That word that is not shared during Thanksgiving 2011

Jacob and his immediate family has left Laban his uncle with all his possession after 20 years of tough times under him. Laban caught up with him and they made peace, ate at the table together and Laban blessed his grandchildrens and daughters (who were Jacob's wives). After this in the beginning of Genesis 32 Jacob met some angels. In the way the Bible puts it:

Genesis 32:1 Amplified Bible (AMP)

THEN JACOB went on his way, and God's angels met him.

Angels came and met him when he left the mountain! What a wonderful encounter. Surely God must be with him now. And soon after he met them, he sent messengers to Esau his brother (who was trying to kill him after he took their father's blessing) to ask him to be reconciled with him. He wants to make peace with him.

Genesis 32:3-5 The Message (MSG)

Then Jacob sent messengers on ahead to his brother Esau in the land of Seir in Edom. He instructed them: "Tell my master Esau this, 'A message from your servant Jacob: I've been staying with Laban and couldn't get away until now. I've acquired cattle and donkeys and sheep; also men and women servants. I'm telling you all this, my master, hoping for your approval.'"

Then the messenger brought a fact back to Jacob

Genesis 32:6 The Message (MSG)

The messengers came back to Jacob and said, "We talked to your brother Esau and he's on his way to meet you. But he has four hundred men with him."

Now, there is 2 ways to view this situation. Jacob could think that Esau is bringing his men to welcome him back but he didn't.

Genesis 32:7 The Message (MSG)

Jacob was scared. Very scared. Panicked, he divided his people, sheep, cattle, and camels into two camps. He thought, "If Esau comes on the first camp and attacks it, the other camp has a chance to get away."

he chose to fear the 400 men that are coming and believe they are going to kill him because Esau has been wanting to do it for 20 years! And he's fearful, even when he's in God's camp on God's side! he chose to fear because that is the easiest thing to do. Friends, 2011 may present you with a fact that 2012 is not going to be kind to you, just as what Jacob has heard. It may be easier for you to fear what is going to come in 2012, but right there and then, after Jacob did precautionary measures to his possession and family, He sought the Lord in his prayer.

Genesis 32:9-12 The Message (MSG)

And then Jacob prayed, "God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, God who told me, 'Go back to your parents' homeland and I'll treat you well.' I don't deserve all the love and loyalty you've shown me. When I left here and crossed the Jordan I only had the clothes on my back, and now look at me—two camps! Save me, please, from the violence of my brother, my angry brother! I'm afraid he'll come and attack us all, me, the mothers and the children. You yourself said, 'I will treat you well; I'll make your descendants like the sands of the sea, far too many to count.'"

Jacob remembered the promises of God during his prayer and we can see a change in Jacob's actions. He didn't flee with all that he has. Though the bible didn't say he wasn't fearful, but he decided to continue with the plan of making peace with his brother. God's promises to you are not empty words that fall flat on the ground. God's promises will hold on until it has come to pass and Jacob firmly believes in it! He believes in God what is written in Numbers 23:19

Numbers 23:19 Amplified Bible (AMP)

God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man, that He should feel repentance or compunction [for what He has promised]. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good?

And after Jacob sorted out his possessions and family, he sought the Lord even more. God Himself appeared during his prayer time and Jacob cling onto Him and never wanted to let go until He blessed him. He persisted even though God tried to pull him off.

Genesis 32:24-29 New King James Version (NKJV)

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.
Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.
And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”
But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
So He said to him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Jacob.”
And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”
And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

He had the faith to ask God to bless him and it is his faith and persistence that God saw and blessed him for it. As we step into the new year, we could be facing a similar problem like Jacob but if we were to pray and seek God persistently like what Jacob did, God will surely rewards us for our faith. Continuing with the story, after God bless Jacob immediately Esau arrived at Jacob's camp and with him his 400 men. The next thing that happened can only be described as a miracle.

Genesis 33:1,4 New King James Version (NKJV)

Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.
But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

Here was a man who was so angry at Jacob for stealing his inheritance, coming over to embrace him. What a turn of event! What a miracle! Jacob's fear didn't come to past, God's promises to him did!

It is God's grace, His empowerment on Jacob to face his fears with faith. His circumstances didn't change. The fact that Esau is coming with 400 hundred men didn't change, but Jacob trusted God and by faith he stayed to face Esau!

Friends how 2012 will be to us may not change, but God will change our mindset towards the fact when we pray and seek His direction about it. There will be times when someone prays and nothing changes physically but God has indeed changed something: our thinking! We will have the courage to face it and conquer it! We are called to be overcomers, to conquer all the problems and live a victorious life for Christ!

As we step into the new year, let's be like Jacob to face the new year with courage and persistent prayer. Come what may, God is with us. God will hear our prayers and God will surely deliver, just as He has delivered Jacob out of fear and out of his brother Esau. Amen!

Living As An Example

I'm going to share a message from 2 verse I got today, Psalms 93:1 and 2 Thessalonian 3:8-9

Psalm 93:1 Amplified Bible (AMP)

THE LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is robed, He has girded Himself with strength and power; the world also is established, that it cannot be moved.

The LORD reigns. The first 3 words of the chapter says "The LORD reigns".

Now we all know, God is the creator of everything that our eyes can see and our hands can touch. He is almighty and He is able to do anything and everything. Even the things we can imagine or see in the sci-fi movies, He can make those things happen.

Elijah prayed to the Lord to send the rain and God answer by sending a heavy rain. He even gave Elijah strength to run about 20 miles and faster than a chariot!

1 Kings 18:41-46 Amplified Bible (AMP)

And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of abundance of rain.
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees
And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked and said, There is nothing. Elijah said, Go again seven times.
And at the seventh time the servant said, A cloud as small as a man's hand is arising out of the sea. And Elijah said, Go up, say to Ahab, Hitch your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.
In a little while, the heavens were black with wind-swept clouds, and there was a great rain. And Ahab went to Jezreel.
The hand of the Lord was on Elijah. He girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel [nearly twenty miles].

And He has power in His words. He form the world by speaking it into existence

Genesis 1:3 Amplified Bible (AMP)

And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.

Genesis 1:6 Amplified Bible (AMP)

And God said, Let there be a firmament [the expanse of the sky] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters [below] from the waters [above]

Genesis 1:9 Amplified Bible (AMP)

And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be collected into one place [of standing], and let the dry land appear. And it was so

Genesis 1:11 Amplified Bible (AMP)

And God said, Let the earth put forth [tender] vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees yielding fruit whose seed is in itself, each according to its kind, upon the earth. And it was so.

The phrase "And God said" appeared 8 times it appeared in Genesis 1, and with that and within 5 days the heavens and the earth was made! And God made humans in His image and likeness.

Our words frame our world.

A positive man will speak positive things and will thus feel positive and create a positive world for himself. This is true for the opposite. Our words will determine what kind of environment we will live in. We believe in our own words. A man cannot speak positive things to another man and expect that the hearer to make his world positive if the hearer doesn't believe it

But God doesn't want us to live a life of commanding things to happen. If that were to be the purpose of life, then we don't need friends. Can you imagine if one day your friend starts commanding you to do things for him, how would you feel? I can assure you it's not a good feeling and sooner or later you will quit to be his friend. The first time God mentioned something is not good, is the man that he created, is alone.

Genesis 2:18 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Now the Lord God said, It is not good (sufficient, satisfactory) that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper meet (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him.

God wants us to have friends. To have people around us to keep us company. Not to use them as tools but to help one another. Adam had a friend and a helper named Eve.

Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9 wrote:

2 Thessalonians 3:8-9 New King James Version (NKJV)

nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you,
not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.

Paul is working as a tent-maker for a living and he pays for his food and lodging. He can refrain from working and asked to be served, yet he made this statement very clearly he worked so that the Thessalonians can learn from his ways - to have increase in your life, and be able to share with friends. He wants them to learn to be self-sufficient and have enough to share with someone

If we were to share something with our friends, the friendship will deepen and everyone will enjoy it

Jesus, the best role model, says in Luke 6:38:

Luke 6:38 New King James Version (NKJV)

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Luke 6:38 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you

Jesus gave His life for man to be saved. He gave His body for sickness to be healed if you call upon His name. And God gives His friends blessings upon blessings that no room on earth can contain it (Malachi 3:10).

On this note, I have something personal to share. After giving the first fruit (or installment) for the building fund, I personally experienced enormous blessing from God.

I was set to received vouchers worth $125 during the company's roadshow (aka project showcase). I gave to the building fund that friday and I got a message that I'm set to receive another $125 worth of vouchers a few days after! Also, I have been blessed financially before for the project that I did. In total, for this project I have received probably about $500 and a lot of recognition. Not only that, I won a Canon IXUS 220HS camera during the lucky draw worth about $300. Praise God Amen!


We know that we can never give sparingly to care for others.Paul sets himself as an example to the Thessalonians. He work hard on his job and have enough for himself so that he will not be a burden on his friends, and at the same time have extra to give and share to them in case they have a need. He did this not because he does not have any authority over them, but he wants them to know that having enough for yourself is not good, but have more than enough to give and share with others

Likewise we should follow what Paul has done, to have more than enough in our lives so that we can bless others. If God can bring things through you, He will bring things to you. Amen!