Good morning and happy Monday. Another workweek is upon us and this is a big week for me. I leave on Wednesday for my big service project in China and I will be there for the entire month of July. I’m super excited, it’s going to be filled with many hardships, but I also know that as a result, it will be filled with abundant, even countless blessings. It will not be possible for me to post to the 5MC while I am there, so Marge will select from past 5MC writings and then post them as normal so you can continue on in your study of God’s Word as I'm away serving. As a result of this, today will be my last posting until I return. Right now, I plan to study through the remainder of Genesis while there (there’s 50 chapters and today is chapter 25, so 25 left) and then start writing again with chapter 26 when I return. Call it a month long “pre-study” for me.
I will be doing some writing as I travel Hong Kong and China, it’s always a treat to write as I serve. It’ll be more of a travel journal as I reflect on the trip and how God speaks throughout the adventures He will offer. I’ll compile these and then be posting somehow as a 5MC supplement when I return at the end of July.
I realize not everyone can go to China for a month to serve, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be a part of this trip. You can in fact, be a huge part of the trip. How? Through your faithful, daily prayer support. Prayer for the event, the volunteers and the students. Prayers for safety, provision and travel mercies. Prayer for peace, goodness and harmony. Prayer for lives to be transformed. There’s an old saying that says, “if you can’t go, sow.” Just because you can’t be there doesn’t mean you can’t contribute!
Another part of the hardship of this trip will be the length of time away from my sweet Margie. Please pray for us as we are apart from each other for the longest amount of time since we have been married. It will be difficult, but I rest firmly in knowing that God has miracles in store for this trip and obedience to God requires sacrifice.
You might not be able to go for God, but you can still be a huge part of this trip and all other trips through prayer. Your prayers are much needed and will be much appreciated.
Well, this morning we find ourselves in chapter 25 of Genesis. Can you believe that we are officially through HALF of Genesis? It seems just like yesterday that we started chapter 1. It continues to amaze me how quickly you can chew through God’s Word by just studying one chapter a day, 5 days a week. It reminds me of the story of the tortoise and the hare. Slow and steady wins the race.
This morning in chapter 25 we see Abraham finally go to be with the Lord at 175 years old. After Sarah dies in chapter 23, we see today that he remarried and had 6 more sons. His son Isaac, who we saw wed Rebekah in our study of chapter 24 titled, “Asking the Lord to Lead…and Letting Him,” has twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Now Esau and Jacob are quite the opposites. We’re told even in Rebekah’s womb they were fighting. Even though they were twins and shared the same DNA, they had one great difference, their hearts.
In fact, that will be our topic today, the heart. As I was teaching through 1 Samuel a few weeks ago, we settled on the story of Saul. The Israelites had finished the period of having judges rule over them and they were now crying out for a king to rule over them “like the nations around them.” (1 Sam 8:4-9) But as we see, the selection process of men is much different than that of God. (And that’s an understatement) The Israelites see in Saul a “true leader.” He is tall, in fact, we’re told this two times in God’s Word. (1 Sam 9:2, 10:23) Not only was he tall but he was handsome as well, very handsome, we’re told.
“And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. (1 Sam 9:2)
So the people see their future king in Saul. He is tall and extremely good looking. He probably had thick wavy black hair, big muscles and more than likely when he smiles, his teeth would sparkle in the sunshine. (just kidding).
But notice here the characteristics that the people use to select their king. If we’re honest, they’re the same ones we use today to select our leaders. They need to look good, sound good and preferably be tall. Need proof? Did you know that 39 of our 45 US presidents have been taller than the US average? You see people pick their leaders using one criteria…what we can see.
But what about God? How does God pick leaders, and more importantly, how does God see us? As Saul’s kingship wears in, it becomes very clear that he is not just a poor king, but he is a bad person. So the next king, the people will not select, God will pick him Himself. As he sends the prophet Samuel to anoint the new king, look at the exchange that takes place as Samuel is looking at all of Jesse’s sons until they finally come to David, God’s selection:
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. (that is Eliab, Jesse’s eldest son) For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7)
Wow, one of my favorite verses. You see we are sinners and mere humans, we cannot see what God sees. We cannot see how God sees. We see the outside, but God sees the inside. God can see our hearts, He can judge our hearts, He knows our hearts. He knew the hearts of Cain and Abel, He knew the hearts of Saul and David and today in our lesson He sees the hearts of Esau and Jacob. God selects us by the merit of our hearts for him, not our looks.
And we see a great difference in the hearts of Esau and Jacob today. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. The birthright in that day was tremendous. It was a right to be the family priest, that is, to preside over the family offerings and sacrifices. It also allowed your lineage to move into the future with the family name. Therefore that disdainful selection of a bowl of soup over his birthright means that Jacob’s lineage will be that of Jesus Christ, and Esau’s will be lost to time. Even though Jacob had tremendous struggles with the Lord, his heart was pure and as a result God could use him. When it came to God’s selection of David as Israel’s new king, he looked to the heart. In fact, David is known in scripture as a “man after God’s own heart.” (1 Sam 13:14)
Our heart is important to the Lord. Our heart for God is what determines how effective we can be for His Kingdom. So how are we to treat and culture our hearts for service to the Lord?
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23
Protect your heart. Keep it from sin. Guard it against evil. Shelter it from your flesh. Feed it with God’s Word.
Give your heart to God and He will change it. My prayer today is to one day have a heart that will appear to God as the one that beat inside the chest of King David…to be a man after God’s own heart.
Blessings to each of you and we’ll talk again in one month!
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