House Of Bethel
House Of Bethel
(Originally written Sept 2008)
I was in the book of Genesis chapter 35 where God spoke to Jacob telling him to go back to Bethel where God appeared to him in a dream when he was fleeing from his brother Esau. After that moment, Jacob told his household and all that were with him to "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an alter to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." (v. 2-3)
So I went back to chapter 28 and re-read the account of Jacob when he set out for Haran. He laid down to sleep, and had a very interesting dream in which he saw a stairway on earth reaching to heaven, and in this dream he saw angels ascending and descending and above it all, He saw the Lord. The Lord spoke to him and gave him a promise concerning the land where he lay, and the descendants that will fill that land. Father told him that all peoples on earth will be blessed through him and his offspring's; and he told Jacob, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (v 15)
When he woke up, the first thing that came to mind was this, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it." And in reverential fear he said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, this is the gate of heaven." (v 16-17) The next morning he took the stone that he had rested his head upon, set it up as a pillar and anointed it, calling the place Bethel, vowing that the stone that he anointed will be God's house.
When I read that again, something hit me, and I pondered on it. I felt the Lord was trying to say something to me, and I had to really listen to my heart. And so this is what I received. Because of deception that was offered to him by way of someone that he loved, Jacob was on the run. But Father used that misfortune to bring him to a whole new awareness of God in humility. No doubt Jacob feared for his life, after all, did he not agreeably deceive his father so that he could receive the blessing that belonged to Esau?
No good can come out of deception, no matter how we may try to justify our actions. And at times, the role that that deception plays brings to us fear for the repercussions of our actions. We don't know which way to turn, so we just move on ahead, figuring, "well, I went this far, too late to turn back now", and we wander till we just need to stop and take a breather. And it is then that God gets our attention.
In Jacobs case, when he fell asleep, Father used that time to speak to him and let him know that the blessing promised to Abraham would be carried out through him, along with the promise of God's presence, guidance and protection (excerpts taken from the Life in the Spirit study Bible, NIV). Father, although aware of the deception that took place, used this situation to bring glory to Himself, as well as to bring Jacob to a whole new awareness of his relationship with God. Yes, he messed up, but this error would teach Jacob an important lesson in honoring God.
How many times have we messed up, lets be honest...at times purposefully. We can try to run from our past, run from our mistakes, but at some point and time, we have to rest. In those times, we must allow Father to speak to our hearts. God is not a God of "well you fell down, you sinned purposefully, so I'm just gonna let you lie in this hole you have dug up for yourself, and I'm gonna make you learn a valuable lesson by just leaving you to your pain and suffering...I'm taking a walk and will not be back." No, Father, because of His love for us, He will bring comfort to us, even in the worst situations, His time, His way. Will we be held accountable for our mistakes? Yes we will, and sometimes those lessons may be painful, but in that process, we learn an even more valuable lesson, seeing God as He desires for us to...walking in the newness of that which He establishes for us as we are on the road of righteousness.
Jacob went through many challenges after that deception, but everything that transpired happened because it was a part of Gods plan for him. Jacob was given that name which means a crafty deceiver, and he walked in that name, but after he had a mighty encounter with God, wrestled with him all night long (chapter 32 v 24) he made it a point to tell Him, "I will not let you go until you bless me" and there God blessed him and gave him a new name, Israel, which means one who wrestles or walks with God, and in receiving the new name and the blessing on his life, his walk with Father changed.
God does not want us to have the same mundane relationship that we have where everything is basically robotic, even to the point where we mess up, we still have the same patterns of "repentance" and the same way of speaking to Him like drones, He is looking for those that are seeking Him passively and earnestly, seeking a freshness and newness in our walk with Him, and coming into recognition that our lives are not our own, but His. Our success in life does not depend on what we do with it, it depends on who we entrust it to, and Father desires that it is Him that we seek after, for direction, for guidance, for instruction, for help, for peace.
And sometimes we have to go back to the basics of where we came from. Sometimes we have to look at those things that we did in error and the learning experiences we derived from them, where we first caught our first real glimpse of God. We need to go back to Bethel, to the house of God where we made our first commitment, sealed in the anointing of our tears and convictions.
But before we do that, lets get rid of those things that we have grown accustomed to latching onto for comfort, materialistic things, people, religious rituals, things that have become gods to us, regardless if we realize it or not. You know how when you move into a new place, everything is new, and you try to keep everything organized and in tip top shape, but as time goes on, you start getting used to the place, then after awhile, things start piling up, things you don't really need, but you feel you don't want to get rid of for they hold some form of value for you. You try to "clean house" every once in a while, do a spring cleaning, but find yourself back in the same old rut and routine, time after time.
Then something happens where you have to get rid of stuff, maybe water damage, or fire, or even a new member moves into the house, and you look at the stuff you have accumulated and realize, hey, this has to go. You have to make room for the new so you must get rid of the old. Change must take place.
So it is with us. We must look at ourselves, and realize that a change must take place within our walk with God. Before we can go back to the place where we started from, we have to get rid of those things that will hinder us, things we have worshiped time and again. Afterwards, we must purify our selves and change our clothes. Consecrate ourselves before our Holy Father, rid ourselves of foolishness and filth, and change our ways of seeing things, change our outward glances at what we perceive is godly. When we consecrate ourselves from the inside, we cannot help but change the outside as well. When a person is desiring to lose weight, the only way that the outward change can take place and be noticed is when a person decides to go on a diet and change what they take internally. After the change in diet and exercise, eventually the change on the outside will be noticed, which compliments that which is taking place on the inside.
Now we are ready to go back to the House of God, and walk in a new relationship with Christ. There is a song that Andre Crouch and the Disciples did that I remember from my youth, "Take Me Back" is the title. The chorus goes;
Take me back, take me back dear Lord,
To the place, where I first received you.
Take me back, take me back dear Lord
Where I first believed.
I think often of that song, especially during those times where I feel barren and dry in my spirit. I yearned for the fire that I once had when I first received Him at a younger age, and I cried out to Him to take me back. That place that I anointed and set apart for Him, that secret place, where I acknowledged Him, to go back and re-enter into that place of closeness to Him, where God was present in a very special way.
I love you Lord,
And I lift my voice
To worship you, oh my soul, rejoice.
Take joy my King
In what You hear
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound
In your ear.
Praise God through whom all blessings flow. If you have, at any time, even now, feel that your walk and your relationship with Christ is not where it once was, go back to your Bethel, the place you met God for the first time, your very own special time with Him, and rediscover His love, His dedication to you. Get rid of all the false gods, all foreign gods that you have adopted in place of the one and only true God, consecrate yourself in His presence and re-dedicate your heart to Him. Change those outer things that you had clothed yourself with, religions, gossip, slander, lies, jealousies, envies, strife's, discords, un-godly fears, insecurities and the likes, and put on a garment of praise, allow Him to clothe you in the robes of righteousness, and be all that He desires for you to be, to glorify His kingdom, to advance His kingdom, to share the glory of His kingdom with others, so that they too shall one day be able to anoint their own Bethel, stand in their own very special place where God is present for them, as He has and is with us, in a very special way.
God bless.
(Originally written Sept 2008)
I was in the book of Genesis chapter 35 where God spoke to Jacob telling him to go back to Bethel where God appeared to him in a dream when he was fleeing from his brother Esau. After that moment, Jacob told his household and all that were with him to "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an alter to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." (v. 2-3)
So I went back to chapter 28 and re-read the account of Jacob when he set out for Haran. He laid down to sleep, and had a very interesting dream in which he saw a stairway on earth reaching to heaven, and in this dream he saw angels ascending and descending and above it all, He saw the Lord. The Lord spoke to him and gave him a promise concerning the land where he lay, and the descendants that will fill that land. Father told him that all peoples on earth will be blessed through him and his offspring's; and he told Jacob, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (v 15)
When he woke up, the first thing that came to mind was this, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it." And in reverential fear he said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, this is the gate of heaven." (v 16-17) The next morning he took the stone that he had rested his head upon, set it up as a pillar and anointed it, calling the place Bethel, vowing that the stone that he anointed will be God's house.
When I read that again, something hit me, and I pondered on it. I felt the Lord was trying to say something to me, and I had to really listen to my heart. And so this is what I received. Because of deception that was offered to him by way of someone that he loved, Jacob was on the run. But Father used that misfortune to bring him to a whole new awareness of God in humility. No doubt Jacob feared for his life, after all, did he not agreeably deceive his father so that he could receive the blessing that belonged to Esau?
No good can come out of deception, no matter how we may try to justify our actions. And at times, the role that that deception plays brings to us fear for the repercussions of our actions. We don't know which way to turn, so we just move on ahead, figuring, "well, I went this far, too late to turn back now", and we wander till we just need to stop and take a breather. And it is then that God gets our attention.
In Jacobs case, when he fell asleep, Father used that time to speak to him and let him know that the blessing promised to Abraham would be carried out through him, along with the promise of God's presence, guidance and protection (excerpts taken from the Life in the Spirit study Bible, NIV). Father, although aware of the deception that took place, used this situation to bring glory to Himself, as well as to bring Jacob to a whole new awareness of his relationship with God. Yes, he messed up, but this error would teach Jacob an important lesson in honoring God.
How many times have we messed up, lets be honest...at times purposefully. We can try to run from our past, run from our mistakes, but at some point and time, we have to rest. In those times, we must allow Father to speak to our hearts. God is not a God of "well you fell down, you sinned purposefully, so I'm just gonna let you lie in this hole you have dug up for yourself, and I'm gonna make you learn a valuable lesson by just leaving you to your pain and suffering...I'm taking a walk and will not be back." No, Father, because of His love for us, He will bring comfort to us, even in the worst situations, His time, His way. Will we be held accountable for our mistakes? Yes we will, and sometimes those lessons may be painful, but in that process, we learn an even more valuable lesson, seeing God as He desires for us to...walking in the newness of that which He establishes for us as we are on the road of righteousness.
Jacob went through many challenges after that deception, but everything that transpired happened because it was a part of Gods plan for him. Jacob was given that name which means a crafty deceiver, and he walked in that name, but after he had a mighty encounter with God, wrestled with him all night long (chapter 32 v 24) he made it a point to tell Him, "I will not let you go until you bless me" and there God blessed him and gave him a new name, Israel, which means one who wrestles or walks with God, and in receiving the new name and the blessing on his life, his walk with Father changed.
God does not want us to have the same mundane relationship that we have where everything is basically robotic, even to the point where we mess up, we still have the same patterns of "repentance" and the same way of speaking to Him like drones, He is looking for those that are seeking Him passively and earnestly, seeking a freshness and newness in our walk with Him, and coming into recognition that our lives are not our own, but His. Our success in life does not depend on what we do with it, it depends on who we entrust it to, and Father desires that it is Him that we seek after, for direction, for guidance, for instruction, for help, for peace.
And sometimes we have to go back to the basics of where we came from. Sometimes we have to look at those things that we did in error and the learning experiences we derived from them, where we first caught our first real glimpse of God. We need to go back to Bethel, to the house of God where we made our first commitment, sealed in the anointing of our tears and convictions.
But before we do that, lets get rid of those things that we have grown accustomed to latching onto for comfort, materialistic things, people, religious rituals, things that have become gods to us, regardless if we realize it or not. You know how when you move into a new place, everything is new, and you try to keep everything organized and in tip top shape, but as time goes on, you start getting used to the place, then after awhile, things start piling up, things you don't really need, but you feel you don't want to get rid of for they hold some form of value for you. You try to "clean house" every once in a while, do a spring cleaning, but find yourself back in the same old rut and routine, time after time.
Then something happens where you have to get rid of stuff, maybe water damage, or fire, or even a new member moves into the house, and you look at the stuff you have accumulated and realize, hey, this has to go. You have to make room for the new so you must get rid of the old. Change must take place.
So it is with us. We must look at ourselves, and realize that a change must take place within our walk with God. Before we can go back to the place where we started from, we have to get rid of those things that will hinder us, things we have worshiped time and again. Afterwards, we must purify our selves and change our clothes. Consecrate ourselves before our Holy Father, rid ourselves of foolishness and filth, and change our ways of seeing things, change our outward glances at what we perceive is godly. When we consecrate ourselves from the inside, we cannot help but change the outside as well. When a person is desiring to lose weight, the only way that the outward change can take place and be noticed is when a person decides to go on a diet and change what they take internally. After the change in diet and exercise, eventually the change on the outside will be noticed, which compliments that which is taking place on the inside.
Now we are ready to go back to the House of God, and walk in a new relationship with Christ. There is a song that Andre Crouch and the Disciples did that I remember from my youth, "Take Me Back" is the title. The chorus goes;
Take me back, take me back dear Lord,
To the place, where I first received you.
Take me back, take me back dear Lord
Where I first believed.
I think often of that song, especially during those times where I feel barren and dry in my spirit. I yearned for the fire that I once had when I first received Him at a younger age, and I cried out to Him to take me back. That place that I anointed and set apart for Him, that secret place, where I acknowledged Him, to go back and re-enter into that place of closeness to Him, where God was present in a very special way.
I love you Lord,
And I lift my voice
To worship you, oh my soul, rejoice.
Take joy my King
In what You hear
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound
In your ear.
Praise God through whom all blessings flow. If you have, at any time, even now, feel that your walk and your relationship with Christ is not where it once was, go back to your Bethel, the place you met God for the first time, your very own special time with Him, and rediscover His love, His dedication to you. Get rid of all the false gods, all foreign gods that you have adopted in place of the one and only true God, consecrate yourself in His presence and re-dedicate your heart to Him. Change those outer things that you had clothed yourself with, religions, gossip, slander, lies, jealousies, envies, strife's, discords, un-godly fears, insecurities and the likes, and put on a garment of praise, allow Him to clothe you in the robes of righteousness, and be all that He desires for you to be, to glorify His kingdom, to advance His kingdom, to share the glory of His kingdom with others, so that they too shall one day be able to anoint their own Bethel, stand in their own very special place where God is present for them, as He has and is with us, in a very special way.
God bless.
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