still here

Can I start off by saying, oh, just shoot me, I didn't have a picture for this post, but I love this mug. Love it! My mother hates it, with a passion! ~ snicker ~ Anyway, let's get on with it.

So, no news is good news.  Right?  We heard this morning that no decision had been made and my excitement ran out of steam yesterday.  It's dead, slain by the wait peace.  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  ~John 14:27.  I am not troubled, yet continually hopeful.  Either way, life must go on.

Last night marked another great Bible study.  My chocolate pies and pig pickin' cake turned out well and everyone commented on their tastiness.  ~ Smile ~  That's always a plus.  Eatin' meetins are the best. 

Our lesson was from Genesis 29 and was on Jacob.  Ol' Jacob, he didn't pray for a wife, but he let his emotions overtake him.  He worked 7 years in return for Rachel's hand in marriage.  Things didn't quite go as planned.  Instead, he was tricked by his father-in-law, Laban and ended up married to the wrong sister, Leah.  (We'll get to that further down.)  So, that led to 7 more years of laboring in order to secure another marriage to his beloved Rachel, the younger sister of Leah.

We talked about how flesh and works are not how we find God's grace.  How faith is the only way.  When we are on "the Christian Path", we all will run into sin and make mistakes, but we must choose grace instead of returning to our worldly self or to use our flesh or works to overcome those feelings of guilt.  Grace begins at our very lowest point.  God sees us exactly as we are, yet he still loves us.  "Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God.  This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has brought us into that blessing of God's grace..." ~Romans 5:1-2

These were some of the key verses and high notes...
Psalm 46:7 - "The Lord All-Powerful is with us; the God of Jacob is our defender."  Ya see, God is always there, always with us, when we're doing right and when we're doing wrong.  He under no circumstance recants His promise to never forsake us.  So, when Jacob was making wrong decisions, God never revoked the promises He made to Jacob in the dream:   

To give him and his descendants the land on which he was lying.

That his descendants would be numerous like the dust of the earth.

That all peoples on earth would be blessed through him and his offspring.

To watch over him wherever he went.

The "Sowing and Reaping Principle" - Galatians 6:7-8 reads "Do not be fooled; You cannot cheat God.  People harvest only what they plant."  Eeew, how true is that!  Also, Proverbs 21:30 states "There is no wisdom, understanding, or advice that can succeed against the Lord."  Here we are again, Jacob wasn't relying on his God, he was relying on himself to find a wife.

"You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good to save the lives of many people, which is being done." ~Genesis 50:20  This is just one of those powerful verses from the Bible that you carry in your heart.  Miss D used it when speaking of poor Leah, the older sister that "had weak eyes" meaning she was more plain and not as beautiful as her sister, Rachel.  Leah's father, Laban schemed up this crazy plan to trick Jacob into marrying Leah.  Back then, the women were heavily veiled, so Jacob probably never saw his bride and the Bible says in Genesis 29:23 "But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her." 

Poor, poor Leah.  She loved Jacob and longed for his affection, but she saw how much more he loved her sister and then in Genesis 29:31, it says, "When the Lord saw that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, he made it possible for Leah to have children, but not Rachel."  Leah never deserved what circumstances she was in.  Her father had most likely forced her into the trickery involving Jacob, but just like all people, did she deserve it?  No.  Do people deserve to have medical conditions, physical deformities, or the simple, yet hurtful wrath of others?  No, and it goes back to that verse..."You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good to save the lives of many people, which is being done." ~Genesis 50:20  and this one, "So God will choose the one to whom he decides to show mercy; his choice does not depend on what people want or try to do." Romans 5:16  Wow!  I love this powerful stuff.

It was a good night to be at Bible study and I missed you D!  I know I haven't gotten back to you yet, but I'm off tomorrow!  I'll squeeze in some time then.  And I can't tell you how much I appreciate your prayers.  Praise God I'm off, it's been another busy 4-day work week.  I know, I know plenty of people work way more than that, but I usually don't and so it throws me off.  Just sayin'!