Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.” Genesis 35:1
Today, I want to speak to you about a man named Jacob as we continue our series on Victorious living. He teaches us valuable lessons on how God gives us instructions and deals with us in times of despair. Jacob was in Crisis. His daughter was raped, and his sons became murderers. He was on the run.I am sure the events of those days led him to go to God in prayer with a broken heart, seeking wisdom for the future and forgiveness for his disobedience. It is when we are down when we have acted unfaithfully when we have nowhere to turn; this is when God speaks to us and gives us clear instructions. God did not forsake Jacob, but in his most dire time, God was there to provide him with clear instructions. How encouraging is it for us to know that our God is loving God, who is always there when we want to crawl under a rock because we have acted unfaithfully or have been disobedient. We all have been at this place in our Christian walk. But, Our God does not speak to us in judgment. He shows mercy and grace. Our God is God of unbelievable grace. He does not give up on Jacob, and I can assure you, He will not give up on you no matter what. Does this mean we continue to disobey him? Continue to sin? NO. Paul addresses this in Romans 6. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Sin is forgiven, but we have to live with the consequences of our actions. Eve’s disobedience brought the sin into the world, Abram’s disobedience brought Hagar into his life, David’s disobedience of numbering his army killed 70000 men, Aaron’s disobedience in desert killed 3000, Solomon, Cain, Moses, Jonah, King Saul, all disobeyed and had to face the consequences. The wound is healed, but the scar remains. It is best to walk in obedience. God told Jacob to go back to where he met God for the first time. Bethel-previously called Luz. This is what God says to you and me, go back to where you met me first. Jacob was deep in sin, and yet, God says, get up and start walking in faith again. I am so encouraged by this because like Jacob, I tend to mess up a lot, but instead of being mad at me, angry with me, God deals graciously with me. In your walk with Christ, there will be a time when you will be in crisis. It will seem like the world is falling apart. It might be because, like Jacob, you became arrogant in your spirituality and have ignored worship, prayer, and daily devotions. And, when you turn to God, you might expect punishment, but our God is merciful, and he will lovingly instruct you. We can learn the easy way through instructions or the hard way. The choice is ours. And so for a victorious life in Christ, Pay attention to His teachings. Thank you, Jesus, for your grace.
only savior jesus 