Matt 19:4-6
“He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?” So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’”

We understand that marriage was designed by God. He created man and woman, and designed marriage as the most intimate of all relationships. But why? What is the purpose of marriage? If we were to walk the streets and interview people, asking them, “Why did you get married?”, I think the most common reply would be, “I got married to be happy.” I don’t think every married couple is happy, but I think that it is the motivation behind most marriages. We think being with…

Genesis 38:24
“And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, ‘Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.’ So Judah said, Bring her out and let her be burned!’”

Our sin always looks worse on someone else.

Judah, after the death of his wife, and in the loneliness of that condition, stumbled in his walk with God, committing fornication with a young woman. While we do not read of his reaction to this, it is highly likely he was ashamed, and at least somewhat remorseful. I can imagine he confessed his failure, and may have even made offerings to God.  A few short months after this  incident, Judah got word that Tamar, his widowed daughter-in-law, was pregnant outside of marriage. The same sin he had committed, had been engaged in by Tamar. Whatever his response to his own sin was we cannot…

Genesis 37:35

“And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, ‘For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.’ Thus his father wept for him.”

Dealing with the death of a loved one is perhaps the most difficult part of life. Since God created us for life, and it was sin that brought death into the world, we were never really designed to handle death. No matter what, death seems to be unexpected, and the emotions that arise within us are more than we can bear. I recently heard Greg Laurie say, death is often more difficult for the believer because we love at a deeper level. The extreme grief associated with death is made evident in the reaction of Jacob, upon hearing of the death of his son, Joseph. He is so…

Matthew 18:21
“Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’”

I think Peter had a little more insight into the mind of God than he gets credit for. In the passage leading up to this, Jesus spoke regarding confronting those who are in sin. He spoke of going to a sinning brother, bringing others and going a second time, telling the church of their sin and finally treating the unrepentant as you would an unbeliever (which of course means that you want to do all you can to win them back to Christ). It is in response to this that Peter asks regarding forgiveness.

Not all sins are to be confronted. When a believer is committing a sin that endangers their relationship with God, we must do all that is available to us to…

Genesis 35:1, 2
“Then God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.’ And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.'”

Jacob again hears the voice of God. This time he is being called to return to a place called Bethel, meaning “House of God.” This was the site of Jacob’s first encounter with the Lord. There he had been the recipient of the great and precious promises that revealed the plans and purposes God had for his life. Decades have since passed, and Jacob has grown from a lonely bachelor, to a large and prosperous family. Jacob returns to the place where he had made…

Matthew 17:1
“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; . . .”

This event had a tremendous impact upon Peter. Years later, when writing his first epistle, Peter recounts this event and how amazing it was to witness. I think some of its value is in the fact that it is a portrait of what awaits the child of God in heaven.

First, we read Jesus was “transfigured before them”. In other words, they saw the veil of humanity taken away and were able to see something of the deity and glory of Christ. We know heaven will be filled with glorious sites: streets of gold, gates of pearl, spectacular angelic beings, and so much more. But truly, heaven’s heaven, the great glory of eternity, will be the presence of Christ. There will be no need for…

Genesis 33:10
“And Jacob said, ‘No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me.’”

I am sure we have all been complimented, at one time or another, for how we looked, or what we were wearing. Of all the compliments I have received, none has been quite like what Jacob said to Esau. After not seeing his brother for 20 years, Jacob said, “you look a lot like God.” Jacob is not saying God is a six foot tall man with red hair, but that the actions of Esau were, in some way, reflective of the character of God. What was Esau doing that was so godlike?

The answer is forgiveness. After being deceived time and time again…

Matthew 16:18-19
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘prevail’ as,

“to gain ascendancy through strength or superiority” “to triumph over.”

This verse has always fascinated me. Jesus is promising He is the one who will build the church. Since the church is not a building, but people, He is saying, He will add the living stones to the church of God. Jesus is also telling us, the devil and his forces seek to prevail against the church. The Bible gives us just enough insight into the realm of the spirit…

Genesis 32:28
“And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.’”

The Bible is filled with fascinating stories and amazing promises. I think it is safe to say, the most amazing events ever recorded are written in the pages of our Bibles. Of all these stories, this one records perhaps the most striking statement of them all,

“You have struggled with God and prevailed”

The same truth is recorded later

Hosea 12:4
“Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed…”

It does not surprise me to read that Jacob fought with God; that is an all too common occurrence. All of us have had times when God has instructed us to do something and we have resisted Him, to our hurt. I have found, when I fight against God, not only will I lose…

Genesis 31:34
“Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them.”

Later in Israel’s history, the Law of God will be imparted, and idolatry will be forbidden. One of the main reasons is that a manmade icon cannot adequately represent an infinite God. No matter how skilled the worker, or how beautiful the image, it will be a poor representation of God. The actions of Rachel reflect that idea, as she sits on her gods to hide them from her father. Any God small enough to fit in your pocket, is certainly too small to aid in time of need.

While it may not be common in our culture to fashion stone or metallic icons and call them god, it is very common for us to lose sight of the…