God’s Blessing

God Meets Jacob (and us) in the Desert

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And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. Genesis 28:11 ESV

Until this time Jacob’s life had been easy and predictable. His father was a wealthy and godly man, and his mother favored him over his brother and made sure that anything he needed was provided. But, because of his own deceitfulness and trickery, Jacob was now running away, and uncertain when he would ever see his parents again. At the end of day one in his journey, as Jacob watched the sun set in the desert, he realized that for the first time in his young life he was completely alone. Yet in spite of everything he had done, God loved Jacob and had scheduled a meeting with him that night, that would change the course of his life.

Photo by Asad Ansari on Pexels.com

Ironically, it was Esau, not Jacob, who knew about camping and hunting, and Jacob in his hurry, had not thought to bring along a tent, a sleeping bag or even a pillow. Today’s verse tells us that when he lay down to sleep, Jacob had to use a stone for a pillow. I will bet that as he lay tossing and turning with his head resting on that rock, that Jacob was missing the comforts of home! Some of us can look back and identify with that moment. or maybe you are in the middle of a desert right now! The good news is that in this, desert moment, with our heads resting on a stone pillow, God has not forgotten us. In fact, He has chosen this dark and lonely time to meet with us, not to solve all our problems, but to begin or deepen our relationship with Him. In Jacob’s life, it would be another twenty years before he would return home, but that night was a start. If you are ready for a new start, a dream, and a ladder, then get ready for an adventure that only God Himself could have planned. Then, stay tuned for the next installment in Jacob’s life, as God replaces his scheming with blessings, that are wrapped up in hard work and some hard knocks!

And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! Genesis 28:12 ESV

My Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Blessed Day

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Yesterday was a day that will live on in infamy, or at least in the top ten of my not favorite days of 2026. It all began as my wife, the family bookkeeper, started up the laptop to check our checking account yesterday, when lo and behold she discovered that we were overdrawn by $600! Now we run a pretty tight ship around here (my kids call me cheap). So this came as a shock. No, we had not spoken to anyone on the phone, clicked any bad links or been hacked by the CIA. Instead, three unexplained checks showed in the account, made out to folks we had never heard of. Immediately I fired up the Di lithium crystals and put the car into warp drive and headed for the bank. There we discovered that a forger had written three checks for several thousand dollars, totally wiping us out. The remainder of the day we spent filling out reports at the bank for their fraud division and then again at the sheriff’s office to report the crime. By dinner time, I had no ambition to cook anything complicated, and my wife’s diet calls for no evening meal at all. To simplify things, I simply broke out the skillet, and determined to have eggs, sausage and an English muffin. Yes, I still remembered that God works all things together for good, but at the moment, I needed something more than hearing that truth quoted to me. Imagine my surprise when I opened the egg carton and saw a Bible verse on the inside lid. 

This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24 NKJV

Though He doesn’t do it all the time, I have been amazed and blessed to discover the many occasions when God drops a line of Holy Scripture on my path, just when I need it most. Though someone could have given me a well-deserved a lecture on thankfulness or sermonized on the reality that in this world we will have tribulation. But God chose a gentler approach to soften my heart and attitude and turned my terrible, horrible, no-good day, into a wonderfully blessed one and a time I will remember His gentle correction and care for years to come. Isn’t God amazing? I hope that whatever your circumstances, that He may come alongside of you today with His word and bring light in the darkness, calm in the storm and rejoicing in this day that He has made!

God’s Good Plans

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

Whether I turn on the news or just crawl out of bed and pour my first cup of coffee, my life usually doesn’t feel perfect or planned by anyone; let alone by God. Instead, things look chaotic, unexpected, and sometimes even dangerous. But through facing my wife’s cancer, suffering through the pain of our son’s divorce, and the death of a close friend’s small child, I have learned, that God has still been in charge. Even in our most chaotic circumstances, He brought things into order and shone His light on our darkest days. Of course, God is in charge of everyone and everything in the universe, but for those of us who are Christians, God has given us a special assurance because of the cross. God showed us His love and mercy on a hill called Calvary, while Jesus went through His darkest, and most chaotic time, during six hours nailed to that terrible Cross. Now in spite of any situation, God promises us that in every circumstance, that He has good plans for our future and a wonderful hope for us today!