For I have seen how Laban has treated you. (Genesis 31:12b, NLT)
This is the God who holds me. He is loving. He is just. He is generous. He is good.
He sees past an outward infirmity and goes straight for the heart.
8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” (Mark 2:8-11, NLT)
He enters places others deem themselves too good for, and he ministers to the sick–but by outward appearance he dines with sinners.
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” (Mark 2:17, NLT)
Pharisees distance themselves. Their self-righteousness puffs them up as better than others. They miss the point.
In God’s goodness, he gives me guidance and provision. He gives me rest.
27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” (Mark 2:27-28, NLT)
In Esther, Haman’s wickedness is revealed; and in Romans, Paul addresses sin and hypocrisy.
All of these chapters today are rich and full–a feast for my heart. I grab words for a first course, and then return for more. But there is no rush at this table. He invites me to dine, sits with me too. Calls me daughter.
He hands me a rock and asks what I will do.
Some people throw rocks in judgment or punishment. Some people use rocks to build a boundary. Some people raise rocks as a monument. And others proclaim a covenant over them.
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument. 46 Then he told his family members, “Gather some stones.” So they gathered stones and piled them in a heap. Then Jacob and Laban sat down beside the pile of stones to eat a covenant meal. 47 To commemorate the event, Laban called the place Jegar-sahadutha (which means “witness pile” in Aramaic), and Jacob called it Galeed (which means “witness pile” in Hebrew).
48 Then Laban declared, “This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of the covenant we have made today.” This explains why it was called Galeed—“Witness Pile.” 49 But it was also called Mizpah (which means “watchtower”), for Laban said, “May the Lord keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this covenant when we are out of each other’s sight. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you marry other wives, God will see it even if no one else does. He is a witness to this covenant between us.
51 “See this pile of stones,” Laban continued, “and see this monument I have set between us. 52 They stand between us as witnesses of our vows. I will never pass this pile of stones to harm you, and you must never pass these stones or this monument to harm me. 53 I call on the God of our ancestors—the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor—to serve as a judge between us.” (Genesis 31:45-53, NLT)
Father God, you give me choice. You hand me this rock as a gift. How I love you for your guidance, your grace and your great mercy.
Courtney (66books365)
Sixty-six books in a year 