I praise and worship the Lord because he saved me when I could not save myself. I was going to be ruined and destroyed. However, he came searched me, found me, carried me joyfully on his shoulders and brought me back home where I am enjoying his love and care.

Dearly beloved, you don’t need to stay in the lost state. Bible says in 1 Peter 2:25, “For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Would you return to the shepherd and overseer of your soul today?

God paid for your rescue mission. 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He (Jesus) himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds, you have been healed.” It is by the wounds of Jesus Christ, you are healed.

Jesus is on the hunt for you. He wants to save you from coming ruin and destruction. Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20. He was consistently and continuously standing at the door of your life and knocks. He knocked in the past. He still knocks today. Would you hear his loving voice and open the door of your heart now? Says Jesus come into my life. I want you to rescue me, please. He will carry you joyfully on his shoulders, and you would have his life, peace, and care here on earth and all through eternity.

Finally, after saying the parable of lost sheep, Jesus said, “in the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” When you come from your prison and bondages because Jesus saves you, there is more joy in heaven over you. You see, some people think they are ok, and they do not want to repent of their sins. They think they are better than others. They do not see the need for repentance. However, when you repent, you are not like Pharisees. You truly repent because you want to come home to God. There is merrier and joy in heaven. The angels in heaven always look down and see the incredible rescue work of Jesus and a big party goes on in heaven- joy and merry over you.

Would you pray now? “Father in heaven, I know I am lost. I drifted away. I strayed away. I am gone away from you, Lord. I need your rescue because I can not save my self. I believe Jesus Christ paid for my ransom by his sinless and divine blood. And now you are able and willing to forgive my sins and shortcomings. I believe Jesus died and rose again for my sins. Please forgive me, Lord. I repent of my sins and want to come home to you. Thank you for delivering me now. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.”

 “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:36). NLT.

Value of your soul.

See you can have the most expensive clothes, houses, and cars. You may have the most profitable business. You may have servants waiting for your orders. But if you lose your own soul what do you benefit? Gaining the whole world does not merely mean the entire land of the world. It includes all in it-the computer and IT systems, the whole business, the intellectual capacity of the world, precious metals underneath, the living creatures, and the engineering, medical and scientific world. It means an incalculable and unfathomable amount is the value of your soul.

What Jesus said is this – the value of your soul inside of you is worth more than the whole world and everything in it. The reason is when God created our first parent, Adam; He made him out of the dust. At that time, he was just a statue or image with no life in him. Then God invested something valuable inside him to become a living soul. Bible says in Genesis 2:7, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” KJV.

Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 4:6 that God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts (one of  the three parts of the soul- will discuss more little  bit later) to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Then he says we have this treasure in earthen vessels- in this body.

You soul inside of you is more valuable than the whole world put together because God put it there and it lasts forever. Your soul never dies, and it is going to live forever and ever because God who always lives, the eternal put it there inside you. Everything on this world will be destroyed one day, but the soul that God put inside of you will never end living. It came out of eternal God, and it remains forever. This is why Jesus said your soul is worth more than the whole world. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, and he gave himself fully to rescue your soul from eternal damnation. He rescues your soul from the kingdom of the devil and darkness to his loving kingdom. The devil knows the value of your soul. He is also after it to bring it to destruction. However, when you believe in Jesus Christ as your savior, the address of your soul is transferred from eternal hell and damnation to eternal life in heaven with God.

Who are you really?  The man has three parts:

The Bible teaches man is made of three parts. They are body, soul, and spirit. Every one of you has three parts. No exemptions. Think about fruit like avocado. It has a thick skin, fruit inside and the inside the core is the seed. You and I made the same way. We have a body, inside of us is a soul, and the very core of your soul is the spirit.
Bible says in Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God, is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (NASB). This verse describes all three parts of you when you read or listen to the word of God (the Bible). The word of God is alive, active and sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces as far as the division of soul and spirit. There you understand the innermost parts – soul and spirit. Then it says joints and marrow which are the parts of the body. The word of God is so powerful that it pierce as far as down to the division of soul and spirit inside you. It also judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Therefore you have three parts: body, soul, and spirit.

The spirit- dead to alive.

Now let us discuss the spirit which is the core of your soul. Bible says before you are saved by believing in Jesus Christ, your spirit was dead. So your spirit can be dead or alive now. The body of all living people are alive, but the spirit was dead before you came to Christ. You had a dead spirit unable to enjoy God’s things and God’s fellowship.

Ephesians 2 says you were dead in trespasses and sins. It says there, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” (Ephesians 2:4-5). When you were dead in trespasses, God who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved you, made your spirit alive together with Christ. In other words, the inner core of your soul- the spirit – was dead but God made your spirit alive. God made it alive when you came in repentance of your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your savior and Lord. You were born dead in spirit. Not able to have a relationship or fellowship with God. Dead toward God’s things. But now when you come to Christ, the savior of the whole world, God makes your spirit alive.

Now Bible also says why you were dead in spirit. Because of trespasses and sins. Bible says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death.” Sin earns wages, and that is death. Adam sinned, and he became dead. It means his spirit became dead and not having fellowship and relationship that he once enjoyed in the garden of Eden. Now, as a result, all became sinners and born dead in spirit. Now all people are born with our core spirit dead toward God –unplugged with God.

However, the greatest miracle of the universe is not walking in the moon or other space discoveries. The greatest miracle is when you repent about sins and accept Jesus Christ, the Son of God; He makes you alive in your inner core –in your spirit. God sends his spirit into your dead spirit which is dead toward Him, and His spirit makes your spirit alive. This is called re-birth or born again. You must be born again. There is no excuse or exemption. You must be born again to enjoy God and his spiritual gifts. You must be born again to see the kingdom of God, Jesus said to Nicodemus, and it is recorded in John 3:3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” NASB. First, you are born of the water inside your mother’s womb. Secondly, you have to born again by the Holy Spirit. You must have both births. First, you must be born as a person from your womb. Secondly, you must be born from above, by the spirit of God. Your dead spirit due to sins and trespasses becomes alive and born again by the entrance of God’s spirit into your spirit and making it alive. Jesus also said in the John 3, “the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who born of the spirit.”

Understand, your inner core of the soul is the spirit. It is dead toward God until you repent about sins and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation and forgiveness of your sins. Then you become a spirit living man. Until then you are a spirit dead man. It is not an option. There is no other way you can see the kingdom of God. There is no other way you can go to heaven and live there after your death. You must be born again. It is the greatest miracle in your life. Born again means your dead spirit becomes alive and enjoys the joy of salvation and God’s spiritual blessings. You enjoy God, his salvation, his word, joy, peace and all blessings in your spirit inside you. Your inner core of the soul is now connected to God.  You enjoy the things of God in your spirit. Now because your spirit is no more dead but alive to God as a result of your repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, you receive the things of God in your spirit. Jesus said and it is recorded in John 4:24, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” You see you worship God in the spirit. Your spirit is lifted up to worship him, to sing songs and hymns to him by the Holy Spirit who is indwelling in you. God is with your spirit (2 Timothy 4:22).

When your spirit instantly changed from dead spirit to alive spirit by repentance and acceptance of His Son, Jesus Christ, you become a brand new creation. Bible says you are created new in Jesus Christ. “If any man in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2nd Corinthians 5:17). You are alive toward God forever. This is why I said it is the greatest miracle. When you die, your spirit and soul go to the presence of the Lord. Bible says, the moment a believer in Christ dies, he instantly open his eyes in heaven in the presence of Jesus Christ. Bible says regarding believers in Jesus Christ in 2nd Corinthians 5:5, “absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” According to the Bible, the Word of God, there is no in-between place. There is soul sleep or purgatory. Bible is not familiar with a place in between. Again Bible affirms this in Philippians 1:23, “ I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.”  Departing from this body is to be with Jesus Christ in heaven. No middle places on the way. Your spirit is alive forever and ever.

However, your soul would need to go through and experience transformation to become like the image of Jesus Christ. According to Romans 12:1-2, your soul should be transformed by dedicating your body and whole of you as a sacrifice to the Lord which is only a reasonable service to the Lord. When you think about what God has done,  it makes only reasonable sense to dedicate you to Him. Why? Because God loved you, saved you, bought you with the price of the blood of His son Jesus Christ, transferred you from the kingdom of darkness and devil to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Christ), forgave all your sins and shortcomings, gave you eternal life and bestowed upon you all the spiritual blessings by making your spirit alive with God which was dead toward  him before. Secondly the transformation of your soul happens as you do not conform to this present evil age and its way of thinking and ideas. Thirdly, the transformation happens by the renewal of your mind.

Soul- being transformed until you depart from this earth.

As I said before the inner core of your soul is the spirit. Now your soul has three parts. They are mind, will, and emotion. With the mind, we think and plan. With the will we make choices. With emotions, we feel. All these three are the parts of your soul. All these three parts of your soul go through transformation by the renewal of your mind. The renewal of the mind happens as you read and listen to the Bible, as you listen to Godly people’s teachings, preaching and Bible studies and you submit to the Holy Spirit than submitting you to flesh and its desires and ideas.  God expects that this transformation of your soul would happen in you progressively. You should look more like Jesus a year from today. Now, there are Christians who are not transformed because they do not allow the Holy Spirit and the word of God to renew their mind. There are Christians who still live as carnal and fleshly Christians even after many years of their salvation. Their spirit is alive toward God. However, they are not being transformed into the image of Christ by the renewal of their mind, which is part of the soul.

You see although your spirit is alive because you came to Jesus Christ and believed in his sacrificial death for your sins and shortcomings, it is possible you are still living contrary to the plan of God by not allowing you to be transformed by the renewal of your mind. It is sad to see such believers, but it is a solemn truth.
Therefore, your spirit is made alive because God’s spirit came inside you and quickened your dead spirit. However, your soul should undergo transformation all through your life here on the earth, to become more like Jesus Christ in grace and truth.

Body-God has a beautiful plan for your body.

Now thirdly we have a body. All people have bodies. Bible says our earthly body is like a tent which is temporary. Our bodies carry our soul and spirit on this earth. It is a portable tent. However, the Bible says God has a wonderful, beautiful and glorified plan for your body if you are a believer in Christ. Your earthly body will go into the grave when you die. However, the same moment of your death, your spirit, and soul go to the presence of the Lord in heaven. God plans to give you a much more great and glorified body. You will get a heavenly/celestial body. It is going to be a glorified body. It is going to be a body like the resurrected body of Jesus Christ. Jesus could come inside the room when the doors were closed. (John 20:19). He could eat and drink with the disciples. (Acts 10:40-41; Luke 24:43) He could appear and disappear, and he could defeat the law of gravity by ascending into heaven. (Acts 1:9). Bible says in 1 John 3:2, “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Regarding God’s plan for our body Bible says this in 1st Corinthians 15: 51-51,” Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—  in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  When the perishable is clothed with imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in the victory.”

Those who believed in Christ and living at the time of the rapture, their bodies will be changed instantly and go up to heaven with new resurrected and glorified bodies. Those believers who are already dead and buried in the graves will be raised imperishable. This immortal body will clothe itself with immortality and this perishable with imperishable. All this happens (the dead believers rising from the grave and receiving glorified bodies and the living believers in Christ instantly transforming to glorified bodies) in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, and the time of the last trumpet. This is God’s plan for our bodies.

Ist Thessalonians 4:13-18 describes the same event that is going to happen. Some of the Thessalonian believers who were with them were dead, and they were buried in the grave. They did not know for sure God’s plan for dead believer’s bodies. Their question was answered in this section. It describes God’s plan for our bodies – for those who are dead in Christ and those who would be living at the time of the rapture. It is a beautiful and glorified plan. Listen to what it says:
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

A loud command along with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God will be heard. Instantly the dead believers in Christ will rise first. Then immediately the believers in Christ who lives on the earth at that time will be caught up together with those who rose from the grave. Both the dead believer’s glorified bodies and the living believers glorified bodies will meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. When you live on this earth, the Bible says do not be discouraged but encouraged with these words.

Beloved, say God has a beautiful plan for my body. Yes, he does. Bible reveals it truthfully. When a believer dies here, his spirit and soul goes home to the very presence of the Lord instantly his or her death. At the time of the rapture, when Christ descends from heaven, the spirit and soul already in the presence of the Lord will be reunited with the new glorified, resurrected and heavenly bodies.

Summary.

In summary,  we have seen the man has three parts. Body is the temporary tent that carries your soul and spirit around here. Your soul is the inner core of your soul. The spirit of  man is dead by sins and trespasses, unconnected and unplugged to God until you come to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who is the only savior of the whole world. When you pray to God and admit your sins and shortcomings and ask him to save you because Jesus died in your place for all of your sins, God’s spirit comes into your dead spirit and makes it alive. Now you can have fellowship and relationship with God. You are no more dead to God and His blessings. Your spirit is alive forever at the time of your acceptance of Christ as your savior and Lord. When you die, your spirit goes directly to the presence of the Lord in heaven. There is no in-between place like sleeping of soul or purgatory according to the Bible. “Absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” is what the Bible teaches.

Although your spirit becomes alive at the time of your professed faith in Christ and it is going to live forever in heaven, your soul is being transformed all through your life. It happens by the renewal of your mind. The two tools are the word of God (the Bible) and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Christians can live as transformed believers or not transformed believers. God expects that you will look for like Jesus Christ as the days, months and years progress.

Finally, God has an excellent plan for your body. Your earthly body now is a temporary tent. However, it will be replaced by another body not made with hands. We will get the eternal and permanent body. (2 Corinthians 5). This future heavenly body is a glorified body, and it will be like the resurrected body of Jesus Christ. It will be more powerful and glorious. We will not feel the aches, pains, and diseases anymore. No more sorrows and difficulties. No more imperfections and issues. No more medicine needed. No more worries, discouragements, and depressions.

Are you discouraged? How do you encourage yourself?

One of the most useful tools of the devil in these last days is a discouragement. Devil often used this tool to attack the believers to stop their progress in spiritual growth and curtail the effectiveness. Someone correctly said it is his favorite tool as the days come near for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Looking through the pages of the Bible, we can see discouragement in the life of many faith warriors. Let me bring to your memory few of such discouragements found in the pages of the Scripture.

David echoes of his words of discouragement in Psalms 55. The slandering tongues of his enemies, threats of the wicked paralyzed him with fear and trembling. He was so discouraged and he wrote ““Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
I would flee far away
and stay in the desert;
I would hurry to my place of shelter,
far from the tempest and storm.”

Definitely the words of David sound deep discouragement and depression. He wanted to fly away and stay in the desert. He wants to hurry to a place of shelter. David says in verse 12-15, if an enemy were insulting him, he could endure it. If a foe were rising against him, he could hide. However, it was the closest companion, his close friend, with whom he once enjoyed sweet fellowship in the house of God who turned against him. David and his previous close friend who turned to be his enemy used to walk around among the worshippers in the temple.

Beloved, your closest friends can become your enemy. You dear friend can walk away from you and deceive you and harm you. It causes discouragement in your walk with the Lord. What is after all Lord, he and I walked together and worshipped the Lord, and now he became my enemy plotting things against me to destroy my effectiveness and God-given opportunities. What would you do in such harsh and heartbreaking situations?

Moses, the most significant spiritual leader of Israel, the lawgiver of the nation, wanted to die and even asked God to kill him because of his deep discouragement and frustration. Listen to his words in Numbers 11:14-15, “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.  If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.” Moses was trying to fulfill God’s call on his life to care and lead the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. No people group in this world witnessed God’s mighty work on behalf of them except the children of Israel. With a mighty hand and outstretched arm, LORD delivered them from Pharaoh’s bondage by humiliating and kneeling him down to the ground and dust of Egypt. The LORD open a road in the middle of the red sea and made children of Israel walk through it to save them from the Egyptian army. He fed them with heavenly bread. His presence of pillar was with them all through the day and night. After seeing the faithfulness of the LORD and his servant Moses, do you know what they thought when things got harder on the way to the promised land? To find a new leader and go back to slavery in Egypt. We can be related to the depth of the feelings of Moses. He said the burden of these people is too heavy for me. Please go ahead and kill me if you found favor in your eyes and do not let me face my own ruin.” What would a Bible teacher do when the sheep go against him and wishes to get a new leader to replace him? What a discouragement to the one who faithfully ministered to them and their children?

Job was so discouraged and broken when his wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” The man lost all- all his wealth, health, reputation, and children. The person who should have been with him in the lowest valley experience said harsh and destructive words that broke his heart into pieces. (Job 2:9-10).

The LORD called Jeremiah the prophet even before his birth. The word of the LORD said to him, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5). Jeremiah was called by God to speak His Word to a disobedient and rebellious people. He faithfully did it. However, later in his life, he wanted to quit preaching because of continuous mocking and persecutions. He said to the LORD, “I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me… the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. He was so discouraged that he did not want to speak the word of God anymore. However, as soon he said he will mention his word or speak any more in his name, his word became like a fire in his heart, a fire shut up in his bones. (Jeremiah 20:7-9).

Beloved, I do not care who you are. You may be the wealthiest person in the world. You may be the most healthy person in the world. You may be a pious and most God fearing person. Life throws trashes at you. Life wounds and bruise you. You are not going to be exempt. I am not exempt either. None of us are. If everything is going ok with you, wait. You would figure out you are living in a broken world with sins and you deal and mingle with sinful people. You fight with sinful temptations. Life bends you down. Life discourages you. Life throws its sharp arrows at you to destroy your faith, confidence, courage, and effectiveness. The tool ‘discouragement’ is the favorite one devil likes to use on believers all through the history and even more in these last days.

The reason why we get discouraged is that our expectations are not realized as we imagined. We wanted progress; instead, we experienced regression. We expected promotion, but we got a demotion. We lovingly brought forth our children, encouraged them in God’s ways. However, they become rebellious and selfish. God called us and gave us a passion for the word of God. You faithfully started speaking and teaching the word. Enemies arose from your own church/community and began throwing stones at you. The person whom you most trusted abandoned you. Devil use those times to discourage and depress you so that you would quit from what God called you for.

When I am discouraged, how can I get encouragement? Where will I get it?

1. Bible affirms this spiritual truth- “God’s calling and gifts are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29. That statement is so important. Verse 29 is a small verse, but it is a complete verse. It speaks volume to us in our discouragements. It is a lifeline for you and I. People may leave you, they may hurt you, they may imprison you, they may ridicule and mock you… but always the one who called and gave you a divine work to do it is with you to provide you with the grace, strength, and power to finish it correctly. You may get discouraged but do you know what? You should not, and you must not quit, because God promised his calling and the gifts he gave you are irrevocable. Irrevocable means not revocable. It is unalterable, irreversible, irremediable, final and cannot be changed. God called you and gave you the gift you have. No matter what happens in your life, his calling and his gifts are irrevocable. Keep it your heart.

Amid all discouragements, the Bible asks you to be confident because God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6). You see God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. How does he work in you? By giving you the desire and the ability to do what pleases him. Because God gave you the desire and he gave the power to do what pleases him in the past, do not get discouraged and quit, when going gets tough. Going gets tough because you are in the center of God’s will and the devil hates it. He works through people around you to discourage and destroy your life of faith in Jesus Christ.

2. Stay focused on the will of God for your life. The most discouragement times typically comes just before or after your significant spiritual progress and victory. One of the most disturbing and painful time in the life of Jesus Christ was just before the crucifixion, in the garden of Gethsemane. Matthew 26:39 says, “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” However, Jesus rebounded from that depressing moment because he concentrated his eyes on the will of God. He did not focus on his pain or cruel and unthankful people around him. He was sent from heaven on a rescue mission to save you and me from our sins and reconcile us to God. He focused on the will of God.

I believe the second troubled time in the incarnation of Jesus was just before his public ministry, just after the baptism, when he received Father’s commendation that said, “ This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” (John 3:16-17). It was the temptation account in the wilderness. (John 4). The devil tempted and tried his best to discourage, re-route and ruin the mission of Jesus. Jesus again focused on the will of God. The weapon he used to fight this time and focus on the Father was the words of God in the Bible. He used the word of God as the sword to defeat the devil. I would say focus on the will of God and use the word of God as a sword when each tempting discouragements enters into your heart. Keep as many Bible verse memorized so that you can use it to stand against evil schemes. The Devil has to leave when He hears the child of God claim God’s promise by his mouth.

3. Remember God is the encourager of the discouraged. Bible says in 2nd Corinthians 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement. He encourages us in every trouble, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any trouble, through the very encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.”(TLV). Few things you would learn from this passage. Number one our Lord is the God is the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement. God is God of all encouragement. He is full of encouragement for you. Number two: He encourages us in every trouble. Did you notice it said “every trouble?” Every trouble means simply every trouble- self-caused or externally caused. In every trouble we face in our Christian life, God the Father is there to encourage us. Why he does this? He encourages us in every trouble of your life so that you are equipped to encourage those who are in troubles. Because you received encouragement from God when you faced all your troubles, you can turn around encourage others who are going through the troubles you experienced in the past. You remember how God encouraged you in your troubles- may be by His word or through other true believers. Now you do the same to those who are in trouble. Beautiful right? Beloved, God your father is the father of all compassion, and he is the encourager of discourager. He encourages you in every trouble you face, regardless of what. There is a saying God never waste a pain in his children’s life. It is true. Your specific trouble or suffering and the encouragement you received are the divine tools you are going to use to encourage others. Make sense?

4. God encourages us with his personal and distinct presence. God is present everywhere all the time. It is called his omnipresence. However, our God’s distinguishable, distinct, clear, obvious and manifest presence is with his Children who are bought by the precious blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. In all of his discouraging troubles, God’s distinct and manifest presence was with Joseph. Bible repeatedly says the LORD was with Joseph in Genesis 39:2 and 39:21. God’s manifest presence gave Joseph success amid his sufferings. The LORD showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. It was God’s manifest presence with his dear child Joseph that caused him to become the Prime Minister of Egypt – the second person after Pharaoh in the whole land of Egypt- after a severe suffering period of ten years. (Genesis 50:20).

God’s manifest presence was in Jacob’s life on the way to Padan Aram, in Laban’s house, on his way back to his father’s household and his later old years. He understood and testified to Laban and to God that it is the LORD who gave him success, although he was under the devious schemes of Laban. (Genesis 30:27, 31:40-42, 32:9-10). Now we can all look back and see God’s obvious presence was with Jacob by looking at the nation Israel in our world map. Through all human struggles, jealousy, competition, apparent schemes in their family experiences, God was making a nation to fulfill the everlasting covenant He made with Abraham in and through Jacob’s twelve children. In a believer’s troubles and sufferings, in your personal struggles, the eternal God has a unique purpose and plan to fulfill for his name and glory. When you understand this big picture, you cannot afford to get encouraged. His manifest, clear and obvious presence is with his children.

I will give one more example of his manifest presence in his children’s pain and sufferings. Daniel and his three friends were thrown into the blazing fire by the king Nebuchadnezzar. He ordered the fire to become seven times hotter than usual. Because the king had given strict orders for the furnace to be made extremely hot, the flames burned up the guards who took the men to the furnace. Then Daniel and his friends, still tied up, fell into the heart of the blazing fire. Then the king leaped to his feet in wonder and amazement. He questioned his officials didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the blazing furnace? The said, yes, we threw into the fire. King asked why do I see four men walking around in the fire? He said the three men have not tied up anymore. They are loose in the fire, and there is no sign of being hurt-and the fourth one walking with them in the fire looks like “a son of the gods.” You see, the eternal Son of God, the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, came down and walked inside the fire with them. He did not stay outside the fire and gave orders for their rescue and protection. He walked with them right in the fire. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered them to come out of the fire. The governors, servants and the king’s official gathered around them and witnessed there was no effect of fire on these three men. Their hair of their head was not damaged in any way, nor their trousers damaged. They did not even have the smell of fire upon them. (Daniel 3:8-30).

5. Understand the Lord is the good shepherd. (John 10:11-14).  He is gentle and humble in his dealings with you. (Mathew 11:28).  He will not leave you when a wolf comes to attack you. Hired shepherd does that. But not our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the good shepherd, gave his life as a ransom for you, dear one. Don’t you know he made a covenant of blood with you? Luke 22:19-20 says, “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” When people and Satan accuse you, Christ your advocate in heaven comes for your defense and protection. (Zechariah 3:1-5).

6. Christ Jesus deals with you mercifully, kindly and gently when you suffer and discouraged. Listen what prophet Isaiah prophesied about our Lord Jesus Christ in Isaiah 42:3, “A bruised reed He will not break, And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish.” Beloved, life bruise you. It wounds you. However, when you are injured by life, Christ will not break you. He deals with you gently with compassion, care, and love. If you heard teaching otherwise, may I tell you did not understand the truth about Jesus Christ? You would say I am bruised. He comes and gently apply his balms and soothes you. He comforts you. He encourages you. He carries you in his shoulders and spends all he has for your healing. (Luke 10:25-37).

You had a good testimony for the Lord in the past. You enjoyed the services, spiritual songs, and Bible studies. However, something happened to you badly. You are discouraged, and you feel like you are now a dimly burning wick. You thought your light would extinguish soon. However, the Lord gently comes to you, and he will not let your dimly burning wick extinguish. Instead, He fans the flame on you to brighten your candle. One word from him is enough for you to burn again brightly for Him. Just one powerful you heard is good enough to make you stand back. He sends his word to you and fans the flame still. Such is the character of our merciful, compassionate Lord Jesus.

Peter thought the flame extinguished because of the terrible mistake he did by denying Jesus three times. However, Jesus sought after him and waited for him with chargrilled breakfast, invited him to come and eat breakfast. With gentleness, compassion, and love, Jesus dealt with a discouraged Peter. He fans the flame again on him by his loving and merciful words. (John 21). Peter became the most important disciple out of all the twelve disciples. His one preaching on the day of Pentecost led three thousand people to salvation. (Acts 2:37-42). The Lord Jesus Christ will fan the flame on you as well in your discouragements. He will not break a bruised reed. He will not extinguish a dimly burning wick.

Come alongside and encourage for as long as we can still say, “today”.

Why we need encouragement?

Triune God and His Word always encourages

What God and His Holy Spirit always do, does in and through us well.

Finally let us look on two Bible verses.

Applications in personal life.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding.in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

My older son gave me a watch on this Christmas day and the above-cited Bible verse was imprinted on it.

When I came to the USA 31 years ago, I lost my connection plane from NY to Dallas. They gave me a hotel room. I sat on the floor of that hotel room and opened the Bible. God showed me Proverbs 3:5-6. It says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.”

31 years gone by living in this wonderful and blessed country called the USA. I faced severe and heartbreaking valley experiences. You say highs and lows in life. Been there and done it. Through it all, I can testify this to you as you and I stand in front of another new year. Trust in the Lord and submit to Him your ways and needs. He will make your paths straight, though it seems hard and  difficult.  He is good and faithful.

Now this year on December 27th, as I am facing probably the 3rd quarter of my life, God gave me another surprise from His wonder working hand- a sweet, beautiful pearl – a girl. We named her Rebekah. What a joy around the Christmas time when the  joy of the birth of Jesus Christ, the savior was celebrated! Praise and thanks to the wonder working, surprise filled, forgiving and loving Lord.

Beloved, God is Good and He can be trusted fully and completely. He will never leave you. He sticks with your closer than a closer brother or friend. In the valley and heights, He will be with you. He has only a good plan for you. He will not hurt you nor harm you. He will deliver you and raise you up. He will give new songs to you to sing and enjoy His blessings. He will make your paths -crooked and valleys- straight. You will bring thanksgiving offering to Him because you won’t be able to contain the joy He gives you. You will become an instrument of music and worship.

You see, God is a good God. God is holy. We are not holy fully and completely. However, God is love and His love lasts forever. Through providing the unending love, He makes us holy. God says you are already holy and sanctified because of the merit of His Son, Jesus Christ. God is merciful. God is compassionate. His loving kindness and mercies are brand new every morning.

Being God, He is worshiped by myriads of angels all the time. They fly and sing Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God. God forgives all our iniquities when we come to Him in repentance. He removes our sins and transgression far away from us so that these will never come back to us or haunt us. He remembers our low estate and raise us up to sit with the princes. God brings people low and raises the poor and unnoticed. God sovereignly rule in the hearts and minds of people to fulfill His purpose. He is the sovereign ruler of all the nations and He rules all. God rules from the throne in heaven and He rules all.

God is our creator. Being our creator, He deserves the worship of all. God made people in His own image. All people’s dignity comes from God because they are fashioned by God in His image. The man did not come from single cell ameba and the universe did not come into being as a result of the big ban. These are human invented lies spread in the world. The man is fearfully and wonderfully made by God. The fully organized and harmoniously working universe came into existence by the word of God. The science cannot prove man is evolved from single cell Ameba or from a monkey. No such transfer of life ever happened or historically recorded. These are only human speculations or assumptions. These human thoughts still remain as propositions and can not even be called theories.

God is Omnipotent (all powerful) and nothing is impossible for Him. Therefore He is able to help in our needs. God did wonderful and miraculous things to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and to their descendants. God did the same to many in the past. God still does wonderful and miraculous things to people. God is omniscient (all knowledgeable). If no one else understands, God knows our hearts and thoughts and He can send His help. God is omnipresent. God is everywhere at the same time. Nothing is hidden from His eyes. Hence, we are not alone. God is a wonderworking God. He can and will perform wonders and miracles any time if it is His will.

God saves. God saves and He is our true savior. No one else can save us fully and completely. Only God can. It is our sins that separate us from God. However, He gave His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins. God allowed His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place for all our sins that separated us from Him. This way He re-established His relationship and fellowship with us.

God is good. He gives life. He gives everything we need on a daily basis. God gives perfect gifts from heaven. He gives rains, seasons, sunlight, air, food, drinks. When we think all we have comes from His hand.

God owns all. However, He gives temporary stewardship of possessions to people-land, authority, ownership or whatever. It all comes from His kind and loving heart because He is good.

God can be trusted fully and completely. Our insight says “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding.” We are at the beginning hours of this New Year 2019. I am glad my son gave me a gift with an imprint of today’s verse. He took my thoughts to fly back 31 years.

My friend, if you can trust anyone fully and completely while you live in this world, may I suggest, it is God only. May I tell you a secret- the people who trust in the Lord will be blessed, no matter what happens to them. Do you know why? If you are a God lover, the Bible guarantees this – “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Do you love God for what He has already done for you? God gave His one and only Son because of His love toward you. He allowed His Son, Jesus Christ, to carry all your sins and shortcomings and become a sacrifice to pay for all your sins, transgressions and iniquities.

What else you need to trust God? He already proved He is trustworthy.

Do not worry as you face this new year 2019. Trust in God. Jesus said in John 14, “Believe in God, and believe also in Me.” In my prayer, I repeat this back to God. I usually say I believe in you God and I believe in your Son, Jesus Christ. He has thousands and thousands of unimaginable and unexpected ways to guide and bless you.

Say, I am going to trust in the Lord with all my heart
and not going to lean on my own understanding;
in all my ways I submit to him,
and He will make my paths straight.

Come on, say it again and again.

God has you in His hands. He will guide you and grant you surprises you never imagined. It is the joy to walk with the Lord. In His presence is the fullness of joy, and in His right hand, there are pleasures forever. Bible guarantees it. I guaranty it. Because I found joy, pleasure and pleasant surprise in walking with the Lord. Most beautiful thing is this – in your valley experiences, you will never walk alone. He sticks with you no matter what and delivers you and put songs in your mouth. You will end up praising God through out your life.

I said before how God proved His love to you by giving His one and only Son for your sins. The distance and enmity between you and God are gone when Jesus shed his divine and sinless blood to pay for your sins. Come to God today. God will become your best friend, always sticking one. Have you accepted Christ as your savior yet? If not, this is the moment. Jesus knocks at the door of your life. If anyone hears his loving knock at the door of your heart, He will come in and have fellowship with you forever and ever. He will remove your sins as far as the east is from the west and as high as the heavens from the earth. Those sins and transgressions will never come to you. It is gone like a flash. You will become a child of God in an instant when you invite Jesus, your savior to come into your life. Would you do it today? I will help you.

Pray after me. “Father in heaven, I trust in you Lord. I believe in God and also believe in Jesus, my savior. I believe Jesus died for my sins and rose again. I am sorry for my sins and now I turn from those sins and look to you, Lord. Please forgive me. Please come into my life and bless me with your eternal presence. Thank you for saving and blessing me. Amen.”

The key turning point in Jacob’s life-limping into God’s destiny by holding a staff-the Patriarch who is transferred to lean on God.

A clear and lasting break from Paddan-aram.

Laban and Jacob made a clear and lasting break in their relationships with a covenant. Genesis 31:44-53 explains the covenant they made between themselves. Verses 51-53 says, “Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac.” This illustrates no going back to that part of Mesopotamia as far as the children of Israel is concerned for any matter including marriage relationships. The covenant ended by Jacob offering a sacrifice on the mountain. They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain. Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them. Laban departed and returned to his place. (vs. 54-55). Here ends the description about the individual of Laban. However, the life history of God’s elect, Jacob, goes on further down through the history of humankind. Still, today and ever more in human history, the nation formed in his name with his twelve children (twelve tribes), will continue to exist. (Jeremiah 31:34-35).

The angels of God met and greeted Him.

Now Jacob went on his way to Canaan. Bible says the angels of God met him. When he saw the angels, Jacob said “This is God’s camp” He named that place Mahanaim. In Hebrew, the meaning of Mahanaim is “two camps” and the location is a place near Jabbok, beyond the Jordan River. Jacob was, of course, coming from the east side of the promised land and the location, therefore, is the eastern border of the promised land. The description could take us to at least prior places and incidents in the book of Genesis. The first one is in Genesis 3:24, “he (God) placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Bible says humans were sent away to the eastern direction. Moving away was to the east side as Genesis chapters illustrate. Coming back from the East is considered to be returning to the promised land. Deuteronomy 11:12 says this about the promised land (Israel),” It is a land the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.” Zechariah 2:8 says this about Jerusalem and the land of Israel, “Jerusalem, because any nation who harms you harms the apple of His eye.” Apparently, the land of Israel is specially watched over and protected by the Lord God Himself. Secondly, we remember when Jacob had a dream and he saw a ladder with its top reaching to heaven we were told the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. The unique phrase “the angles of God” was used only in two places – in Bethel where he saw the dream and received God’s promise and here in Mahanaim. This reminds Jacob of God’s promise, guidance and protection. God promised He will bring him back to the land and now the angels of God this time signaling God’s fulfillment of the promise in Jacob’s life. The word Mahanaim which means two camps shows two camps in Mahanaim – the camp of God’s angels and the camp of Jacob- his wives, children, servants, and animals.

Once crossed Jabbok with only a staff, now became two camps- who gets the credit?

Jacob himself testified the Lord is the reason for all his blessing. He says in 32:10 this, “I know I am not worthy of even a little of all of the loyal love and faithfulness You have shown to me, Your servant. You have already blessed me because I left home and crossed the Jordan with nothing except my staff. Now I have grown into two large camps.” When he left home and crossed the Jordan to go to Laban’s house, he had nothing in his hand except a staff. Now God made him grow into two large camps. Despite all Jacob’s maneuverings, schemes, Laban’s unfair treatments, cheating, animosity and Rachel’s stealing of household precious metal idols and so forth, it was the hand of God that made Jacob wealthy. In addition, God made him grow into two big camps as he testified. It reminds us of the fact that God is the one behind Jacob’s descendants and He is the one who protects them against all enemies and evil schemes. The same is true to God’s children, the church, who was grafted to Abrahamic’s blessings through Jesus Christ. The believers in Christ are the part takers of all the Abrahamic blessings in and through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:14 says this about all believers in Christ, “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” Despite mistreatments, unfairness, and animosities true believers face today, they can be comforted and encouraged by the fact that their God is the same God- the God of Jacob. Bible says, If God is for us, nobody can stand against us. (Romans 8:31). Indeed the God of Jacob is our protector, deliverer who bless us even through the animosities and unfairness of our enemies- spiritual and worldly. Unfair treatments and human counsels against God’s elect will be stopped by the powerful hand of God one day. Please be cautious about how do we treat the believers. Possess Godly fear. Do we ignore them? Are we trying to avoid God’s plan and agenda for our selfish agendas and desires? Do we treat them badly and do we try to take their God-given opportunities away from them? Even in Christian churches, human agendas are superseding God’s plans and agendas. It is good to think seriously these matters before it becomes late. No matter what, in the end, God protects His own with His mighty and outstretched arms and He will bring His plans and agenda to succeed.

Left alone in the night and trembled with fear reflecting the past.

This background of God’s angels met Jacob sets the stage for the key time of Jacob’s life. The fear of Esau gripped Jacob’s mind fully at this time as he came closer to Canaan. He remembered what Esau said that led to his flight to Paddan-Aram. Esau’s anger and the plan to kill Jacob were reported to Rebekah, his mother. It is reported in Genesis 27:41, “Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” In order to save the life of Jacob, she sent Jacob to her brother’s house and a few days became more than twenty years now. Now, these thoughts paralyzed Jacob. He sent messengers to Esau who was living in Edom, requesting his favor for him. However, they came back and reported Esau was coming to meet Jacob and had four hundred men with him. Jacob was greatly afraid and dismayed at this news. He prayed to the God his father and grandfather, Isaac and Abraham. He reminded God about His promise- “return to your country and relatives, and I will be with you.” (31:3). He prayed the Lord to deliver him from the hand of his brother, Esau. He prayed, “save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.” He sent gifts to Esau- two hundred female goats an twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. He commanded his servants to tell Esau this-Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us. He said to tell you, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” So he sent the present before him and He spent the night in the camp. The man Jacob was truly terrified to face Esau.

God’s mysterious intervention changed Jacob’s life and future destiny.

Jacob then arose and took his wives and his two maids and his eleven children and sent them across the stream. All he had he sent across the ford of the Jabbok. Jacob now was left alone for the most critical time in his life. When he was left alone, God dealt with him mysteriously. A Man wrestled with him until the daybreak. Read what the Bible says about this unusual incident of the encounter.

“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.” (32:24-31).

Wrestling with a Man until the daybreak, who was later recognized by Jacob as God (vs 30). “Jacob said I have seen God face to face, yet my life was preserved”. Do you understand what is really happening here? Wrestling happened to teach Jacob a lesson that he would never forget in the rest of his life. The Lord, in essence, was saying, Jacob, you spent your life in deception and human techniques so far. All through your life, you relied on your ability and plans. Now if I am going to fulfill all that I have planned for your future destiny according to my promise to Abraham (Genesis 12) and you (Genesis 28), I need to change you to a different man. I need to re-organize and reshape you before you enter into the promised land. As the Man wrestled with Jacob all through the night he reached out and pulled Jacob’s hip out of joint. The thigh, the joint and hip are the center of force for a wrestler. The Man touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched and he became disabled. Jacob began to walk by limping. He could not stand and walk on one leg. He needed a staff from this point onwards to walk. The Lord turned Jacob from a self-reliant and self-dependent man to God-reliant and God leaning man. The Man who wrestled with Jacob is none other than the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You see Jesus Christ was pre-existent in heaven before His birth in Bethlehem. This is what the theologians call Christophany. Several occasions the Son of God appeared to His people in the Old Testament, before his human birth on the first Christmas day. Generally, these incidents are described as the visit of the angel of the LORD. Whenever the Bible reports, the angel of the LORD appeared, it is referring to the appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ in the Old Testament time period. Jesus was in existence from the very beginning, from the eternity past. He came to the world to save you and me from our sins in the consummation of time. Some of Christ’s appearances in the old testament are described in Genesis 16:7-14; 22:11-15; Exodus 3:2-4; Judges 6:11-23; Zechariah 3:14.

Keep in mind, if you are a child of God, He touches us sooner later.

What is the lesson here? God wants to turn His children from self-reliance to God-reliance. Learning to lean on the Lord is the essence of spiritual growth. We think we are able and we can control. I am all I need. I do not anybody else. I will control and I will make the decision. I don’t need anyone’s input. Self-reliance and self-dependence is a hindrance to God to accomplish His plans in our personal life and corporate life. When will we learn we can not do it all? If we do not learn to rely on God and then God would do the same thing in all of our lives – pull the hip out of joint-so that we would learn to lean on God. Jacob said to the Man, “I would not let you go unless you bless me.” Jacob understood He was dealing someone mightier than Him. Therefore the Man asked him “what is your name.” Jacob said, “Jacob.” The Man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel.” Jacob’s name was changed to Israel and from Him (from his twelve sons) twelve tribes of Israel came into being. Jacob asked the man, “Please tell me your name.” The Man said, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.” Jacob called that place “Peniel” saying “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” Jacob testifies he saw God face to face- the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the second person in the triune Godhead. Then verse 31 of chapter 32 says, “The sun rose above him (Jacob) as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.” The Morning sun rose on Him as he moved from Peniel. The big change was he started limbing because of the touch of the Lord on his hip. He became disabled.

Are you limping? Do not worry- Read on.

My friend, are you limping by the touch of the Lord? Limping is not bad. For Jacob, it was not bad. For you, it is not bad either. If God touched, disabled you and you started to limb because you are disabled, your limb is going to be your future strength. Your limb is the pathfinder for your divine destiny. The biggest testimony Jacob passed to his grandchildren was the lesson he learned to lean on God in the pace called Peniel. Hebrews 11:21 says, “By faith Jacob when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.” He  limped all through his life from Peniel and at the end of his life he asked to bring all his children to him. As his time of departure came, the Bible mentions three things happened. He blessed his grandchildren, He worshipped the Lord as he was leaning on the top of his staff. The patriarch who learned to lean on the Lord. He passed the  to his sons and grandchildren a divine lesson -to lean on the Lord.  His grandchildren remember vividly how Jacob departed from this world. Blessing his grandchildren, worshipping by leaning on the top of his staff. Grandpa, why do you use the staff? Grandpa would describe the mysterious incident in Peniel to his grandsons where God turned him from self-reliant, scheme oriented, maneuvering man to a fully to God-reliant man who learned to lean on the Lord.

Your limb is your strength and testimony.

Your limb and your God allowed weakness is going to be your strength that God would use to touch the hearts and minds of people. Paul had a limb and he testified “for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Did you notice what Paul said. “When I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul prayed three times to take away the divinely allowed thorn in his flesh. However, the Lord said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Lord said to Paul, listen: I am not going to take away your limb (thorn in the flesh) but do you know what I would do? I would pour my grace sufficiently in you. When he heard this, Paul said, he would boast all the more gladly about his weakness. Why? because Christ’s power is resting on his weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Your limb is exactly where Christ’s power rest! In your limb, in your weakness, the Lord will pour sufficient grace. He is going to get glory out of your limb. If God touched you and replaced your hip out of your joint, share it with others. God is going to get the glory of your unique testimony. You have a powerful testimony to share. You have a divine destiny to fulfill.

When we hear the name of the nation Israel, keep in mind the nation is named after Jacob, a man who once was a deceiver and self dependent, who became disabled after the touch of the Lord and fulfilled His divine destiny in God’s plan. A man who was transferred by the Lord from self reliance to God reliance, who leaned on the Lord for each step of his walk, who blessed his future generations and worshipped the Lord as he was leaning on the top of his staff, just before his departure. Even in the last moments of his life he was totally God-reliant and leaned on God.

The Lord’s goal is the same for each one of our life-to lean on Him. The sooner we recognize this,  the better equipped would we become to fulfill God’s destiny for our life.

God orders the steps of the Godly and is actively involved in their decisions and establishes the ways. God is like a potter who shapes the clay at wheel.

The desire to go back to Canaan.

After the birth of a son from Rachel, Joseph, Jacob said to Laban to send him away to his own place – to his country. He said to give him his wives and children for whom he served and reminded Laban about his service to him for the last many years. However, Laban requested Jacob to stay on with him and continue to watch over his flocks and herds. There is a reason why Laban said this. Laban said he had divined that the LORD has blessed him on Jacob’s behalf. Laban also Jacob could request the ages he wanted and would be given.

Spilled over blessings from a Godly person.

Laban recognized the Lord had blessed him because of Jacob. However, Laban’s blessings were not because of his faith in the Lord but due to his association with Jacob. This takes us back to Abrahamic blessings in Genesis 12:3 which said, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses, I will curse.” Laban, of course, deceived Jacob many times.
However, God caused the Abrahamic blessings and blessings given to Jacob at Bethel to spill over to Laban’s life based on Genesis 12:3. Laban said he divined that the Lord had blessed him. It indicates Laban did not possess faith on the one true living God. Divination is a practice of heathen religion by which they read things based on their idol or star connections.

You see, God can bless those who associate with Godly children without the basis of their own personal faith. Lot’s blessings were because of his association with Abraham. If you have a wife or husband or friend who loves the Lord, keep that relationship because God in his sovereignty can spill over spiritual blessings to you. Bible reiterates this in 1 Corinthians 7:14, “For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.” If one person is a believer and the other spouse is not, the other person and the children have a special sanctifying blessing from the Lord. God’s blessing spill over to them based on the faith of the believing partner.

Jacob said to Laban that he had only little when he came to his house, and now it has increased to a multitude. The Lord had blessed him wherever he turned. But Jacob still wants to leave to his own country. I believe even after 20 years of serving Laban, Jacob remembers the divine encounter he had from God at Bethel in his dream. (Genesis 28:20-22). God initiated the desire in his heart to go back. It was the Lord at work in his heart.

Stay extended on one condition.

Jacob agreed to live with him for another period of time on one condition. His wages to serve him would be all the speckles and spotted goats and sheep and also all the black lamb in the herd. Laban liked the idea because the spotted goats and sheep and black lamb are apparently not that many numbers and he visualized to be a winner according to the terms and conditions. Immediately Laban isolated all the speckled and spotted ones and moved them about three days journey away. Per the agreement, Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks. Laban purposely removed the stripped and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted animals away so that they won’t produce more of spotted, speckled and black animals.

God even uses people’s ideas and imaginations to accomplish His purpose.

Jacob had another idea came into his mind when he saw Laban’s smart actions. As he was feeding Laban’s rest of the herds, he placed peeled rods of poplar and almond and plane trees and exposed the white in the rods when the animals came to drink water. At that time the animals that mated by these rods and flocks brought forth striped, speckled and spotted. Jacob separated all the lambs and did not put them with Laban’s flock. He did another idea. Whenever the stronger animals were mating, he placed the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters. He did make them mate by the rods. When the animals were feeble, he did not put them in. Therefore all the feebles animals became Laban’s and stronger ones became Jacobs.

Jacob had an idea that whatever an animal looks at while mating will produce the same type of offsprings. Of course, he was using his own plan and ideas. There is no scientific proof that whatever an animal look at the time of mating would produce the same type of offspring. He was doing a scheme based on his own calculations. However, his idea worked and gave the result he intended. The animals when they mated looking at the striped rods brought forth striped, speckled and spotted offsprings. In this way, Jacob became more blessed than Laban because he ended up having more stripped, spotted and black animals.

Jacob’s personal understanding of God in the midst of the heartbreaking events.

Though he used his own ideas, imaginations, and plans, later he gave credit to God and said to his wives God had taken away your father livestock and given them to me. (Genesis 31:9). We still see Jacob as a schemer who trusts in himself and not completely trusting in God’s provisions and ways.
We need to take note of this fact. It was God who blessed him because of His faithfulness to the promise given to Abraham, Isaac and later to him in Bethel, and not because of his human agendas. Romans 8:28 says, “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Even before his birth, God chose Jacob while he was in his mother’s womb and the promise of Abraham must come through Isaac and then later through the line of Jacob. God had caused all things to work together for good in Jacob’s life. It was all God’s gift and not because of any merit of Jacob. God would do the same thing in our lives. All things mean all things – good and bad- God turns into His children’s ultimate good. Jacob suffered a lot of deception in the hand of Laban, his uncle. God was in the midst of all to cause all things -good and bad -for his ultimate good. Thus God fulfilled His purpose in Jacob’s life.

Genesis 30:43 says, Jacob became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys. God kept His promise He made to Jacob in Genesis 28:15, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”Jacob gave all the credits to God in his testimonies. We can read Jacob giving credit to the Lord for all his blessings in Genesis 31:7, 9, 11-13, 31:42.

As a man who believed in manipulations, maneuverings, and strivings, Jacob was progressively learning to credit God and lean on God. Many of us are like Jacob. God is at work in us to mold us to His plans and provisions. The truth is this- if you love the Lord and if you are called according to His purpose, no matter what happens, do not be discouraged. The Lord shapes and molds us into his own image as we progress in faith life. The Lord is fully committed and He will not leave us until His plan is fulfilled in our lives. He is powerful to cause all things to work together for our good at the end. He will do it period!

Of course, Esaus and Jacob were different. There is no reference in the Bible Esau ever acknowledged or gave credit to the Lord. He was basically a fleshly man with no spiritual insight or connection to God. Jacob, in contrast, would respond to God’s revelations and acknowledge Him in life.

Now Laban heard the words of his sons. They said Jacob has taken away all that was their fathers and made himself wealthy. With God’s blessing on Jacob, the things turned around in favor of Jacob. The stipped, spotted and black animals were in minority but now they became the majority in Laban’s flock. No wander Laban’s sons became jealous toward Jacob. Jacob also noted the attitude of Laban toward him had changed. He was not friendly toward Jacob as he was in the past. Now the Lord appeared to Jacob and said to return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives and promised He will be with him. (31:3). God was ordering the steps of Jacob. God used Laban’s bad attitude and his son’s jealousy toward Jacob to accomplish the divine plan of God that was revealed to him in a dream in the night at the place called Bethel. Sometimes, we also come across such times of confusion and turning of events that cause anxiety and confusion. However, nothing happens in the life of a child of God without the knowledge and approval of God. Bible says in Psalms 37:23 says, “The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.”

Jacob announces to his wives his decision to go back.

Jacob announced his plan to return to his land and people to his wives. He said to them he served their father with all his might and strength. But Laban cheated him and changed his wages ten times. Jacob also said God did not allow him to hurt him. He said this because Laban did not keep the terms and conditions he agreed regarding striped, speckled and spotted sheep and goats as well as black lambs. Laban cheated him by changing the terms and said only speckled would be his. When he said all the flocks brought forth specked ones. Then Laban said only stripped ones are Jacobs. Then all the flocks brought forth stripped ones. God was working behind all of Laban’s cheatings and changing terms and conditions to bless Jacob. Then Jacob said to his wives the God had taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me. God in His power repaid Jacob for all of Laban’s mistreatments. He told them the God of Bethel where he anointed a pillar and made a vow called him to go back to his land and people (Genesis 31:13). Rachel and Leah agreed to go with Jacob to his land and people.

The flight back to Canaan

Jacob put his children and wives upon camels and he drove away all his livestock and properties which he had gathered in Paddan-Aram to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. They did not tell Laban that they were fleeing. Jacob fled with all he had and crossed the Euphrates river.

You see, God was at work sovereignly in Jacob’s heart to move back to his father’s people and land. This is part of the owe Jacob entered with God in Genesis 28 when God appeared to him in the night time in a dream. It says there, Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” God was faithful to him though there were hardships, deceptions, pains he suffered along the way. God never forgets His promises. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in Him. Therefore, the “Amen” is also spoken through Him by us for God’s glory.” (HCSB).

What is an idol to do with a true believer in God any way?

Now, Rachel, his wife stole Laban’s household idols and Jacob was unaware of it. We do not know for sure why she stole the household idols because no reason is given here in the text. The idols may have been made of precious materials and that means it had financial value. Or it could be she partially believed in the superstitious power of the idols and she wanted to the idols to be with her as an added blessings or good fortunes. Bible clearly detests the idols and the people who make it because the one and true living God made the heavens and earth and all in it cannot be fashioned into any of the idols or images. The first commandment of the ten commandment says in Genesis 20, “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Bible also people do not stop and think about the folly of making idols. Listen to what the Bible says about the people who make idols in Isaiah 44. Read and slowly think about the foolishness of making and worshipping idols.
“He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.

It is used as fuel for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.

Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”

From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.
He prays to it and says,
“Save me! You are my god!”

They know nothing, they understand nothing;
their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.

No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”

Rachel teach us a lesson.

Whatever the reason the fact is Rachel stole his father’s household idols as they were fleeing from Laban’s house. Before we put too much blame on Rachel, let us stop and look into our own lives. How many idols, superstitious believes, nonchristian traditional or cultural practices that we hold on even after coming to the understanding of the truth and liberty in Christ? Even some of the so-called Christian denominations that ought to have known the truths of the Word of God by this time stands in front of man-made images and idols is a very sad thing to see. This is especially true when the Bible clearly hates the practice of idol and image worships. In certain denominations, the traditions have more value than the truth of the eternal Word of God that is inspired and breathed by God Himself. (2 Timothy 3:16).

Don’t you know the patriarch Jacob was a work in progress?

Jacob’s separation from Laban also informs a fact. Sometimes a clear separation is needed to progress in God’s eternal plan and purpose. The return to Canaan by disconnecting tie with Laban was the right step to take to go with God and His plans. And Jacob did it.

When Jacob was told about Jacob’s flight, he took his kinsmen and pursued him to a seven day’s journey. However, God intervened and warned Laban in a dream that he should not speak good or bad to Jacob. Laban asked Jacob why did he secretly fled and deceived him. He also said why Jacob did not give him enough time to send them away with joy and song and allowed him to kiss his daughters and children. Laban said he has the power to do harm to Jacob, but the God of Jacob’s father appeared and said do not say good or bad to Jacob. Then Laban asked why did you steal my gods? Jacob said he was afraid that Laban would take his daughters (Rachel and Leah) from him by force. Because Jacob was unaware Rachel took the gods of Laban, he said whoever he finds with idols shall not live but die. Laban went into the tent and search everywhere but Rachel put the idols in the camel’s saddle and sat on it. She said to Laban I cannot rise up because the menses was on her. Thus Laban did not find the idols. Jacob got angry and said, all these twenty years I have been with you whenever an animal was torn he did not bring it to him and bore the loss of it himself. Whether an animal was stolen by night or day, Laban required if of his hand. The day heat consumed him and night frost by night. He served 14 years for two of his daughters and six years for his flock and he changed wages ten times. An account of his hardships working for Laban. Then he said, “If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.”

Jacob says in the midst of Laban’s deceptions and unfair practices toward him, God of Abraham and Isaac have repaid him and blessed him. Had God not been with Jacob, Laban would have sent him empty handed with nothing.

The man now acknowledges the hand and guidance of God in his life. Jacob has come a big way now in his understanding about the God of his grandfather and father- Abraham and Isaac. Still with flaws, maneuvering and schemes. Jacob was work in progress. We are not patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, we are also God’s work in progress, aren’t we? God sent Jeremiah to potters house to get a lesson. Jeremiah closely watched the way the potter working on the clay at his wheel. God gave the message by saying, “you are like the clay in the potter’s hands, and I am the potter.” This message is from the Lord.”