2 FAITH IN ACTION
The return
to Bethel
Jacob faced many challenges in his
life. He was a fugitive from his own
home because his twin brother, Esau,
wanted to kill him for having cheated
him out of his inheritance. In addition,
Jacob’s father in law, Laban, tricked
him into marrying the wrong daughter
and changed his wage multiple times
in order to profit from God’s favour on
all that Jacob did.
H
owever, it wasn’t all bad; Jacob also
conquered many things. In fact, he
became exceedingly wealthy. Jacob
had animals, servants, children, and wives,
but despite this, he never overcame his fear
and could not shake off the ‘deceiver’ title
that seemed to follow him wherever he went,
right up until that monumental moment at
the Ford of Jabbok where he wrestled with
God and prevailed (Genesis 32:22-32). There,
he went from being Jacob to Israel.
There was another significant event in
Jacob’s life that has huge significance in
our lives today, but we don’t always pay
close attention to it.
“So Jacob said to his household and to all
who were with him, “Put away the foreign
gods that are among you. Purify yourselves
and change your clothes” (Genesis 35:2) .
What are the ‘foreign gods’ that may
have crept into your life? This represents
things, people, and aspirations that you
put above God. Maybe during your
journey of faith, you began devoting a
lot of attention to making money as well
as your family, love life, and career – so
much so that it has become a ‘god’.
But what did going back to Bethel mean? Maybe, like Jacob, it’s time to return to
your Bethel; it’s time to put away the
foreign gods and purify yourself. Do
you remember when you first came
to the UCKG, heard the word of God,
used your faith, and saw the results?
God wants you to remember that faith
you once had and ask yourself: “Am I
still of that same faith, or did I allow the
world’s pollution to contaminate it?”
Bethel represented the starting point of
Jacob’s walk with God: The place where
he first built an altar and poured out his life.
Bethel was the place where he assumed
God’s Lordship over his life and finally put
his trust in Him. Jacob showed God that he had not
lost the initial faith: He “set up a pillar
in the place where He had spoken with
him, a pillar of stone, and he poured out
a drink offering on it, and he poured oil
on it too” (Genesis 35.14) .
For us today, this means going back to the
faith we had at the start of our walk with
God, the faith that pleased Him. So, the question I ask you is this: Will you
follow Jacob and return to Bethel?
After these things, God told Jacob: “Arise,
go up to Bethel, dwell there, and there
make an altar to God, who appeared to
you when you fled from the face of Esau
your brother” (Genesis 35:1) .
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MIDNIGHT PRAYER