Jacob was the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham. After God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, the descendants of Jacob’s 12 sons became the biblical nation of ancient Israel. God made specific promises to the people of Israel in terms of their behavior: Blessings for obedience, but if Israel failed to obey God, then the status of power and wealth God promised to bless them with would be removed. In Deuteronomy there is a beautiful description of what God promised He would do for … [Read more...] about Jacob’s Trouble
Salvation
Anger Incubator
In June 2020, Elizabeth Chang's comments were printed in the Washington Post. Sadly, her words still ring true over 2 years later. She wrote: “Americans are angry. The country erupted into the worst civil unrest in decades after the death of George Floyd, and anger about police violence and the country’s legacy of racism is still running high. At the same time, we’re dealing with anger provoked by the coronavirus pandemic: anger at public officials because they’ve shut down parts of society, or … [Read more...] about Anger Incubator
A Story of New Beginnings
God uses a pattern of "new beginnings" throughout the Bible. These patterns reveal God's persistent love for mankind even when man is rejecting His way of life. In the beginning, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good . . ." (Genesis 1:31 NIV). Gensis 1:27 says this included the creation of the first man and woman. From scripture we understand God’s purpose is to create a family, the God family beginning with Adam and Eve. Every physical thing that God created, … [Read more...] about A Story of New Beginnings
God of the Living
God instructed Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If he did eat, God said the consequences would be that dying, you shall die. In time, both Adam and Eve, did eat the fruit, and so death entered the world. Ever since then, humanity has been cursed with a physical death. The question came up soon after: what happens after death? Throughout history, man has developed many different explanations and ideas related to what happens after … [Read more...] about God of the Living
Death and Beyond
While we all know something about living a physical life, it is important to gain an understanding of death and what is beyond. Paul's perspective in I Corinthians 15:19-26 is very enlightening: "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death [through Adam], by Man [Christ] also came the resurrection of the dead. For as … [Read more...] about Death and Beyond
The Master Potter
In Isaiah 64: 8 God reveals Himself as a “potter”: “But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.” The Hebrew word for clay is ‘chomer’ which means as bubbling up. That is of water, a wave, of earth, mire, or clay, like cement or mortar. Moses wrote that God formed man out of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2.7) The Hebrew word for dust means clay, earth, mud, ashes, dust, ground, mortar, powder and, rubbish. Water is a … [Read more...] about The Master Potter
Lessons of the Last Day of Unleavened Bread
Through faithfully keeping the Last Day of Unleavened Bread our understanding of God’s way and His plan of salvation is increased. But there are also monumental events that occurred on this day during the history of the ancient nation of Israel. Paul recites two major events in the book of Hebrews: “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell after they were encircled for seven days.” … [Read more...] about Lessons of the Last Day of Unleavened Bread