Genesis 28

Our speaker during Family Bible Hour was Mr Bob Titus; pictured with his wife, daughter, and sister, Irene. His message was based on Genesis 28 ---

¹⁰And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
 ¹¹And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
 ¹²And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
 ¹³And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
 ¹⁴And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
 ¹⁵And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
 ¹⁶And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
 ¹⁷And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
 ¹⁸And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
 ¹⁹And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
 ²⁰And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
 ²¹So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:
 ²²And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

This was a time of desperation for Jacob, and the future was uncertain. God reveals Himself to him; and we also see a picture of the Lord Jesus' work on our behalf in Jacob's dream of the ladder that reaches from earth to heaven. We must remember that in our neediest times, the Lord is still with us. Mr Titus' message, in full and in context, is available on DVD. Please see Romy.

2 Kings 6:8-23

Our speaker during Family Bible Hour was Mr Steve Modrzejewski. His message was based on 2 Kings 6 

⁸Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
 ⁹And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.
 ¹⁰And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
 ¹¹Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?
 ¹²And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
 ¹³And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
 ¹⁴Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
 ¹⁵And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
 ¹⁶And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
 ¹⁷And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
 ¹⁸And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
 ¹⁹And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.
 ²⁰And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
 ²¹And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
 ²²And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
 ²³And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

Lessons from the above passage:

• walking with God gives us insight, direction, and perspective 
• things are not as they appear
• the man/woman of God focuses on PRAYER
• God's forces are always with us
• God's tactics are not the world's tactics 

Mr Modrzejewski reminds us to seek to be that man/woman of God that fellowships with Him. Let us remember that God is in control; and be ready to  commit our problems, big or small, to God.  Mr Modrzejewski's full message is available on DVD.

Cindy

Here are recent pictures of Cindy B. at the Rehabilitation Center. Please continue to uphold her in prayer (healing, financial). 

Luke 22

 Our speaker during Family Bible Hour was Mr Steve Modrzejewski. His message was based on Luke 22:31-34 --

 ³¹And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

 ³²But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

 ³³And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.

 ³⁴And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

Based on the above passage, there are 4 things to remember while going through trials

1. Satan requires God's permission to do anything to us. God is aware of what's going on.
2. Jesus intercedes for us.  The Creator and Sustainer of the universe is praying for us.
3. The Lord allows the trials and storms in our lives
4. Jesus restores after we think we have failed

When struggles/trials/storms come our way, we are never alone --- the Lord Himself intercedes on our behalf; and often uses our brothers and sisters in Christ to help us during these times.

Mr Modrzejewski's message, in full and in context, is available on DVD. Please see Romy.