For President Obama to seek his strength from God Himself and not from other sources
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
�Ephesians 6:10
Mighty and righteous God, in You is found all strength and all power. So great are You that You called all Creation into being with the simple use of a word�You spoke and all things were made! We praise and bless You today for Your power, Your might and for Your sovereignty that reigns over all persons in all places at all times!
O Father God, as we praise You today, we also lift into your attention and care President Barack Obama, asking that You move with the rhythms of Your goodness and grace in his life causing him to seek his strength in You. A man like him could find strength in many sources, O Lord, but it is the desire of our hearts that he recognize that any strength other than Yours will ultimately be inadequate for the monumental tasks he faces as President. Draw him to Yourself with irresistible offers of Your enduring strength we pray in Jesus� name, amen.
As always, this can be found at thePraying Through the First 100 Days site. It's day 95 by their count.
1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
to make sure I wouldn't slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to God. (The Message)
"In whatever ways God is pleased to succour us, he asks nothing else from us in return but that we should be thankful for and remember it. As often, therefore, as he bestows benefits upon us, so often does he open our mouths to praise his name."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
When we last left our "hero" Jacob, he had just been hoodwinked into marry ing the wrong daughter of Laban, and was in the midst of working the second seven years for the other one. Leah had given him three sons.
In chapte 30, Rachel is envious of Leah because Leah has given Jacob three children. But she blames Jacob. "Give me children or I die!" she says. This angers Jacob, and he more or less shrugs his shoulders and says, "Who am I, God? I have no control over this." So Rachel throws her servant, Bilhah, at him. I guess, in this culture, whatever children were born by the servant "belonged" to the mistress. So Bilhah has a son by Jacob, and he is named Dan. She has another one, who is named Naphtali.
At this point, Leah notices that she isn't have any more, so she brings her servant into the game. Zilpah then has a son, who is named Gad. Zilpah has another son, who is named Asher.
Things get more convoluted from here, as Leah essentially "buys" a night with Jacob from Rachel (how weary he must have gotten over this whole thing), and Leah bears another son, who is named Issachar. Leah has yet another son, who is named Zebulun. Verse 21 barely mentions the lone daughter in the mix. "Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah." Oddly, we don't get an explanation of the meaning of her name.
Finally, "God remembered Rachel," and she has a son of her own, and he is named Joseph. Hey. We all know that one's name!
Now begins the game of wits between Jacob and Laban. Jacob tries to leave, but Laban begs him to stay, asking Jacob to name his own wages. Jacob says, "Okay, I'll keep all the livestock that is spotted, you keep all the livestock that is not." Laban sneaks in and takes anything that is spotted out of the herd and gets three days away from Jacob. Jacob finds some kind of "magic" wood, which, when placed in front of the watering troughs, caused them to have spotted offspring. He would only put the wood pieces down when the strongest of the herd came to drink. (Don't ask me, I don't understand this part at all!)
In chapter 31, Jacob gets wind that Laban's sons are starting to figure out that there is trickery afoot. God tells Jacob to return to the land of his fathers, with a promise of His presence. Jacob calls his wives in and says that it's time to go. He accuses their father of cheating him (pot? kettle? Of course, Laban did start it...) and changing his wages "ten times." Jacob embellishes God's word to him just a bit, Rachel and Leah say, "Why not?" and they pack up and leave. Laban chased him for seven days, but God warned him that he'd better not hurt Jacob or say anything to him, either good or bad.
Laban finally caught up with Jacob and asked him why he left without saying goodbye. Strangely, at this point, he also accuses Jacob of stealing his "household gods." Jacob, not knowing that Rachel had, in fact, taken the idols, says, "Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live." O.o Uh-oh. But when Laban searched Rachel's tent, she was sitting on this chest and wouldn't get up because it was her "time of the month." So Laban didn't find his "gods." Jacob and Laban rant at each other for a bit, then set up a pillar of stones and make a covenant with each other that neither one will cross the boundary marked by that pillar. Laban goes back home and Jacob continues on his way.
In chapter 32, Jacob sends word to Esau that he is on his way, sending servants and flocks ahead, hoping to find favor with Esau. The servants return to tell Jacob that Esau is coming to meet him with 400 men. This frightens Jacob, so he divides his company into two groups, thinking that if Esau attacks one, the other would escape. Jacob has a prayer meeting. Then he picks out a bunch of livestock and servants as a gift for Esau, sends them ahead of him, and has the famous "wrestling with God" event. "And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him." Jacob would not let "the man" go until he blessed him. It is at this point that Jacob's name is changed to Israel. Jacob meant "heel grabber," Israel means "he strives with God." Jacob named the place Peniel, which means "the face of God."
That's a lengthy summary of those three chapters. What can we learn from them? The mind boggles. I don't think God wants us to learn how to cheat our relatives. I do think that God wants us to learn to depend on him, though. I'm not sure when Jacob finally learned that lesson. God continues to bless Jacob, though, even though he continues to be a conniving con man. He almost met his match with Laban, but managed to get away with his wives, children and livestock. There would forever be "bad blood" between them, though.
As I prepare to lead worship this morning, may my heart and eyes be completely on you.
We who believe in Jesus Christ are counted as righteous. We will behold the face of God. What a day that will be...
Grace and peace, friends.