Archive | November 2014

Genesis 49

Nov20

Good morning y’all. Today we in chapter 49 of Genesis. In this chapter, we see Jacob pronounce blessing on each of his children.

One key point I want to bring out from today’s chapter is that our actions determine our destiny; be it good or bad.

Jacobs 1st 3 kids were disinherited due to their actions. Reuben slept with his father’s concubine – Bilhal; Simeon and Levi ganged up together to slaughter a whole nation of men. As a result, they were disinherited.

What destiny are you carving for yourself and for those to come behind you? Your actions don’t affect you alone, they also affect your children and generation to come.

I found this excerpt online: “Our actions determine our future blessings in God’s program and the choices we make today will affect our descendants for generations to come. We must learn from Reuben, Simeon, and Levi that we cannot live recklessly. God, the righteous judge sees everything. We may feel that we have “gotten away” with something, but we haven’t. We just haven’t “faced the music” yet…but we will. Even though we are secure in Christ, there are still consequences to our actions. We must continually recognize that one day we will have to give an account (2 Cor 5:10)” – (Keith. R. Krell, Bible.org)

There is still hope for us, we can turn back to God and repent from our reckless way of living and God can re-write our destiny.  I’m particularly encouraged by Judah. Of all the brothers, he seemed to be the one who got the greatest blessing, despite his folly in Genesis 38 where he slept with his daughter in law – Tamar, and his part in selling Joseph off as a slave in Genesis 37. Judah had a change of heart and repented from his sins. From chapter 43 and 44 we see a changed Judah compared to the ones in the prior chapters.

Jacobs blessings to Judah are so powerful. He even prophesied about Jesus coming through Judahs lineage. See verse 10.
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.(Genesis 49:10 NLT)

There is hope if we repent from our sins and turn back to God. He can give us a new start. He said in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that “If my own people will humbly pray and turn back to me and stop sinning, then I will answer them from heaven. I will forgive them and make their land fertile once again”. (2 Chronicles 7:14 CEVUS06)

Today look inward and ask yourself what destiny am I carving for myself and my children based on my actions.

Prayer:
Dear Lord we thank you for today. We give you all the praise.  We ask for grace to turn away from our reckless way of living and turn back to you. We ask you forgive us and give us a fresh start. Lord help us to always remember that our actions have a great impact on our destiny. We pray when you return for your saints, we won’t be found wanting and disqualified. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Thanks for joining today.

Have a blessed day and remember; our actions always have consequences 🙂

***With God all things are possible***

Genesis 48

Nov19

Good Morning y’all. Today we in chapter 48 of Genesis. In today’s chapter, we see Jacob at his death bed and he passes the baton onto Joseph and his children.

Be blessed 🙂

What Legacy are you leaving behind?

Jacob was told Joseph was coming over to visit with his boys. Jacob was strengthened by that news alone. This again shows the depth of love Jacob has for Joseph. When Joseph arrived, Jacob was careful to remind Joseph of God’s promise to him. He wanted to make sure he left the legacy of what God told him to his son. In effect, he was passing the baton on to Joseph and his boys so they can carry on the covenant and teach it to their children too. Abraham passed the torch on to Isaac; Isaac passed on to Jacob; Jacob passed on to Joseph and Joseph to Ephraim and Manessah.

One may say why didn’t Jacob pass this on to the rest of his kids? I believe Jacob had spent time and invested in the other kids while they were in Canaan. Joseph on the other hand was seperated from him for a number of years. Now was his opportunity to make sure he passed on all he knew about God to Joseph and his sons.

What legacy are we living behind? Are we investing in the next generation? Are we testifying about God’s promises and goodness in our life to others. Remember everything God does and gives us is not for our own good only, it’s also for us to share with others and use as means to introduce them to Jesus.

Jacob adopted Ephraim and Manessah as his sons in the same order of Reuben and Simeon who are both 1st and 2nd born sons. Perhaps Reuben and Simeon because they sinned and so couldn’t take the position or be given the leadership status as would have been the norm. Hence, the blessings that should be theirs were being passed on to Ephraim and Manessah. Reuben slept with his father’s concubine (Genesis 35:22) and Simeon slaughtered the men in after his sister was raped. (Genesis34:25)

I am reminded there are consequences for our actions. Reuben and Simeon lost out of God’s promises because of their sin. Their action didn’t cost them alone, it cos their entire generation. In chapter 49 we will see the blessings/curses Jacob gave to Reuben and Simeon.

Jacob proceeds to bless the boys and he switches his hand and blesses the younger above the elder. This reminds me of what happened to Jacob himself. He was blessed above his elder brother Esau. God chose Ephraim over Manessah as the one to enjoy the firstborn blessings.

I don’t understand why God did this, but I’m sure there is a purpose behind it. In my walk with God, I’ve come to understand God doesn’t make mistakes and doesn’t do things without a purpose :). The latter part of Jeremiah 31:9 says: “For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn son“. Perhaps this was revealed to Jacob hence why he switched his hands.

Also the blessings Jacob gave to Ephraim and Manessah did come to pass. Indeed Ephraim became a large nation.

As parents we ought to be careful the words we speak over our kids. Words are powerful. We create things by what we say. The bible tells us the power of life and death is in the tongue!. We should be speaking positively to the life of our kids confessing and professing what we want to see them become in Christ.  All the blessings Jacob gave to his kids came to pass. The same for the curses he placed on them; they also came to pass!

Again, what legacy are you leaving behind?

P – Prayer:
Dear Lord we thank you for today. We pray you help us leave behind good legacies for those coming after us. Give us the boldness and courage to share you with those around us. Help us be careful the words we speak. Help us make sure they are words filled with life and not death. Thank you Lord. In Jesus Name . Amen.

Thanks for joining today.

Have a great day 🙂

***With God all things are possible***