Loving God bless this dear reader with all she or he may need today. In Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
In yesterday's NY Times there was an interesting article about The Four Seasons Hotel. It seems this is a management company that owns no property of its own. To stay in a Four Seasons hotel is to stay in the property owned by someone, but it is managed and run by the FS. The FS company is owned by three major holders, the founder, a Saudi prince, and an American prince, Bill Gates. The FS is known for having the best customer satisfaction rating in the world; it employs more staff per customer than any other hotel (thus the article-the economy is not allowing the property owners to enjoy much of a profit, if any), the thread count on its linen is higher than most hotels, and their beds are their claim to fame. On one Ophra episode, according to the article, Julia Roberts was asked where she had had the best night's sleep and without having to think about it she said, Four Seasons hotel.
Yesterday's Bible passage was from Genesis 32 where Jacob spends a night wrestling with God. I made the claim that it doesn't matter the bed, Four Seasons, Three Seasons, One Season or No Season, if we lay down troubled, we are not going to get a good night's sleep. Jacob found that out. Once he had sent his family to safey away from where he was, his intention was to prepare for an encounter with the brother he had tricked on more than one occasion. He found himself wrestling with God. The same is true for us; if we are not right in our lives with someone, with ourselves, or with God, we are not going to rest or get much sleep. The way we lay down is usually the way we'll wake up. It took that night of wrestling for Jacob to realize several things had to change in his life, and the main was to know he had to confess his sins before God. So do we. He also knew that only God could change his heart. Same for us. And Jacob knew he had to make right his relationships. Ditto. Jacob was then able to enter into the Promised Land. We too, after confessing our sins, asking God to change our hearts, asking God to help us make right our relationships, can enter into the "promised land" of forgiveness and cleansing.
God desires all of us to be in relationship with Him. The key is to begin with forgiveness and then to ask for us to be cleansed of all the filth, ugliness, and sin that has grown on us. The good news is that God will.
PRAYER: Thank you, Lord for giving me the chance to be forgiven. I confess that I am not where You would have me be. I am sinful, imperfect, and far from where I know I should be. Forgive me my sins, cleanse me of my sins with the Blood of the Lamb, and let me enter into the promised land of forgiveness and cleansing. Help this be but the first of a lifelong journey with You. In Jesus Christ's precious name I ask, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
