Reading for today
Old Testament: Genesis 28, 29, 30
New Testament: Matthew 10
Thoughts from today’s reading
Genesis 28:3-4. The blessing that Jacob deceived his Father to get was very different from the one that Isaac gave him as he departed to go to his uncles house. This blessing here was connecting him as the direct heir to the blessing of Abraham.
Whatever God has promised and reserved for you will come to you at the proper time, you don’t have to manipulate events to try and get it.
Matthew 10:40-42. This is a simple yet profound truth that every believer carries the person of Christ in them. We are to be hospitable to every category of believer, from the prophet to the righteous one, to the disciple described as a little one. Jesus promises that no matter what category of believer we receive and treat right, we will get a reward.
Prayers
- Father, help me to walk in faith and also patience to obtain my promises. May I not be tempted to do that which will complicate my life as I strive to receive what I feel is mine.
- Lord help me to not be a respecter of persons when it come to being hospitable, kind and showing the love of Christ. Let this truth always guide my heart that when I serve the least, I am serving Christ.
Genesis 37:30 onwards
Jacob could have taken offence at how Laban went back on their agreement regarding the sheep’s and goats he could take but instead he took it to God and God gave him strategies (refer to verses 37 to 40) on how to get one up on Laban.
Jacob did not let offence block him from walking in the blessings that God laid out for him.
Let us not hold offence against anyone but forgive and take it to God in prayer instead. God’s plan will still be fulfilled in your life no matter how anyone may try to get in the way of it
““Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
Matthew 10:16 NKJV
God does not expect us to be foolish or ignorant. He expects us to act in wisdom and know what we are up against at all times fully relying on the Holy Spirit for revelation and insight into every situation. This is why it’s so crucial to stay close to God and cultivate a heart so sensitive to the Holy Spirit that one hears Him at all times
“And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 10:22 NKJV
Many of our sisters and brothers are already going through persecution in many parts of the world including northern Nigeria. Let us continually lift them up in prayer that they will stand firm to the very end, never renouncing their faith and if it be God’s will that He rescue them
Amen