I Go To Prepare A Place

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King James Bible StudyAnd when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Chapters: Genesis 48-50
Message: I Go To Prepare A Place

Hello My Friend,

As I was reading the chapters for today, I could not help, but get a little emotional. I am thinking of just how much God does love us, and while things rarely go as we think they should go, His plan for us is so much better than we could ever imagine. While I am praying for God to show me the way, He is actually leading me. The trials of life, they are exactly what God uses to prepare the way. I may never have another good thing happen to me. I may end up like Paul, or any other of the Apostles who were martyred for their faith, but I do know one thing, Jesus is preparing a place for me because He has shown me the way, and I am following. “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” – John 14:1-4.

Jacob was one hundred and thirty years old when he and his family came into Egypt to endure the famine. The famine was over five years later, and Jacob and his family lived there another thirteen years. Now Jacob’s life began to deteriorate, very weak and blind, Joseph got word of his condition and visits with him, bringing his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were about their late teens.

And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.” – Genesis 48:3,5,11,13,15-17,19,21.

as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.” It dos not matter who our mothers or fathers are, and it does not matter what we have done, every saved, born again Christian belongs to Jesus. Since Jesus is the Son of God, we too are sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:17). “The Angel which redeemed me from all evil,” Jacob is asking God to bless the boys, and give them the same name he has, which is another way of saying, to be with them as He was with him. Jesus prays for us in the same matter, He knows the evils we will face as believers, and while He does not ask His Father to take us out of the world, He does ask Him to keep us from evil (John 17:15). “but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he,” This is a perfect example of salvation, some of us will get saved and go on to serve Jesus in His ministry, others will just live their lives while still attending church, but quite a few will get saved, and do nothing more. And yet, each and every one of us will be great. You see, salvation has never been based on what we can do for God, rather what we believe, and it is only required that we believe in Christ to be saved, and in this case, the Angel who redeemed (Titus 3:5).

and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.” None of this generation would see, what would be now known as the promised land, but Jacob knew that God would lead them back there eventually. No matter where God takes us in this world, and no matter how long it takes, Jesus will bring us into the promised land. “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” – Revelation 21:2-4.

When growing up, we all have plans for our future, and while some of us do get a chance to fulfill them, most of us find ourselves doing the complete opposite of what we planned. I remember wanting to be an artist, even took a test and won a scholarship to go to a school, but I never followed through with it. Today, I am a pastry chef, and sales rep. While my professions have certainly changed over the years, my character has not, I am still quiet and shy upon meeting someone, bold in my speech, and still have the same values, the difference now is that I have Christ. The life we live here on earth has many tosses and turns, but there are some things we are destined for that only God knows, and once in a while He will tell us what that is. After Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons he calls for all of his sons, one by one, blessing them, foretelling the amazing future of each tribe,

And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch. Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.” – Genesis 49:1,3-6,8-12.

Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel;” How would you like your father to tell you that nothing much will come of your lineage? God knows the way we take, and sadly, as I said earlier, many will get saved, and do nothing more. Reuben’s family never went into the promised land, the asked to live outside of it, and were the first tribes to be captured when God began judging Israel. “Simeon and Levi are brethren;” We really do not hear very much about what came of Simeon’s lineage, except for them inheriting land in the promised land. Levi’s lineage will go on to become ministers and priests for God. “Judah is a lion’s whelp:” While Judah had his share of discrepancies, this would be the lineage from which Jesus, who is Shiloh, would descend, whom is also known as the lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5). “and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Right now, Jesus is preparing a place for His people, and He will come for us, those whom have died and their souls in heaven will resurrect, while those whom are still alive will get caught up in the air and join them. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” – I Thessalonians 4:16-17.

God led me to point out two more sons, and what would become of their lineage, Dan, and Joseph. “Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.” – Genesis 49:16-18,22-26.

Dan shall be a serpent by the way,” Samson, who would be a judge, was part of Dan’s lineage, who upon his death killed thousands of idol worshipers (Judges 16:22-30). They would fall deep into idol worship, even having an idol placed in their part of the land of Israel (II Kings 10:29). “I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.” Jacob, catching a breath, weary, and worn out, is reminded of where he will be when he is gone. “(from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)” Joseph, through divine Providence was sent into Egypt to be a shepherd, to feed God’s people in a strange land. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, continues to feed His people through Pastors in His Church. The stone from which all of Israel, both Jews and Gentiles of faith in Christ, stand upon is also Jesus Christ, where nothing and no one can fall. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” – I Corinthians 3:11-15.

After Jacob gave his blessings, he was at peace and ready to be with the Lord, shortly after he spoke he died. Now that their father was gone, all his brothers were sure that Joseph was going to get revenge for what they did to him all those years ago. However, he did not seek revenge, he forgave them.

And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.” – Genesis 50:15-21.

for am I in the place of God?” God has a place for us, even if we have not been the best of Christians. Sometimes God allows us to be in a certain place in our lives in order to prepare is for great things while we are here, sometimes He chastens us, sometimes we are wrongfully persecuted or treated badly, but until we let go of the past and move forward we are not going to see many blessings in our future. By the way, God has seen our future, and if we have Christ as our Saviour, the best is yet to come. “For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” – II Corinthians 7:11.

Today’s Prayer: God, I cannot thank You enough for what You have done for me and in my life since I accepted Your Son as my Saviour, and dedicated my life to You. There have certainly been ups and downs, twists and turns, and yet, Your remained faithful, and kept Your promise to keep me from evil. I really have no idea where You will take me while I am here, I know I will face more sorrow, more ups and downs, more trying of my faith, yet I find comfort in knowing that You are preparing a place for me, a much better place. And while I may never receive anything I ever hoped for or dreamed of while I remain here, I do know that I will see You, and that is all I need. I will join in with Jacob and say, “I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.” whenever you are ready to bring me home, I know I will be with You. Praise God! I love you, and pray this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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