Genesis
This gives us a real illustration of injustice. Poor Jacob really had been abused by Laban, who had deceived Jacob on numerous occasions. Jacob had been blessed by the Lord & we can see the jealousy of this in Laban & his sons.
I have often heard preachers say that it is easy for us to mourn with someone but much more difficult to rejoice with someone when God is blessing them. Is that true for you?
Clearly Leah & Rachel were caught in the middle & the theft of the idols may have been to ridicule Laban & their brothers - these gods were a very significant part of the inheritance. This is why they wanted them back.
Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where it seems that we are not appreciated & are even subject to abuse, bitterness or jealousy. Sometimes we are called in be in that place or situation by the Lord, but we should always listen to the voice of God calling us away.
Psalm
Continuing on from yesterday, this Psalm continues to look at the behaviour of the worldly person who have no concern about God. It is amazing how up to date this Psalm is, it could have been written by a news paper columnist! Sadly, in my experience, many people open their mouths & out comes cursing (swearing, blasphemy, words to tear down) lies & violence.
Jesus said that what comes out of our mouths reflects what is in our hearts.
Proverbs
I once heard a young girl say that her hero & role model was a 'celebrity' of no particular qualities or character! Our world puts different people on a pedestal who really have no right to be there. Unfortunately, these are the role models many people follow. For this reason we need to be careful with those whom we have influence on (e.g. children) that we teach them wisdom about the qualities they should look for in a role model. We should look to those who have a close relationship with Jesus & those of us who are leaders should be an example to others. Are we careful about the examples we set? Imagine the change in the hearts of children in our city if Kaka plays for Manchester City - he is the sort of role model we need, someone whose first priority is Jesus.
Matthew
11:20 Whilst miracles do happen, they will not necessarily result in repentance & salvation. The same is true of a gospel presentation - even where sometimes the person says they have given their hearts to Jesus. We must always look for fruit in a Christian - if there is none it is unlikely that a person is truly born-again.
Jesus condemns these cities for hardness of heart - yet sometimes believers can be in the same position - we fail to recognise when God moves in power & sometimes we actually attribute it to something else. Whilst many of the towns of the bible exist today, Capernaum does not. v23.
v25-27 The things of the Kingdom are so easy to understand that a child can grasp it, but yet to some of the wise & learned these things are hidden. There are secret things of the kingdom which are only revealed by God.
Many people study the scriptures for years or even go to Bible College, but never see the things of the Kingdom.
v28-30. This helps to explain the verses above - that it is when we trust completely in Jesus that we find it is not difficult to follow His commands, for we are empowered by the Spirit.
12:7. This helps to explain to us that God is not really interested in us going through the motions in a religious way of sinning & then turning up to confess. As we saw in the verses about the yoke, it is about a relationship with God. When we become a friend of Jesus we naturally sin less because we want to please Him.
This relies on His mercy, rather than the sacrifice which comes from us.
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