God’s Way

 Genesis 27: 41-45

“41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 But the words of her elder son Esau were told to Rebekah, so she sent and called her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, 44 and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away— 45 until your brother’s anger against you turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

If you were raised in a family with other siblings, I am sure at on time or another you thought your mother or father showed favoritism to one of the other siblings.

Esau must have felt the same way.  Rebekah seemed always to be doting on Jacob.  Now their plotting and scheming had resulted in a real injustice to Esau.

Rebekah and Jacob stole the blessing that was rightfully Esau’s.  Rebekah and Jacob’s deception resulted in Esau hating Jacob and swearing to kill him when Isaac died.

In this story of Jacob and Esau, we are reminded of the story of Cain.  The outcome of the story of Cain and Abel was the death of Abel at the hands of Cain.   

In the story of Jacob and Esau, God intervened and brought peace between them.

God’s way is the way of peace and unity.

May the love of Christ be with you, 

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

I Am

 Genesis 27:15-24

15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob, 16 and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she handed the savory food and the bread that she had prepared to her son Jacob. 18 So he went in to his father and said, “My father,” and he said, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands, so he blessed him. 24 He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.”

For every sin there is a fork in the road.  The fork in the road appears just before the action.  This fork represents the choice of whether to sin or not to sin; whether to go the godly route or walk down the path of sin.

Jacob’s fork in the road came when his blind father asked him if he was really Esau.   Jacob replied, “I am”.  

We see the phrase “I am” used throughout the Bible (over 300 times).  God and Jesus used the phrase “I am” in order to identify themselves as God.  In fact, we refer to God as the “Great I Am”.

In this scripture, Jacob uses this phrase to identify himself as his brother, Esau.  He uses the “I am” to swindle his brother out of his blessing.  By saying. “I am” he lied to his blind father and became complicit in the plot of Rebekah. 

For Jacob, saying “I am” was a phrase that pinpointed his time of sin; the exact moment when his path diverged from the path of God’s will. 

As we approach our own fork in the road, which road will we take?

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Two Nations, Two People

 Two Nations, Two People

Genesis 25: 21-26

“21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren, and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other; the elder shall serve the younger.” 24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle, so they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.”

Our second granddaughter was born fourteen months after our first granddaughter.  They look almost like twins.  But I can see differences between .

Isaac and Rebekah’s children were struggling against each other even in the womb. Even though they were twins, they did not look alike or act alike. One would be stronger, and one would serve the other.  

When Jacob and Esau were born, the nations of Israel and Edom were born.  Israel and Edom would be enemies for centuries until the Edomites were defeated by King Saul in the 11th century B.C.

In the world today differences still exist between nations.  But Christ came to proclaim and establish the Kingdom of God in and among all people. 

Paul wrote that in Christ “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

We are all one in Christ.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Sarah’s Laughter: Part 2

Genesis 21: 1-7

“1 The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. 2 Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7 And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

Sarah’s laughter in the scripture that we read yesterday was a nervous laughter.  Now, God brought real laughter to Sarah’s life in the form of a child.  

In this child were the promises of God unfolding; the hopes of Abraham and Sarah.  In this child Abraham and Sarah could see nations, and people as numerous as the stars in the sky; a people chosen by God, serving God, and living out their faith. 

In this child Abraham and Sarah could see God’s hand, hear God’s voice and feel God’s presence. 

In this tiny bundle were their very hopes and dreams.

And Sarah’s laughter filled the air.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Sarah’s Laughter Part 1

Genesis 18:9-15

9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I be fruitful?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” 

Three angels visited Abraham and Sarah by the oaks of Mamre. They gave Abraham some wonderful news.  Abraham and Sarah’s long awaited son would soon be born.  

Sarah, like Abraham earlier, laughed at this news.  Like Abraham, she had experienced God’s faithfulness.  She knew that God was true to his promises.  But this news seemed too wonderful to be believed.

But, for the God of our faith, nothing is ever beyond His imagination, His skill, His creative power, or His love.  If something is within His will and consistent with His nature, it can be done.

Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?  No.

And that is a wonderful thing.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Abraham Laughed

Genesis 17: 15-17

“15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her and also give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

Abraham was 99 years old.  The idea that he and Sarah would conceive and raise a child was beyond his understanding.  But by now he knew that God kept his promises and that this would happen.

This promise, however, seemed too wonderful.  Abraham was overcome.   He did not know how to react, except to laugh and say, in effect, can this really be happening?  Can Sarah and I really be raising a child in nine months?

When we come to know God, to really know Him, we will realize how wonderful a miracle it is that God speaks to us, hears our prayers, answers our prayers, leads us, guides us, is concerned with us, and loves us.

God’s love is faithful and steadfast.

And sometimes it seems too good to be true.

But it is.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

A Great Name: Part 6

Genesis 17:1-8

“1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you and will make you exceedingly numerous.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding, and I will be their God.”

God gave Abram a new name.  Abraham means “father of many” and was to be a reminder of God’s promise, of the covenant that existed between Abraham and God.

It was also a reminder that all of the things Abraham had and would have, everything he had accomplished and would accomplish was because of God.  

Abraham’s life was to be a monument to God’s promise, a monument to honor God.

Our lives as Christians are to be a reflection of Christ in the world.  Our monument is not to be a lavish church building, but a humble life of faith, love and obedience to the teachings of Christ.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)