Day 13

I just wanted to say that I'm so excited about how God is speaking to different people through His word. I know there are many who don't want to comment and that's okay. I do want to encourage you to click on the "FOLLOW" to the right of the screen though. This will allow everyone to see who is with them on this journey through the bible.  You don't have to talk and I won't send you crazy messages, I just really want people to know they aren't alone on this trip.  So press the button...come on.....click it. Thanks everyone.

GE 28-29; MT 9:18-38; PS 11; PR 3:11-12

GE 29 - Talk about your love at first sight stories. The first time Jacob sees Rachel he kisses her and then starts to cry.  That's quite a first impression he must have made on her.  But really, you have to remember how his mom and dad met. Remember when Abraham's servant went out and prayed and as soon as he arrived he found the right woman.  Well I'm sure Jacob had heard that story a couple times and now here he is looking for a wife in a certain town at a certain time from a certain family and BOOM there she is. So with that said I believe the weeping was out of thankfulness to God.  But it really is quite a love story. He is so taken by her that he agrees to work for 7 years to earn her hand in marriage. Then it says that he was so in love with her it was like only a few days. Finally the 7 years is up and he asks for her hand in marriage and Laban pulls a fast one on Jacob and switches daughters.  The custom at the time was for them to head into the bridal chamber that night, so it was presumably dark and the bride wore a veil until it was time to consummate the marriage so Jacob had no idea what was going on until the light of day showed that he had just married the wrong girl.  He is understandably upset and still in love with Rachel so he agrees to work another 7 years for his true love but out of obligation he stays married to Leah as well.  In case your wondering what the whole "give Leah her week" thing is about. The marriage celebration lasted for a whole week not just one day. So Laban was saying let the people celebrate Leah's marriage and then I'll let you marry my other daughter. This chapter and chapters to come are the very definition of "what goes around, comes around." Jacob deceived his brother, Laban deceives Jacob, and in just a minute you are going to see Laban get his.  What you sow, you shall surely reap.

PS 11 - You kind of have to read the first verse and the last verse of this Psalm to really see what David is saying. "(1) In the Lord I put my trust...(7) For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright."  No matter what happens in between, He is going to trust God because God is righteous.

PR - Don't get mad at God when He corrects you. He is only doing it because He loves you.  I really believe it hurts Him more than it hurts you.

MT - Great stories of faith in these verses today:
1. The man with a dead daughter. - Amazing faith just to ask Jesus to come. How many things have you ever given up on because it looked dead and gone to you?
2. Woman with the issue of blood. - All she wanted was to touch his clothes. Her faith didn't need a big dramatic encounter with Jesus.  She just needed to be close enough to touch Him. I think sometimes we get distracted and discouraged when we don't see the "mighty" moves of God. We want to hear God with some big booming voice. But sometimes I think we need to take comfort and have faith in those times when we don't necessarily hear Him talking but we can feel him close enough to touch.
3. The two blind men. - "do you believe I can do this?" Jesus was like a polygraph machine.  It wasn't enough for the two men to ask Jesus to heal them, He wanted to know if they really believed that He could.  See it wasn't simply His touch that healed them. Jesus made it very clear, it was their faith in Him that healed them.  A lack of faith is like spiritual kryptonite.  God won't move where there is a lack of faith in our lives.

vs. 35 - He healed EVERY sickness and EVERY disease.

vs 36 - He was moved with compassion not because of their physical state but with their spiritual state.  They were ready, hungry but no one was there to lead them.  They were ripe for the picking but no one there to harvest.  How often  are we surrounded by people who are ready to be lead to Christ and we are not available to help?  We are the laborers Jesus was praying for.