lovemyabba

It seems as though Jacob was willing to set aside his momentary desires (the soup) to secure his future (by taking his brother's birthright). But it strikes me that by being so quick to take advantage of his brother's hunger, he was in fact seeking his own momentary desire, an eagerness to see his mother's prophecy fulfilled, instead of trusting in the Lord's promise and waiting for His timing to assume his rightful role as head of the family. Rather than depicting Jacob as the patient one, I see this passage as showing both brothers to be impetuous and self-seeking. Who knows what blessings Jacob may have wasted by putting his own timing before God's? Perhaps he would not later have had to deceive his father in order to gain his blessing. Perhaps he would not have had to flee for his life in fear of Esau. Praise God! He is still faithful to uphold his promises, even when we choose the hard way of doing things(that is, our way over His). Jacob's end result may have been the same, in the promise of God, but his road to it certainly was more difficult for his mistake.

Hi everyone! My name is Mary, and I'm from Mississippi but have recently moved to Texas. I've done a couple of these studies with Pastor Ralph, and I've really enjoyed the others. I just want to say how amazing God is. I signed up for this one and then kind of forgot what it was going to be about. Well, I recently started a Bible reading plan,(one of those yearly ones)and the section I started on was the life of Jacob in Genesis. When I got the email today and realized that's what this study is about, I knew that God must really have something to teach me! Thank you, Lord! Open our eyes and hearts to receive Your Word! I look forward to getting to know everyone as we learn and fellowship together. Mary

Q2. (Luke 23:39-43) Why is the thief

I do agree that the officials of the time, basically at the direction of the Jews, physically put Jesus on the cross. And of course, we all have responsibility in that without our fallen nature, it would not have been necessary for Him to die. What is so amazing is that, even though our sins can be considered the thing that sent Christ to the cross, it is only by His will that He was on it. At any time, He could have cast off the burden of the cross. But Jesus CHOSE to die for our sins, and not only that, but to suffer for us as well. As you know, before Christ died for us, an animal sacrifice was required to atone for sin. But the animals were not first made to suffer. In fact, an animal who was sick or injured in any way would have be considered unacceptable for sacrifice. The actual death of the animal, although perhaps the most theologically significant part of sacrifice, was possibly the quickest part as well. Had Christ died only to cover our sins, it could have been quick and painless. All that was required was blood. Why then did He suffer such affliction? To set us free from it. My pastor recently gave a really amazing sermon on this. He referred back to Isaiah 53:5. "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." It was by his suffering that we were set free from our transgressions (our willful sins) and our iniquities (our fallen nature). He died so that we would be forgiven, but he suffered so that we could be victorious. Later, in verse 10, the prophet says that "the Lord [made] his life a guilt offering." Guilt offerings were made when someone sinned unknowingly. In Leviticus 5:17-19, the Lord said to Moses, ."If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible. He is to bring to the priest as a guilt offering a ram...and he will be forgiven. It is a guilt offering; he has been guilty of wrongdoing against the Lord." It may be that this was even what Christ was referring to when he said, "they do not know what they are doing." He may have been at that point praying for forgiveness of the sins we commit unknowingly, presenting himself as a guilt offering. As Christians, then, our responsibility is found in coming to Jesus and turning over to Him not only our sins, but all of our guilt and even our reliance on our fallen nature (from which come our iniquities). "For therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1 Hallelujah!

Abraham's faith in God is what made him just. Even through difficult circumstances, Abraham never stopped believing what God had told him. Abraham's faith was proven by his actions. (Hebrews 11:8,17) God saw this and considered Abraham righteous for it. Our justification through faith comes through believing in and accepting God's son, Jesus Christ. Jesus was just from the beginning. He lived without sin. He paid the price once for all of us, so that, although we deserve to die for our sins, if we believe in Him, we become blameless in God's sight. (1 Peter 3:18) What it means to me, personally, to be justified, is that despite my unworthiness, because God wanted me so badly to be with Him, He gave the ultimate gift to me. Now when he sees me, I look spotless and blameless to Him. Instead of seeing my sins, he simply sees me as His own, and loves me. And all He asks of me is that I believe. Like Abraham, our faith also should be proven by our works. Works are how faith is perfected. (James 2:20-22) These two must go hand in hand.

Hello everyone. My name is Mary. I'm from Mississippi, a nondenominational Christian, wife and mother of two. It's been a while since I've done any deep Bible study, and am looking forward to it.