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Jacob Wrestling with the Angel

Christ died for your sin so you can be free

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We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. Romans 7:14-20

Paul struggled with sin as we all do. So often we commit to doing good, praying, reading God's Word and then before you know it we make a mistake, say something we should not have said or any other numerous blunders. If Paul struggled is there hope for us? Sure there is, we must never give up. God knows our heart; he knows if we desire to serve him. If you make a mistake (or sin) ask God to forgive you and then let it go. He forgives and forgets.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus... Romans 8:1

God does not condemn us. We are born with a sinful nature and it will be with us until we die. This is not an excuse to sin. If you truly love the Lord you will do your very best to NOT sin. Ask Christ to forgive you, read the Word, pray, pray and then pray some more. You are not a Christian failure as long as you remain in Christ Jesus.

Additional reading...
Jacob wrestles with the angel: Read the Scripture below, what do you think the angel (and God) was trying to teach Jacob?

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me. The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (Israel means he struggles with God), because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel (Peniel means face of God), saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon. Genesis 32:24-32

Shoebox...

I spoke with a good friend of mine today on the phone. His name is Ted and he works for the Sarasota County Fire Department in Florida. I worked at this fire department with him for several years. He is a great guy. He is also a good Christian. We use to tease each other about putting our Christianity in a shoebox when we were at the fire station. Actually this kept us on our toes and we became accountable to each other. We spent many hours in the evening talking about life and what it meant to be a Christian. I appreciate his friendship and I miss our talks.

"But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 10:33

Opinions

Do you like to give your opinion on things or issues? Do you like to discuss our Lord and savior? Then check out;

RateItAll

Jesus on RateItAll

Not all of the ratings as you will find are positive. We must stand up for what is pure and good. We must make a stand for Christ.

"But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 10:33

Grandpa...

I can have a bad day at work, not feel well, be discouraged and then I hear the voice of my granddaughter say "Grandpa" and all is well! I have two beautiful granddaughters who are very special to me. To see their smiles, to play with them and to just enjoy a little time with them makes any day a good day. Children are such a blessing from God. If I can give any advice to you it would be to enjoy your children. Enjoy each moment. Laugh with them, play with them and love them dearly.

Ava and Ella, Grandpa loves you!!!

Blogs, the dark side...

Today I heard that a friend of my daughter was receiving mean comments on her blog. Receiving comments tells you that you are reaching people. I appreciate those who take the time to comment on my posts. It is encouraging to me and makes me want to continue to try to help people. But, there is absolutely no reason to be mean to people on the internet but many people find some deviate joy in doing just that. I guess since they can do this without their identity being discovered they don't care. Why do people like to hurt others? It's sad really but just confirms that the internet or the world for that matter has a dark side.

Sadness...

All people experience times of sadness. Whether it is the loss of a friend, family member, pet, job and the list could go on and on. These situations and the despair that follows is normal. Some are sad because they feel they have failed at some aspect of their life. Then there are those who become sad but do not know why. They can not seem to shake the feeling that something is wrong. Time will heal the first kind of sadness but what about the other. I have suffered depression and I know how debilitating it can be. I am one who tends to second guess myself. I always wonder if I could of done something a better way. This second guessing could be good as it makes you want to improve but it also can wear you down.

Jesus suffered more than we will ever suffer. He was here on this earth to give life yet was beaten and tortured by those he tried to help. He was innocent (I am not), he was pure (I am not), he was righteous (I am not), he died for me (I am not worthy) and he loves those who persecuted him (I'm not so sure I could). So he truly understands sadness. I believe he weeps when we hurt. When my children or my grandchildren are hurting it breaks my heart. Jesus is the same way when you hurt. Ask him to help you. Then the most important thing you can do next is to give him your hurt and let him handle it.

I would like to say a prayer for you. "God help those who read this blog, heal their pain regardless of its source. When you heal them Lord heal their spirit as well. I thank you for your goodness and answered prayer." If you know someone who is sad, pray this prayer for them. Trust God to answer your prayer. He loves you.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. John 14:1

Please pray...

Misty LeBlanc has stage IV brain cancer and the doctors aren't giving her much hope. I do not know Misty but I do know the power of prayer. Please pray for Misty and her family. Here is her husband's website: http://www.leblanclife.com/

Pay it Forward...

A movie by the name "Pay it Forward" featured 12-year-old Trevor McKinney who believed in the goodness of human nature . Like many other children, he was determined to change the world for the better, but, unlike most other children, he succeeded. The way it worked: he helped three people, then each of those people helped three more people and before you know it people were helping others from coast to coast. All of this because one person decided to try and make a difference.

Is this really possible? Can people encourage a chain reaction of love to spread across the world? I say yes. I encourage you to do something special for three people. If they ask you why you are doing it say because you care and the only thing you want in return is for them to return the favor to three other people.

God wants us to help each other. God wants Christians to share his love around the world. If we applied this same concept to speaking to others about the Lord and then helping them, imagine how many people could be reached. Help someone today and share the love of Christ by your action... not just your words.