January 14. A stolen blessing, wise advise, an instruction to be followed?

Readings: Gen 26:12- 27:9, Ps 9:7-12, Prov 2:9-10, Matt 10:1-20

Genesis
26:12-27. God's blessing on Isaac is clearly evident.
v 28. The blessing was so obvious that others saw it. This is how it is supposed to be with Christians, but often you wouldn't know!
v29. Suddenly what can be negative behaviour towards God's people can turn to the realisation that in reality they too are blessed by being in their presence.
27. Here we see that there is a lot of deception which is undertaken to have Jacob blessed instead of Esau. Whilst it does not seem possible the God actually approves of this, it none the less accomplished God's will for Jacob was the chosen one for the continuation of the promise to Abraham.

Proverbs
v10. One of the battlegrounds in which we face Satan is in our minds. This is why we should meditate on His word. As we fill our minds with His wisdom, our hearts will be blessed too!

Matthew
This is some of the most practical teaching in the Bible. It provides a clear direction for evangelism, yet very few churches in the Western World teach this in its entirety. Yet in countries where the church is presently growing rapidly & in the face of persecution, this is their evangelism model. The difference is power! We cannot separate the gospel, as we understand it (salvation from sin & eternity in heaven) from the true gospel (salvation, healing, cleansing, casting out demons) which Jesus demonstrated & told His disciples (including those to follow) to do.