Year: 2025

What mess is God calling us to toss away?

Readings:

Genesis 35, 36, 37

I love how after Jacob’s sons sought vengeance and ruined the family’s reputation that you see the Lord lead them back to Bethel the “House of God”. And I love that it was God who told Jacob where to go and that he listened and obeyed.

And Jacob told his family in very clear instructions and practical application what they were going to do to “purify themselves”. He had them cast away anything that might hinder them.

I wonder how many things in our own households there are that we might let our family fall into little by little inch by inch,  until they have compromised themselves so much that they go and do something foolish in a time of great struggle and ruin our family name?

On a personal note,  my husbandly and parental approach to leading our household has been to come alongside my family and offer wisdom and teach them how to personally choose wisdom over foolishness so they mature spiritually to be able to govern themselves — rather than acting authoritarian and sheltering them, banning access to certain things,  etc. I try to encourage them to trust in the strength of God Almighty rather than fear the schemes of the wicked. We have open discussions about things that my daughter may ask about our be curious about rather than hide it from her. We want to be a safe place for anyone who is struggling with any kind of issue so they don’t feel they have to hide it from us or feel condemned. This doesn’t mean that we ourselves justify or want to participate in wicked things, but we want to be genuine,  honest and transparent about the things and areas of our life where we are being humble,  repenting and seeking sanctification by the Holy Spirit. If a friend is struggling with something,  we want them to see our pattern of:

1) God revealing our own foolishness to us

2) Us listening to wisdom and valuing it

3) Us humbling ourselves in surrender to do what God asks us to do

4) Us turning away from foolishness and wickedness to move closer to God

5) God empowering us to endure

6) Rinse and repeat

We would rather our lives demonstrate this pattern of loving one another, being just and fair, offering mercy to others,  and humbly walking with God — than just be a loud gong telling everyone else what is banned, what is not permitted, what is dangerous, and what is shameful.

There is a serious danger to us when we let our lives get weighed down by things that hinder our walk with God. And if  we are wise enough to focus on cleaning out our house physically if  we ever find evidence of bugs or rodents — shouldn’t we be even more diligent to clean out our lives of things that are not godly or wise and to seek God with a renewed passion when we can see the signs of spiritual decay or ignorance?

And isn’t it wonderful how in Jacob leading his family through this cleansing process,  this return to the Lord for his household,  that God tells Jacob his new name and his specific covenant promise and purpose?

As I read all of these names,  I am reminded that my name “Harold” means “army-ruler” or “powerful in war” — and to be a “herald” means a person or thing that announces news, or a person or thing that precedes something else. I do not rule or even lead in the sense of an earthly rule might.  But I can stir up and muster and gather together my family and friends in the spiritual warfare that is at hand.

What is God calling us to lay aside today so that we will not be hindered in our calling and our purpose, my friends?

Don’t Hide, “Hurry On” to your Purpose

Readings:

Genesis 27, 28, 29

Isn’t it beautiful how Jacob reacts to a vision of how the spiritual and physical are connected:

Genesis 28:12 NLT
As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.

And he makes the same mistake many of us make when we encounter the power of God moving:

Genesis 28:16-17 NLT
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”

He is so surprised that God and His messengers are clearly active and influencing things here on earth.  And he gets hung up on the physical place where it happened, rather than understanding that it was a healing of his heart and his spirit that allowed him to see through the veil.

He thought there was something special “about this physical place where my body lay” rather than understand there there is something special “about where his life had taken him that prepared his heart and his mind to be able to receive God’s revelation”.

He knew that his brother was seeking to kill him. He knew that he was on the run from the possible consequences of his deceitful actions. We can only imagine that he knew that so much of his life had been flipped upside down and that he was clearly not in control of the narrative. He had gone beyond what his manipulations and deceiving could do to keep him safe.

Many men have found God in a jail cell of their own making — facing the reality of possible consequences of their own foolish actions. They might pray “take away the consequences, God, and I’ll never do it again” — usually lying to themselves and to God. But occasionally a man’s pride is broken enough that he is ready to consider what God might teach him,  rather than just seeking a “get out of jail free card” from the genie in the sky.

It is the latter place, that place of a humble heart that the messengers of God travel to and from seeking out on earth — and they do this in order to reveal heavenly things to mere men. It isn’t a certain church, a certain place,  or a certain row in front of a stage and pulpit where the veil is pulled back to reveal the awe and wonder of God’s messengersand work. It is in the place of a humble and contrite spirit.  Because God resists the proud.

So more than seeking the right church,  or the right preacher,  or the right small group,  or the right friends — we should seek out where we need to repent and be humbled.

The messages and messengers behind that veil and represented (most likely metaphorically rather than mechanically/literally) upon that spiritual ladder are holy — and should be given the due amount of fear and reverence. So it is no surprise that Jacob celebrated with a marker.

But he did not get dissuaded from his appointed journey by being tempted to just find a pew and sit at this Bethel (this “house of God”) to meditate like a monk the rest of his days. So I’m reminded to not be so much in awe of the miracles, the healing, the deliverance, the visions, and all that comes in deep spiritual warfare — but for that awe and wonder to be in God who orchestrated and holds it all together.

The “house of God” is not a place to sit and rot or hide for the rest of our days, but serves as a marker to remind us to “hurry on” to our purpose like Jacob does in the first verse of chapter 29.

Hiding in a religious building is not the church, no matter how many gather there, or how noticeable the marker is — power is not bound to a physical location. The real Church, the “capital C Church” is that ladder vision in action — through humble and contrite people who have a reverent fear for the Lord, an overflowing love for God and His children, a convicting hunger for justice and what is right,  and a compassionate deduction to mercy.  Amen.

Looks, Smells, Tastes, Feels like Jealousy

Readings:

Genesis 25, 26

Genesis 26:15 NLT
So the Philistines filled up all of Isaac’s wells with dirt. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.

Jealousy.

If what I’m doing is pouring dirt into others’ water — no matter if “I’m helping correct where they are wrong” — no matter if “I have good intentions” — no matter how I’ve justified my actions in my own mind — it will likely be jealousy on some level. Even if it isn’t jealousy, it will look like, smell like, taste like, and feel like jealousy to everyone who encounters it.

So what have I done lately that was complaining about someone else? Judging someone else? making assumptions about their motivations? being overly critical for their mistakes?

Lord, help me to leave all forms of vengeance to you. Help me to remember my calling as your servant is to love you by loving them, and testify what you have done for me.