HOLY THINGS

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today: Friday: Exodus 24, 25, 26. What articles in a contemporary house of worship might be seen as comparable to the ark, the table, the lampstand, and the curtains?
It was about five years ago that a replica of the Tabernacle came to Schertz, Texas. Yes, Schertz, Texas. It was sponsored by a local church and for the price of admission one could go inside and see what the actual Tabernacle ("Dwelling" as this Message version calls it). The ministerial alliance of Northwest San Antonio took a bunch of us to see it. It was very impressive. The people who made this replica took great pains to make it exactly as The Bible explains it and it included the ark, the table, the lampstand, and the curtains.
What would be comparable in one of today's churches to those items mentioned? I can't think of a modern day ark per se, our altar comes the closest, and the table would be our altar table, and the curtains would be the kneelers at the altar; and the lampstand would have to be the candles on our altar table. These are just symbols of worship. They are not sacred to us. They are special and should be held as such, but they are not God and not worthy of our worship or praise. They're made by human hands, actually molds and machines, but serve to remind us of the presence of God. Where is the Tabernacle today? The ark? The other items? In a huge US government warehouse in Area 51? No one knows, nor does it matter. Their existence is recorded in the pages of our holy book and serve to remind us that our God is worthy to be praised!
Whatever you hold holy in your life, let those things be shadowed by the majesty of God. Only God is worthy. Only God deserves our praise.
PRAYER: Living God, I praise You and love You and I place You first in my life. May all things that I've thought to be holy find the right place in my life, which is after You. Help me to be holy in my actions. Let me be an instrument of worship today and all days. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

GOD KNOWS BEST!

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today: Thursday: Exodus 21,22, & 23. Find four or five examples of biblical laws dealing with the common things that have their basis in a sense of justice or of divine purpose.
I filled up a good portion of my paper with a list of common things that have their basis in a sense of justice or divine justice.
God demands us to be fair. There are some very interesting and relevent things that deal with today in these three chapters that we blindedly forget in the name of national security, patriotism, etc. There's a community outside of Dallas that has been in the news lately because of their fear/hatred of undocumented immigrants. Read carefully the words of Exodus 22. God says, "Do not abuse or mistreat strangers (foreigners in the original translations), and repeats that again in Exodus 23 reminding the Israelites as He can us, "Remember you were once strangers (foreigners) in this land." There's a mention of true worship and God says plainly, "No one should show up before me empty-handed."
The basis for most of our laws can be found in what is known as the Mosaic Code, which is found in these pages of Exodus. God revealed to us how to get along and be good neighbors and true brothers and sisters with other humans. Why do we so easily follow the "crowd" (that is shared also in the chapters today) and follow passions and fears instead of Godly decrees?
PRAYER: Speak to me loving God about how I need to live and love. Let me follow You and not the demands of the crowd. Let me be an example to others. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

THE BIG TEN

Good day dear friends.
PRAYER SERVICE TOMORROW NIGHT AT 7!
TONIGHT REHEARSAL OF THOSE INTERESTED IN BEING IN THE LIVING LAST SUPPER. ALSO AT 7.
Here is our study guide for today:Wednesday: Exodus 19 & 20. In what order would you place the Ten Commandments if you were listing them by importance? Why?
This question is like asking, who's smarter, God or you? I would have to answer that God is. There's a rhyme and reason for the order in which God gave the Ten Commandments to us. I know that some would place low priority in those having to do with our relationship with God and that's because God isn't important in their life. Others would place it high in their mind, but not in their heart, and live a life that doesn't honor God. If we look at their order, they're written exactly as how we should live: Make sure God is number one in our life; respect God, honor and worship God; don't make anyone or anything else God.
The others show how we should live our lives in our relationship with others: those who raised you should have a special place in our life; respect life, don't take it away; don't take away life from the most special relationship in your life by going with someone other than your spouse; respect your neighbors by respecting what is theirs.
How have you ranked the Ten Commandments in your life? Are you living in that manner? Or can people see that some are just not real for you?
PRAYER: Loving God, help me to live my life as You have instructed. May You have the proper place in my life that You deserve. Help me live my life with others in the way that brings honor to Your name, for I pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

I WILL FOLLOW HIM

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Tuesday: Exodus 16, 17, & 18. Make a list of the variety of ways, in these chapters, that God met Israel’s needs.
When God is involved in our lives, lists and lists of things He does on our behalf are sure to follow. And this was no exception in the mass movement of His people out of Egypt and into the wilderness. As you do the readings recommended for today you will discover this list: God provided food. God provided for the people of Israel meat and bread. Quail would fly into their camp for meat and in the morning after the fog lifted a fine, good tasting bread was provided; this was called manna.
God also provided a day of rest and worship called the Sabbath. They knew about it but didn't live it (sound familiar?). God didn't want them to work on this day; instead it was meant as a day to worship Him and rest for the upcoming week.
God provided water when the people were thirsty. In a miraculous way, as had been all that God had done thus far, Moses struck a rock and water gushed from it to quench the thrist of the people.
God provided guidance through someone else. Moses was listening to thousands of cases of complaints and judgments and it was Jethro, his father-in-law who suggested delegating the responsibility of work to competent God-fearing man who could hear the routine cases and the hard cases would still come to Moses.
What a list! And isn't it the same in our lives? God provides what we need if we look for it or ask for it. If God leads our lives we'll be led right to where what we need can be found.
What do you need? Are you letting God lead you to it? Do it and see if wonderful things aren't yours soon!
PRAYER: God who leads, lead me today into your arms for love and protection and lead my life to where I can best serve You. I ask this in the name of He who followed you and died for me, Jesus my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

THE EXODUS IS OUR STORY

Good day dear friends. Sorry for the delay in sending this ConCafe. Here is our study guide:
Monday: Exodus 13, 14, & 15. Record the pendulum swing of the actions of God, the troubles endured, and the negative and positive responses of the people.
How much is this story my story. Be honest and admit how much this story if your story as well. It's a daily story. God blesses me, and I'm fine with God. Trouble or temptation comes along, and I forget all about God. Then I need God and I cry out to God. God blesses me, and I'm fine with God. Trouble or temptation comes along, and I forget all about God. Then I need God and I cry out to God. God blesses me, and I'm fine with God.
Now, was that God's fault or mine? Yes, you're right, mine. And yours. I forgot to add the complaints that I sometimes utter up against the things I'm facing in hopes that God will hear me and do something about it. But usually those complaints are just my interpretation, make that negative interpretation, of what I'm facing. And again, it's not God's fault, it's mine.
The people of God, just like you and me, expected God to act in a mighty but immediate way. What they did not understand was that God worked through all of the experiences to form a people. Every experience however good or bad was to show the people a lesson about God. After forty years they would have a God-history and they would be blessed by remembering all that God had done on their behalf.
You've been blessed by the stories that make their way into our email inbox about those people whose perspectives about life and God make them enjoy each day. At some point in their life they decided they would gain nothing by being negative and despairing about what had come their way; a positive outlook on life would bless them like nothing else.
It's your choice. You're handed a menu and you can choose either from Column A, which is the positive perspective or from Column B, which is the negative response. Remember you're choosing what you will gain.
PRAYER: Loving God of love and life, speak to me the word of hope and joy even in the midst of those things that cause me to get close to despairing. You are with me, and I praise You! In Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

EXCUSES INTO ENERGIES

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Please find and read Exodus 3 and 4. Make a list of Moses’ several objections to what God was asking him to do. Which of these examples fit your life and similar hesitancy in responding to God’s call?
If you've ever tried to recruit someone to do something as a volunteer, let's say in the church, why not, you will hear excuses. Sometimes you will hear what you never thought you'd hear, but that's another story. As a pastor you can imagine I've heard them all. A dear mentor in ministry used to jokingly say, "I'd love to but the kitty is having puppies today!" En Espanol, of course, and it was always great for a laugh. But Moses had a right to be apprehensive about his saying yes. He was a wanted criminal back in Egypt and for God to call him to return there was for him to risk being arrested and executed for his crime of murder.
But he begins with the great excuse, I'm not worthy. Or the who-am-I-to-be-called-by-God excuse? God puts those aside, yes, even in our case. God usually says, "You are my son/daughter and I can use you!"
Moses then tries the "I hate speaking in public" or "I stutter and stammer as I speak," and again God says to Moses and to us, if you go, I will go with you, and I will give you the words. Just yesterday someone said, "I don't know how preachers do it week after week, to have to come up with a sermon..." I told him if it wasn't for God we wouldn't. And it's true. It is God who gives us the words, if we trust Him and listen to Him.
Moses didn't say this one, but it was implied and God knew it: I hate going alone. God said that Aaron, Moses' brother could go with him and help him. Jesus employed this later on in His ministry. One can better serve God by going in twos on those calls that are best served in twos.
What has God asked of you? What has been your excuse? Have you prayed and asked, "God speak to me about what I should do?" And have you given God time and peace and quiet to speak to you? I know that it will be when we give God a turn to speak that God will put aside our excuse and use us for His purposes and glory.
PRAYER: Loving God, I thank You for being with me. Speak to me today about what I should be doing for You. Take my excuses and turn them into energies needed to serve. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.

GOD WITH US IN ALL THINGS

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Wednesday: Read Exodus 1 and 2. As you consider the down, up, and down again of Moses’ life in these two chapters, can you draw a comparison and an application for your own life?
For those of you faithfully following the readings, congratulations! We've now completed the first book of the Bible! Pat yourself on the back! We come now to the story of Israel in Egypt after Joseph dies. The central character for a while will be Moses and he had a most interesting life. Please read the first two chapters which follow.
Moses was born during a time that a governmental order was in effect to kill all Hebrew babies. This was a foreshadowing of Jesus' birth, for He too was born under a similar order. Both were deliverers serving God and God protected both of them. Moses' mom took risks. She, like other Hebrew mothers did not want her son killed. She hid him for three months and then decided to try to see if there was a way to get Pharoah's daughter to adopt this baby. Her plan worked, Moses was adopted. The clever thing was that Moses' sister, Miriam, was there to ask if the new mother needed a wet nurse to nurse the baby until he was weaned. Of course, Miriam knew the perfect mother, Moses' own! Until he was weaned, Moses was raised in his own Hebrew household. He now comes into a life of privilege he goes! Moses is raised as an Egyptian in the palace. Yet, he never forgot where he was from and who he was.
Moses fought for injustice, though murder was not and should not be a part of justice, but his involvement in this murder causes him to leave Egypt to flee for his life. He heads to Midian where he is taken into a family, marries into it, has a family and awaits there the death of Pharoah so that he can return.
All of our lives have ups and down and ups again. Through it all, God sees us through. At no point should we ever give up or think that God is finished with us, He's not. Whatever the challenge or the obstacle, God is with us and will see us through it.
PRAYER: Loving God, help me today in what I face. Whatever the challenge or obstacle, it is not greater than You and together we can face it and overcome it. I trust You. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

WHAT KIND OF LOVE DO YOU HAVE?

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Tuesday: Please read Genesis 49 and 50. What can you learn regarding the nature of guilt in the attitude of Joseph’s brothers?
Today's readings are very interesting. The blessing of Jacob to his sons is an honest appraisal of their character and traits and show the old man knew each of them. Pay attention to Joseph's blessing and what his father said about him and what happened to him.
In Genesis 50 we find the vulnerability of Joseph's brothers after the death of Jacob. It could have been, they must have thought, that now that dad is gone, we no longer have him to protect us. We must act. So, what they do is devise a lie to protect themselves. They report to Joseph that their dying father had asked Joseph to forgive them their wickedness. At least we see them confessing that what they had done was evil and deserved punishment. What they apparently didn't see well is that Joseph deeply loved them. He wept when he first saw them, he wept when they returned with his younger brother, and when told that he should forgive his brother's sins he wept again. Joseph's love was vast. It is the sort of love we all need, to forgive and accept others even when it may seem or is real, that others don't accept us. Who could have taught him this love? Only God Himself.
What kind of love do you have? Do you keep accounts of things owed you? Do you hold grudges? Do new offenses against rekindle anger from past events? How would Christ have you love?
PRAYER: Living and loving God, make me more like You when it comes to love. I ask this in the name of He who tuaght us the true, eternal meaning of love, Jesus my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.
e.v.

THE POWER OF HUNGER

Good day dear friends. We celebrated the worship of God with a sermon on Genesis 28:10-22 and lessons we can learn from Jacob.
Today's study guide is here:
Monday: Please read Genesis, 46, 47, 48 and list the several pros and cons of Joseph’s policies in the fourteen years of feast and famine.
It is amazing what hunger will cause a person to do. The Egyptians found themselves needing the food the government had, and were willing to do anything to keep from starving to death. Joseph, the second-in-command of Egypt was always watching out for his boss, Pharoah, and in keeping the hunger from taking the lives of the people of Egypt, accepted all their money for food, later, traded food for livestock, and later even allowed the Egyptians to sell themselves and their farms for food. The people of Egypt found themselves enslaved to Pharoah and without land.
What would you do if you were hungry or if your children were hungry? We can only imagine there were not many options available to the people of Egypt. The people knew that Pharoah had the food thanks to God helping Joseph interpret the dreams that predicted the coming of the seven years of feast and seven years of famine. While they had money they could pay for the food. As the famine continued, they ran out of money and traded their livestock for food. Would you sell yourself and your family into slavery to stay alive? Our modern minds, thank God, do not allow us to entertain such thoughts, but given the time and traditions it was an option that Joseph knew that the option of slavery was perhaps the only chance the people had to stay alive. They accepted.
Our trip to the local grocery store this weekend reminded me of how blessed we are as a nation. As I unloaded each item from the basket to the conveyor belt I thanked the Lord that our ability to feed ourselves is this easy. I thought about those who do not have the same access that we have, and how staying alive is a struggle day after day. I thought about our ancestors and the chore it was to feed themselves; to walk aisle to aisle just picking and choosing food is a blessing that we take for granted.
What will we do about it?
PRAYER: God of love we thank You for what You have provided for us. We're mindful of those in need and those who are hungry around us. Help me to do my part, to care and to share, and to do what You would have us do to meet their needs. I am blessed, let me be a blessing. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.
e.v.

SURRENDER YOUR PRIDE

Good day dear friends.
Our prayer focus for today should be for those who travel back to school or work after having spent time on spring break.
Here is our study guide for today:Sunday: Read Genesis 43, 44, and 45. Make a list of the emotions that Joseph experienced in their crucial meetings.
Joseph was guided by God and he loved and trusted Him. To see his brothers kneel before him I believe, did not make him feel vindicated, but rather glad to see them alive. To find out his father and younger brother still lived also were more than he could imagine and so my list would begin with happiness, grateful to God that these were still alive. Joseph may have also felt some sadness at the time they had been apart from each other, but to finally be together I'm sure made up for that feeling.
Today's reading in The Upper Room is about forgiveness and the writer shares how he and his brother were once angry at each other and how the writer's heart was hardened at knowing he had to forgive his brother just like Jesus' parable about the unjust steward had shown. It was when he finally surrendered his pride to God that he knew he needed to forgive his brother.
What is more important, pride or life? Being right or being reconciled?
PRAYER: Loving God, let me realize how precious it is to be alive and in relationship with You and with my loved ones. Help me surrender my pride to you so that reconciliation can take place with those I may have hurt. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

THE GOD OF OUR DREAMS

Good day dear friends.
A Praise: Our oldest daughter, Nellie, spent a week with us this week and drove up with us to Denton where we picked up Caitlin for her week with us this coming week. Please pray for all who are on the highways this weekend as spring breakers return back to school and others return home or head to the coast.
Here is our study guide for today: Saturday: Please read Genesis 41&42 and see what dream Joseph interprets. Notice that he gives credit to God. Is this similar to what he did as a boy when reporting his dream to his family?
Going back to Genesis 37 we find the first dreams of this man Joseph when he was a boy. There is no mention of God in those dreams and they come across as a little boy with big dreams, self-centered as they may seem. But in today's readings, the little boy has come to maturity in his faith and realizes the presence of God in all things, even dreams, and so does not hesitate to give credit where credit is due, God.
How do you treat every area of your life? Is God seen in every area or have you set limits to where you think God is present? Friends, it's in all areas or nothing. Give God what God is due, even in your dreams, and more importantly when those dreams come true.
PRAYER: Loving God, make me able to see You in all areas of my life. You know my dreams be in them. When those dreams come true, help me not forget that You were there then and now. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
d.v.

GOD'S INTEGRITY

Good day dear friends.
We continue our prayers for Pam Sultenfuss and husband Gene, and for Daryl Burttschell's dad who is undergoing an MRI this morning. Pray for God's wisdom.
Here is our study guide for today: Friday: For today read Genesis 39 & 40 and see the integrity that Joseph had with the conduct that his employer’s wife was exhibiting. Would you have done the same thing knowing that you would be demoted and imprisoned? Have you ever had similar experiences where your conduct brought you pain or loss?
It was in yesterday's newspaper, a couple in San Antonio were running a sexual scam. She advertised herself as wanting to be an "adult friend" to married men. Five married men answered her ad; then they were confronted by a "jealous" husband who because of the anger he felt because of their adultery with his wife, was going to expose them to their spouses, employers, the public, unless they would give him huge sums of money for charity. As you can imagine that his favorite charity like sadly, so many, was himself. He was convicted yesterday of three of five counts of fraud. I share that because in today's world there is a lack of integrity when it comes to sexual things. The reading from Genesis 39 show a young, God-fearing, God-led young man who, though sold in slavery by his own brothers, is still blessed by the Lord for he finds himself working in the household of one of the most powerful men in Egypt. God blessed Joseph so much that all that Potiphar, Joseph's boss, had to worry about is to eat three meals a day. The boss' wife had other interests in Joseph and invited him repeatedly to lie with her and he refused. The day came when she grabbed his clothing, it came off, and Joseph fled in fear. She claimed he raped her and disgraced her. Her husband believed her and Joseph was thrown in jail. You must read the rest of chapter 39 and 40 to find out...the rest of the story.
Where would you have put yourself? What would be written about you and your story? Are you God-led and God-blessed? Do your actions reflect not only your integrity but God's?
PRAYER: God of honesty and truth, speak to me today about how I need You and to be led by You. Let me see beyond the temporary temptations of today to the eternal rewards of obedience. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS! YOU GOTTA LOVE 'EM!

Good day dear friends.
Please be in prayer for Pam Sueltenfuss who is in critical condition at CTMC. Please pray for comfort for her husband Gene.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Just two chapters today: 37 and 38. Can you put yourself in Jacob’s place and list the positive characteristics you see in Joseph? Now try putting yourself in the place of Joseph’s brothers and list the negative qualities you see in him.
This is an interesting question for an interesting young man. First thing I notice is not so positive, Joseph is a tattle-tale! He goes and spies on his brothers and brings "reports" back on them. Not my idea of the ideal brother!
On the positive side, he was the son "of his old age" meaning that when Jacob was old, his favorite wife, Rachel, gave birth to him. This wife died when giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. But I suppose we could add obedient to the list of positive qualities. He loved his dad and cared for the wellbeing of his dad's livelihood and so the reports were intended to keep the dad informed of what was and wasn't going on in the business of tending herds of sheep.
As for his brothers, I've listed the first and most annoying trait that of "squealing" on them. The other would be that he was "Daddy's little favorite boy" made evident by the fact that Israel (Jacob's new name) made for him a special coat. Then Joseph had two dreams that showed him in a position of power over his entire family. To tell this to older brothers, especially half-brothers, would make usually most, very angry.
This makes for the question of the day: How is it with your siblings and your relationship with them? Are you where you should be or is there reconciliation needed? Have you made contact with them recently or would you honestly have to admit you're estranged from them? Family is important, though honestly, sometimes conflicts do arise. Can we rise above conflict and differences to let love reign?
PRAYER: Loving God bless my brothers and sisters. Let me rise above whatever has divided my relationships in the past. Let me be Your person, a person of love. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

HOW DO YOU APPROACH WORSHIP?

Good day dear friends. We're thankful for the rain that has come to renew and refresh the earth! We pray that as we make our way through God's word, we would be renewed and refreshed.
Today we're to study three chapters that come after Jacob and Esau' reunion, beginning with a terrible incident that leads to fatal consequences for those involved. Please read the assigned chapters.
Here is the study guide:
Wednesday: Read chapers 34, 35, and 36 and see if there is any significance between Jacob’s being called at this point in this life, to build an altar at Bethel?
In chapter 34, one of Jacob's daughters is sexually assaulted by one of the natives in the land in which they were living. Dinah is visiting some women in the country and when Shechem sees her, he desires her and takes her. (A good point to remind our women of all ages, to sign up for the Self-Defense Class we're offering in cooperation with the SMPD-remember sadly, that even 101 year old women get assaulted!). After the rape the man responsible falls in love with Dinah and wants to marry her. Jacob is angered by this act on his daughter but because his sons were away working, he couldn't do anything. Once they return and find out they go to see what they can do against this man and his family. They listen to the pleas from Shechem and Hamor, and they reply that the only way Dinah could marry Shechem and for that matter the only way Jacob's daughters would marry any Hivite, was if they would all get circumcised. Rather than trying to get these men to physically wear the sign of the covenant they had with God, their intention was to make them weak. On the third day after their circumcision, they're still recovering and two of Jacob's sons comes into the village and kill all the men. The other brothers come in later and loot he village taking even the women and children they found.
Is there any significance to Jacob building an altar? Certainly. God calls Jacob to repentence and Jacob instructs his family to bathe, change clothes and to throw away all of the foreign gods they had acquired while looting the village of Hamor. God moves them away from where they were and takes them Bethel to build an altar and to have worship there. Once worship is concluded, they continue their journey where God reveals that Jacob's name is now Israel and that the land promised to Abraham and Isaac will become his as well. Jacob's favorite wife, Rachel, dies in childbirth as she gives birth to Benjamin; and we discover that Isaac also dies.
The actions of murder and retaliation were not Jacob's doing. This was a decision by his sons. The end of chapter 34 shows Jacob saying that this deed has made his name "stink to high heaven." The cleansing and worship that followed was very significant and very needed.
How do you see weekly worship? Is it a time for personal cleansing and renewal? Or is it force of habit to just come and do your Sunday thing week after week? Jacob saw the need for he and his family to be made right with God and so the building of an altar and the worship that followed was very much a needed thing for his wellbeing and spiritual life. In the same way we should approach our time of worship as a needed thing for our wellbeing and spiritual life. We can come to be cleansed, forgiven, renewed and strengthened for the new week. And during the week we should live our lives in a way that reflects our having been in "Bethel (God's house)."
PRAYER: Loving God, change my perspective toward Your worship. Let it be a life-giving experience as I seek to bless and worship You. Keep me from seeing it only as a routine and ritual with little or no meaning. May every part of worship be a living experience for me. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

FREEDOM TO LIVE FULLY

Good day dear friends,
Here is our study guide for today: Tuesday: For today, find and please read Genesis 31, 32, and 33. Do you see a connection between Jacob’s apprehension at the coming meeting between himself and his brother Esau and the experience he had with the Divine Stranger?
You know the feeling. You have to go to a place where you know someone you've talked bad about is going to be there and you know you have to face them. You feel sick. You don't want to go. But you have to. Such was the case of Jacob and his having to once again see his brother Esau. Jacob had cheated Esau out of his birthright and had left in fear for his life. Yet, God had blessed him even while putting up with a dishonest uncle/father-in-law. The time came when God told him, now you can return home with your family. But that meant that he would have to once again come face-to-face with Easu and that made him very afraid. The night before his encounter with his brother, Jacob was visited by the Divine Stranger, a "man" who wrestled with Jacob all during the night. For us, we can say we wrestle with the fear of having to have those encounters we don't want to have, but in Jacob's case, he found he had been wrestling with God himself and now has his name changed from Jacob to Israel and receives a blessing from God.
Was there a connection? Of course. Jacob needed to have that reassurance that he was not alone, that God was with him, and that no matter what happened the next day, he was already blessed. The meeting went better than he could have dreamed. Instead of meeting his end, which surely he deserved, he met a brother who still loved him and wept at the reconcilation that took place between them. It came about because both trusted God.
What do you fear in your life today? What have you done against someone that keeps you from being free to enjoy life and going about the way God would have you go? Whatever it is, turn it over to God!
PRAYER: Loving God, I turn over to you the matter that is troubling me and keeping me from enjoying life to the fullest. Come into my heart and speak to me and help me to know that You are always with me. Help me to ask forgiveness from those whom I've offended, and help me to show mercy to those who have sinned against me. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

HONEST? ARE WE TRYING TO BE?

Good day dear friends. We start week three of reading our way through the Bible. I hope you're keeping up with the assignments!
Here is our study guide for today:
Monday: Please find and read chapters 28, 29, and 30 in Genesis. Make a list of characteristics you observe in Laban and Jacob. Do you have any of these in you?
What a list we could make for the two and for ourselves as well! Being humans, we find them to be a bit greedy. These three chapters tell the story of Jacob and Laban. Esau is in this story briefly, but it centers on how Jacob became the father of the nation of Israel. He meets Rachel, his first cousin, falls in love with her and asks his uncle if he can marry her. Rachel's father is Laban and he says that he can work seven years for him and he will give him Rachel. After seven years he is given Leah, Rachel's older sister because Laban says in his country the youngest cannot marry before the oldest. Jacob complains and Laban says he will give him Rachel after a week's honeymoon, but he will have to work another seven years to fulfill his obligation to him for this exchange. The story says that each of Laban's daughter receives a maid as part of the marriage, and this is important to note because the maids become wives ultimately to Jacob, and mothers of his children. We find Jacob being treated, some would say paid back, the way he treated his own father and brother when he cheated them of rightful blessings and birthright.
We find further disception when Jacob asks to be paid for his labor with all the spotted and speckled lambs. Laban removes these lambs from the flock to force Jacob to stay longer and work longer for him. Jacob devises a plan to make more spotted and speckled lambs thus allowing him to leave earlier.
Hmm, could you and I be like that? I pray not! But the reality is the temptation is to get by with whatever we can. Does that make it right? Of course not. This story further proves the Bible hides nothing, it tells the honest story of humanity and our need for God. May this story speak to us about the need to be as God would have us be.
PRAYER: Loving God, forgive me when I've been just like Jacob and Laban. Set me on a higher plane, one that serves You and Yours. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great day in the Lord!
e.v.

WHAT HAS GOD REQUIRED OF YOU?

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Friday: Read Genesis 22 & 23 and try to describe a time in your faith where it seemed that you were called to an ultimate sacrifice.
What has God asked you to do that has seemed like an ultimate sacrifice? Does it compare with the story we find below in Chapter 22, where God asks Abraham to sacrifice his long-awaited son? Sometimes we make it seem that way! In all things that God asks from us, God will reward us with something even better that at the time we thought not possible.
In chapter 23, Abraham fearfully asks to be given permission to buy a burial plot for his wife Sarah, but he is treated as a man of God and told he can get the best of their burial plots and when he mentions the plot he wants, he is given the land free! But he insists that he can't receive it free and asks to be able to pay for it, and so he does. An unexpected blessing! Isn't God just like that?
PRAYER: Loving God ask what You will of me and give me strength and boldness to say YES. I pray that I might find favor in Your eyes. I pray in He who gave of Himself, Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Have a blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.
(After the sharing of devotional thoughts and a prayer, I will post the recommended chapters below.)
The Message genesis 22 - Study This Chapter 1 After all this, God tested Abraham. God said, "Abraham!" "Yes?" answered Abraham. "I'm listening." 2 He said, "Take your dear son Isaac whom you love and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I'll point out to you." 3 Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants and his son Isaac. He had split wood for the burnt offering. He set out for the place God had directed him. 4 On the third day he looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 Abraham told his two young servants, "Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I are going over there to worship; then we'll come back to you." 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and gave it to Isaac his son to carry. He carried the flint and the knife. The two of them went off together. 7 Isaac said to Abraham his father, "Father?" "Yes, my son." "We have flint and wood, but where's the sheep for the burnt offering?" 8 Abraham said, "Son, God will see to it that there's a sheep for the burnt offering." And they kept on walking together. 9 They arrived at the place to which God had directed him. Abraham built an altar. He laid out the wood. Then he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood. 10 Abraham reached out and took the knife to kill his son. 11 Just then an angel of God called to him out of Heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Yes, I'm listening." 12 "Don't lay a hand on that boy! Don't touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear God; you didn't hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me." 13 Abraham looked up. He saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 Abraham named that place God-Yireh (God-Sees-to-It). That's where we get the saying, "On the mountain of God, he sees to it." 15 The angel of God spoke from Heaven a second time to Abraham: 16 "I swear - God's sure word! - because you have gone through with this, and have not refused to give me your son, your dear, dear son, 17 I'll bless you - oh, how I'll bless you! And I'll make sure that your children flourish - like stars in the sky! like sand on the beaches! And your descendants will defeat their enemies. 18 All nations on Earth will find themselves blessed through your descendants because you obeyed me." 19 Then Abraham went back to his young servants. They got things together and returned to Beersheba. Abraham settled down in Beersheba. 20 After all this, Abraham got the news: "Your brother Nahor is a father! Milcah has given him children: 21 Uz, his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (he was the father of Aram), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel." 23 (Bethuel was the father of Rebekah.) Milcah gave these eight sons to Nahor, Abraham's brother. 24 His concubine, Reumah, gave him four more children: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
Chapter 23 The Message1 Sarah lived 127 years. 2 Sarah died in Kiriath Arba, present-day Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Abraham mourned for Sarah and wept. 3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites: 4 "I know I'm only an outsider here among you, but sell me a burial plot so that I can bury my dead decently." 5 The Hittites responded, 6 "Why, you're no mere outsider here with us, you're a prince of God! Bury your dead wife in the best of our burial sites. None of us will refuse you a place for burial." 7 Then Abraham got up, bowed respectfully to the people of the land, the Hittites, 8 and said, "If you're serious about helping me give my wife a proper burial, intercede for me with Ephron son of Zohar. 9 Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah that he owns, the one at the end of his land. Ask him to sell it to me at its full price for a burial plot, with you as witnesses." 10 Ephron was part of the local Hittite community. Then Ephron the Hittite spoke up, answering Abraham with all the Hittites who were part of the town council listening: 11 "Oh no, my master! I couldn't do that. The field is yours - a gift. I'll give it and the cave to you. With my people as witnesses, I give it to you. Bury your deceased wife." 12 Abraham bowed respectfully before the assembled council 13 and answered Ephron: "Please allow me - I want to pay the price of the land; take my money so that I can go ahead and bury my wife." 14 Then Ephron answered Abraham, 15 "If you insist, master. What's four hundred silver shekels between us? Now go ahead and bury your wife." 16 Abraham accepted Ephron's offer and paid out the sum that Ephron had named before the town council of Hittites - four hundred silver shekels at the current exchange rate. 17 That's how Ephron's field next to Mamre - the field, its cave, and all the trees within its borders - 18 became Abraham's property. The town council of Hittites witnessed the transaction. 19 Abraham then proceeded to bury his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah that is next to Mamre, present-day Hebron, in the land of Canaan. 20 The field and its cave went from the Hittites into Abraham's possession as a burial plot. Isaac and Rebekah The Message

WHO ARE YOU?

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today: Thursday: Please find Genesis 20 & 21. Try to recall from your personal history where it seems that “common grace” (as in the story of Hagar and Ishmael) had preserved someone who didn’t seem to be theologically correct.
You can access the Biblical passages at www.bible.crosswalk.com and type in the book name and chapter or even book name, chaper and verse only and it will find it for you. You have your choice of all the translations you can think of as well.
In today's reading, we find the story of "common grace" helped preserve Hagar and her son Ishamael. God intervened in a situation that could have been deadly. Sarah was jealous of her servant woman's son and the fact that being Abraham's son as well, the servant woman's son would have access to Abraham's fortune, so she orders Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away. While this was distressing for Abraham he complies with the request and sends her away with bread and water. They wander in the wilderness for some days until the water runs out and Hagar fearing that Ishmael will die, hides him under a bush so that she does not have to see his death. But it was the cries of the boy that God heard and provided water for both of them, and they were preserved. Along with the preservation comes the promise of a great future for Ishmael.
What's happened in your life where God has shown "common grace" in preserving someone you knew to be theologically incorrect yet God was with them nonetheless? Did that anger you or help you?
PRAYER: Loving God, we don't always understand Your actions, but we love You and we know You love all people. Help me to better understand myself and who I am, and help me become who You want me to be. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.

STAY STRONG IN YOUR FAITH!

Good day dear friends. Our two chapters today are full of history and full of today's news. For as you read or have read in the chapters assigned for next week's sermon, you discover some historical occurrences. Here is the study guide with links to those Biblical chapters online: Tuesday: Genesis 16, 17 are to be read. We find that both Abraham and Sarah waver in their faith. How is your faith shaken by doubting? How do you “shoo” off doubt?
These are links to chapters 16 and 17:http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?new=1&word=gen+16&section=0&version=nrs&language=en
http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Genesis+17&section=0&version=nrs&new=1&oq=&NavBook=ge&NavGo=16&NavCurrentChapter=16
God had promised Abraham many children. Yet, the promise came one day and the fulfillment was long in coming. The first of these two chapters opens with a declaration that Sarai (Sarah later) had borne no children for Abraham. She was in her late eighties and while many at that age and now younger are planning a move to Florida, she was still very much involved in being a part of God's plan where she was. She knew God's promise but her faith wavered as did Abraham. "How in the world is God going to act in such old people such as ourselves?" was her question, and the answer Sarai thought was in letting her husband have their Egyptian slave-girl as his wife, thinking that through any conception that might occur, "they" would have an heir. We don't read any hesitation to consent on the old man's part. He marries his slave and through her they conceive a child. The attitude on the slave-girl's part changes almost immediately towards Sarai. The Bible says she looked on her with contempt. And any change in attitude towards someone, especially someone who used to work for you, is not welcome, and this was the case with Sarai and Hagar. It became so unbearable that Sarai ran off Hagar. While on her escape, an angel of the Lord appears to her and shares some interesting things about her son to be: "Now you have conceived and shall bear a son; you shall call him Ishmael, for the Lord has given heed to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; and he shall live at odds with all his kin." Now read this carefully, Ishmael is the father of the people known today as Arabs. Abraham is the common father of the Arabs and the, can you guess? Yes, Jews. Read that verse again and tell me the angel was wrong.
Chapter 17 is a fulfillment of the promise and more, as in this chapter we find God wanting to be Abraham's God and ordering them to have on their body, the sign of the covenant, circumcision.
What have you been worried about lately? Have you asked God in prayer for this particular situation? Has your faith wavered as you wait? Did you try taking things into your own hands to come up with a solution on your own?
The lesson for today is to trust God and wait for God. Yes, we do have to do our part, but sometimes our part is just to wait.
PRAYER: God of all things, give me patience today. Along with that the wisdom to know what I should do. If it be Your will just to wait, so be it. I love and trust You. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.

WHEN IN DOUBT, PRAY IT OUT!

A young Englishman worked hard to book passage on a ship bound for America. He had tried several times to find rewarding and lasting work and could not provide for himself, and with what little money he had saved and borrowing a significant amount from his uncle, he boarded a ship for the United States. His mother had given him a loaf of bread and some hard cheese for the trip and he knew it wouldn't last for the entire two week crossing. He ate very little when the dinner bell would ring for guests to make their way into the dining room, peeking every now and again to see the scrumptious meals the others were enjoying. He imagined the bites of bread and cheese to be just like that that was being served inside. One day another fellow caught him eating bread and cheese and asked him why he had never joined them inside for the meals. The man replied he had only paid for the ticket of passage; the other fellow said, "Don't you know your ticket includes the meals?"
This is how so many approach the reading of God's word. It contains so many blessings and joys and we carry on our lives empty of its blessings because we think we can't understand it or we don't have time for it. We certainly make time to eat! Why can't we make time to nourish ourselves on the word of God?
We started a yearlong journey of faith into reading the whole Bible. Yesterday our sermon was called, "The Muddle of The Story" and we focused on Genesis 3:1-8, and saw we humans came to muddle the perfectness of God's story.
Today, we're getting ahead for next week's sermon by studying the University of the Way's study guide: Monday: Read Genesis 14 & 15. Can you recall a time when what seemed impossible, you “believed the Lord?” Say more about that.
To read Genesis 14 online click here: http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?new=1&word=gen+14§ion=0&version=nrs&language=en
To read Genesis 15 online click here:http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Genesis+14§ion=0&version=nrs&new=1&oq=&NavBook=ge&NavGo=14&NavNextChapter=%3E%3E&NavCurrentChapter=14
We've all faced things or situations where it seemed impossible. My father and mother had faith that all five of use could complete our college education. It was a given that when we finished high school we would go to college. There were no ands, ifs or buts, just go. It seemed easier said than done. My dad was the only one working outside of the home, and to obtain a college education would require money. But what may have seemed impossible for me, did not to God. I was blessed with a pastor who had attended Lon Morris College, and who knew that I could attend there and work my way through there by working on-campus. I applied, was visited by one of LMC's college instructors in Sociology,and I decided that was where I was to go. The pastor, The Rev. Guillermo Chavez, had arranged for me to receive a preministerial scholarship that included my working in the kitchen as a dishwasher, but to me that was great! I worked hard (not only in the dishwashing department, but in my job of studying) and in my second year was nominated by the school to receive a Ford Foundation scholarship which I received that allowed me to complete my education at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. God made this possible.
What are you facing that seems impossible? The story you will read in the two chapters involve great challenges, including unexpected, unexplainable biological ones, yet for God nothing is impossible.
PRAYER: God of all possibilities, grant me faith to trust You in all things. When something seems impossible give me faith and wisdom, and in all things, Your will be done. Amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

WE SHALL WANDER NO LONGER

Good day dear friends.
We shall wander no longer was our theme for Sunday, with the idea of home being that when we enter a loving, trusting relationship with God, we're home! We've discussed several passages in scripture that have talked about that and today we're going to the last book of the Bible.
Here is a passage from Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." 5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. (NRSV)
It has always been God's desire to "dwell" or to have a "home" with humanity. We saw that in Genesis as part of the creation, placing the man and the woman in the garden to have a full relationship with them. It was our disobedience that took us away from that, and we find the rest of the story to be one of humans trying to get close to God, then falling away, they cry out to the Lord, the Lord God sends a prophet with a message of reconciliation, the people get close to God, they fall away, etc. It's a cycle. It is not until the opening of Matthew's Gospel that we find God acting with the final revelation, that of sending His son to bring ultimate reconciliation with God through the gift of salvation. And this sets in motion God's message that God wants us all home. Jesus shares with us in John 14 that He is preparing a place for us so that where He is, we will be also.
Is is a shock to read these words from Revelation 21? God creates a new heaven and a new earth. God prepares a new Jerusalem for a wedding, where Christ marries the Church. And this new home is where God wants us. God will wipe away every tear, there will be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain. The perfectness of God's original intention is restored, as we will be restored. We will be home. Indeed, Jesus is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
For now our home is in our daily walk with God. Do we will our lives in ways that show we love and trust God? Do we help others know that God loves and cares for us all and desires us home with Him? That's our purpose and our mission, and with God's help we can carry that out.
PRAYER: God of the eternal home, help us to be at home with you in our spiritual walk with You. Let my life show to others that You want everyone to come home. Let me be faithful in sharing You. I pray this in Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.