The Story of Isaac and Rebecca

Who doesn't like a good romantic comedy ? I know I do. I love romantic comedies. I love romance overall.

This is the story of Isaac and Rebecca.

Genesis 24
Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son, Isaac."

The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?"

"Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. "The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath saying, "to your offspring, I will give this land" - he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there" So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master's camels loaded with all kinds of goods from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. He had camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.

Then he prayed, "Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, 'please let down your jar that I may drink' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too' - let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you will show kindness to my master."

Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milka who was the wife of Abraham's brother, Nahor. The woman was very beautiful, a virgin, no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up again.

The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar."

"Drink my lord," she said and wuickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they had enough to drink." So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful..."

....

Then, the man bowed down and worshipped the Lord, saying, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."

Phew! That story is pretty long. I had to cut it short. You can read the rest if you wish in Genesis 24. BUT...in this story, Abraham was an old man and the Bible says that he was in his last years. He wanted a wife for Isaac who was saved. He wanted to sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac and this servant acknowledged God.

He prayed and wanted a sign. He wanted a good wife and he wanted God's direction to find a good wife for Isaac.

Isaac was pretty much older. He is believed to have been around 37 to 40 years of age. Abraham's actions were based on revelation. God promised to make Abraham a great nation and bless the nations through him. It was the WILL of God for Isaac to be married. God MADE marriage. He thrives in marriage.

Genesis 2:18 - "...it is not good for man to be alone, the Lord shall make him a help meet." 

God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone so he made for him that which was closest to his heart - he made a woman. God saw the need in Adam's heart.

The servant of Abraham committed his mission to prayer. When he found Rebekah, he thanked the Lord and he worshipped the Lord.

What Can We Learn From Isaac and Rebekah?

1.  Seek a MATE when it is certain that marriage will achieve God's purpose in our lives - which is family and children - Genesis 1:28 - "Then God blessed them and said, 'be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky and all the animals that scurry along the ground."
2. Wait on God's Timing - Yes, I know people hate hearing the whole 'wait on God's timing...' but there's nothing you can do. 
3. Look in the RIGHT places - Abraham told his servant to not go in the land of the Canaanites. Why was that? Well, the Canaanites represent the 'unsaved' people. The Bible says "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers." Why don't you get involved in the life of the church, find somebody with a heart for God and get involved in the work of God. If you start to like somebody, pray about it and seek God first. God will guide you. But be in the context of friendship, ministry, get to know that person
4. Seek Godly Qualities - You can date around but it doesn't mean they are the right people. And in your waiting, have you considered your character? Getting marriage is not about your age, it's about your character (Ephesians 5). Are you still selfish? Husbands? Potential husbands? You are supposed to represent Christ. Your decisions will no longer be based on your own merit, but for the betterment of your wives and your children. You are the high priest of the home, the protector of the home and the provider of the home. Strong fathers begin with a strong husband and a strong believer in Christ. Women - are you willing to respect your husband? Respecting him as the provider? As the preacher? Giving him reverence even when he makes mistakes? Are you willing to respect his responsibilities and can you submit? Both of y'all - are you mature enough to submit to one another in the fear of God?
5. Listen and HEED to the instructions of OLDER and WISER Christians - do not keep the relationship a secret. There is nothing wrong with getting to know people. But keep it public. 

Lastly, you will grow old with the person you will marry. The world may make marriage seem very cumbersome but marriage is a serious step. This is a life partner. If you know it will not be permanent, let that person know sooner and gently and stay friends. Imagine going to heaven and how many people you have to avoid due to the awkwardness.

I also realise that people focus so much on marriage. They make lists about what they want in a mate (which is good, because at least you have standards) but some of these lists are so unrealistic. Why don't you seek first the Kingdom of God because without the character of Christ, you're nothing. Why don't you learn to pray and read the promises of God. Pray for God to change your heart and pray for your future marriage? 

Why don't you just relax and not THINK too much about whether the man you're dating is 'the one'? Every guy that comes along, you wonder if he is the one God has sent for you? Why not just go out, befriend people, both men and women and just CHILL? 

Prayer - Women, why don't you pray. 

Lord, I want in my heart to respect my future husband and honour his leadership. Lord, let my judgement be good, my words to hold weight. Please, let me be a mother that has such an impact on my children and my grandchildren. I believe in You, Lord, for breakthroughs in my fear of commitment and rejection. Lord, you died to make me who I am and who I am meant to be. Father, change me and make me less selfish. Take the treachery out of my heart, let us mean it when we go to your altar and let that be deep within our hearts. Let us mean our vows. Let our love be unconditional. I pray that I lay down my life for that person, to not walk away from that marriage no matter how hard it gets.

In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen?!

Purity In A Wicked World

Since it's Halloween, I thought it was fitting to post this today. We see Christians celebrating it. For some people, it's just a day, a fun day. Then they encourage their children to dress up in different outfits, witches, wizards etc. They entertain it. Should Christians entertain it? It made me question, is it possible for we, as Christians, to stay holy and pure in a world that's turning more and more wicked? A world that's accepting to practices that were considered immoral a long time ago? Is it possible? In a world that has become filled with murder, immorality and corruption?

When I ask those questions, I am reminded of Sodom and Gomorrah. In case you don't know...maybe you do, but for those who don't...Sodom and Gomorrah were two Cities that God destroyed due to the sin that was very grievous. So, you may be thinking, 'I thought God was a merciful God, why would He do that?'. Well, it seems to me that these two Cities were so grievous, so evil, that the people's hearts grew cold. It was filled with...well, probably what we see in the world today. Nobody in the City was righteous...except Lot and his family. It was SO bad that...when the Angels of the Lord came to get Lot and spent the night at his house, ALL the men from EVERY PART OF THE CITY OF SODOM, both YOUNG AND OLD surrounded Lot's house, demanding to have sex with the Angels. Do you see how wicked it was? Sodom was filled with drunkards, adultery, sex and murder. Do you ever wonder what made their hearts grow cold against God? I can imagine they did not even want to hear the Word of God. They did not want to be corrected for their wrongdoings. They had no fear of God in them. So, today...do people KNOW the truth behind Halloween? A holiday that promotes FEAR. Didn't GOD Himself tell us that He has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound MIND? So, if Halloween promotes fear...then why do we indulge in it? We shouldn't be afraid of the devil...we have power over him.

In this day and age, do you ever wonder if you're the same? If you're accepting the practices of the world. I can imagine if Lot and his family had accepted those practices, they would not have been saved. How did they stay away from those practices? How did their hearts stay pure, their thoughts and actions? Isn't that hard to do when everything around you encourages you to do JUST the opposite? Nonetheless, in Phillipians 4:8, the Apostle Paul tells us that we should focus on 'whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God is peace will be with you.' 
Again, is Halloween right, is it pure, is it lovely, is it admirable? Does God praise Halloween? Did you see the Prophets celebrating Halloween? People need to read on things before partaking in them.

So, from this story, the one of Sodom and Gomorrah, I can see that it IS possible to stay pure in a wicked world, a wicked generation. It must be if Jesus commanded us to do so. It sounds easy, doesn't it? I remember when reading this story of Sodom and Gomorrah, thinking...I would not follow the crowd, I would be saved like Lot. I was so confident. But now...I'm thinking, oh, it's so easy to fall. It's easy to fall when you're surrounded by things such as magazines, promoting sex, fornication and discontentment. Magazines promoting greed and pride. TV shows that promote lust, profanity, nudity and violence. Adultery, which just makes it hard to trust your spouse. Gossip, which is glorified (...I watch The Wendy Williams Show, so I know), sexual promiscuity among other things. I've just recently started watching this Talk Show called 'The Real' with Adrienne Bailon, Tamar Braxon, Tamera Mowry, Loni Love and Jeannie Mai. Loni, who I love and I think she's hilarious, constantly talks about her affairs with men, her love for sex and how she loves alcohol. I find myself laughing and clapping then end up stopping myself thinking, 'Wow, did I just laugh at that? What would Jesus do?'. Not just that, she constantly berates and makes fun of Tamera for her faith. If not, it sure looks like it. So, TV is just junk nowadays, hence why I do not watch it as often.

So, listening to this sermon (which I will post down below) made me think and ask myself, 'Am I compromising my moral values for this world? Am I developing a thirst for the world? I remember watching 'The Truth Behind Hip Hop' by G Craige Lewis and his ministry called 'EX Ministries'. I was so convicted after that, I threw away all my Hip Hop CDs, all my music of Beyonce, Jay Z, Rihanna (that's not to say I have fallen a few times and listened to them again), but the whole point is, I did it. I learnt that music has drastically changed over the years. You do not have to be a Christian to know that. It has become more sexual, sensual, dark and demonic. I feel so guilty for listening to it sometimes that at some point, I stopped completely. Nonetheless, I think we have grown lukewarm and just blind to our spiritual condition. People say 'It's just music, there's nothing there.' Or, 'They are just words and I like the beat...there's nothing to it'.
With regards to Halloween, what makes Christians compromise their beliefs to celebrate it? When it has a history of sorcery, witchcraft, evil, demons...why are we okay with it? The Bible sets a foundation as to what we should NOT do. In Deuteronomy 18:10-12 - 'Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive our these names before you.'


So, what corrupts us? Why are we spiritually dry and empty? Why do we all say it's so hard to be a Christian, it's hard to stay pure? How did Noah stay pure when he lived in such an evil generation? Noah's generation was so bad that the Bible says that EVERY INCLINATION OF THE THOUGHT OF THEIR HUMAN HEART WAS EVIL...ALL the TIME. All they did was think about evil. Do you ever feel surrounded by opportunities to do the wrong thing? For example, having friends that want you to join in their gossip? Or teachers tell you that you should live in reality and the Bible is just a bunch of stories? Noah was surrounded by evil but the Bible says he walked righteously and faithfully with God.

It seems like a wicked generation has always been there. Even in Hosea's generation and you can read about it here (Hosea). But, in Hosea 7-9, Hosea tells his generation, 'You have forgotten God. You claim to know Him yet you fail to consult Him. You are so busy pursuing things of this life but you have become empty. You do not bear any fruit...'

Even the Prophet Isaiah cried out against his generation - Isaiah 1:4, Isaiah cried out, 'Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.'

In the New Testament, Peter cried out against HIS generation soon after Jesus was crucified. 2 Peter 2:14-15, "With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning, they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed - an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.'

So, THEN and even more so, NOW, people had forsaken God and rebelled. I talked about the consequences of that in 'A Hard Heart' post. All these sins - drunkenness, harlots, murders, divorce, fornication...yet God always had people that stayed pure, who stayed on the path of purity. They continued in God's presence with pure hearts. They rejected the world and all it's pleasures.

What about OUR generation? We have become vile and wicked because we have lost the fear of GOD. There is no fear of God in US. In Proverbs 16:6, it says that 'By the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil.' We have lost the fear of God.

In Psalm 36, David says, 'I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked. There is no fear of God before their eyes.' The fear of God comes by making a CONSCIOUS decision to follow God. It begins by reading the Word of God and hearing it. If this is how we get faith, and the Word is neglected,  then we have no faith.

We cannot blame the devil, movies, alcohol, computers, pornography, we can only blame ourselves and our lack of prayer and bible study. We are ignorant of how God works. We all know we should pray but we just don't. We have time for a lot of things, time to watch TV, time to hang out with friends, time to chill, time to be lazy...but we do not find time to pray.

The Word of God cannot change you if you are not praying. The World can change you if your Spirit is cold or lukewarm and your soul is dry and empty. If you heart is fixed on the Lord, on prayer and praise, nothing can touch you. No demons from HELL can influence you. No ungodly CROWD can draw you from Him.

God wants us to become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation...and we do that by holding FIRMLY to the Word of Life. Phillipians 2:14.

1 Peter 2:11 - 22 gives us some guidance on how to live godly lives in a pagan society - we should abstain from sinful desires, and live good lives among the pagans. We should submit ourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority. We should do good to others.

Here is the message 'Purity In A Wicked Age' by David Wilkerson

Work Experience: Coventry City Council

Heyyyy, possible law students/graduates reading this. You're probably here because you want advice. Well, I'm here to give it. It's so easy to plan how your life should go BUT hard to see it come to plan sometimes. Hmm! I mean, they say University helps you prepare for your career. The exams we had, the coursework, the dissertation, this does NOT help you figure out what you want to do, where you want to be after you finish. I mean, seriously. Life's HARD out there. The world is become so competitive making me so much more difficult for us to find jobs and we have to be so meticulous about the sort of law firm you want because your personality will suit a certain type of law firm.

I cannot STRESS how much work experience is important to have. If you KNOW you want to study law...if you're in college, make sure you try and get experience. Ask Law Firms if they have any work placements, make friends, go to law fairs and interact with people, network! It helps. Believe me!

I was sort of thinking and made my own list of the benefits of gaining work experience in the legal field. They may help...or not but check them out. Don't judge!

1. Research
You're a law student...or graduate and you've been doing nothing but researching throughout your years at University. Well, it's not over...you have to research the FIRM you want to work at. The type of law you truly want to be involved in. Does that firm interest you? This will help you conclude and may help you make an informed decision on your career choice. So, work experience is important...believe me. The more experience you gain, the more opportunities you will have in the future. Firms will be impressed due to your hard work and commitment to wanting to gain experience. As for me, Child LAW and Family Law are the areas I love. I managed to get a 1st for my Child Law module during my LPC. That's how much I enjoyed it. I loved and still love Child Law. In fact, I still read the Child Law book (that's how much I love Child Law). I loved learning about Children in Need, the Child Protection Conference, Contact with Children in Need. That's one of the reasons I undertook my week long work experience at Coventry City Council. The cases were mostly Child Law related. I worked with a Senior Legal Officer and members of the legal team, attended legal meetings on Child Protection, carried out research and also did some minimal work such as filing. That was a great experience. That's one of the reasons why I chose to pursue a career in Child Law.

As a result of this, I went on to study the LPC...and actually chose Child Law as one of my electives as I studied the LPC. I wanted to gain more experience so when the opportunity showed up to volunteer as a Legal Assistant for this Family Pro Bono Scheme at Leicester Family Court, I jumped straight to it. Although its once a month, I had the experience of meeting and registering clients, assisting parties by explaining court procedures, observing interviews and attending court hearings from the duty solicitor. So, I love experiencing new things, especially if it has to do with Child Law.


2. Ask Questions
When you work at that place...ensure that you ask as many questions as you can. Do not just go there, do the work, get the experience then leave. Ask a lot of questions! Also the questions they ask you at Job Interviews can be shaped from your research and experience with other firms. You want to give a great impression, so ask intelligent questions. If you know little to nothing about the law that that firm specialises in, then simply show that you are willing to learn and be enthusiastic about your eagerness to learn and grow.

When I worked at Coventry City Council, I was so scared to ask questions. I was quite nervous because I didn't want to be bothersome but they were very accommodating and would even ask me if I had any questions. I think asking questions not only shows your interest but also shows your eagerness to learn too. The best person I remember speaking to was a Law Graduate and an LPC Graduate who was working there as a Paralegal but was going on to pursue a Training Contract the following month. I had the opportunity to learn what he did, his goals, his career plans, how he went on to obtain a Training Contract. So, I think it's important to obtain experience...definitely.

3. Be INVOLVED
Do not be SHY. They chose you for a reason. That's what I say to make myself feel worthy. Anyway, the whole point is, you're worth something, that's why they chose you. Remember, you are there to learn. So the best way of doing that is to get involved. My week was so awesome. I was given responsibilities such as research, attending meetings along with the Senior Solicitor - this was amazing because it gave me great confidence in what i would like to do in future and a an insight into what I would be doing as a Trainee Solicitor.

Ask for work if you feel like you are not contributing enough.

4. Do not COMPLAIN, just DO IT
Okay...so, as volunteers and students on work experience, we may be given tasks that we absolutely HATE. For example...FILING and PHOTOCOPYING. This is the opportunity for you to fake it. Yes...I said fake it. BUT think about it. It's beneficial too because you get experience of legal research and proofreading. It's not exciting BUT it plays an important role in legal work experience. I was fortunate enough to actually be given tasks such as filing and proofreading during my week at Coventry City Council. I would get so emotional being told 'thank you' because I knew everybody else had so much to do but I was of some use whilst I was there. In fact, it made me feel appreciated and that I wasn't wasting my time whilst I was there.

So, everything you DO and the experience you GET will help you in life.