For This Light Momentary
Month: June 2025
Testify – by Wendy Patrick
I testify that God is good – He was all through the year
During the times of great success, and moments of despair.
He’s kept me on the road of right – He’d gently give a prod
If anything should make a try to shake my faith in God.
You all would know temptations that would tend to come our way;
But were it not for love and grace – where would I be today?
The many times God’s shielded me from accidents and death;
When careless drivers drive too close, and I can’t catch my breath.
You know the times I stopped the car for one minute or so;
And laughingly would ask the Lord “But why you love me so?
For day by day you’re shielding me along these tortuous roads;
From drivers who just cannot wait, and trucks with heavy loads.”
Financially, God has been there – I am no millionaire;
But God provided day by day – I did not have to fear.
The strangest thing is – as I gave to church and charity:
I found the more I gave for God, the more came back to me.
Some days my body was not well, some days I felt so low.
That’s when I would repeat the promises of God I know.
His words are reassuring – whether spoken or in song;
It’s always gratifying when the right words come along.
So, I can testify today that God is good to me;
As long as I keep faith in Him, my Rock He’ll always be.
They say next year will not be bright that it will start out dim
Don’t let that shake your faith in God – just put your trust in him.
And as we press on day by day let’s motivate a friend
To join this wondrous race, and then, to hold on to the end.
Jacob and His 12 Sons
by Shelby Faith
Jacob’s family grew large. Then he decided it was time to go back to the Promised Land. But on the way Jacob had to deal with both Laban and Esau.
After Laban tricked him, Jacob married both Leah and Rachel. (God created marriage to be between one man and one woman. Jacob should not have had more than one wife.) Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, and this made Leah sad.
God blessed Leah with a firstborn son named Reuben. She then had three more sons: Simeon, Levi and Judah.
When Rachel did not have any children, she became upset. She told Jacob, “Here is my maid Bilhah. Have a child with her so it will be as if it were mine.” So Jacob took Bilhah as his wife. She had two sons, Dan and Naphtali.
Since Leah had stopped having children, she gave her maid, Zilpah, to Jacob as a wife. Zilpah had two sons, Gad and Asher.
God then blessed Leah with two more sons: Issachar and Zebulun. She also had a daughter named Dinah.
Later God blessed Rachel with a son named Joseph. Then she had another son named Benjamin.
Jacob becomes rich
During this time, Jacob’s years of serving Laban were finished. Jacob wanted to return to his home country and take his wives and children with him.
Laban begged him to stay. “Please stay, for I know that the LORD has blessed me because of you.” Then Laban said, “Tell me what you want, and I will give it to you.”
So Jacob said, “You know how I have worked hard for you. You only had a little, but I have increased your herds. Now I need to provide for my own family. If you will do one thing for me, I will again care for your flocks.
“Let me remove all the speckled and spotted sheep and goats. And let me remove all the brown lambs. These will be my wages.”
Laban agreed. Jacob came up with a plan to increase his herds. He worked hard and became rich. He had large flocks and many servants.
Time to leave
Then Laban’s sons complained. They said, “Jacob has taken away our father’s wealth. That’s how he has become rich.”
Jacob saw that Laban was becoming angry with him.
He told Leah and Rachel that it was time to go back to his country. He took his family and livestock and left Haran.
Laban didn’t know that Jacob had left. Three days later he found out. Then Laban noticed that some of his idols were gone. Rachel had stolen them from his house before they left. (She should not have done this.)
Laban chases Jacob
Then Laban and his family pursued Jacob. After seven days, they caught up with him. Laban asked Jacob, “Why did you leave secretly? Why did you steal my daughters away from me? You didn’t allow me to kiss them good-bye. And why did you steal the idols?”
Jacob answered, “I was afraid that you would take your daughters away from me by force. I didn’t take your idols. Go ahead and look for them. Whoever stole them, do not let him live.”
Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
So Laban searched all of their tents, but he did not find them. Rachel had put the idols in a camel’s saddle and sat on them. Her father didn’t search there.
Jacob was angry with Laban. He said, “Why have you so angrily chased me? You accused me of stealing your idols. You searched and found nothing. I have served you many years. You would have sent me away empty-handed if it had not been for God’s blessing.”
An agreement
Laban answered, “These are my daughters. I wouldn’t do anything to my daughters or to their children. Let us make an agreement.”
So Jacob took a stone and set it up. They gathered more stones and made a heap. Then Laban said to Jacob, “This is a witness. We will not pass beyond this heap to cause harm to each other.”
Early in the morning Laban arose. He kissed his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban went back home.
God said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your family, and I will be with you.”
So Jacob continued on his journey to his country. The angels of God appeared around him. When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” He knew God was taking care of him and his family.
Contacting Esau
Many years before, Jacob had left his country because his brother Esau wanted to kill him.
Now Jacob sent messengers to Esau. He told them to tell Esau, “We are from your servant Jacob. He says, ‘I have lived with Laban all these years. Now I’m coming back. I hope I may find favor in your sight.’”
The messengers returned to Jacob. They said, “Esau is coming to meet you with 400 men.”
Jacob was very afraid. He thought Esau was still angry with him and might attack him and his family. He divided the people, flocks and herds into two groups. He hoped at least one group would be safe.
Then Jacob asked God to protect them from Esau.
Jacob decided to send Esau some gifts. He sent many goats, rams, sheep, camels and donkeys ahead with his servants. He divided them into three gifts, each one to arrive after the other. He hoped that Esau would accept these gifts and forgive him. He hoped Esau would no longer be angry.
That night Jacob sent his family over to the other side of a river. He stayed alone.
Wrestling with God
A Man appeared to Jacob. He wrestled with Him all night. This was God testing Jacob. Jacob would not give up. So God put Jacob’s hip out of joint.
God said, “Let Me go, for day is coming.”
Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
So God said, “What is your name?”
He said, “Jacob.”
Then God said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel. You have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob said, “Tell me Your name.”
God did not tell Jacob His name, but He blessed him there. Jacob called this place Peniel. He said, “I have seen God face to face, and I lived!”
Meeting Esau
After this, Jacob saw Esau coming with his 400 men. Then Jacob crossed over ahead of his family. He bowed down to the ground seven times until he came near his brother.
Esau ran to meet him! He hugged and kissed him, and they both wept. Then Esau saw the women and children, and said, “Who are these?”
Jacob said, “These are my children that God has blessed me with.” Then all of Jacob’s family came to Esau and bowed down.
So Esau returned back to his home.
Jacob had finally returned to Canaan, the land of his father, Isaac. He had made peace with his brother, Esau. God blessed him and was with him all the days of his life. His 12 sons multiplied their families. They became known as the 12 tribes of Israel.
Joseph, one of Jacob’s younger sons, was taken to Egypt as a slave when he was a young man. God had a special plan for Joseph. He helped save Jacob’s family when a great famine came on their land.
Questions
Here are some questions to think about or talk about as a family:
- How many sons did Jacob have? Can you memorize their names?
- Jacob had a daughter. What was her name?
- What did God intend for marriage? What problems were caused by going against this and having more than one wife?
- What happened when Jacob wanted to take his family back to his country?
- Whom did Jacob wrestle with?
- What was Jacob’s name changed to?
- What happened when Jacob saw his brother Esau?
Fun Facts About The Bible
The Bible was written on three continents
Most was written in what is modern-day Israel (Asia). But some passages of Jeremiah were written in Egypt (Africa) and several New Testament epistles were written from cities in Europe.
This is important to keep in mind when reading the Bible: it wasn’t written in a single room by a unified group of people. Instead, these writings were accumulated over the centuries and eventually compiled into the volume we call “the Bible” today.
The Hand Stretched out Before Me
It was my observation when pondering upon the commissioning of Ezekiel as prophet in Ezekiel 2:6-10, we find God advising him how to function in his role. He is told to be very bold. He must act with confidence. His work will not be easy. He must stand firm, and not be driven off of his tasks no matter how weird the task appears. He must never lose sight of who he is working for. God makes it clear to Ezekiel — They are a rebellious bunch of scorpions but they are my scorpions and I need to talk to them and get them back on track.
Ezekiel 2:6-10 says — And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, for they are a rebellious people. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you. Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe. [NIV]
If you have been called to do things for God, then it is imperative that you are not afraid of mere men. At the end of the day we work for God, we answer to him not the men that surround us. The scorpions are constantly harassing God’s called, entangling them in their talk, looking for fault (see Matthew 22:15). We all know the bite of a scorpion is 1000 times harsher than a thorn-hedge (see Micah 7:4).
These scorpions are also hurtful to the Israelis caught up in the rebellion but not sure what to do. To those who would listen to Ezekiel, the scorpions choke out the message and belittle the messenger. God will not fail to reward the scorpions for their evil if they do not repent. Therefore, even in their disbelief, God makes use of the scorpions for correction and instruction in much the same way that Gideon taught the men of Succoth with thorns and briers (see Judges 8:16).
Clearly these people have earned the wrath of God, yet he tries again and again to bring them back to their senses. However, while the bad stuff continues, Ezekiel knows he lives amongst them. He will not be safe in the quiet of his own home, these are his neighbors and they are not nice people. Given the opportunity, they will make his life extremely difficult. We are reminded of the things that Jesus said to one of the churches in the book of Revelation – I know where you live, the same place where Lucifer’s seat resides (see Revelation 2:13). This is a strong statement and I suspect it applies to these scorpions.
Imagine the transition for Ezekiel, first he is hanging out in the middle of a vision, then he is talking with God about stuff. But when he edges back to reality, he finds himself with a parcel of scorpions, people who are hecklers doing their utmost to drive him away. I think they knew their captivity was self-inflected, they were being controlled by Babylon, but they could bark out all manner of threats and noise to scare Ezekiel in the same way that people railed against Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 3:5).
In the midst of all this commotion, Ezekiel has learned to keep his eye on the endgame. He knows that he must be faithful to his calling. The people who are harassing him need him and need the message. He knows that God will eventually soften their hearts. He knows God will do the work if Ezekiel does his part and accurately reflects the message. The weight of this mantle is no small thing for him. It would be easier to blend in and avoid trouble. But God has placed a love for these scorpions in his heart and he is determined to stay faithful. Goodness, if only we had a heart similar to this, amen. And, with the missive that comes from this final thought, I choose Jesus.
Almost certainly God Is Not
“Almost certainly God is not in time. His life does not consist of moments one following another…Ten-thirty– and every other moment from the beginning of the world–is always Present for Him. If you like to put it this way, He has all eternity in which to listen to the split second of prayer put up by a pilot as his plane crashes in flames.” ― a quote from C.S. Lewis
This is the Path
It was my observation while reading the Book of Psalms that the message in Psalm 119:105 is much more useful than first meets the eye. Consider the message in this verse – ‘My word is a lamp unto your feet’. From this verse, build a visual of an angel right in front of you, holding a lamp in the evening hours, so you can see the ground in front of you. That light gives us the direction that we need to walk safely and stay close to Elohim. Of course, we know the Lamp at our feet is God’s Word. But consider an actual lamp before our feet. Scripture paints the path we are to walk just as an actual lamp paints a path for us to follow. But how do we understand what God is telling us? For example, when The Spirit of God says, ‘I am your righteousness’, what does that word ‘righteousness’ actually mean? What does this word tell us about the one true living God? When Jesus says, ‘I am the truth’, do we focus on the word ‘truth’ or the phrase ‘I am’?
Verses matter. Phrases matter. Vocabulary matters. If you are going to meditate on a verse, having a vocabulary of biblical terms is immensely helpful. Otherwise, how do you know what to think about the verse? How do you ask proper questions? When the answer comes to you, how do you know what the answer even means? That is what vocabulary’s all about.
It is one thing to memorize a verse. It is another thing to understand the meaning of that verse. And it is yet another thing to understand how the words that are used to construct that verse relate to other verses and shape the meaning of the other verses. I know this is very intense, but this is what mining the Word of God is all about.
Furthermore, this is the essence and purpose of meditation. Taking a look at a verse, identifying the words that are important to you for today, and then really drilling down into what the verse means (unpacking), how does it affect me, what does God want me to know about this subject that he has put in front of me today. You want to know what Elohim’s plan is, But how? I suggest when you drill down into the Word, you will start to discover things. Then, his plan begins to unfold in front of you. Elohim gets excited when you show interest — incredibly excited. He shows up with lots of help!
The Spirit of God works diligently to help you get the message if your heart is ready to receive. That is part of the meditation process, getting your heart in the right place to receive. None of this is easy, it is much easier for me to write about it than it is to actually do it. I struggle with this just like you struggle with it — we all struggle with it. But I can assure you that understanding scripture over time does get easier as your biblical vocabulary becomes broader.
Take your time, try to learn one or two things a day. Get a notebook, try to express the definition for the new words you may have learned. And you will be amazed at the end of the month if you are able to achieve that daily goal — you will have 20 or 30 new words added to your vocabulary. Stay with it and at the end of the year you have added 300-400 new words to your biblical vocabulary. Scripture will be considerably easier to understand at that point.
What does it all mean? It all starts with a remarkably simple task — try and figure out the message — one verse, one term at a time. You want to know God; this is the path. You want to walk with God, this is the path. You want to feel his presence when you are mired in trouble, this is the path. You want to help your children; this is the path. You want to help your wife or your husband; this is the path. You want to know what to do on the job, this is the path. I can think of no finer way to spend your life. This is the path.
I choose Jesus.
Shalom Talk 