Tues.’s Devo - Jacob’s Sons

Read: Genesis 30:1-31:16; Matthew 10:1-23; Psalm 12:1-8; Proverbs 3:13-15 Rachel was so distraught that she was barren, she took it out on Jacob and blamed him. Jacob told her it was God’s fault she wasn’t having any children. Rachel gave him her maid, Bilhah so she could have a child through her. Jacob slept with Bilhah and she did have a son. Rachel named him Dan which means “judge”. Rachel said that through Dan, God had vindicated her. Bilhah had another son and Rachel named him Naphtali which means “my wrestling.” Rachel named him this to prove that in her struggle with Leah, she was beginning to win. *** Leah realized Rachel might truly win, because she had stopped having children, so she gave her servant, Zilpah to Jacob. Zilpah had a son Leah named Gad. Gad means “my fortune.” Zilpah had another son and Leah named him Asher, which means “joy.” Leah was on top of the world. She was winning 6-2. *** Reuben, Leah’s firstborn found some mandrakes in the field and brought them home to his mother. Rachel saw them and begged to buy them. Mandrakes were considered an aphrodisiac. Leah argued that it wasn’t enough that Rachel stole her husband, but now she wanted to steal her son’s mandrakes. This was the exact opposite of what had happened. Leah had stolen Rachel’s husband and now Rachel asked to buy them, not steal them. Rachel told Leah that if she would just share some of them with her, Leah could sleep with Jacob that night. Leah agreed. *** Leah met Jacob coming home that night. She told him that he had to sleep with her because he had paid for a night with him. That night Leah got pregnant and later had Issachar which means “he will be hired: he will bring a reward.” She said that God had rewarded her for giving her servant to her husband. Leah had a sixth son and named him Zebulun which means “dwelling”. She felt that now that she had given her husband six sons, he would respect her and dwell with her. She later had a daughter and named her Dinah which means “judgement”. She had no statement about Dinah; maybe this was God’s statement. *** Finally, God opened Rachel’s womb and she became pregnant and had Joseph, meaning “let him add.” She was so happy that God had added another son to her. *** Jacob went to Laban and asked to be released from his contract with Laban so he could return to his homeland. He asked for a payment for all his work. Laban told him to come up with a plan for a salary. Jacob told him he would continue working for him for a while and his wages would be all the speckled and black sheep. Laban agreed so Jacob took his cattle out and set them aside. Then he had all the healthy strong cattle mate in front of something that was spotted and streaked. They produced what they saw which is a spiritual concept: we become what we behold. *** God spoke to Jacob and told him it was time to leave and go home. He asked Rachel and Leah if they would go with him and they both said they had no respect for their father. He had spent all their money, so all God had given Jacob of their fathers was legally theirs. They were more than willing to leave. *** In Matthew, Jesus called his twelve disciples and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and heal every kind of disease and illness. The disciples were Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddeus, Simon, the zealot, and Judas Iscariot. He sent these men out to the people of Israel to announce that the Kingdom of Heaven was near. He have them authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, cure the leper and cast out demons. *** Jesus told them not to take any money, extra clothes, or even a walking stick. They were to accept any hospitality given. When they came into a new town, they were to seek out the godly and stay with them. They were to bless that home if it was worthy, but to take back their blessing if it was not. *** They would encounter wolves who would take them to court, but they were not to worry because the Holy Sprit would give them a defense. It would be an opportunity to be a witness of Jesus. *** Lord, help us to remember that when we are being persecuted that we are being given the privilege of sharing in the sufferings of Christ. Our lives are but a vapor, but we are living for eternity.

Mon.’s Devo - New Wineskins

Read: Genesis 28:1-29:35; Matthew 9:18-38; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 3:11-12 Isaac called Jacob in to bless him before sending him to Paddan-aram to visit the house of his grandfather Bethuel, Abraham’s brother and Rebekah’s father. Isaac told him to marry one of Laban’s daughters. *** Esau knew that Jacob had been sent away to marry a wife from his mother’s side of the family that was not a Canaanite so he decided to do the same thing. He went the other way and visited with his uncle Ishmael from his father’s side of the family and married one of Ishmael’s daughters, Mahalath. Her name means “making sick”. *** Jacob left Beersheba and traveled to Haran and stopped for the night. As he laid his head upon one of the rocks, he had a dream of a stairway to heaven. He saw angels going up and down the stairway. At the top stood the Lord. He spoke and told Jacob who he was - the father of Abraham and Isaac. He promised him the same thing he had promised them. God would make them multiply on the earth and they would be a blessing to the world. He would bring him back to this land and be with him to bring to pass all had had promised. *** The place he was in was called Luz which means “perverse”. When Jacob awoke he realized that God was in that place and changed the name to Bethel which means “house of God.” Jacob vowed that if God did what he had said he would do, then He would be his God. He set up a pillar to mark the place. He would come back and give God one tenth of everything he received. *** When Jacob arrived in the land of Paddanaram he stopped by a well. He saw flocks of sheep waiting to be watered. At the well, he asked why they weren’t watering their sheep and was told that the stone was too heavy for one or two of them to lift so they would wait till all the shepherds arrived and together they could lift the stone. *** Jacob found that the shepherds were from Haran and asked if they knew Laban. They said they did and that his daughter, Racheal was just then walking up. Jacob went to the well and lifted the stone by himself and watered all of Rachel’s sheep. He kissed Rachel and wept. He told Rachel who he was and how he was related to her. *** Rachel ran home and told her father, Laban and he ran out to meet Jacob and brought him home. He stayed with Laban, working for him for a month. Then Laban offered to pay him and asked him what he wanted as his wages. Jacob said he would like to marry Rachel. He agreed to work for 7 years for her. But when the time came to marry her, Laban slipped Leah in at the last minute and Jacob didn’t know till the next morning. He was livid. Laban explained that it was not their custom to marry the second born before marrying the first born and Leah was the first born. Laban told Jacob to just finish out the week with Leah and the next week he would be given Rachel, but he had to work for him another 7 years without pay. Jacob agree. Jacob had met his match on being tricky. He was reaping what he had sowed with his own brother. *** God had compassion on Leah since she was unloved by her husband and opened her womb. She named her first son Reuben which means “see, a son.” She hoped that it would make Jacob notice her and love her. She had a second son and named him Simeon which means “hearkening”. She hoped that with this son, Jacob would not only see her but hear her, also. She had a third son and named him Levi which means “joined.” Through him she hoped to be bonded to her husband. With her fourth son, Judah she finally learned to put her focus on the Lord and just praise him. *** In Matthew, Jesus had just made the statement about putting new wine in old wineskins and how it wouldn’t work when one of the leaders of the synagogue came to him humbly begging Jesus to raise his 12 year old daughter from the dead. What a picture of new wineskin. He was a leader of the synagogue who opposed Jesus and yet he broke out of that mold and he is came to Jesus, asking the greatest miracle of all - to raise someone from the dead. Jesus was going with him to pray for his daughter when a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years reached out and took some of Jesus’ healing virtue. Jesus stopped in his tracks and turned to confront her. He told her that her faith had made her well. She was instantly healed. Having faith was part of this new wineskin. *** The story doesn’t tell us if the daughter had been born with an infirmity or not but the fact that she was 12 and the lady had been sick for 12 years is not a coincidence we can ignore. We just read of two women, Leah and Rachel who would together have 12 sons who would become the 12 tribes of Israel. All of these women suffered to have their dreams come true and to see salvation come to them. *** Jesus did raise the girl from the dead, and healed the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years and healed Rachel’s womb so she would have two sons. He did heal Leah’s heart so she could praise the Lord again. *** The number 12 has to do with God’s government. He was establishing his kingdom on earth by all the things he did. He next healed a blind man and a man who was deaf and dumb. When God’s government is set up on earth all who were blind to what was happening will be able to see, and those who couldn’t hear the truth will be able to. *** The religious leaders couldn’t stand what Jesus was doing because it was bad for their business. They said that what he did was because he was working for Satan who allowed him to do all these miracles. They accused Jesus of what they were doing. *** People from everywhere began coming to Jesus, breaking out of their old wineskins, and Jesus told his disciples to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send out more workers. *** Lord, how exciting is the time of right now! You are opening the eyes and ears of people who didn’t see the truth. They are now being able to see. Continue to open our eyes and ears to see and hear the truth and give us great discernment and wisdom. May we be your new wineskins.

Sun.’s Devo - Respond, Not React

Read: Genesis 26:17-27:46; Matthew 9:1-17; Psalm 10:16-18; Proverbs 3:9-10 Isaac had been asked by Abimelech to leave the land of the Philistines because his family was getting so powerful, the king was afraid he would overpower him. Isaac traveled away from Gerar and settled in the valley, but every time his servants dug a new well, the men of Gerar would come and say it was theirs. Finally, King Abimelech came to meet with Isaac and offered to make a covenant of peace with him. Isaac did and the next well he dug was not disputed over. He named it Beersheba. It was the same well that Hagar had been shown when she and Ishmael had been kicked out of Abraham’s house. *** Isaac was getting old and wanted to bless Esau, his first born, before he died. Apparently, Isaac knew nothing about how Esau had sold his right of first born to Jacob over a bowl of soup. Rebekah did, and she knew that the blessing now belonged to Jacob. She told Jacob what to do to trick Isaac into believing Jacob was Esau and Jacob got the blessing. Isaac blessed him with wealth and great harvests, with power and position among the nations. He would rule over his brother and all who cursed him would be cursed and all who blessed him would be blessed. *** When Esau realized he had been tricked by Jacob, he cried and begged his father to give him a blessing. Isaac finally said, that he would not be blessed with abundance, and would live by his sword and serve Jacob, but the time would come when he would break free from Jacob’s yoke. *** Esau was so angry with Jacob and planned to kill him as soon as Isaac was buried. Rebekah heard about his plans and told Jacob to flee to her brother, Laban’s house. She would send for him as soon as Esau calmed down. She also didn’t want Isaac to marry any of the Hittite women. *** In Matthew, Jesus had been kicked out of the Gadarenes when he cast the demons out of the two men and the demons went into the swine. This had caused the whole town to be afraid of him and his power. *** This sounds a lot like what we just read about the Philistines kicking Isaac out. People are afraid of power they can’t understand. Their first reaction is to reject it. We are about to enter into a game of great manifestation of God’s power on the earth and he is going to use us for it to flow through. We will face rejection and people will be afraid of us, but, we have to not react to this rejection and wait and let the Holy Spirit work in their hearts. Then, hopefully, they will embrace it. *** Jesus went back across the lake to where he was welcomed and Jesus healed the paralyzed man and told him that his sins were forgiven. Obviously it was sin that got him in the physical state he was in and Jesus dealt with it. The teachers of the law accused him of blasphemy. They asked if he thought he was God. (Little did they know, they were getting really close to the truth.) *** Jesus told them their thoughts were evil and asked them what was harder to say ‘your sins are forgiven’ or to say ‘stand up and walk’? To prove that he did have the authority to forgive sins, he told the paralyzed man to stand up, pick up his mat and go home. *** The man leaped up and took his mat and went home. The people were full of the fear of the Lord but they praised him for giving man the authority to forgive sins. *** Jesus called Matthew, who was a tax-collector, to become one of his disciples. That night Matthew invited Jesus to his home where all his friends who were tax collectors and sinners joined them. The Pharisees saw this and asked Jesus’ disciples why Jesus would eat with such lowly sinners. Jesus heard this and said that it wasn’t healthy people who need a doctor, it was the sick. Then he told them to go and study the Scripture that said, ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ Jesus added that he had not come to call those who think they are righteous, but to those who knew they were sinners. He was saying this about them because they thought they were the only righteous ones when really, they were the sickest. *** Some of John the Baptist’s disciples came to Jesus to ask him why his disciples didn’t fast like they did. Jesus asked them, ‘Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating the groom? When the groom is taken away from them, then they will fast, too.’ *** Then he added that you don’t patch old clothing with new fabric or else when the new fabric gets wet, it will shrink making a bigger tear in the fabric. The same is true about the new wine Jesus was offering to the people. They couldn’t put this new wine in the constructs of the law. They had to have new hearts to be able to accept Jesus and what he was bringing. *** Jesus is pouring out new wine today, and we must be able to shift into this new paradigm. What we have always thought about the end of the world and the rapture and Revelation has to shift. If we shift with it, we will see God’s kingdom coming to the earth and be a part of it. It is happening right before our eyes but we have to have eyes to see. The Age of Aquarius is coming and the Holy Spirit is pouring his spirit upon all flesh. It is a great day to live in and its going to get even better. *** Lord give us eyes to see your kingdom coming. May we not reject the next move of God because we don’t understand it or it is not how we thought it would come. May we respond to the new and embrace it and not react to it and reject You.

Sat.’s Devo - The Power of God

Read: Genesis 24:52-26:16; Matthew 8:18-34; Psalm 10:1-15; Proverbs 3:7-8 When Abraham’s servant found that Rebekah’s father and brother were going to let him take her back, he brought out all the gifts he had brought for Isaac’s wife-to-be. The servant was eager to get back and present Rebekah to Isaac. Her mother and Laban had wanted her to stay another 10 days, but they left the decision with Rebekah. Rebekah said she was ready to go. *** Rebekah was given her childhood nurse and their blessings that she would have millions of descendants and they would conquer their enemies. *** When Rebekah and the servant got close to home, Isaac saw them from afar and started walking toward them. He welcomed Rebekah and loved her deeply. She comforted him over his mother’s death. *** Meanwhile his father remarried a woman named Keturah and had six sons. This was God’s way of comforting him also. Jokshan and Midian became leaders of several nations. Abraham left his inheritance to Isaac but gave his other sons gifts and sent them to the land in the east… apart from Isaac. *** Abraham lived 75 years after he had Isaac, and was buried in the same cave in Machpelah as Sarah was buried. *** Ishmael had 12 sons who became princes and lived in open hostility with their relatives just as God had said. *** Rebekah had been barren but God answered Isaac’s prayer and she became pregnant. Her stomach was so active she asked the Lord about it. He told her she was having twins and they would become two nations. They would be rivals from the start and the younger son would rule over the older. *** She did have twins. The first son was red and covered with thick hair like fur. They named him Esau which means “his doings is shaggy”. The next boy came out holding on to Esau’s heel. They named him Jacob which means “he will take by the heel; supplanter.” *** As they grew up. Esau became a hunter and Jacob, a homebody. Isaac related to Esau and loved eating his wild game but Rebekah loved Jacob the most. *** Jacob was tricky and wanted Esau’s birthright as the first born. He tricked Esau into giving it to him over a bowl of red stew. In this way, Esau showed contempt for his birthright which was suppose to be a holy honor. *** A famine came to the land so Isaac moved his family to Gerar where his father had gone during the famine of his day. Isaac did the same thing his father Abraham had done. He told Rebekah to tell everyone that he was her brother. The king saw him caressing her one day and called Isaac in and rebuked him for lying to him. He made a proclamation that anyone who touched his wife would be dead. *** Isaac planted his crops that year and produced 100 times what he planted. That is amazing! He became so rich that the Philistines began to become jealous and started filling up the wells with dirt. These were the wells that Abraham’s servants had dug. Finally, Abimelech ordered Isaac to leave the country because he had become too powerful. *** That is serious blessing when your enemy says you are too powerful to stay around. That is why the enemy has done so much to steal our blessings from us as a nation and as the people of God. He knows how powerful we are if we just knew it too. Satan is doing everything he can to get rid of us. It won’t work because we are to inherit the earth! *** In Matthew, Jesus instructed his disciples to cross the lake. Many had excuses why they couldn’t go with him. They were all things that the disciples had given up. As they were crossing the lake, a huge storm rose up in defiance. Jesus was sleeping and was awakened by the distressed disciples. He rebuked them for having such little faith. He rebuked the wind and the waves and there was total calm. The disciples were amazed. *** They met the reason for the storm as soon as they got there. Two men were possessed by demons who were the principalities of the region. They lived among the dead and terrorized anyone who came near. But they were terrorized when Jesus came near. They knew who he was, and that they were about to be cast out. They begged to go into the swine. Jesus let them and the swine ran off a cliff and drown in the water below. *** The herdsmen of the swine ran into town and told everyone what had happened and instead of being grateful, they begged Jesus to leave them alone. They were just like Abimelech - too afraid of the power of God. *** We should be that affective over Satan’s kingdom. The day is coming when demons will flee when we walk into the room because we have the power of God inside us and we know how to release it. Satan is so afraid we are going to learn how to do this. *** Lord, teach us how to let your power out and witness your redemption on the earth.

Fri.’s Devo - God’s Power Manifested on the Earth

Read: Genesis 23:1-24:51; Matthew 8:1-17; Psalm 9:13-20; Proverbs 3:1-6 Sarah died at the age of 127, which means Isaac was 28 years old. Abraham owned no land in Canaan so he went to the Hittites to buy a plot of land to bury his wife and future family. He had such favor with them that they offered him their best land for free. Abraham chose the cave and field at Machpelah and insisted on paying 400 pieces of silver for it. It was done legally and fairly and the land was his. *** Abraham was getting old and wanted to find a wife for Isaac before he died. He did not want him to marry one of the local Canaanite women’s he sent his trusted servant to go to back to the land he came from and find a wife from his family. He made him vow to find a wife for Isaac. If she refused to come back with him, he would be released from his vow. He told the servant that an angel would go ahead of him and prepare the way so he would be successful. *** The servant took 10 camels and traveled to the town Nahor, Abraham’s brother had settled in. He prayed that God would give him success that day. He saw the women coming to the well to draw water and asked the Lord to let the one he asked for a drink, not only give him a drink, but offer to draw water for his camels also. *** No sooner than he had finished his prayer, he saw Rebekah coming with her jug. It played out just as he had prayed. When she had finished, he rewarded her with a nose ring and two gold bracelets for her wrists. 
 *** He asked her who her father was and if they had room to put him and his camels up for the night. He was delighted to learn that she was Abraham’s niece and they had plenty of room and food for him and his camels. *** The servant bowed and thanked the Lord while Rebekah ran home to tell her parents what had happened. When her brother, Laban saw the jewelry Rebekah had been given he knew this was no ordinary wanderer. He ran out to meet him and brought him to his house to stay. Laban fed his camels and provided water for the servant and the camel drivers to wash their feet. Then he served them all food. *** The servant said he had something to say, first. He told them the assignment he was on, who had sent him, and how the Lord had led him to Rebekah. Laban and Bethuel, her father both recognized that this was the Lord’s plan and gave Rebekah to the servant to take back with him. *** This is the perfect example of how the Lord guides our steps and wants us to succeed in his purposes. He doesn’t set us up for failure, but success. He works everything for our good, but even in the “working,” it might not be instant like our story today, many times it’s a process that refines us along the way. *** In Matthew, we read that Jesus healed a leper and sent him to be a witness to the priests. Then he met a Roman officer who amazed Jesus with his faith. He understood the authority Jesus had with God and compared it to his own position as an officer in the army. He told Jesus to just command his servant to be healed from where he was and it would go to where the servant was. Jesus made the statement that he hadn’t seen faith like that in all Israel. Then he prophesied that the Gentiles from all over the world would come to the Jewish faith and feast in the blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are examples of who he was talking about. Jesus added that many Israelis would not make it into God’s kingdom and would be thrown into outer darkness. *** Jesus told the man to return home; he would find his servant healed. Then Jesus returned to Peter’s house and found Peter’s mother-in-law in bed with a high fever. It took one touch and she was healed. So much so, that she rose up to prepare a meal for Jesus. *** That night, many people brought Jesus their sick and demon-possessed and they were all healed. He fulfilled Isaiah’s words, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.” *** We are walking into a day when we will put our hands on the sick and they will immediately be healed; when we say the word, people a long way away will be healed. Jesus said we would do greater works than him and I believe that is coming soon. *** Lord, with expectation we look forward to what you have in store for us as the extension of your hand. Your Kingdom is coming to earth and we are privileged to be here to see it and be a part of its manifestation. Glory to your Name!

Thurs.’s Devo - God’s Will will be Done

Read: Genesis 20:1-22-24; Matthew 7:15-29; Psalm 9:1-12; Proverbs 2:16-22 Abraham and Sarai moved to Gerar on the southern border of Palestine. It was ruled by Abimelech. Abraham had introduced Sarai to the people there as his sister because technically, she was since they had the same father. Sarai was so beautiful that Abimelech sent for her to be a part of his harem. *** God showed Abimelech in a dream that he was a dead man and his people also, if he didn’t give Sarah back to her husband. Abimelech called in Abraham and was very angry with him for lying about Sarah. Abraham explained he did it to save his own life. Abimelech returned Sarah to him and also gave him sheep, goats, cattle, servants and 1,000 pieces of silver. Abraham prayed for Abimelech and God opened the wombs of the women of Harar which he had closed. *** God also opened Sarah’s and she became pregnant and had Isaac at the exact time he had said. Abraham was 100 years old. *** When Issac was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a great feast to celebrate the occasion. Sarah noticed Ishmael making fun of Issac and she complained to Abraham. Sarah wanted Hagar and Ishmael to leave. This upset Abraham greatly because he loved Ishmael. God came and comforted Abraham and told him to do whatever Sarah said because Isaac was the son through which he would count his descendants. God would also make a great nation of Ishmael because he was his son. *** Abraham gave Hagar some water and food and sent her and Ishmael away. When they ran out of provisions, Hagar knew they would die so she went apart from Ishmael so she wouldn’t have to witness him dying. God heard the cry of Ishmael and called to Hagar. He told her to go and comfort Ishmael because he was to become a great nation. Then he showed Hagar a well full of water. They were revived and learned to live off the land in the wilderness. Ishamael became a great archer and when he was old enough, Hagar arranged a marriage for him with an Egyptian. *** Abimelech came to Abraham to make a peace treaty between their families. Abraham agreed and then complained about a well that he had dug but Abimelech’s shepherds tried to take. Abimelech knew nothing about it. Abraham gave Abimelech sheep, goats and cattle and they made a treaty and in it, Abraham got the well. Abimelech left. They made this treaty in Beersheba - “well of the oath”. Abraham planted a tree here to mark it and made an altar to the Lord. *** God tested Abraham’s allegiance to him. He told him to take Isaac and sacrifice him on a mountain in Moriah. The day he chopped the wood for the sacrifice was his day of death. It symbolized the day Jesus was hung on the cross. Three days later he made it to the mountain and strapped Isaac to the wood. As he was drawing his knife to kill him, God stopped him. That was his the day of his resurrection. God told him that now he knew that Abraham would do anything for him. Abraham saw a ram caught in the thicket and sacrificed him instead. He named the place Yahweh-Yireh which means “the Lord will provide”. *** God confirmed his covenant with Abraham that he would bless him and multiply his descendants beyond the number of the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. His descendants would conquer the cities of their enemies. And through them all the nations of the earth would be blessed. He was speaking of us! We will conquer the cities of God’s enemies and this is happening now! *** Abraham got news that his brother Nahor and his wife Milcah had had eight sons. His concubine had given him four other children. One of his sons, Bethuel would have a daughter named Rebekah and she would marry Issac. Spoiler alert! *** Jesus in Matthew warns us of false prophets who would be disguised as harmless sheep but they would really be vicious wolves. This describes the main stream media to a tee. They prophecy nothing but fear, harm and destruction. They produce bad fruit. *** Jesus explains that it is not everyone who speaks the Lord’s name that is going to be saved but it is the ones who do what he says. It is not even the gifting that will save a person, it is the ones who truly know God. To know what the Bible says and not obey it is just asking for a fall. *** When Jesus finished his sermon, the people were amazed because he actually spoke with authority, not like the religious teachers of the law did. *** There are many pastors preaching sermons who are not walking in what they preach. It will catch up with them. God is exposing every lie. This is the time for us to be completely honest with God. *** Lord, may our hearts be pure and completely devoted to You and your truth. May we obey you in all you tell us to do. Thank you for this new year of prosperity and life. May your goodness lead many to repentance.

Wed.’s Devo - God is the Perfect Judge

Read: Genesis 18:16-19:38; Matthew 6:25-7:14; Psalm 8:1-9; Proverbs 2:6-15 Abraham was entertaining the Lord and two of his angels. When the meal was over, the Lord decided to share with Abraham why they were there. The Lord explained that Abraham had been singled out by God to raise his family to keep the way of the Lord by doing what was right and fair. He was to be God’s representative on the earth of what righteousness looked like. He had received reports about the wickedness and sin that was being done in Sodom and Gomorrah. He had come to see if it was as bad as he had heard. *** The two angels went toward Sodom as the Lord remained to talk with Abraham. Abraham asked him if he would destroy the righteous in Sodom along with the wicked. Would he do it if he found 50 righteous people? God said he would not. Then Abraham whittled it down to 10. God promised he would not destroy the whole city if there were 10 righteous. Turns out, they only saved 3, and that was only because of his mercy. *** The two angels reached Sodom, and Lot was sitting at the entrance of the city which means he was an important person. When he met the men he begged them to stay at his house with him. *** That night the men of the city came to have sex with the angels. Lot offered his daughters but they tried to break down the door to get to the men. The angels pulled Lot into the house and bolted the door. Then they struck the men outside with blindness and they gave up trying. *** The angels told Lot to gather all his family and flee because they were about to destroy the city. Lot tried to convince the fiancés of his daughters to come with them but they only laughed in unbelief. At dawn, the angels hurried them out and told them to go to the mountains and hide. Lot begged to go to Zoan, a small village. The angels allowed him to do that but told them to run and not look back. Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. Lot and his daughter made it to Zoan just as the sun was rising. The Lord rained down fire and sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying all of them and other near-by cities and villages, except for Zoan. Abraham saw it from afar. *** Zoan didn’t end up being the safe refuge Lot had thought it would and he ended up going to the mountains after all with his two daughters. *** The two daughters didn’t think they would ever get married and have children to pass their lineage along, so they came up with a plan to get their father drunk and have sex with him. It worked and they both got pregnant and had sons. They named them Moab and Ben-ammi. Moab became the ancestor of the Moabites and Ben-ammi the ancestor of the Ammonites. *** How differently this story might have gone if Lot had not lived in Sodom - maybe he wound’t have lost his wife to its lusts. If Lot had gone to the mountains first, God would have been able to destroy Zoan and gotten rid of its wickedness, too. If Lot’s daughters would have had faith that God could have given them a husband, the enemies of Israel would not have been produced. All of these things happened because those involved did not trust God in their impossible situations. God can make a way where there seems to be no way. We just have to let him do his will, in his timing. *** In Matthew, Jesus is still preaching. He tells us not to worry about the everyday worries of life. He gives us the birds as examples. They live without worry and God provides all they need. He will do even more for us. *** Jesus warns us not to judge others, that is his job, when it is time. If we judge, we will be judged by our own standard. If we would just work on perfecting our own weaknesses, we won’t have time to worry about making others perfect. This will make everyone happy. *** Jesus tells us not to waste our time on those who are bent on being sinful and have no desire to follow God. That is like throwing your pearls before swine. They will just laugh at you and dishonor your faith. Instead, find someone who is hungry for God and spend your time mentoring them. *** We are to keep asking God for things we know are his will, and he will give them to us. We are to keep seeking him, and he will be found. We are to keep knocking on his door, and it will be opened to us. God is a good father who loves to give us good gifts. We are to treat others like we want to be treated. That is what the law and the prophets are all about. *** The way to God’s kingdom is through the narrow gate of justice and law. It is not the easy way and it is full of difficulties. Few find it. The way to Satan’s kingdom is easy and wide and many find it. *** Lord, may we enter into your gates with thanksgiving and joy. May we not be afraid of trials and difficulties but grateful you are here with us.