Skip to main content

New Beginnings in Christ

New Beginnings in Christ
Genesis 35:1-12.

How can we find hope for a new beginning - whatever our season of life? In Christ is God's invitation to come!

Genesis 34 records a series of sad events in Jacob's family (verses 1-4, 11-15, 24-25). And towards the end of the chapter, he is deeply troubled. At this point, to Jacob, there is no coming back - this is the end - for certain, “I and my family will be destroyed” (v30). It was at this tipping point that God rescued Jacob with an invitation. God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel” (35:1). Bethel was a place Jacob knew as the house of God (28:16-19).
  • 34:30; 35:1. Amidst Jacob's troubles, God said come to me in Bethel.
  • 35:2-5. Jacob responded to God by letting go of idols and setting out to Bethel.
  • 35:6-7. When they got to Bethel, they built an altar - called on God.
  • 35:10. God answered Jacob with a new beginning, “you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.”
  • 35:11-12. And God reassured Israel of His promises.
Jacob comes to God in Bethel and finds rest in His time of trouble. As new testament believers, we come to God through Jesus - a better and ever-present Bethel by His Spirit - and we find rest, forgiveness, new beginnings and many promises. (Matthew 11:28, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1:20)

Reflect & Pray
In what way might you need God's rest or a new beginning? What promise of Scripture might God be using to encourage you?
Loving Father, thank You that through Your Son, Jesus, we can have new beginnings and many promises. Help us to keep coming back to You in Jesus' name.

God bless you exceedingly,
Sam.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Accompanied by unfailing love

Ruth 1:1-22 NIV. I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas break. Happy New Year! The Book of Ruth has been called the most beautiful short story ever written because of its simple narrative. A narrative that shows how God’s provision for our needs or challenges is often woven into the simple acts of human kindness. Chapter 1 shows the kindness of a daughter-in-law, Ruth, to her mother-in-law, Naomi (v8, 16, 22), and we’ll see God at work through that. But first, the passage sets the context by introducing us to Naomi’s loss… Naomi lost her family… When Naomi (which means pleasant) is first introduced, we are told of her loss. A woman in a foreign land who lost her family (v1-5). She feels bitter, empty and afflicted by the Lord (v21). Why so? …Because Naomi knows Israel’s God to be the Almighty—Sovereign. He can bring famine to a disobedient Israel (v1) a...
Read more

Redeemed into a new life

Ruth 4:1-22 NIV. In today’s passage, Boaz follows up on his promise to Ruth (in 3:12-13) to redeem her. From Boaz’s redemption of Ruth, we get a peek into the pattern of God’s redemption through Jesus. So what does this redemption look like? It is selfless—a costly act, no other redeemer could pay, v1-12 When Boaz met with the closer guardian-redeemer, whom we called Bob, he asked Bob if he would redeem his kinsman’s properties. Bob said yes, then declined when he realised that this included his kinsman’s widow, which would affect his estate. This shows the inevitable selfish motive of any redemption act which is outside of God’s provision. However, Boaz, motivated by love, acquired Ruth, notwithstanding the cost. This costly and selfless act points us to God’s act of redemption through Jesus, our Redeemer, who, out of love, gave His life to save us (John...
Read more

True life begins with accepting the word

Mark 4:1-20, 26-29. (The Parables of the Sower and Growing Seed). How do you respond to God’s word? Jesus shows that the continuous experience of true life only comes from accepting the word of God. Anything short, at its best, only yields momentary joy. In teaching about the Kingdom of God (v11, 26), Jesus speaks of a farmer who goes to sow seeds and scatters them on all kinds of soils, with the good soil truly yielding life (v1-8, 26). The seed is the word of God (v14), and the soils are how we respond to the word. But there is only one right response. Accept it The parable shows that just as the kind of soil affects the yield, the kind of response affects the experience of the Kingdom of God. It’s like signing up for an online service, say Amazon; there are terms and conditions open to all. You can either ignore it, tiptoe around it, consider it or accept it. But there...
Read more