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Boring...boring...boring

24/5/2013

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*Yawn* Zzzzzz - that's how I feel, and most "normal" people, when we are faced with a long list of names to read. The book of Chronicles has many of these lists. But it is not alone in these sleep-inducing chapters. Even Genesis with all its action and drama has a few. And so I am left wondering, "what is all this *yawn* boring stuff for?".

Yet maybe, besides digging deeper into genealogies and figuring out intriguing things, which might not be everyone's cuppa tea - these passages are there for other reasons. Maybe in the midst of the boring line after line of names there is something else that should pop out. It's sort of like this picture...

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So can you see anything? Or is it just a whole lot of lines? Look closer...or rather, step away from the computer - move away from the image and then look again and you will see a face in these lines. 

Things are not always as they appear at first glance. A boring series of lines may well have something amazing within it. A boring series of lines...."This is the account of the family line of Esau...Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth...." (Gen 36:1-2) Zzzz...lines, boring lines! I'm asleep and we are only at verse 2! 

Or is there something in the lines and lines of names? Maybe we just need to step back and we may see something.

A message in the lines

The dead give away that you are about to be beaten to sleep with a genealogical club is when the passage starts with "This is the account of the family line of..." When you see that get ready to snooze, and you won't be disappointed. Here in Genesis 36 you are about to be treated to 43 verses of names ending with winners like Timna, Alvah, Jeheth, Magdiel and friends! So what's the message? What's the point? What is between the lines?

I do not doubt that there are many messages but one easy way to find a message is look for what stands out when you "step back" - so to speak. What is different in this long list of names? It's easy, when there are line after line of names, any variation leaps out like a turbo-charged kangaroo. Let's see if you can spot it....

Spot the message

Genesis 36
20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the region:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 

21 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs.
22 The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotans sister.
23 The sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
24 The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the water in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.
25 The children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
26 The sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.
Did you spot it? After having waded through 23 verses of dry and boring names all of a sudden in verse 24 the pattern breaks before continuing for another 19 verses of dry and boring names. It's almost like in the midst of all the regular lines "the sons of...the sons of..." there is a break, an image, a message inserted. And so we wake up and read it again. It's jarring, we can't help wake up, because it jumps out at us.

"This is the Anah who discovered the water in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon." (Gen 36:24)

What's the message?

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God has inserted a message. Something he wants us to look at and notice. In the midst of a seemingly dry and fruitless desert of names is a verse about water. 

It seems Anah found "water" in the desert. It's interesting that his name means "an answer". Was he searching for an answer? He was part of the lineage of Esau, a lineage that wandered away from God. A family that was all about power, rulership, possessions. A family that lived in harsh, arid deserts. Was Anah wondering if there was more, if there was relief? Was Anah looking for an answer to the great question - "Who can save me from this wretched life?"

And there in the midst of the harsh, dry desert who finds water - life giving water. In the midst of his everyday duties, in the midst of dry, nothing, he discovers water. And this discovery would be the only single discovery, in fact the only single interesting point, mentioned in 43 verses. Anah found the answer - water!

So have we found the answer? Do we have a life that is harsh and unforgiving, dry and dying? Do we live amongst people who seem to care so little, who seek only their own goals and well-being? Are we in a desert place? For surely then if we seek we too will find the amazing spring of water.

"Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." - Jesus (John 4:14)
In the dryness of our life, in the seeming hopelessness of our life, if we step back - if we make ourselves small and God big, if we change our perspective, we will find the answer. It is Jesus, a refreshing, life-giving source of eternal life. Let's accept his invitation and drink deeply of his refreshing Spirit and then by God's grace when we are placed in an endless chronicle of life's names, we will be remembered as he/she who found the well of life - Jesus.

So, look again...sometimes a beautiful message is hidden in the seemingly mundane stones of life!
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Honey-flavored God

15/5/2013

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I love watching cooking programs, and I think I am not alone in this passion. Nowadays the wide range of shows on TV that are dedicated to food is unbelievable - everything from learning how to cook amazing meals with Jamie Oliver to the tension of Master Chef to the wonder of Man vs Food. Whatever the spin, all of these shows speak to our common human bond of food. However, while I love watching these shows they tend to leave me feeling less content that when I started. Invariably I am left feeling hungry - even if we have had dinner. I suddenly have a craving for cheese or steak or fish, or whatever the highlight of the show was. As humans it's just not enough to watch food - we want to taste it too! Which raises the important question - As a Christian am I content to simply watch God or do I have an overbearing desire to taste Him?

With many things in life - food included - experiencing it is more important that simply watching it. Think about children, hobbies, sports...and so much more. It's one thing to read about it, watch it on TV - it's a totally different thing to experience it. So what about God?
Is God a God explained or experienced? Is God a God in letters or in life?
We see this most powerfully with Jesus. There are letters and then there is life.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)
...letters...words...and then...
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
...there is the word heard, then there is the word held...

John picks this up in a very real way when he is writing about this later on in his letter. Here he says...
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched —this we proclaim concerning the Word of life." (1 John 1:1)
If we experience Jesus he makes a difference. We taste him, he is not just a concept he is a reality. Our God becomes a God we taste - an explosion of flavour that is beyond words. An experience that leaves us fulfilled rather than empty. An experience that leaves us energised rather than drained.
"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalms 119:103)
It is for this reason that the Psalmist issues the all important invitation to us...
"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him." (Psalms 34:8)

How to taste God

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So how do I taste God? It comes down to the difference between a God stuck only in the Bible or a God also experienced in relationship. Is He a God of letters or love? Do we read about Him or experience Him? 

If you are married, or have a girlfriend/boyfriend - the question would be the same. How would you like to engage with them, if you truly love them - letters or love - rules or relationship?

How do I taste God? In the amazing words he has recorded in his love letter to us (Bible) AND in every aspect of life. In the gentle whisper of the breeze. In the majestic grandeur of a mountain. In the smile of a child. In the touch of someone in need. God is in everything through his Spirit - he is everywhere. 

How do we fully taste God? We have to put the recipe book down and step into restaurant of life. 

We taste him when we allow him to work in our life. 
We taste him when we step outside the boat and feel the wind and sea spray whipping our face but experience his peace. 
We taste him when we open our hand to give and then see how much more God has already given us. 

These are just some of the tastes in the restaurant of life. But we can only visit this restaurant and taste God when we leave the confines we've created. 

Called to taste

What happens when you have an awesome meal at a restaurant? We want to tell others. 
What happens when you read an amazing recipe in a magazine? We put it aside and think - "I'll try that one day"

Recipes read are nothing compared to meals tasted.
Things experienced are more powerful than things watched.

The experience compels us to share. Almost involuntarily we are telling our friends about the amazing meal we had at the new restaurant in town. We want to share it, we have to share it. Why? Because it has impacted our life. 

We MAY share the words about God but we will WANT to share our experiences of God. 
When we look at the Bible we see that this is really what it is all about. Thousands of experiences. People who in very real ways shared their taste of God. Just consider the book of Acts - its called that because it is a book of Action - experiences. It is the restaurant of God open and serving a rich diversity of amazing tastes - and Peter, Paul, Stephen, Phillip, and many more are desperate, compelled to share these amazing experiences with us.

And why must we do this?
"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." (1 Peter 2:2-3)
We must taste God, experience God because this is THE ONLY WAY WE GROW. And having tasted we will be able to like Job, who surely experienced God, say...
"My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." (Job 42:5)

Conclusion

Tasting God, experiencing God is not a nice to have optional extra. It's not a choice between 
1. Recipe God
2. Experience God

Tasting God is both essential for our spiritual growth and serious, as we are warned...
"It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance." (Hebrews 6:3-6)
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Once we taste God we are changed forever. There is no going back...in fact why would we ever want to. Having experienced God is this most real way we enter a new type of relationship. It is not one of just words but wonder, not just text but taste. This is the real 4D experience. 

Have you ever wondered why Jesus chose to have us remember him through a meal? He could have chosen a special song or an action we perform. Yet he chose a meal, because it invokes taste. We taste him. We feel him enter us. We experience him. He wants us to realize that a relationship with him is all encompassing...it will consume all of us, if only we will open to the experience.

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." (Revelation 3:20)

Let's open up and "taste and see that The Lord is good" (Psalms 34:8).


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Maslow's Missing Need

8/5/2013

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What motivates you? How are you wired? What makes you tick? What is the most important thing to you?

These are pretty deep questions. But before you dismiss them, it is important to know what motivates us, because we all will face times in life when things are taken from us - and then we need to know the answer to this question. What keeps me moving on? What is left when everything else has been taken away?

Psychologists have grappled with this question for a long time. One of the most famous theories put forward is called Maslow's hierarchy of needs. In this theory there are 5 layers of needs.

  1. The lowest (or base) level is the Physiological level. This means satisfying things like food, water, breathing.
  2. The second level is the Safety level. This is safety of body, employment, family etc.
  3. The third level is the Belonging level. This is about friendship, family, etc.
  4. The fourth level is Esteem. Being respected by others, achievement, confidence.
  5. The top level is Self-Actualisation. This is creativity, problem solving, morality.

And so the idea is that the lowest levels must be satisfied first before higher needs can be satisfied. So, for example, you can be enjoying a great time with your family (level 3) but have a terrible headache (level 1). Even though the belonging need is met the more fundamental physiological needs spoils the event.

It is therefore important, according to Maslow, that the base needs are addressed first before we try and address the higher needs. So in a poor country we focus on the physiological and safety issues before we address esteem and self-actualisation.

THE ROAD TO UNHAPPINESS IS PAVED WITH...
So this theory suggests that if we have all our needs fulfilled, that slowly but surely they could be removed from us progressively leading us unfulfilled. So imagine that your ability to think freely was taken away. Then next you were no longer respected. Next your friends turned on you. Now you are feeling terrible…but still you have the two base needs -  Safety and Physiological. However before you know it your life is threatened (safety), and then you suddenly contract a deadly disease (physiological). At this point the lowest need has been compromised and there is little reason to live. 

According to Maslow, once all the needs have been stripped away a human essentially has little reason to exist. And this is true…if you do not have one other active need.

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WHAT MASLOW MISSED!
So what did good 'ol Maslow miss? Below what appears to be the most basic need - physiological - the foundation need, is another even more fundamental need - the God need. The problem is that because it is unseen it goes unrecognised. Yet it is a greater and more important need than all the others. Just because it is unseen does not make it any less real.

Think about an iceberg. Floating above the surface is a huge piece of ice - yet this is dwarfed by the huge piece that lies below the surface. The fact that we cannot see the ice beneath the surface does not make it any less real. Watch Titanic if you're in doubt!

Floating below our visible perceptions is a need greater than all others. A need more real than all others. The God need.

God says - "I have set eternity in your heart" (Ecc 3:16). He has placed in every human being a fundamental need to connect with him. This is the God need. It is coded into our very DNA. We can deny it, ignore it, disagree with it - but it does not change the fact that the need will remain.

THE GOD NEED IN ACTION
Over and over again we see the God need in action. Consider Job. A man who systematically had every one of his visible needs removed. 

  • Self-actualisation: He has his morality questioned by people - "Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed?" (Job 4:7)
  • Esteem: He is no longer respected by others - "Your words are a blustering wind" (Job 8:2), "Your sin prompts your mouth; you adopt the tongue of the crafty." (Job 15:5)
  • Belonging: His close friends have turned on him. "My relatives have gone away; my closest friends have forgotten me." (Job 19:14)
  • Safety: His home and family and possessions are all taken away. "A messenger came to Job and said, The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them." (Job 1:14-15).  "Another messenger came and said, Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brothers house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead." (Job 1:18-19)
  • Physiological: And if this were not enough he then finally has his most basic need attacked - he gets a terrible disease. "The Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head." (Job 1:7)

And so according to Maslow, all 5 layers of his needs have been stripped away. In fact he might as well die as his wife suggests. 

"His wife said to him, Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!" (Job 1:9)

But notice what she is saying. She is acknowledging that there is a even more fundamental need - the God need - that keeps Job going. And it is this need that he never lets go of. Even though he is left wondering what is happening to him. Even though he is suffering terribly, his God need, a realisation that God is in him, is in his life, is always fulfilled. And so he does not give up on that need. For the God need cannot be taken away, it can only be given away. 

In Job's reply to his wife he shows he will never abandon his hold on God - "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? In all this, Job did not sin in what he said." (Job 2:10)

JESUS - THE ULTIMATE EXAMPLE
The same can be seen in the life of Jesus too. As he hangs on the cross, mankind tried to strip away all his needs. 
  • They challenge his accomplishment of his mission (self-actualisation). "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!" (Mk 15:29-30).
  • They try to remove his self-esteem (esteem) by putting him naked on the cross. "When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots." (Mk 27:35).
  • His friends abandon him (belonging).  "Then all the disciples deserted him and fled." (Matt 26:56).
  • They are busy killing him on a cross (safety).
  • His most basic need - just breathing (physiological), is becoming impossible.

According to Maslow he is broken, finished! Yet he does not given in. Why? There is something else that Jesus sees. There is something beneath all of this. Unseen, yet seen. Invisible yet eternal. For beneath all of these lies a more real need, a more important need - his God need. There is nothing that can take that from him. And in this power he conquers the ultimate test - death on the cross. As the writer of Hebrews says when reflecting on this - "For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12:2)

OUR GOD NEED
We started with a question - What motivates you? It's time we answer this. Years before Maslow came up with the 5 needs Paul was writing to the people telling them of the need beneath all of these - the God need. He says that even if you remove all the other things - one thing will always remain - God.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble (belonging/esteem/self-actualisation) or hardship (belonging/esteem/self-actualisation) or persecution (safety) or famine (safety) or nakedness (esteem) or danger or sword (safety)?…For I am convinced that neither death (physiological) nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (THE GOD NEED)." (Rom 8:35-39)


CONCLUSION
Below everything lies this most important need. A need that if we recognise it, we will never be shaken. No matter what people take away from us, this can not be taken from us. So even if outwardly we experience problems, lets hang onto the unseen layer - the layer that Maslow missed - for it is eternal!

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

And so while in this life we may suffer, this suffering lets us see below the water in which we flounder. Below the water to where the huge bulk of what really matters resides - God. Sometimes we don't look beneath unless God makes us, and then we see the most amazing thing. Our most basic need. Our eternal foundation.

"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:11)


MASLOW'S MISSING NEED - THE GOD NEED


"But one thing is needful," Jesus said as Mary clung to him, 

"and that will not be taken away." (Luke 11:42)
THE GOD NEED

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$1 million for a bowl of stew!

1/5/2013

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Would you ever pay a million dollars for a bowl of stew? Not likely! However you may already have done so. In fact you may have already paid a far higher price than this.

I love the book of Genesis, it is alive with stories of intrigue, passion, deception, love, loyalty and loads more. As the name "Genesis" implies it is the "gene" or seedbed of the Bible. Most of our human virtues and vices are found here. One of these is the million dollar stew story.

Jacob and Esau had never had the best of relationships. I suppose when you are firstborn (by minutes), as Esau was, and your twin brother pops out second, but hanging on your foot - you know things are not destined to be harmonious. 

After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esaus heel; so he was named Jacob. (Gen 25:24)
And so the twins turn out to be vastly different. Esau is wild, rugged and hairy. He loves the outdoors, camping, hunting, etc. He's a daddy's boy. Jacob is sedate, sophisticated and smooth. He loves staying at home, chilling out in the tent watching cooking channels, reading, etc. He's a mommy's boy.
So one day, old Esau returns from a long and rather unsuccessful spell of hunting. Hey, even the best can't always get it right. And on this occasion he has been out for days and hasn't caught anything. However the problem back then was that if you didn't catch anything in the hunt you couldn't just pop in to the local Macdonalds or convenience store and pick up a couple of burgers. If you caught nothing you went hungry! And so by the time Esau returns home he is starving. But guess what? Mommy's boy Jacob has been trying some new recipes from Master Tent Chef and he's produced an awesome looking spicy lentil stew. It being meatless Monday and all, lentils are the veggie of choice, especially if you are starving. The aroma is tantalisingly lingering in the air, a true testimony to Jacob's culinary skills. As he's thinking about how awesome he is and whether he will win Master Tent Chef this year Esau barges into the tent in a frenzy.

"Hey Jake, wow that smells awesome. How about giving your bro some of that?"
However Jacob is not only a home body, he is a schemer of note. For a long time he has been figuring how to get his hands on more of dad's loot when the old fella pops off. After all he was only born a few seconds later than Esau, that should hardly entitle him to less. You see, in the Middle East back in the day, the firstborn got a double portion. So when it came time to split the inheritance, the firstborn would get a double portion. Now this was obviously something that Jacob the schemer was not keen on. So he replies, "First sell me your birthright" (Gen 25:31). 

What a reply. Here is poor old Esau, starving - he hasn't eaten for days, all he is asking for is a bowlful of stew and Jacob wants to bargain. Now realise this - this is not a small thing he's asking. He's asking for Esau's birthright. He's asking to receive the double inheritance. The Isaacs must have been pretty loaded too. Dad (Isaac) inherited loads of loot from dad Abraham. We know Abraham had lots of money (Gen 13:1) and Isaac would have added to this. So we are talking, in modern day terms, a family that are millionaires, if not more. So Jacob is asking Esau to give up a million dollars or more, for this bowl of stew.

Would you do that? Seems crazy. One bowl of stew for a million dollars? Forget it....but Esau replies,
Look, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me? You can have it. (Gen 25:32)
I reckon Jacob was thinking  "Woah dude...did you just say 'yes'. That's unbelievable!" So he quickly decides he needs confirmation. He rushes out and calls a lawyer to come over and draw up a legally binding contract...just kidding. There weren't lawyers back then - makes it sound like paradise. However he does the equivalent - he tells Esau to swear that this is a binding deal. And without hesitation Esau swears that this is a deal - a bowl of stew for his million dollar inheritance. And we read that;
Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. (Gen 25:34)
Did you ever wonder where "upsizing" came from? Well here we see it. Jacob upsizes the meal to include bread too, just to make sure Esau feels he has got value for money. So for the million dollars he gets the stew and some fresh bread too - an amazing deal! A done deal!

And then we read the final statement, from God, on this story;
So Esau despised his birthright. (Gen 25:30)
I am left wondering if Esau had too much outdoor air, or if he was maybe a braincell short of a working pair? But whatever the deal he just traded his million dollar inheritance for a couple of dollar bowl of stew. I don't care how good Jacob's cooking was - even if he was the reigning Master Tent Chef - there is no way its worth a million dollars! Yet Esau does the deal. Crazy.

BUT...forget Esau, he's dead and dusted...this is not about him, this is about you and I? 
Would you do this?
Actually, have you already done this? Sold your inheritance for a bowl of stew?

"Hey, of course I have not done this! This is crazy talk. I am not a crazy outdoor, lost-touch-with-reality Esau."
But hold your horses there for a moment - before we dismiss Esau as a crazy, there may be a lot more of Esau in us than we realise.
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You see we all do this to a greater or lesser extent. We are all prepared to give up our inheritance - the amazing gift of eternal life that our Father offers for a bowl of lentil stew. 

God is offering us an amazing inheritance. He is not only offering us eternal life now - the gift of experiencing his eternity, his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness...etc...now, he is also offering us this entire planet, its beauty, the universe and beyond as an inheritance forever. Yeah - that is a lot more than a million dollars, but that is what our Father has for our inheritance. In fact Paul is so desperate for us to get this that he begs God to open our eyes to see it; 

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. (Eph 1:17-18)
Yet we toss it all in for a bowl of lentil stew! How often do we give up on our inheritance in order to rather grab for a bowl of fame, a bowl of money, a bowl of possessions? 

"If only I can have that new car, that new dress, that new watch, that better job, that recognition, that...in fact, I'll give up my time, my energy, my life if you will give me that bowl of stuff." 

The Fame poster above, from the movie, has the caption "I want to live forever". Wow, what an irony. The poster for fame, for money, for possessions comes with the tag line "forever". And we believe it! We grab for it. We give up everything for it, only to find when we have it, that it was just a simple bowl of lentil stew. It was nice when we had it, but the next day we realised it was gone. It was anything but forever!
See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done. (Heb 12:16)
You see, if we grab for the upsized, beautiful smelling offers of the world and give up our inheritance, we must realise the cost. We will have a day or two, a month or two, a year or two of satisfaction - then it will gone, forever! So, let's consider well what we choose in life. Consider well what we decide to pursue. Consider well where we put our energy, because at the end there are only two options - a temporary bowl of lentil stew or an inheritance that will never end! Which do you want?
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you. (1Pet 1:3-4)

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