In Genesis 28 we find the story of Jacob fleeing from a difficult family situation. He is somewhere between Beersheba and Haran. Having gained Esau's birthright, he has been sent by his mother Rachel to live for a season with Uncle Laban in Haran. The Bible says that he came to a "certain place". It was a place of uncertainty, a place of pain because of the past, and fear because of the future. It was a hard place. It was also a place of launching out, as he was on his own for the first time.
In this place of uncertainty and difficulty, this "certain place", Jacob received a revelation from God. And the place of uncertainty became a place of enlargement, of expansion, a launching place. All he had ever known were Isaac's tents, but in a vision God reveals to him his true inheritance. He speaks to him of expanded boundaries and multiplied descendants.
Sometimes we find ourselves in this "certain place"...somewhere between the mess we have made of things and the future that God has for us. It is an awkward place and a very uncomfortable place. Sometimes it is a painful place.
In the scriptures, God reveals Himself to Jacob and he sees a ladder or stairway stretched between heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending. If we study this in the context of New Testament fulfillment, what Jacob was being shown was the glory of Christ, the mediator between heaven and earth. And Jacob came away with these words on his lips, "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven!"
Now Jacob had spent the night sleeping with his head elevated on one of the stones that were abundant in that place. The scene reflects to us the difficulty of the situation. When you are in that place, that "certain place", even sleep comes with difficulty and even your pillow is a place of harsh repose. It seems that there is no rest. Maybe today you are in that place. It is a place of fear and uncertainty. Perhaps you've made a mess of things. Or maybe you are just in a place of great apprehension concerning the future. But you're in a wilderness and a stone is your pillow.
The Word of God is so wonderful in that no detail is spared, so that we may receive wonderful glimpses of the truths that Christ has for us. Though Jacob spent the night with His head on a rock, when he received the revelation of Christ it changed everything. He knew that God was with him and that he stood at the very gate of Heaven.
Listen to what the Bible says his response was:
"Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
Jacob arose and took that thing which had been hard...that thing which represented his fretful night and his harsh environment, and he turned it into something else. He stood the rock upright and called it an altar. And he anointed the rock with oil, and made a vow to God.
What a word for us today! Is this not the very thing which determines our victory? Is this not the very key to coming through the place of difficulty with a testimony of the grace of God? To take our place of difficulty, our hard place, and make it an altar to God? To take the hard place and pour oil upon it? To call upon the Holy Spirit of God in that place and declare our desire to be faithful to God?
Once we have seen the glory of Christ...Once we have been touched by the revelation of the Almighty, and experienced His grace...then we can transform that place of sorrow and worry into an anointed place from which we will experience the expansion of boundaries and the provision of God.
Let me encourage you today to change your view of things. Stop focusing on how hard your pillow is and look up at the open heaven...look up at the Son of God, upon whom angels ascend and descend. Know that the gate of Heaven is Jesus Christ and He is yours. And by faith anoint that hard place with oil. Call upon the Holy Spirit of God to come and make it a place of faith for you. And let the hard place become your launching place.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
I HAVE NEVER BEEN FRIENDLESS
Today I am thinking about Godly friendship and I want to ask you a few questions. "Are you a good friend? Is there at least one person in your life that you would call a good friend? Is there at least one person who would call YOU a good friend? Are you lacking genuine friendships?
What is the basis for all friendship? Well, I don't want to sound trite, but I grew up singing the old hymn, "What a friend we have in Jesus" and that is my starting point in this post. I have something very practical to say to you concerning friendship in this life, but I start with this: we have friendship with God through Christ.
Abraham was called the friend of God. Jesus said, "Greater love has no man that this...that He lay down his life for his friends." Now admittedly our relationship with God, even as a friend, is different from all other friendships. In John 15:13-15 Jesus said, "You are my friends if you do what I command you..." So we are not equals in our friendship with Christ. Nevertheless, I want you to see that this is the pinnacle of all friendship...this relationship that we have with Him.
When you fall in love with Jesus Christ you are never friendless again. I learned this at a very young age. My personal testimony is this: throughout my childhood, teenage years, young adult and adult years, through times of earthly friendship as well as times of isolation...He has always been my friend. And because of this, I have never been friendless.
I do have something to say to you today about earthly friendships, but I want you to see first, that our friendship with Christ is not something less, not something inadequate. It is the source out of which all other relationships are grown. Never being friendless, because of Jesus, makes an incredible difference in how you approach human friendships!
Because if you have ONE good friend (Jesus) then your earthly friendships will be based on an overflow of love rather than a NEEDY craving for approval. In other words, without this kind of security in Christ, I will approach friendship as something to crave and grasp at in order to try and fill some void in my own life. But if I already have that void filled with my ONE good friend, then the way I approach friendship is by being a friend.
Proverbs 18:24 says "He who would have friends, must show himself friendly." I have met people through the years, who bemoaned the fact that they were alone...and that no one cared about them...that they had no friends. Yet the word of God says that in order to have friends, you must first show yourself to be a friend.
Without the security of having my FIRST FRIEND, Jesus, all of my other friendships are likely to be seedbeds of jealousy and offense and my friendships typically won't last long. You see, a lot of people approach friendship this way: They see people that they think have a certain quality which attracts them and that they hope to have as friends, rather than looking at the people around them and BEING a friend to those where God has placed you.
C.S. Lewis made an interesting observation...He speaks of 'pathetic people who want friends but can never make friends'. Then he says, 'The very condition of having friends comes from the fact that we want something else besides friends." What does that mean? It means that if you and I sit together and there's nothing we agree on...we don't see truth the same...there will be no basis for friendship. Friendship happens when people are pursuing something deeply important to them, and they discover others who share that same thing.
That's what makes the church the ideal place for building friendships, because we all have the same ONE good friend, and if we are pursuing HIM, we will be in agreement with one another and can lean on one another. And in the church, we should all be friends and there should be no cliques where some are excluded.
This is not to say that everyone is your friend in the same way. In fact, apart from your friendship with Christ, you are a truly blessed person if, in this life, you have ONE truly loyal friend that you can count on through the years. A true friend does not change with changing circumstances. A true friendship rises above offenses. A true friend can receive honest, loving correction (Proverbs 27:6). A true friend is not looking for someone to use. A true friend is not jealous of your strengths, your accomplishments, or even other friends that you have have.
Perhaps friendship is eluding you. Perhaps you have been trying to make it happen. Stop trying. Look around you and find people who can offer you nothing. Be like Jesus, and you become a friend to them....a real friend. You may be surprised at what develops. Some people won't respond to you. That's OK. Amos says, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" So don't try to make something happen. But as you serve Christ, you will find friends.
Everyone needs one good friend, - Jesus. And everyone needs at least one good friend on earth. So why don't you go and be that one good friend that someone needs?
What is the basis for all friendship? Well, I don't want to sound trite, but I grew up singing the old hymn, "What a friend we have in Jesus" and that is my starting point in this post. I have something very practical to say to you concerning friendship in this life, but I start with this: we have friendship with God through Christ.
Abraham was called the friend of God. Jesus said, "Greater love has no man that this...that He lay down his life for his friends." Now admittedly our relationship with God, even as a friend, is different from all other friendships. In John 15:13-15 Jesus said, "You are my friends if you do what I command you..." So we are not equals in our friendship with Christ. Nevertheless, I want you to see that this is the pinnacle of all friendship...this relationship that we have with Him.
When you fall in love with Jesus Christ you are never friendless again. I learned this at a very young age. My personal testimony is this: throughout my childhood, teenage years, young adult and adult years, through times of earthly friendship as well as times of isolation...He has always been my friend. And because of this, I have never been friendless.
I do have something to say to you today about earthly friendships, but I want you to see first, that our friendship with Christ is not something less, not something inadequate. It is the source out of which all other relationships are grown. Never being friendless, because of Jesus, makes an incredible difference in how you approach human friendships!
Because if you have ONE good friend (Jesus) then your earthly friendships will be based on an overflow of love rather than a NEEDY craving for approval. In other words, without this kind of security in Christ, I will approach friendship as something to crave and grasp at in order to try and fill some void in my own life. But if I already have that void filled with my ONE good friend, then the way I approach friendship is by being a friend.
Proverbs 18:24 says "He who would have friends, must show himself friendly." I have met people through the years, who bemoaned the fact that they were alone...and that no one cared about them...that they had no friends. Yet the word of God says that in order to have friends, you must first show yourself to be a friend.
Without the security of having my FIRST FRIEND, Jesus, all of my other friendships are likely to be seedbeds of jealousy and offense and my friendships typically won't last long. You see, a lot of people approach friendship this way: They see people that they think have a certain quality which attracts them and that they hope to have as friends, rather than looking at the people around them and BEING a friend to those where God has placed you.
C.S. Lewis made an interesting observation...He speaks of 'pathetic people who want friends but can never make friends'. Then he says, 'The very condition of having friends comes from the fact that we want something else besides friends." What does that mean? It means that if you and I sit together and there's nothing we agree on...we don't see truth the same...there will be no basis for friendship. Friendship happens when people are pursuing something deeply important to them, and they discover others who share that same thing.
That's what makes the church the ideal place for building friendships, because we all have the same ONE good friend, and if we are pursuing HIM, we will be in agreement with one another and can lean on one another. And in the church, we should all be friends and there should be no cliques where some are excluded.
This is not to say that everyone is your friend in the same way. In fact, apart from your friendship with Christ, you are a truly blessed person if, in this life, you have ONE truly loyal friend that you can count on through the years. A true friend does not change with changing circumstances. A true friendship rises above offenses. A true friend can receive honest, loving correction (Proverbs 27:6). A true friend is not looking for someone to use. A true friend is not jealous of your strengths, your accomplishments, or even other friends that you have have.
Perhaps friendship is eluding you. Perhaps you have been trying to make it happen. Stop trying. Look around you and find people who can offer you nothing. Be like Jesus, and you become a friend to them....a real friend. You may be surprised at what develops. Some people won't respond to you. That's OK. Amos says, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" So don't try to make something happen. But as you serve Christ, you will find friends.
Everyone needs one good friend, - Jesus. And everyone needs at least one good friend on earth. So why don't you go and be that one good friend that someone needs?
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