A simple thing changed my life forever. In the Psalm below David says, “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love.” Mornings, reading the Bible, I have come to know God, come to know Christ and come to know myself. This great gift can be in your hands. Let God give it to you among all His other bounty.

 Psalm 143:8-10 

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

Psalm 143:8-10 -Bible Gateway link (ESV)

Joy to the world! One of my favorite things about the Old Testament is running across a gem like this. The Christmas story predicted with God’s accuracy from ancient texts.

 Micah 5:2-5a 

The Lord says, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are one of the smallest towns in Judah, but out of you I will bring a ruler for Israel, whose family line goes back to ancient times.” So the Lord will abandon his people to their enemies until the woman who is to give birth has her son. Then those Israelites who are in exile will be reunited with their own people. When he comes, he will rule his people with the strength that comes from the Lord and with the majesty of the Lord God himself. His people will live in safety because people all over the earth will acknowledge his greatness, and he will bring peace...

-Micah 5:2-5a (GNT) Bible Gateway Link

We are like dogs returning to our own vomit, letting the world overwhelm us again and again. We just get deeper and deeper into the mire. There is one truth, Jesus Christ, and knowing him is more rewarding than anything the world could possibly have to offer. It is well to keep that in mind at all times. The warning here is dire.

 2 Peter 2:20-22 -  

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

2 Peter 2:20-22 Bible Gateway link (ESV)

My dear friend is in terrible straits. Covid restrictions have wiped out his livelihood and his savings. I know he needs to return to his faith, but I’m unsure how to help him. I’m praying to be used. I have total faith that God is at work.

 James 5:19-20 

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

-James 5:19-20 Bible Gateway link (ESV)

A friend recently said he had always thought I was really religious. I said I didn’t know about being religious, but I was a Christian. As I move through the world, I just pray for help to keep my priorities straight.

 

James 1:26-27 -

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

James 1:26-27 Bible Gateway link

I’m obsessed with this idea of a new heart because it came true for me. You see it repeatedly in the Holy Bible. The promise of a new covenant, the one we got when Christ was resurrected from the dead.

 

Fine Art America

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Bible Gateway link: Ezekiel 36:25-28 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Ezekiel%2036:25-28&version=ESV

God packs a lot into this one little sentence. Repenting is similar to forgiving. It is not something you wish you could do. It is not something you intended to do. It is not something you’ll do when you get your life in order. You just have to do it. Turn. It’s life and death.

Ezekiel 18:32 -

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”

Ezekiel 18:32 ESV Bible Gateway link

It is easy to forget what a great God we have. We go on as if we provided all this for ourselves. A phrase in this verse haunts me: “he gave them what they asked, but...” I can’t know what God’s plan is, but I have my precious Bible to tell me what happened in the past.

Psalm 106:13-15

But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert; he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them.

Psalm 106:13-15 - (ESV) Bible Gateway link

Image from: Lifehopeandtruth.com

When one of our reporters had been abducted in Gaza, I prayed more fervently than I ever had. I asked God if it was His will, to change the hearts of his captors. Our reporter was released. Through much trial in my life, God removed my heart of stone and gave me a new spirit. I went from despair to hope. Gratitude barely describes it.

 Ezekiel 11:19-21 

And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

 Ezekiel 11:19-21 (ESV) Bible Gateway link

“Hated by others and hating one another.” This sounds like the media today decrying the state of our country. Maybe we have strayed so far that this is true. But, it is not true for me, because I was saved by mercy and live in hope.

Titus 3:3-7 - 

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:3-7 (ESV) Bible Gateway link

So controversial! Regardless, I took this advice long ago. Being self-controlled, kind and submissive to my husband has made my life full of mutual love, admiration and respect. Try it, a good marriage is one of God’s great blessings.

Titus 2:3 

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity,

Titus 2:3-7 (ESV) Bible Gateway link.

As I age, I am so forgetful and fragile, and my sin is so insidious. This verse is precisely why I need my God. Left to my own devices I would not even recognize my sin, but when my foot slips, He is there to hold me up. He cheers my soul.

 Psalm 94:17-19

If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.

When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

Psalm 94:17-19 - Bible Gateway Link (ESV)

I’m not down with the view that ‘fear of God’ in the Holy Bible really means ‘respect.’ He has put fear in our hearts so we don’t turn away from him. Then he makes us an everlasting covenant. I don’t think doing it our own way, with respect, and then hoping for the best, makes any sense at all.

Jeremiah 32:39-41 - 

 I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.

I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

Jeremiah 32:39-41 Bible Gateway link (ESV)

Perfect patience is precisely what I need and have needed all my life. When I hit bottom and salvation hit me, nothing but the “perfect patience” of Christ could have kept me on the right path. He is in my heart, growing there every day. I am grateful beyond measure.

 1 Timothy 1:16-17 -  

But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 1:16-17 (ESV) Bible Gateway link

Jeremiah 29:11-13 -  

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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Jeremiah%2029:11-13&version=ESV

Marriage is fraught with what I call the spouse frequency. Even if we hear perfectly well, when the spouse talks it sounds like “wha-wha-wah.” I think our world is suffering from the God frequency, we listen to everyone except Him. Of all people, I should listen to my husband, as a country and a people we would do well to listen to God.

 Jeremiah 25:4-7 - 

You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although
the Lord  persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, saying,

‘Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ Yet you have not listened to me, declares the Lord, that you might provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

Jeremiah 25:4-7 (ESV) Bible Gateway link

We have a country full of people with false gods, or we would not be behaving as we are. I’m not a prophet, but if we keep this up, I can imagine the horror and hear the hissing.

 Jeremiah 18:15-16  

But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to false gods; they made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient roads, and to walk into side roads, not the highway, making their land a horror, a thing to be hissed at forever. Everyone who passes by it is horrified and shakes his head.

Jeremiah 18:15-16 (ESV) Bible Gateway link

At a dark point in my in my early life, I was headed backwards. I abused nearly every substance and many, many people. Then I took this to heart: “Obey my voice and I will be your God...” I read God’s word, I listen to him now. I’m not perfect but all is well with me as long as I don’t try to run my own life.

Jeremiah 7:23-24 - 

But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.

Jeremiah 7:23-24 (ESV) Bible Gateway link 

“The Covid” is making us all crazy, fear reigns. This verse helps me. It reminds me what the goal is and what the prize is.

 Philippians 3:12-16 

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Philippians 3:12-16 (ESV) Bible Gateway link

I can’t wait! This fills me with hope.

 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

Isaiah 65:17-21 Bible Gateway link (ESV)

I worked very hard in my career, I sacrificed a lot for it. I worked for the integrity of the product, the company, and my boss. Oh, did I grumble! Now I’ve finally figured out my boss is Jesus. I work for him. It is infinitely more rewarding.

Philippians 2:14-15 - 

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

• Philippians 2:14-15 ESV Bible Gateway Link
• Photo: 36 years ago today. It was the ‘80’s, what can I say!

Sometimes great grief washes over me because I never had children. What am I living for anyway? Then I turn to God and he kindly reminds me he has other uses for me.

 Isaiah 54:1 (ESV)

“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.

Isaiah 54:1 Bible Gateway link

Always in peril of kindling my own fire, I’ve lapsed again posting my blog. My spirit for “Vine and Branch” has been refreshed by one of God’s lights in my life, Joanne Kemp. She always relies on God, and not on her own strength. Happy Birthday, Joanne. I love you.

 Isaiah 50:10-11

Who among you fears the Lord

  and obeys the voice of his servant? 

Let him who walks in darkness

 and has no light 

trust in the name of the Lord

 and rely on his God.

Behold, all you who kindle a fire,

 who equip yourselves with burning torches!

Walk by the light of your fire,

 and by the torches that you have kindled!

This you have from my hand:

 you shall lie down in torment.

(Emphasis added)

One of the greatest promises in the greatest book ever. “If you seek him, he will be found by you.”

1Chronicles 28:9
And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind,

for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

Bible Gateway link: 1 Chronicles 28:9 (ESV)

Jesus simplified the commandments given to Moses to: *“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” We couldn’t do this perfectly if we tried really, really hard. We CAN test our thoughts, decisions and actions against that simple criteria. With help, we can find riches unimaginable. “Fear not; do not be dismayed.”

1 Chronicles 22:13 

Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed.

Bible Gateway link: 1 Chronicles 22:13 (ESV)

*Bible Gateway link: Matthew 22:37-40

You can be excused from reading the long genealogy of Simeon in First Chronicles, but then you would miss this lovely tribute to the descendants of Ham. Just a little gem in a boring(?) list of names.

1 Chronicles 4:39-40

A broad, quiet and peaceful place in Israel

They journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks, where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, quiet, and peaceful, for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham.

Bible Gateway link: 1 Chronicles 4:39-40 (ESV)

Sign me up! Not one of us can make it through this without His ‘gentle and lowly heart’ leading us to rest.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Bible Gateway link: Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)

Matthew 5:3-10 -

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

As humans we never see the big picture, but one doesn’t have to see it to know the wisdom in this verse. Whatever the endeavor, if it comes from God, it will succeed, if not it will fail. Christianity prevails.

Acts of the Apostles 5:38-39

The Pharisee Gamaliel

(Gamaliel the Pharisee)

“...So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice,

Bible Gateway link: Acts 5:38-39 (ESV)

“Thy God my God.” This verse fills my heart every time. It is so loving and faithful, the perfect description of any true commitment to another human being. Sometimes it is awkward, but this and many other verses cry out for the old King James Version.

Ruth 1:16-17 

And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

-Bible Gateway link: Ruth 1:16-17 (KJV)

This is a prophesy from the Son of God. I’ve been pondering this verse for days in light of the corona virus. This is when knowing the Bible is such a gift. For in it there is this verse: John 6:20 - But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

Luke 21:9-11 -

“And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” Then he said to them,“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.”

Bible Gateway link: Luke 21:9-11 ESV

Bible Gateway link: John 6:20 ESV

It is not profound, but it is true. Whenever humans are involved in any institution there is corruption. But take heart, Jesus saw this first hand. He knows how we are. He offers us a way out.

Luke 19:45-46 

And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

-Bible Gateway link: Luke 19:45-46 (ESV)

As we go about our busy lives, we’re often blinded to God’s presence. Ask. Take an opportunity in disruption. Have faith. Oh, and don’t forget to thank God for the opportunity.

Luke 18:41-43 -  

(Jesus:) “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. 

Bible Gateway passage: Luke 18:41-43 (ESV)

I can’t begin to say what this means, but I know how it makes me feel. When ‘Thy kingdom comes” I want to be one who doesn’t look back.

Luke 17:30-35,37 -  
so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the

one who is in the field not turn back.  Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.  I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

Bible Gateway link: Luke 17: 30-35.37 (ESV)

It can be very small, it is also everything.

Luke 17:5-6 -  

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Bible Gateway link: Luke 17:5-6 (ESV)

Wherever you go, there He is. Be still. Listen.

Joshua 1:8-9 

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Bible Gateway link: Joshua 1:8-9

With some tending from those who love you: even you have another chance to be fruitful. You may have to take some, uh, manure, but it will be worth it.

Luke 13:6-9 -  

And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Bible Gateway link to : Luke 13:6-9 (ESV)

This gives me pause.You?

Luke 12:54-56 

He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

-Bible Gateway link: Luke 12:54-56 ESV

I once had a boss who often said ‘One negative person can make a whole roomful of positive people sick.” I wonder if he was a Bible reader?

Deuteronomy 20:8 - 

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And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’

Bible Gateway link to Deuteronomy 20:8 (ESV)

Humans have a God given understanding of what is fair. We also have a God given understanding of corruption. In troubled times we tend to think the rules don’t apply to us. They do.

Deuteronomy 16:19-20 - 

You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Bible Gateway link to Deuteronomy 16:19-20 ESV

I like to know exactly what is required of me. In these times when we don’t know what to think, or who to listen to, God’s Word is the singularly reliable place to turn.

Deuteronomy 10:12-14 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. -Bible Gateway link: Deuteronomy 10:12-14 (ESV)

When we are feeling the most helpless and ineffectual is just the moment when God’s message has a prayer of getting through. We are not in charge, everything we have is because God gave us the power to get it. Believe. He will see us through.

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 

Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Bible Gateway link: Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (ESV)

Just a gentle reminder that “the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath.” Let’s take the time today to remember this universal truth, and enjoy the peace that comes with it.

Deuteronomy 4:39-40 

National Air and Space Museum

know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments*, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

-Bible Gateway link: Deuteronomy 4:39-40 (ESV)

*Matthew 22:37-40 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

He is carrying you as a man carries his son. Let’s learn from the mistake of an entire generation of the children of Israel who didn’t believe God and never made it to the promised land. Believe the Lord your God. He has this current crisis under control. We will never know what that means, but faith will carry us through this and much else.

Deuteronomy 1:31-32  

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and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the Lord your God,

 Bible Gateway link to Deuteronomy 1:31-32 (ESV)

Sometimes God uses bad people to show us who He is. In Exodus it was hard hearted Pharaoh who wouldn’t free God’s people and subjected the Egyptians to seven horrible plagues. God only knows what’s in store for us until His name is proclaimed in all the earth. Maybe we believers should be less reticent about proclaiming His name.

Exodus 9:16 -   But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

Bible Gateway link: Exodus 9:16 (ESV)

Abraham’s grandson was a conniving, frightened, trickster and thief. He was a sinner of the first rank, and yet God not only deigned to wrestled with him, He allowed the match to end in a draw. He turned Jacob and his clan into the chosen people. It’s not irony, it is another example of how God redeems his children. He even redeemed me. I’m so grateful.

Genesis 32:28 

Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Genesis 32:28 -Genesis 32:28 (ESV)

People were horrified at the sin they saw. They cried out to God. Notice, though, He checked it out for Himself before He acted. God hears our prayers of outrage. He also has infinite perspective, which we do not.

Genesis 18:20-21 

Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” -Bible Gateway link: Genesis 18:20-21 ESV