YOU ARE RECEIVING THE FULFILMENT OF GOD’S PROMISES AS YOU CONTINUE TO STUDY THE BIBLE ABOUT UNDERSTANDING HIS PROMISES TO YOU:

1. Genesis 18:1-15; 19:1-29; Matthew 6:1-18.
“Yahweh appeared to Abraham by the oak trees belonging to Mamre as he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day. Abraham looked up, and suddenly he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them, and he bowed with his face touching the ground. “Please, sir,” Abraham said, “stop by to visit me for a while. Why don’t we let someone bring a little water? After you wash your feet, you can stretch out and rest under the tree. Let me bring some bread so that you can regain your strength. After that you can leave, since this is why you stopped by to visit me.” They answered, “That’s fine. Do as you say.” So Abraham hurried into the tent to find Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three measures of flour, knead it, and make bread.” Then Abraham ran to the herd and took one of his best calves. He gave it to his servant, who prepared it quickly. Abraham took cheese and milk, as well as the meat, and set these in front of them. Then he stood by them under the tree as they ate. They asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” He answered, “Over there, in the tent.” Yahweh said, “I promise I’ll come back to you next year at this time, and your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah happened to be listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were old. Sarah was past the age of childbearing. And so Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “Now that I’ve become old, will I enjoy myself again? What’s more, my husband is old!” Yahweh asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really have a child now that I’m old?’ Is anything too hard for Yahweh? I will come back to you next year at this time, and Sarah will have a son.” Because she was afraid, Sarah denied that she had laughed. But Yahweh said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

“The two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed with his face touching the ground. He said, “Please, gentlemen, why don’t you come to my home and spend the night? You can wash your feet there. Then early tomorrow morning you can continue your journey.” “No,” they answered, “we’d rather spend the night in the city square.” But he insisted so strongly that they came with him and went into his home. He prepared a special dinner for them, baked some unleavened bread, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the young and old male citizens of Sodom surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” Then Lot went outside and shut the door behind him. 7 “Please, my friends, don’t be so wicked,” he said. “Look, I have two daughters who have never had sex. Why don’t you let me bring them out to you? Do whatever you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, since I’m responsible for them.” But the men yelled, “Get out of the way! This man came here to stay awhile. Now he wants to be our judge! We’re going to treat you worse than those men.” They pushed hard against Lot and lunged forward to break down the door. The men inside reached out, pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. Then they struck all the men who were in the doorway of the house, young and old alike, with blindness so that they gave up trying to find the door.

“Then the men asked Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—any in-laws, sons, daughters, or any other relatives in the city? Get them out of here because we’re going to destroy this place. The complaints to Yahweh against its people are so loud that Yahweh has sent us to destroy it.” So Lot went out and spoke to the men engaged to his daughters. He said, “Hurry! Get out of this place, because Yahweh is going to destroy the city.” But they thought he was joking. As soon as it was dawn, the angels urged Lot by saying, “Quick! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you’ll be swept away when the city is punished.” When he hesitated, the men grabbed him, his wife, and his two daughters by their hands, because Yahweh wanted to spare Lot. They brought them safely outside the city. As soon as they were outside, one of the angels said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stop on the plain. Run for the hills, or you’ll be swept away!”

“Lot answered, “Oh no! Even though you’ve been so good to me and though you’ve been very kind to me by saving my life, I can’t run as far as the hills. This disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. Look, there’s a city near enough to flee to, and it’s small. Why don’t you let me run there? Isn’t it small? Then my life will be saved.” The angel said to him, “Alright, I will grant you this request too. I will not destroy the city you’re talking about. Run there quickly, because I can’t do anything until you get there.” (The city is named Zoar [Small].) The sun had just risen over the land as Lot came to Zoar. Then Yahweh made burning sulfur and fire rain out of heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah. He destroyed those cities, the whole plain, all who lived in the cities, and whatever grew on the ground. Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a column of salt. Early the next morning Abraham came to the place where he had stood in front of Yahweh. When he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land in the plain, he saw smoke rising from the land like the thick smoke of a furnace. When Elohim destroyed the cities on the plain, Elohim remembered Abraham. Lot was allowed to escape from the destruction that came to the cities where he was living.

“Be careful not to do your good works in public in order to attract attention. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you. So when you give to the poor, don’t announce it with trumpet fanfare. This is what hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets in order to be praised by people. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. When you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your contributions privately. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.

“When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They like to stand in synagogues and on street corners to pray so that everyone can see them. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. When you pray, go to your room and close the door. Pray privately to your Father who is with you. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.

“When you pray, don’t ramble like heathens who think they’ll be heard if they talk a lot. Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven, let your name be kept holy. Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Give us our daily bread today. Forgive us as we forgive others. Don’t allow us to be tempted.  Instead, rescue us from the evil one. “If you forgive the failures of others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failures.

“Be careful not to do your good works in public in order to attract attention. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you.  So when you give to the poor, don’t announce it with trumpet fanfare. This is what hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets in order to be praised by people. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. When you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your contributions privately. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.

“When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They like to stand in synagogues and on street corners to pray so that everyone can see them. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. When you pray, go to your room and close the door. Pray privately to your Father who is with you. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you. “When you pray, don’t ramble like heathens who think they’ll be heard if they talk a lot. Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“When you fast, stop looking sad like hypocrites. They put on sad faces to make it obvious that they’re fasting. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. When you fast, wash your face and comb your hair. Then your fasting won’t be obvious. Instead, it will be obvious to your Father who is with you in private. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you. When you fast, stop looking sad like hypocrites. They put on sad faces to make it obvious that they’re fasting. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. When you fast, wash your face and comb your hair. Then your fasting won’t be obvious. Instead, it will be obvious to your Father who is with you in private. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.

2. Genesis 20:1-18; 21:1; 22:15-19; Matthew 6:19-34.
“Abraham moved to the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was living in Gerar, Abraham told everyone that his wife Sarah was his sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar sent men to take Sarah. Elohim came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, “You’re going to die because of the woman that you’ve taken! She’s a married woman!” Abimelech hadn’t come near her, so he asked, “Adonay, will you destroy a nation even if it’s innocent? Didn’t he tell me himself, ‘She’s my sister,’ and didn’t she even say, ‘He’s my brother’? I did this in all innocence and with a clear conscience.”

“Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience,” Elohim said to him in the dream. “In fact, I kept you from sinning against me. That’s why I didn’t let you touch her. Give the man’s wife back to him now, because he’s a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you don’t give her back, you and all who belong to you are doomed to die.”

“Early in the morning Abimelech called together all his officials. He told them about all of this, and they were terrified. Then Abimelech called for Abraham and asked him, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you that you would bring such a serious sin on me and my kingdom? You shouldn’t have done this to me.” Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What were you thinking when you did this?” Abraham said, “I thought that because there are no Elohim-fearing people in this place, I’d be killed because of my wife. Besides, she is my sister—my father’s daughter but not my mother’s. She is also my wife. When Elohim had me leave my father’s home and travel around, I said to her, ‘Do me a favor: Wherever we go, say that I’m your brother.’” Then Abimelech took sheep, cattle, and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. Abimelech said, “Look, here’s my land. Live anywhere you like.” He said to Sarah, “Don’t forget, I’ve given your brother 25 pounds of silver. This is to silence any criticism against you from everyone with you. You’re completely cleared.” Abraham prayed to Elohim, and Elohim healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could have children.  (Yahweh had made it impossible for any woman in Abimelech’s household to have children because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.)

“Yahweh came to help Sarah and did for her what he had promised.

“Yahweh came to help Sarah and did for her what he had promised.

“Then the Messenger of Yahweh called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I am taking an oath on my own name, declares Yahweh, that because you have done this and have not refused to give me your son, your only son, I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies’ cities. Through your descendant all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Then Abraham returned to his servants, and together they left for Beersheba. Abraham remained in Beersheba.

“Stop storing up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. Instead, store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust don’t destroy and thieves don’t break in and steal. Your heart will be where your treasure is.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is unclouded, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light in you is darkness, how dark it will be! “No one can serve two masters. He will hate the first master and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and despise the second. You cannot serve God and wealth.

“So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? “Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or gather the harvest into barns. Yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? “Can any of you add a single hour to your life by worrying?

“And why worry about clothes? Notice how the flowers grow in the field. They never work or spin yarn for clothes. But I say that not even Solomon in all his majesty was dressed like one of these flowers. That’s the way God clothes the grass in the field. Today it’s alive, and tomorrow it’s thrown into an incinerator. So how much more will he clothe you people who have so little faith?

“Don’t ever worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ Everyone is concerned about these things, and your heavenly Father certainly knows you need all of them. But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things will be provided for you. “So don’t ever worry about tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

3. Genesis 23:1-20; 24:55-61; Matthew 7.
“Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her. Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.” The Hittites replied to Abraham, “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

“Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”

“Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.” Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”  Ephron answered Abraham,  “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

“Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants. So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

“Her brother and mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us ten days or so. After that she may go.” He said to them, “Don’t delay me now that Yahweh has made my trip successful. Let me go back to my master.” So they said, “We’ll call the girl and ask her.” They called for Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”

She said, “Yes, I’ll go.” So they let their sister Rebekah and her nurse go with Abraham’s servant and his men. They gave Rebekah a blessing: May you, our sister, become the mother of many thousands of children. May your descendants take possession of their enemies’ cities.” Then Rebekah and her maids left. Riding on camels, they followed the man. The servant took Rebekah and left.

“Stop judging so that you will not be judged. Otherwise, you will be judged by the same standard you use to judge others. The standards you use for others will be applied to you. So why do you see the piece of sawdust in another believer’s eye and not notice the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to another believer, ‘Let me take the piece of sawdust out of your eye,’ when you have a beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye. Then you will see clearly to remove the piece of sawdust from another believer’s eye.

“Don’t give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls to pigs. Otherwise, they will trample them and then tear you to pieces.

“Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. Everyone who asks will receive. The one who searches will find, and for the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

“If your child asks you for bread, would any of you give him a stone? Or if your child asks for a fish, would you give him a snake? Even though you’re evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?

“Always do for other people everything you want them to do for you. That is the meaning of Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets.

“Enter through the narrow gate because the gate and road that lead to destruction are wide. Many enter through the wide gate. But the narrow gate and the road that lead to life are full of trouble. Only a few people find the narrow gate.

“Beware of false prophets. They come to you disguised as sheep, but in their hearts they are vicious wolves. You will know them by what they produce. “People don’t pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles, do they? In the same way every good tree produces good fruit, but a rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a rotten tree cannot produce good fruit. Any tree that fails to produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into a fire. So you will know them by what they produce. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the person who does what my Father in heaven wants. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we force out demons and do many miracles by the power and authority of your name?’ Then I will tell them publicly, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you evil people.’

“Therefore, everyone who hears what I say and obeys it will be like a wise person who built a house on rock. Rain poured, and floods came. Winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not collapse, because its foundation was on rock. “Everyone who hears what I say but doesn’t obey it will be like a foolish person who built a house on sand. Rain poured, and floods came. Winds blew and struck that house. It collapsed, and the result was a total disaster.” When Yeshua finished this speech, the crowds were amazed at his teachings. Unlike their experts in Moses’ Teachings, he taught them with authority.

4. Genesis 25:7-11, 19-28; 29-34; 26: Matthew 8:1-17.
“Abraham lived 175 years. Then he took his last breath, and died at a very old age. After a long and full life, he joined his ancestors in death. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar the Hittite. The cave is east of Mamre. This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. After Abraham died, Elohim blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer Lahai Roi.

“This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac and his descendants. Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to Yahweh for his wife because she was childless. Yahweh answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. When the children inside her were struggling with each other, she said, “If it’s like this now, what will become of me?” So she went to ask Yahweh.

“Once, Jacob was preparing a meal when Esau, exhausted, came in from outdoors. So Esau said to Jacob, “Let me have the whole pot of red stuff to eat—that red stuff—I’m exhausted.” This is why he was called Edom. Jacob responded, “First, sell me your rights as firstborn.” “I’m about to die.” Esau said. “What good is my inheritance to me?” “First, swear an oath,” Jacob said. So Esau swore an oath to him and sold him his rights as firstborn. Then Jacob gave Esau a meal of bread and lentils. He ate and drank, and then he got up and left. This is how Esau showed his contempt for his rights as firstborn.

“There was a famine in the land in addition to the earlier one during Abraham’s time. So Isaac went to King Abimelech of the Philistines in Gerar. Yahweh appeared to Isaac and said, “Don’t go to Egypt. Stay where I tell you. Live here in this land for a while, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give all these lands to you and your descendants. I will keep the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and give all these lands to your descendants. Through your descendant all the nations of the earth will be blessed. I will bless you because Abraham obeyed me and completed the duties, commands, laws, and instructions I gave him.” So Isaac lived in Gerar. When the men of that place asked about his wife, Isaac answered, “She’s my sister.” He was afraid to say “my wife.” He thought that the men of that place would kill him to get Rebekah, because she was an attractive woman. When he had been there a long time, King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out of his window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

“Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “So she’s really your wife! How could you say, ‘She’s my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “I thought I would be killed because of her.” Then Abimelech said, “What have you done to us! One of the people might have easily gone to bed with your wife, and then you would have made us guilty of sin.” So Abimelech ordered his people, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death.”

“Isaac planted crops in that land. In that same year he harvested a hundred times as much as he had planted because Yahweh had blessed him. He continued to be successful, becoming very rich. Because he owned so many flocks, herds, and servants, the Philistines became jealous of him. So the Philistines filled in all the wells that his father’s servants had dug during his father Abraham’s lifetime. Finally, Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us! You’ve become more powerful than we are.”

“So Isaac moved away. He set up his tents in the Gerar Valley and lived there. He dug out the wells that had been dug during his father Abraham’s lifetime. The Philistines had filled them in after Abraham’s death. He gave them the same names that his father had given them. Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a spring-fed well. The herders from Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herders, claiming, “This water is ours!” So Isaac named the well Esek [Argument], because they had argued with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one too. So Isaac named it Sitnah [Accusation]. He moved on from there and dug another well. They didn’t quarrel over this one. So he named it Rehoboth [Roomy] and said, “Now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will prosper in this land.”

“He went from there to Beersheba. That night Yahweh appeared to Isaac, and said, “I am the Elohim of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and increase the number of your descendants for my servant Abraham’s sake.” So Isaac built an altar there and worshiped Yahweh. He also pitched his tent in that place, and his servants dug a well there.

“Abimelech, his friend Ahuzzath, and Phicol, the commander of his army, came from Gerar to see Isaac. Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and sent me away from you?” They answered, “We have seen that Yahweh is with you. So we thought, ‘There should be a solemn agreement between us.’ We’d like to make an agreement with you that you will not harm us, since we have not touched you. We have done only good to you and let you go in peace. Now you are blessed by Yahweh.” Isaac prepared a special dinner for them, and they ate and drank. Early the next morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left peacefully. That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a well they had dug. They said to him, “We’ve found water.” So he named it Shibah [Oath]. That is why the name of the city is still Beersheba today. When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. These women brought Isaac and Rebekah a lot of grief.

“When Yeshua came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. A man with a serious skin disease came and bowed down in front of him. The man said to Yeshua, “Sir, if you’re willing, you can make me clean.”

“Yeshua reached out, touched him, and said, “I’m willing. So be clean!” Immediately, his skin disease went away, and he was clean.

“Yeshua said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this! Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifice Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean.”

“When Yeshua went to Capernaum, a Roman army officer came to beg him for help. The officer said, “Sir, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and in terrible pain.”

“Yeshua said to him, “I’ll come to heal him.” The officer responded, “Sir, I don’t deserve to have you come into my house. But just give a command, and my servant will be healed. As you know, I’m in a chain of command and have soldiers at my command. I tell one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I tell my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

“Yeshua was amazed when he heard this. He said to those who were following him, “I can guarantee this truth: I haven’t found faith as great as this in anyone in Israel. I can guarantee that many will come from all over the world. They will eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. The citizens of that kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness. People will cry and be in extreme pain there.

“Yeshua told the officer, “Go! What you believed will be done for you.” And at that moment the servant was healed.

“When Yeshua went to Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law in bed with a fever. Yeshua touched her hand, and the fever went away. So she got up and prepared a meal for him. In the evening the people brought him many who were possessed by demons. He forced the evil spirits out of people with a command and cured everyone who was sick. So what the prophet Isaiah had said came true: “He took away our weaknesses and removed our diseases.”

5. Genesis 27; 28:13-17; Matthew 8:18-34.
“… he shouted out a very loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, Father!” Isaac said, “Your brother came and deceived me and has taken away your blessing.” Esau said, “Isn’t that why he’s named Jacob? He’s cheated me twice already: He took my rights as firstborn, and now he’s taken my blessing.” So he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?” Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him your master, and I have made all his brothers serve him. I’ve provided fresh grain and new wine for him. What is left for me to do for you, Son?” Esau asked, “Do you have only one blessing, Father? Bless me too, Father!” And Esau sobbed loudly. His father Isaac answered him,

“The place where you live will lack the fertile fields of the earth and the dew from the sky above. You will use your sword to live, and you will serve your brother. But eventually you will gain your freedom and break his yoke off your neck.” So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing that his father had given him. Esau said to himself, “The time to mourn for my father is near. Then I’ll kill my brother Jacob.” When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Watch out! Your brother Esau is comforting himself by planning to kill you. So now, Son, obey me. Quick! Run away to my brother Laban in Haran. Stay with him awhile, until your brother’s anger cools down. When your brother’s anger is gone and he has forgotten what you did to him, I’ll send for you and get you back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?” Rebekah said to Isaac, “I can’t stand Hittite women! If Jacob marries a Hittite woman like one of those from around here, I might as well die.”

“Yahweh was standing above it, saying, “I am Yahweh, the Elohim of your grandfather Abraham and the Elohim of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Through you and through your descendant every family on earth will be blessed. Remember, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land because I will not leave you until I do what I’ve promised you.” Then Jacob woke up from his sleep and exclaimed, “Certainly, Yahweh is in this place, and I didn’t know it!” Filled with awe, he said, “How awe-inspiring this place is! Certainly, this is the house of Elohim and the gateway to heaven!” Now, when Yeshua saw a crowd around him, he ordered his disciples to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. An expert in Moses’ Teachings came to him and said, “Teacher, I’ll follow you wherever you go.”

“Yeshua told him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to sleep.” Another disciple said to him, “Sir, first let me go to bury my father.” But Yeshua told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Yeshua’s disciples went with him as he left in a boat. Suddenly, a severe storm came across the sea. The waves were covering the boat. Yet, Yeshua was sleeping. So they woke him up, saying, “Lord! Save us! We’re going to die!”

“Yeshua said to them, “Why do you cowards have so little faith?” Then he got up, gave an order to the wind and the sea, and the sea became very calm.

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!” When he arrived in the territory of the Gadarenes on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, two men met him. They were possessed by demons and had come out of the tombs. No one could travel along that road because the men were so dangerous. They shouted, “Why are you bothering us now, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before it is time?” A large herd of pigs was feeding in the distance. The demons begged Yeshua, “If you’re going to force us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”

“Yeshua said to them, “Go!” The demons came out and went into the pigs. Suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the cliff into the sea and died in the water. Those who took care of the pigs ran into the city. There they reported everything, especially about the men possessed by demons. Everyone from the city went to meet Yeshua. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their territory.’

6. Genesis 29:1-30; 30:1-3, 22-43; Matthew 9:1-17.
“Jacob continued on his trip and came to the land in the east. He looked around, and out in a field he saw a well with a large stone over the opening. Three flocks of sheep were lying down near it, because the flocks were watered from that well. When all the flocks were gathered there, the stone would be rolled off the opening of the well so that the sheep could be watered. Then the stone would be put back in place over the opening of the well. Jacob asked some people, “My friends, where are you from?” “We’re from Haran,” they replied. He asked them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?”

They answered, “We do.”  “How is he doing?” Jacob asked them. “He’s fine,” they answered. “Here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”

“It’s still the middle of the day,” he said. “It isn’t time yet to gather the livestock. Water the sheep. Then let them graze.” They replied, “We can’t until all the flocks are gathered. When the stone is rolled off the opening of the well, we can water the sheep.” While he was still talking to them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, because she was a shepherd. Jacob saw Rachel, daughter of his uncle Laban, with his uncle Laban’s sheep. He came forward and rolled the stone off the opening of the well and watered his uncle Laban’s sheep. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and sobbed loudly. When Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s nephew and that he was Rebekah’s son, she ran and told her father. As soon as Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. He hugged and kissed him and brought him into his home. Then Jacob told Laban all that had happened. Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”

Jacob stayed with him for a whole month. Then Laban said to him, “Just because you’re my relative doesn’t mean that you should work for nothing. Tell me what your wages should be.” Laban had two daughters. The name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger one was Rachel. Leah had attractive eyes,[a] but Rachel had a beautiful figure and beautiful features. Jacob loved Rachel. So he offered, “I’ll work seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.” Laban responded, “It’s better that I give her to you than to any other man. Stay with me.”  Jacob worked seven years in return for Rachel, but the years seemed like only a few days to him because he loved her. At the end of the seven years Jacob said to Laban, “The time is up; give me my wife! I want to sleep with her.” So Laban invited all the people of that place and gave a wedding feast. In the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob. Jacob slept with her. When morning came, he realized it was Leah. (Laban had given his slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her slave.)

“What have you done to me?” Jacob asked Laban. “Didn’t I work for you in return for Rachel? Why did you cheat me?” Laban answered, “It’s not our custom to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you’ll have to work for me another seven years.” That’s what Jacob did. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife. (Laban had given his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave.)  Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.

“Rachel saw that she could not have children for Jacob, and she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” Jacob became angry with Rachel and asked, “Can I take the place of Elohim, who has kept you from having children?” She said, “Here’s my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her. She can have children for me, and I can build a family for myself through her.”

“Then Elohim remembered Rachel. Elohim answered her prayer and made it possible for her to have children. So she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “Elohim has taken away my disgrace.” She named him Joseph [May He Give Another] and said, “May Yahweh give me another son.”

“After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me go home to my own country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I’ve worked, and let me go. You know how much work I’ve done for you.” Laban replied, “Listen to me. I’ve learned from the signs I’ve seen that Yahweh has blessed me because of you.” So he offered, “Name your wages, and I’ll pay them.” Jacob responded, “You know how much work I’ve done for you and what has happened to your livestock under my care. The little that you had before I came has grown to a large amount. Yahweh has blessed you wherever I’ve been. When can I do something for my own family?” Laban asked, “What should I give you?” “Don’t give me anything,” Jacob answered. “Instead, do something for me, then I’ll go back to taking care of and watching your flocks again. Let me go through all of your flocks today and take every speckled or spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. My honesty will speak for itself whenever you come to check on my wages. Any goat I have that isn’t speckled or spotted or any lamb that isn’t black will be considered stolen.” Laban answered, “Agreed. We’ll do as you’ve said.” However, that same day Laban took out the striped and spotted male goats, all the speckled and spotted female goats (every one with white on it), and every black lamb. He had his sons take charge of them. He traveled three days away from Jacob. Jacob continued to take care of the rest of Laban’s flocks. Then Jacob took fresh-cut branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled the bark on them in strips of white, uncovering the white which was on the branches. He placed the peeled branches in the troughs directly in front of the flocks, at the watering places where the flocks came to drink. When they were in heat and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. Then they gave birth to young that were striped, speckled, or spotted. Jacob separated the rams from the flock and made the rest of the sheep face any that were striped or black in Laban’s flocks. So he made separate herds for himself and did not add them to Laban’s flocks. Whenever the stronger of the flocks were in heat, Jacob would lay the branches in the troughs in front of them so that they would mate by the branches. But when the flocks in heat were weak, he didn’t lay down the branches. So the weaker ones belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. As a result, Jacob became very wealthy. He had large flocks, male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.

“Yeshua got into a boat, crossed the sea, and came to his own city. Some people brought him a paralyzed man on a stretcher. When Yeshua saw their faith, he said to the man, “Cheer up, friend! Your sins are forgiven.” Then some of the experts in Moses’ Teachings thought, “He’s dishonoring God.”

“Yeshua knew what they were thinking. He asked them, “Why are you thinking evil things? Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” So the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe and praised God for giving such authority to humans.

“When Yeshua was leaving that place, he saw a man sitting in a tax office. The man’s name was Matthew. Yeshua said to him, “Follow me!” So Matthew got up and followed him.  Later Yeshua was having dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Yeshua and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

“When Yeshua heard that, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. Learn what this means: ‘I want mercy, not sacrifices.’ I’ve come to call sinners, not people who think they have God’s approval.” Then John’s disciples came to Yeshua. They said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often but your disciples never do?”

“Yeshua replied, “Can wedding guests be sad while the groom is still with them? The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast. “No one patches an old coat with a new piece of cloth that will shrink. When the patch shrinks, it will rip away from the coat, and the tear will become worse. Nor do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, people pour new wine into fresh skins, and both are saved.”

7. Genesis 31:3-13, 36-42, 51-55; 32:1-3, 9-12, 22-25, 30-32; Matthew 9:18-38.
“Then Yahweh said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” So Jacob sent a message to Rachel and Leah to come out to the open country where his flocks were. He said to them, “I have seen that your father isn’t as friendly to me as he was before, but the Elohim of my father has been with me. You know that I have worked as hard as I could for your father. Your father has cheated me. He has changed my wages ten times. But Elohim hasn’t let him harm me. Whenever he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ all the flocks gave birth to speckled young. And whenever he said, ‘The striped ones will be your wages,’ all the flocks gave birth to striped young. So Elohim has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me. “During the mating season I had a dream: I looked up and saw that the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, or spotted. In the dream the Messenger of Elohim called to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I answered, ‘Yes, here I am.’ He said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, or spotted, because I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you. I am the El who appeared to you at Bethel, where you poured olive oil on a stone marker for a holy purpose and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land, and go back to the land of your relatives.’

“Then Jacob became angry and confronted Laban. “What is my crime?” Jacob demanded of Laban. “What is my offense that you have come chasing after me? Now that you’ve rummaged through all my things, did you find anything from your house? Put it here in front of all our relatives. Let them decide which one of us is right. “I’ve been with you for 20 years. Your sheep and goats never miscarried, and I never ate any rams from your flocks. I never brought you any of the flock that was killed by wild animals. I paid for the loss myself. That’s what you demanded of me when any of the flock was stolen during the day or at night. The scorching heat during the day and the cold at night wore me down, and I lost a lot of sleep. I’ve been with your household 20 years now. I worked for you 14 years for your two daughters and 6 years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. If the Elohim of my father, the Elohim of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed by now. Elohim has seen my misery and hard work, and last night he made it right.”

“Laban said to Jacob, “Here is the pile of stones, and here is the marker that I have set up between you and me. This pile of stones and this marker stand as witnesses that I will not go past the pile of stones to harm you, and that you will not go past the pile of stones or marker to harm me. May the Elohim of Abraham and Nahor—the Elohim of their father—judge between us.” So Jacob swore this oath by the Fear of his father Isaac and offered a sacrifice on the mountain. He invited his relatives to eat the meal with him. They ate with him and spent the night on the mountain. Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban left and went back home.

“As Jacob went on his way, Elohim’s angels met him. When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is Elohim’s camp!” He named that place Mahanaim [Two Camps]. Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in Seir, the country of Edom.

“Then Jacob prayed, “Elohim of my grandfather Abraham and Elohim of my father Isaac! Yahweh, you said to me, ‘Go back to your land and to your relatives, and I will make you prosperous.’ I’m not worthy of all the love and faithfulness you have shown me. I only had a shepherd’s staff when I crossed the Jordan River, but now I have two camps. Please save me from my brother Esau, because I’m afraid of him. I’m afraid that he’ll come and attack me and the mothers and children too. But you did say, ‘I will make sure that you are prosperous and that your descendants will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to count them because there are so many.’

“During that night he got up and gathered his two wives, his two slaves and his eleven children and crossed at the shallow part of the Jabbok River. After he sent them across the stream, he sent everything else across. So Jacob was left alone. Then a man wrestled with him until dawn. When the man saw that he could not win against Jacob, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that it was dislocated as they wrestled.

“So Jacob named that place Peniel [Face of God], because he said, “I have seen Elohim face to face, but my life was saved.” The sun rose as he passed Penuel. He was limping because of his hip. (Therefore, even today the people of Israel do not eat the muscle of the thigh attached to the hip socket because Elohim touched the socket of Jacob’s hip at the muscle of the thigh.)

“A synagogue leader came to Yeshua while he was talking to John’s disciples. He bowed down in front of Yeshua and said, “My daughter just died. Come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”

“Yeshua and his disciples got up and followed the man. Then a woman came up behind Yeshua and touched the edge of his clothes. She had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years. She thought, “If I only touch his clothes, I’ll get well.” When Yeshua turned and saw her he said, “Cheer up, daughter! Your faith has made you well.” At that very moment the woman became well.

“Yeshua came to the synagogue leader’s house. He saw flute players and a noisy crowd. He said to them, “Leave! The girl is not dead. She’s sleeping.” But they laughed at him. When the crowd had been put outside, Yeshua went in, took her hand, and the girl came back to life. The news about this spread throughout that region.

“When Yeshua left that place, two blind men followed him. They shouted, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” “Yeshua went into a house, and the blind men followed him. He said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they answered. He touched their eyes and said, “What you have believed will be done for you!” Then they could see. He warned them, “Don’t let anyone know about this!” But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that region. As they were leaving, some people brought a man to Yeshua. The man was unable to talk because he was possessed by a demon. But as soon as the demon was forced out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel!” But the Pharisees said, “He forces demons out of people with the help of the ruler of demons.”

“Yeshua went to all the towns and villages. He taught in the synagogues and spread the Good News of the kingdom. He also cured every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them. They were troubled and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is large, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord who gives this harvest to send workers to harvest his crops.”

PN 1).  The Book of Genesis has at least eight God’s promises. The first promise is creating man in His image and giving him supremacy over all He made on earth. God promised to bless Abraham’s descendants and every other person through them, and He also promised credit to the righteous who believed in him. Also, God began a covenant with Abraham and made him the father of all nations through many descendants; He promised that nothing is hard for Him and chose Abraham to direct His people in the right way.

God made a three-fold promise to Abram: 1) he would have a land; 2) he would become a “great nation” (that is, have many descendants); and 3) he would be blessed to be a blessing: “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (12:3).

Explicitly,  God made four promises to Abraham -(1) land, (2) numerous descendants, (3) blessing for him and his descendants, and (4) blessing through him for all nations. The patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph) were not always very good at blessing other nations.

Summary of God’s promises to Abraham. All nations will be blessed by Abraham and his seed. Abraham and his seed are to possess the land forever. Abraham is to be the father of an innumerable seed. Abraham is to be the father of a singular seed who will conquer all enemies. Abraham’s name is to be great.

God demonstrates that He will judge humans for their sinfulness when the time is right. He also demonstrates His grace and mercy, however, remembering His promises.

In Genesis 19, the rubber hits the road. No longer can anyone look at God’s word to Abraham as though it were pie-in-the-sky, wishful thinking. Instead, God’s word now rains down from the sky in the form of burning, sulfuric judgment on the wicked. If anyone has been tempted to keep God’s word at arm’s length, toying with the options of belief and unbelief, that time of leisurely consideration has come to an end. The time of asking whether God’s word is true is past. Now, only one question remains: On which side of God’s word will you fall? Will you be saved by God’s promises of grace, or will you be swept away according to God’s sentence of judgment?

The wrath of God against the ungodliness of Sodom and Gomorrah, then, is more than an event in history. What happened against the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is a pattern that tells us something of the greater that will come on the day of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus states twice that the judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah will be more bearable than the judgment that he will bring upon his return (Matt. 10:15; 11:24). The urgent question of Genesis 19:1–29, then, is not ultimately about what happened to those cities, but about what will happen to us. Against the backdrop of God’s righteous wrath against the wicked, what hope do we have that God will save us? Genesis 19:1–29, then, gives us this answer: God remembers the prayers of the righteous when he judges the wicked.

He’s saying that our relationship with Him must be based not on a desire to impress others, but on a desire to give God glory. Both motives have their reward. If we’re motivated by a desire to impress others, that’s all we’ll get. But if we’re motivated by God’s glory, we’ll get the greatest reward of all: God Himself.

PN 2). God engages “non-Christians” in dialogue and uses them to be teachers of the community of faith. We are invited to see that many of the good things in our daily lives have been generated by wisdom.  Wisdom encompasses the qualities of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.  The Old Testament book of Proverbs, which sometimes invokes a Woman as the personification of Wisdom, is a collection of aphorisms and moral teachings. Along with other biblical passages, it teaches, “The fear of the… More
and common sense of the Abimelechs of this world. They can even become our confessors, speaking a sharp prophetic word to us.

We pray for ears to hear God’s word to us spoken through unchosen people. Such individuals may gift us with much wisdom and insight into our life’s way and model for us what it means to live a life of courage. We may learn to be compassionate from those people among us for whom Jesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God’s saving acts for humanity is a stranger. As we ponder our sins against our neighbour—not least the outsiders among us—and ponder our massive attempts to justify our behaviors, we need to listen to how God may be speaking to us through them, including words such as these: “You have done things that ought not to be done; what were you thinking of that you did these things?”

“Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised.” What an absolutely beautiful verse! Did Sarah deserve it? Was her faith finally strong enough to gain God’s attention? No, she gave up believing God would do it a long time ago. When she gave her husband away to another woman, she proved her lack of faith in God’s willingness to do it within her. Then, when her body no longer regularly prepared itself for pregnancy, she figured God’s window of opportunity to keep His promise closed forever. He no longer could keep His promise. But God’s faithfulness comes to us solely by His never-ending love. We don’t deserve it. It’s His outrageous gift of grace to us. It’s not based on our faith, or our actions. His ability to fulfill His promise is not even based on the laws of nature. God’s power supersedes everything. There’s nothing He can’t do. He always keeps his promises.

What a great verse, Genesis 21:1, that describes God’s faithfulness. He always does what He says. He always fulfills what He promises. God never ever doesn’t do what He has said He will do. He never ever doesn’t fulfill a promise He has made. Do you realize what a rock-solid foundation that is for your life today? The Bible is filled with promises. Promises from God to be with us, to lead and guide us, to counsel us with wisdom, to direct us by His Spirit, to work all things together for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose.

While God’s command (because of the promise) is bizarre, Abraham’s response to the journey is informed more and more by a conviction that God can be trusted finally to save Isaac; this Abrahamic move places the burden back on God to be true to promises made. Abraham’s faith is evident in 22:7-8 (see also 22:5), wherein Abraham conveys this confidence in God by employing his attentive response to Isaac’s question. Isaac’s response shows that he believes his father’s trust is well-placed. The provision of a ram for the sacrifice (which was God’s intention from the beginning), and God’s overriding of the original command with another, confirms Abraham’s trust. God responds with a reiteration of the promises (22:15-19).

In receiving the fulfilment of God’s promises for us, we must shift our focus to the present, not worrying about tomorrow. We are valuable to Jesus. He goes on saying,  Seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. So not only does He know our every need from small to great, He will give us, He give you, He will give me, everything we need.

PN 3).  God had promised a son through Sarah, but that meant they needed to be faithful to each other in the means of procreation. If there are to be descendants in the fulfillment of the promise God had given, then Isaac needed a wife and Abraham knew none of the local girls were suitable.

The passage depicts Abraham’s faith in God for the present and future. Living our faith even in our distress. The continuous references to death in the entry uncover the real factors of our pain and drive the activities of the Patriarch. By paying respect to others and honouring his wife, Abraham continues to live out his faith.

God is Faithful Through Difficult Times. He blesses us in so many ways and yet there’s still hurt and there’s still pain and ultimately the hope we have is that there is coming a day when there will be no more pain and there will be no more death and no more weeping.

Abraham had called himself a sojourner and foreigner. They call him a prince of God or a mighty prince of God among them. In other words, they do not view Abraham as a mere wanderer; they see him as powerful, blessed by God, and worthy to be among them.

In Genesis 24, it is Isaac who discovers that God was not only faithful to Abraham but that God’s faithfulness extends to a new generation as well. The topic of Genesis 24 is the question many young men and women ask when they come of age, and that is where do I get a wife or husband?

Abraham makes his position clear: in no uncertain terms, Isaac cannot be allowed to go to Mesopotamia. Abraham instructs the servant not to take Isaac back to that land. Isaac’s place is in the Promised Land of Canaan. This is the home of Abraham’s future offspring—period.

Matthew 7 is the last of three chapters that record what is now known as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus commands His hearers not to pronounce shallow or hypocritical judgment. He describes God as a generous Father eager to give good things to His children when they ask.

Jesus promises radical alertness, from God to the prayers of His children. Every one of God’s children who asks will receive. Those who seek from God will find. To those who knock, God will open the door.

[Jesus continued:] “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives.

The word believe has references both to confession and conduct. He then who does not confess Christ, or does not walk according to His word, shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Christ specifically tells the disciples they will receive anything they ask—but only if they have faith. This means trust in God and His power to do what He wants to do. It also means an alignment with the will of God—it does not mean using the Creator as a vending machine.

Those who follow Jesus’ teaching are like a wise man who built a house on a rock. Those who ignore Him are like a foolish man who built a house on sand. One will survive the violent storm. The other will fall hard. The same is true of those who face the storms of life.

As Jesus brings the sermon to a close, He has some hard things to say – things that may make us uncomfortable. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus tells us that on the day of judgment, there will be some who are shocked to find that they are outdoors in the Kingdom of God.

PN 4). In receiving God’s promise of blessing, He chooses Abram of Haran out of all the nations and people. God chooses Sarai over Hagar to be the mother of Abram’s promised heir. God chooses the family line of Isaac over Ishmael. And God chooses Isaac’s son Jacob over his twin brother Esau, even while in utero – “two nations are in your womb […] and the older will serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23).

Abraham’s death at 175 years of age showed that he was blessed. His long life also fulfilled God’s promise to him: “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.” (Gen. 15:15).

To Experience God’s Promises, We Must Foster Healthy Relationships. When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, there were twins in her womb. The two nations and two peoples in Rebekah’s womb would be separated from her body; that did not only mean she was having two children but that two separate people groups would originate from these children. Each son would grow to father nations: the nations of Edom from Esau and Israel from Jacob.

God repeated the promise that he first gave to his father Abraham in Genesis 12. Through Isaac, God promised that all of the nations on the earth would be blessed. The creator of the universe has spoken, and of all the people on earth, he chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If that did not inspire confidence in Isaac, nothing would. And it appears that Isaac responds favorably. In verse 6 it says, “So Isaac settled in Gerar.” He did as the Lord commanded. He did not flee to Egypt but rather stayed in the land where God instructed him. He responded to God’s word in obedience. Now the Lord goes further in repeating those promises: Isaac’s offspring would be as the stars of heaven. His offspring would possess all the land of Canaan.

In Genesis 26, Isaac moves to Gerar in the coastal plain (Gerar is described as a Philistine city) to escape a famine. God tells Isaac that this land will become his as part of the land promised to Abraham. After that Isaac moves back to Beersheba.

Trusting in God’s promises can be difficult. But the Lord has shown himself to be faithful, worthy of our trust and affection. He protected Isaac, he made Jacob into a great nation, and through his descendants, he has blessed the world. We trust in God’s promises – imperfectly at times – but we trust in God’s promises because God is trustworthy.

Matthew begins a series of stories revealing Jesus’ authority over sickness, demons, and even the weather. Jesus heals a humble man with leprosy and great faith. He then heals the servant of a Roman centurion who understands that Jesus does not need to come to his home; He can just speak a word.

In Christ, as Matthew says, the outcast is loved and cleansed. In Christ, the outsider is welcomed in and healed. In Christ, the obsolete are renewed and recommissioned. “The Bible tells us that God did not originally make the world to have disease, hunger, and death in it.

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. The New International Version translates the passage as this was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”

This miracle teaches Christians that God is concerned about them and will reach out and touch them in times of need. It also reminds Christians that they should be willing to reach out and care for all of those who are shunned by society or are outcasts today.

PN 5). The future of God’s promise hangs in the balance of a family fraught with trouble. The LORD had made a promise to Abraham that He would bless his descendants, and that through them, the whole world would be blessed. Abraham’s son Isaac was the result of that promise. There is a promise here for an individual believer in Christ that sin and evil never nullify the purposes of God in your life. As the son of Abraham and receiver of the promises of God, Isaac’s prayer of blessing carries the weight of certainty. Isaac knows God will bring His blessing to manifest gloriously in his life.

In Genesis 27, we don’t take joy because God blesses us for our good works, but rather that despite our evil works, God continues to be faithful and lavishes His blessings upon the church solely by His grace.

Our culture would tell us that if we do good things, then we will get good things in return. And yet, this is not how God operates. God doesn’t bless us because we deserve it, but rather although we actually don’t deserve it. God doesn’t bless us because we are faithful, but rather because He is faithful. And God doesn’t bless us to show how great we are, but rather to show how great He is.

God’s covenant and His promises are not dependent on our performance. The good news of the gospel is, in fact, the opposite. The gospel is the good news that not because of our performance, but rather despite it, God remains faithful to His covenant – the new covenant in Christ’s blood, which He poured out for us. And no amount of sin or failure can take away the blessing God has offered to His redeemed and chosen people.

There are so many unanswered questions regarding God’s choice of Jacob. Did Jacob know what he was getting into when he stole his brother’s birthright and blessing? Did God choose Jacob because of or despite these deceits—or were they irrelevant? What is clear is that God’s promises to this trickster are exceedingly generous and unconditional (Genesis 28:13-15). No one could deserve such a gift, especially Jacob.

The Lord appeared to him saying He was the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac; “Know that I am with you; I will protect you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land. I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you” (Gen. 28:15-16). And He promised Jacob three things. God promised him land when he was penniless (28:13).

In this divine speech, God reiterates the promises that God has made to Jacob’s ancestors, Abraham and Isaac. With this gesture, God emphasizes that God is not only the God of the first and the second generation. Rather at the point at which Jacob is most vulnerable, God asserts that God is also the God of Jacob.

God reassured Jacob, promising to be with him, to make his family into a great nation, and to bring them back from Egypt. Though Jacob himself would die in Egypt, according to God’s promise, his family would prosper before they returned to the Promised Land. He promised Jacob descendants when he had nobody in his corner (28:14), and He promised to be with Jacob when he had no security (28:15).

Also, God reminds us in this verse that He will not leave us until He’s done what He promised us. So if you’re waiting on a promise from God, know that it is coming. It doesn’t always come in the timeframe that we want, but it does always come. God knows where you are.

Genesis 28:16–17: Asking God to help us see That we have the privilege of communing with Him all day. God, help us to realize how awesome this is, what Jacob was so overwhelmed by in Genesis 28:16–17 is an everyday privilege for us. When we think about even his words, “This is the house of God,” we are God’s house.

As children of God and followers of Jesus, we have been chosen as well to receive God’s blessings similarly to Jacob, and not because we earned it. Not 1all of us are chosen for the same roles or at the same times. The body of Christ is blessed with a variety of gifts, after all, and no one of us has all of them (1 Corinthians 12:4). Yet whatever our status, we can trust that God’s promises endure, whether it is our turn to be the blessed or the blessing.

In Matthew 8:18–34, Jesus continues to unveil the majesty of His authority. He has more authority than the scribal teachers of His day (Matt. 7:29), and more authority than the priests, temple, and sacrifices of the old covenant (Matt. 8:1–17).

Matthew 8:28–34 describes what happens when Jesus arrives on the other side of the Sea of Galilee in a mostly Gentile region. He is immediately confronted by two demon-possessed men who live in tombs. The demons recognize that Jesus is the Son of God and ask if He has come to torment them.

PN 6). God works through people. God can certainly accomplish His will without us, but He chooses to involve us, even though all of us are flawed. Also, another thing we learn from this kind of text is that God is always accomplishing His purposes whether or not we acknowledge Him to be doing so.

God promised that Abraham’s family would become a great nation, and here we have the beginnings of it. No matter what happens in the world or how messed up we make it, God will accomplish his plans. You have all heard of the school of hard knocks – those painful experiences that God’s providence brings into our lives to hack off our rough edges and transform our inner character.

Jacob is coming off a mountaintop spiritual experience where God has specially revealed Himself and reinforced the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant. God has been promised to be with Jacob and bless him and his offspring abundantly. You might expect that Jacob’s life would now be a smooth path of upward spiritual growth as he lived out the faith of his spiritual fathers – Abraham and Isaac.

But instead, we find that Jacob seems to give no attention at all to seeking God’s will in prayer or depending on Him in faith. As you read through this episode the lack of mention of God should be alarming – especially in contrast with the parallel episode of Abraham’s servant seeking a bride for Isaac in chap. 24. Jacob still has not owned up to his fundamental sin issues of selfishly seeking his own agenda via deceit, lies, and manipulation – both in his relationship with his older brother Esau and his aged father Isaac. He has serious character flaws that God must expose and address. As is typically the case, God works by His foundational harvest principle: whatever a man sows — that shall he also reap. It should not be surprising to see the schemer out-schemed; the deceiver caught in deception; the master manipulator finding his match when it comes to exploitation and manipulation. Jacob enters into the school of hard knocks and will spend 20 years learning some very painful lessons.

Specifically, Leah says God has endowed or presented to her a good gift, using the Hebrew word zabad. Leah’s faith in and gratitude to God seems to be a constant in her life. The other constant in Leah’s life seems to be a deep desire to be loved and valued by her husband Jacob.

This chapter gives an account of Rachel’s envy of her sister for her fruitfulness, and of her earnest desire to have children, which she expressed to Jacob in an unbecoming manner, for which he reproved her, Ge 30:1,2, of her giving her maid Bilhah to Jacob, by whom he had two sons, Dan and Naphtali, Ge 30:3-8; and …

We must praise God always for not forgetting His People as we wait, God is working, and He is forever good, and loving us eternally. It means that He thought of her with favour. He showed her mercy. He responded to her prayers by making her able to become pregnant with Jacob. So, she conceives and has a son, giving credit to God for taking that cultural shame and reproach away. She acknowledges that God is the giver of this good gift.

The covenant promise had been that God would be with His people. He would create Seed (people, a nation) and provide Land (place to call home) for that seed. But He had also promised to increase the blessings that His people would receive. That was Isaac’s blessing to his son in Genesis 27.

Jesus came into the world to forgive sins. That is why he said, “your sins are forgiven.” This meant that the man now had a right relationship with God. His real problem was solved from the root. Now he was accepted, not abandoned. He had new strength, new spirit, and new life that comes from God.

Each story of the Gospel demonstrates that Jesus is truly the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus repeatedly emphasizes that faith in Him is key to the healing experienced by many.

PN 7). “Return to the land of your fathers:” Even if Jacob never knew it, God prepared him for this time. First, God gave him the desire to go back home (Genesis 30:25). Then, his present circumstances became unbearable. Finally, the LORD gave personal direction to Jacob. Today, God may lead people after the same pattern.

“And I will be with you:” This was the most important aspect. If God were with Jacob, he could be at peace and confident in any difficulty – or at least have the opportunity for peace and confidence. The promise of God’s presence meant everything.

“But the God of my father has been with me:” Even though Laban tried to cheat Jacob, God protected him all the time. God showed Jacob that He was greater and able to overcome what any man might do to Jacob. God’s presence was with Jacob, just as God had promised (Genesis 28:15).

This attitude was later expressed in a Psalm: The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (Psalm 118:6).

“The Angel of God spoke to me in a dream:” Here, we learn that the blessing of blessed production of sheep and goats described in Genesis 30:37-43 was in some way revealed to Jacob in a dream. Jacob did not only use clever agricultural methods; more importantly, he had the blessing of God.

“I am the God of Bethel:” God told Jacob to go back to Bethel, back to the place where he first encountered the LORD in a personal way. This was Jacob’s way of returning to his first love and first works (as would be later described in Revelation 2:4-5).

It was good that Jacob saw God’s presence and protection in all this. Unfortunately, nowhere did Jacob claim God as his own; he referred to God as the Fear of his father Isaac and the God of his grandfather Abraham.

“Then Laban departed and returned to his place:” After a proper goodbye, Laban saw his daughters and grandchildren for the last time. Jacob took his family to Canaan and never returned to where Laban lived.

“This is the last we hear of Laban in the Bible, and it is good that this is the end of him. Laban is of the world, and Jacob needed to be freed from this world to live wholeheartedly for the God of his fathers.”

Rachel and Leah were wrong to look to their father Laban for their portion or inheritance (Genesis 31:14) once they were married to Jacob. He now was their portion and inheritance. “Since you are saved and joined to Christ, appraise the world and ask, ‘Is there yet any portion for me?’ If you think there is, you are mistaken.”

In Genesis 32, a wonderful revelation of God’s presence and care came after Jacob finally separated from Laban, the worldly man. Separation from the world brings greater insight to the believer.

“Our Mahanaims occur at much the same time as that in which Jacob beheld this great sight. Jacob was entering upon a more separated life. He was leaving Laban and the school of all those tricks of bargaining and bartering that belong to the ungodly world.

This is God’s camp: Literally, Jacob observed he was in a double camp. He was not alone; God had a camp of angels to be with him at Mahanaim.

It was not as if God’s angels just joined Jacob. They were with him the entire time. Now, Jacob could see God’s angels with him and it provided great encouragement.

Angels, though “higher” beings than us, are ordained by God to be our servants (Hebrews 1:14) and they serve God’s people even as they served Jesus (Matthew 4:11). In 2 Kings 6:15-17, Elisha’s servant had his eyes opened to see the tremendous angelic host surrounding them.

“I do not ask that you may see angels: still, if it can be, so be it. But what is it, after all, to see an angel? Is not the fact of God’s presence better than the sight of the best of His creatures? Perhaps the Lord favoured Jacob with the sight of angels because he was such a poor, weak creature as to his faith.”

As Jacob had no strength before Esau because of guilt, many Christians today are also hindered by the memory of their past sins and failings.

Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: Before Jacob left home, after his brother swore to kill him, Rebekah told Jacob until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there (Genesis 27:45). Rebekah never sent for Jacob; therefore, he had every reason to believe that Esau was still angry with him 20 years later.

But Jacob also had every reason to believe God would protect him. He seems to have forgotten God had a special camp of angels there to protect him (Genesis 32:1-2). His great fear and distress were not appropriate for someone under God’s protection.

Jacob’s fear was wrong because it followed after a great deliverance.

Jacob’s fear was wrong because he had just had a remarkable divine visitation.

Jacob’s fear was wrong because it probably arose out of a remembrance of his old sins.

Jacob could have said, “I don’t know if Esau is coming to me in peace or war. I hope for peace, but if it is war, I trust God will protect me.”

“Jacob is the type of a believer who has too much planning and scheming about him; he is a wise man according to the judgment of the world… Abraham never descended to any of the tricks by which Jacob sought to increase his flocks; he lived, like a princely man, in simple, childlike confidence in God, willing to be injured rather than to seek his own interests.”

After first reacting in fear and unbelief, Jacob did the right thing. He went to the LORD and prayed a good prayer, humble, full of faith, full of thanksgiving and God’s Word.

“Depend upon it, it will go hard with any man who fights against a man of prayer.” Jacob’s fear was good because it led him to prayer. Jacob’s fear was good because it led him to take a review of his life. Jacob’s fear was good because it led him to seek out a suitable promise from God.

“He took them, sent them over the brook:” This was a demonstration of his faith because Jacob left himself no retreat. If Esau wanted to attack his group, they would quickly be backed up against the river.

“Sent over what he had:” Jacob spent the night alone. This was his last night on the east side of the Jordan River, and he probably spent the night in prayer.

God had to get Jacob alone before He dealt with him. While all the activity of the huge entourage surrounded Jacob, he could busy himself with a thousand different tasks. Once he was alone, God commanded his attention.

Think of all Jacob had to pray about thanking God, remembering all that the LORD did for him, and wondering how God would fulfil His work in him. This was a significant turning point in Jacob’s life and he knew it.

A Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day: Jacob didn’t wrestle with the Man. Instead, a Man wrestled with him. Jacob didn’t start out wanting anything from God; God wanted something from him. God wanted all of Jacob’s proud self-reliance and fleshly scheming, and God came to take it, by force if necessary.

Sometimes we feel man really can contend with God. A man or woman in rebellion against God might seem to do pretty well. The match seems even in appearance only. God can turn the tide at any moment, and He allows the match to go on for His own purposes.

It isn’t hard to imagine Jacob working so hard and feeling he is getting the best of his opponent until finally, the Man changed the nature of the struggle in a moment. Jacob must have felt very defeated.

“Let Me Go, for the day breaks:” The Man let Jacob know this would not last much longer. Even though Jacob clung to him desperately, Jacob had lost. A better, greater Man defeated Jacob.

This is an invaluable place for everyone to come to where God conquers us. There is something to be said for every man doing his wrestling with God, and then acknowledging God’s greatness after having been defeated. We must know we serve a God who is greater than us, and we cannot conquer much of anything until He conquers us.

Jacob was reduced to a place where all he could do was to hold on to the LORD with everything he had. Jacob could not fight anymore, but he could hold on. That is not a bad place to be.

Here, God has answered Jacob’s prayer in Genesis 32:9-12. Yet before Jacob could be delivered from the hand of his brother, he had to be delivered from his own self-will and self-reliance. “It is evident that, as soon as he felt that he must fall, he grasped the other ‘Man’ with a kind of death-grip, and would not let him go. Now, in his weakness, he will prevail. While he was so strong, he won not the blessing; but when he became an utter weakness, then did he conquer.”

Jacob thought the real enemy was outside of him, Esau. The real enemy was his own carnal, fleshly nature, which had not been conquered by God.

“What is your name:” Jacob must have felt a sense of shame, admitting his name was Jacob, with all its associations of deception and cheating. Yet this was who he was, and Jacob had to admit to it.

We all want to name ourselves favourably. We say, “I am firm; you are stubborn; they are obstinate fools.” God wouldn’t allow Jacob to cover up his name, because in his case it reflected his true nature.

Whatever Jacob needed, God’s blessing was provided at the moment. We note that He blessed him there – at that particular place. The place of special trial and testing. The place of intense pleading to God. The place of seeing the face of God. The place of conscious weakness.

Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: The first memorial was a name. Jacob named the place Peniel (Face of God) because he did know the name of the Man who wrestled with him. He was the same One who wrestled with Jacob all his life.

Jacob also understood it was only by God’s grace and mercy he escaped from this episode with his life. No man should be allowed to wrestle with God and live, but God was gracious.

He limped on his hip: The second memorial was a perpetual limp. Jacob would remember his being conquered by God with every step he took for the rest of his life. This was a small price to pay for such a great gift.

“The memorial of his weakness was to be with him as long as he lived… How pleased would you and I be to go halting all our days with such weakness as Jacob had, if we might also have the blessing that he thus won!”

Those miracles are “just” means to convince us that Jesus was and is God! Once we believe in Jesus as God and Messiah, we are transformed into the children of God and have eternal life! Jesus did not want us to lose that “focus” and “the eternal meaning” of the mission and ministry of Jesus on earth.

Jesus reminds us to pray for the Labourers.  Few people are going into the harvest field to proclaim the good news of the king and his kingdom. So Jesus says, “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”

We now pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen:

a).  Lord, Thank You for revealing how Abraham’s faith and prayers saved his nephew Lot. Thank You for reminding us that disobedience and sin will ultimately lead to death and destruction. Help us to have faith for others until they can develop their own faith. Help us to be diligent in prayer for them until they become diligent in prayer for themselves and their own families. Give us strength and wisdom to help save others like Abraham did. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. God of all knowledge, love, understanding, and compassion; give us an inward desire to know You more. Teach us Your perspective on the world in which we live, teach us to love our neighbours, teach us to care for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and teach us to care about truth, peace, and harmony. God Helps us with our prayers. So we depend on You for all kinds of things, and God as we trust in You in small ways, we pray that You would help us to trust You in big ways. Help us to trust You, we pray, to do that which we can’t even imagine seeing happen. God’s love and justice shall reign on earth forever. Amen.

b).  God, we look to You right now. We praise You for Your promises to us and we trust in them. God, we believe You are with us right now and that You are leading and guiding us. We believe that You are working everything around us, even the hardest things around us, the most difficult and challenging things that some people are walking through right now You are working all of it together for good. You are our helper, our deliverer, our sustainer, the only one who can satisfy our soul. You are our provider and You are always faithful to provide. All glory be to Your Name for Your constant faithfulness. We love and worship You oh God. We trust in You with all our hearts. Help us not to lean on our own understanding in all our ways help us to acknowledge You and we trust You have said it, You will make our paths straight. It will be just as You have said. All glory be to Your Name for Your faithfulness and Your constancy. In a world of uncertainty and unpredictability, You are faithful and we worship You and we trust and we rest in You. Amen.

c). Heavenly Father,  we thank You, for Your Gift of Life to us. We thank You for fulfilling Your promises. We praise You for our neighbours, for Your grace in them especially as we think about them in Christ. God, we praise You for Your salvation of them, for the eternal life You gave them starting in their years on this earth and continuing even now. We pray that You shall make us successful today, show us Your kindness, and bring to us Your goodness forever. We pray that You align our desires with Your purpose for our lives. Let us never stop seeking Your true riches; grace, kindness, and mercy. Let us never stop seeking a righteous life and Your Kingdom. We pray that we continue to constantly come to Your throne of grace in prayer, knocking at the door of mercy. Amen.

d). Lord God,  please arise Big in our midst!  Yes,  we pray that You do what You did for Isaac and Rebekah here in Genesis 25:21, God please open the womb. Please bring life, bring children into families. God, we pray for that. We know You have the power to do that. Amen.

Lord, help us to remember Genesis 25:29–34 how Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. And we pray that You would keep us from doing that, from letting go of things that are precious and valuable and even eternal for things that are temporary and trivial and won’t last and are not that important. Amen.

e). O LORD, our Lord, our strong deliverer. You fulfill Your promise forever! You have covered our heads in the day of battle. Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not further their evil plot! Those who surround us lift up their heads, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them! Let burning coals fall upon them! We pray that our lives shall glorify God all the time. Yes, Lord, that you’d help us to think rightly, and wisely, and to act based on Your word and Your wisdom and Your truth, even when our emotions, our bodily, and physical desires are saying different. Amen.

f). We now pray that You Deliver us, O LORD, from the wicked, the evil people; preserve our lives from violent people, who plan evil things in their hearts, and stir up wars continually. They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s, and under their lips is the poison of vipers.  Amen.

g). God, we pray boldly for things that we are asking for in our lives and others’ lives around us and our families and our gathering to You (the Church),  and the world around us. And God, we pray that You would give us the boldness of this centurion.

Father God, Matthew 8:17 declares that Jesus Himself bore our sickness and diseases. And since He already bore them, we don’t have to. He was made sick so that we might be made well. We declare that we are well today. We are healed and made whole completely. Amen.

h).  Therefore God shall give us of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: As God’s Children, we shall serve The Lord. Loving God, like Jacob, who dreamed of Your promises, You have filled us with dreams, too. Show us Your promises in our dreams, and give us the ability to follow our dreams. May God give us the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. May God give us heaven’s dew and earth’s richness. Amen.

Thank You, God that we can be Your friend. Thank You that You love us so much even when we sometimes make bad choices. Father of Life seated on Your throne of Grace, it’s only by Your mercy, that we are saved. Lord,  You’ve said, that if we call upon Your name, we and our families shall be saved. So we cry out Your Name, El Shaddai, God of Grace, Lord Most High, Jesus Christ. We rely on Your grace, Adonai crowned in praise, Lord Most High, Jesus Christ. Jesus, Jesus. Jesus. Amen.

i). We pray, ‘Lord, the centurion interceded for his sick servant. We now intercede for others who are unwell. More than that, we intercede for our suffering world, which You love so much. We pray for peace all around the world. God, help us not to be distant from people who don’t know You. Help us to make Your good news of Your grace, of Your love, of Your healing, cleansing, internally life-giving touch known to people around. God, we pray for people who don’t know You. Jesus will save sinners. He is God over every power and authority, who saves us from demons and delivers us from evil. We owe Jesus Christ our thanks and worship for all this. We thank You, Jesus! Amen.

j). You are so gracious, oh God. You are so good in so many ways. God, we are overwhelmed by Your grace in our lives. God, we shudder to think of where we would be apart from Your mercy. Even over recent days, You’ve just brought to our mind different people in our lives over years, decades ago, who You showed Your love for us through. God, we praise You for them. We trust You for our daily provisions. You are our provider. God, we look forward to seeing how Your provision unfolds because we know You are faithful. We know You hear our prayers, and we know You answer according to Your wise will and providence. And so we say, We trust in you, and we worship you. We pray that You remain our Provider forever. Amen.

So, we give You glory for remembering Rachel, listening to her and opening her womb. And God, we pray specifically for those who are praying for open wombs for children. God, we pray that You would provide. That we pray together for Your provision. And as we pray we say we trust in You. We trust in You. And we’re so thankful that You’re in control and we’re not. We’re so thankful that You are the One with all wisdom, and all power, and all love are in control and we are not. So, we gladly yield to You even as we lay our hearts out before You. Lord, please work in our waiting for our good, for the good of others, and, ultimately, for the Glory of Your Name.  Amen.

k). Oh Lord, You know our thoughts! We pray that Your will be done in our lives. We receive grace to always reject evil thoughts from our hearts. Help us dear Lord to focus on You and Your will for us. We have faith in You. We place our lives at Your feet. Please work in us so that we can bring more glory to You. Dear Lord, we pray that You shine Your light on our lives and reveal the sins that limit our effectiveness and fruitfulness. We receive grace today to obey all Your instructions. Amen.

Oh Lord,  please continue to do wonders in our hearts and all our lives such that people who see us in action will glorify You, our God, Eternal Glory. We thank You for You calling us and ordaining us for Your divine purpose. We accept Your call to follow You and for us to be fishers of people. Lord, arise Big to help us to recognize the people You are calling like Matthew, people who are ready to follow You. We thank You heavenly Father for the New Covenant! Thank You for cleansing and making us Your Children in Christ Jesus. You made it possible for us to come to You by the Blood of Jesus. Now we can fast so that we can devote our time to You and hear from You. Dear Lord, we believe like this ruler in Matthew 9 that when You touch anything, it gets fixed, if it is dead it would come back to life. Therefore Lord, whatever good things have died in our lives, dear Lord Jesus, we present them to You so that they can receive life again. Every vision, business idea, ministry, relationship, cell, or organ in our bodies shall receive new life now! We present our lives to You, Lord Jesus. Have Your Way. Amen.

l). Save us, O God, by Your Name, and vindicate us by Your Might. Hear our prayers, O God; give ear to the words of our mouths. For insolent men have risen against us, ruthless men seek our lives; they do not set God before them. Behold, God is our helper; the Lord is the upholder of our lives.

Lord our God, we are not worthy of all the mercy and faithfulness You show to us. We thank You for Your love and ask You to keep our hearts united in the hope we have together for all things. Keep our hearts united, so that again and again we can receive something new from Your Mighty Hand.

Lord God Almighty,  we pray that You,  who are in charge of the harvest; we ask that You to send more workers into Your fields at this time.  Amen.

IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, WE RECEIVE ANSWERS TO ALL OUR PRAYERS. AMEN.

PRAISE GOD, HALLELUJAH!
PRAISE GOD, AMEN!!
PRAISE GOD, HALLELUJAH!!!

JESUS IS LORD.