<\/p>\n
This weeks text is the story of Jacob leaving home and his fuming brother to go to his mother’s family and hopefully find a wife.\u00a0\u00a0You’ll find the story in Genesis 28:10 – 32:3.\u00a0\u00a0Along the way he stops in Beersheba for the night.\u00a0\u00a0The scripture says it was a certain place where he stayed that night.\u00a0\u00a0A certain place, have you been there?\u00a0\u00a0Let me define a certain place as being between a rock and a hard place physically while being under an open heaven spiritually.\u00a0\u00a0It’s when life’s challenges have pushed you into a corner and you are now looking upward to the only one that can help you.\u00a0\u00a0It’s a spiritual shift that only God can manufacture but only you can recognize.\u00a0\u00a0We could talk for hours about how and why this happened, and why it had come to this, but that would only be deflecting the truth.\u00a0\u00a0God has brought Jacob to the one and only place that mattered, and the question is would he allow God to finish in him what He had started.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Month for Dreaming<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n On another note, the timing of the reading of this story is also incredibly astonishing as the Jews read this portion of scripture every year during the month of Kislev.\u00a0\u00a0In case you didn’t know, the month of Kislev is a time for receiving dreams from the Lord.\u00a0\u00a0It’s the darkest time of the year and so is a time for hearing from the Lord for your next season.\u00a0\u00a0It’s a time when we sleep the most, and during dark times is when the light shines the brightest.\u00a0\u00a0Kislev is the time for being impregnated with the purpose of your destiny.\u00a0\u00a0Kislev is the time when Jesus was conceived in Mary, and therefore was also the time when the Lord spoke to Mary about her destiny.\u00a0\u00a0I could go on and on and encourage you with stories about what God has done in this month, but also Interestingly during this month, Jews will read nine of the ten stories found in the Torah about dreams.\u00a0\u00a0It’s as if God brings us to a certain place during the month of Kislev so that He might speak to us about our future.\u00a0\u00a0That He might give us dreams to propel us into our destiny and into our purpose for the next season of our lives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n There is no coincidence that we are in the right place and at the right time to hear and see the fulfillment of our prayers within the context of the dreams the Lord will give.\u00a0\u00a0You must also know that dreams are not random, they are not happen chance.\u00a0\u00a0God gives us a dream when we are ready to receive it.\u00a0\u00a0We must position ourselves rightly in mind and spirit to receive our dream from the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n So, Jacob has a dream, and he recognizes that he is in God’s house.\u00a0\u00a0There is a ladder, much like the stairs we have in our homes today, and the angels are going upstairs and downstairs.\u00a0\u00a0They are traveling between heaven and earth much like we would between rooms in our house, and then the Lord appears right next to him.\u00a0\u00a0As if to welcome him into His home, and then the Lord introduces Himself to Jacob, telling him that He is the God of his grandfather and father, and then He begins to impart the information for which He had been preparing him through his trials and challenges.\u00a0\u00a0He says, Jacobs family will expand to cover the entire region and the Lord will be with him always to protect him, and to fulfill his purpose in and through him.\u00a0\u00a0The Lord promises to bring him home safely and to complete everything he has for him to do.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s an amazing encounter, and one that should not be taken lightly or read over quickly.\u00a0\u00a0There is deep meaning in each word the Lord speaks.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Silent “I”<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jacob wakes up at this point and says, “truly the Lord is in this place, and I didn’t know it!”\u00a0\u00a0but there is a hidden gem that is lost in translation between the Hebrew and English translation.\u00a0\u00a0The correct translation should be “And I, I knew it not.”\u00a0\u00a0So, why is there a double “I”?\u00a0\u00a0The answer according to Jewish sages is in understanding how do we know that God is in this place?\u00a0\u00a0The answer is in not knowing the I.\u00a0\u00a0We know God when we forget the self.\u00a0\u00a0In other words there is much detail contained in the Hebrew that is so often missed in English, and often what is there as well as what isn’t is always for a reason.\u00a0\u00a0The silent “I” simply reminds us that we too must be silent.\u00a0\u00a0We must stop thinking about ourselves to truly be in a position to understand the Lord and His purposes for us.\u00a0\u00a0He is not here to be changed or directed by us, but we are to be changed and given purpose by Him.\u00a0\u00a0This is why we are brought to a certain place, so that we can shift away from our selfish nature and be turned instead into one that lives wholly\u00a0\u00a0for His purposes.\u00a0\u00a0That is when we come alive and that is when our lives are truly changed.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Jacob made a decree to serve the Lord all the days of his life after that, and we see in the story that he was led to a man that took great advantage of him, but he never reverted back to the person he was.\u00a0\u00a0He fully trusted the Lord and the Lord made everything turn out for his favor.\u00a0\u00a0Twenty plus years later Jacob returns home a rich man, not by his own doing, but truly by the blessing and protection of the Lord who was faithful to do everything He had promised.\u00a0\u00a0It was not an easy road for Jacob, it was always a struggle, but he learned that he could fully trust in the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Are you ready to receive in this season?\u00a0\u00a0As we enter the month of Kislev God also has a word for you.\u00a0\u00a0He longs to speak His purpose and destiny into your life.\u00a0\u00a0He loves to use dark times to shine His light the brightest.\u00a0\u00a0As we celebrate the birth of the Messiah this month let’s also recognize this time to see God birth His plans for the next season into your life.\u00a0\u00a0You only have to remember that it only occurs when the “I” is silent and then you can begin praying in your dreams.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This weeks text is the story of Jacob leaving home and his fuming brother to go to his mother’s family and hopefully find a wife.\u00a0\u00a0You’ll find the story in Genesis 28:10 – 32:3.\u00a0\u00a0Along the way he stops in Beersheba for the night.\u00a0\u00a0The scripture says it was a certain place where he stayed that night.\u00a0\u00a0A certain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"\n This weeks Parashah is the story of Jacob leaving home and his fuming brother to go to his mother's family and hopefully find a wife. You'll find the story in Genesis 28:10 - 32:3. Along the way he stops in Beersheba for the night. The scripture says it was a certain place where he stayed that night. A certain place, have you been there? Let me define a certain place as being between a rock and a hard place physically while being under an open heaven spiritually. It's when life's challenges have pushed you into a corner and you are now looking upward to the only one that can help you. It's a spiritual shift that only God can manufacture but only you can recognize. We could talk for hours about how and why this happened, and why it had come to this, but that would only be deflecting the truth. God has brought Jacob to the one and only place that mattered, and the question is would he allow God to finish in him what He had started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Month for Dreaming<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On another note, the timing of the reading of this story is also incredibly astonishing as the Jews read this portion of scripture every year during the month of Kislev. In case you didn't know, the month of Kislev is a time for receiving dreams from the Lord. It's the darkest time of the year and so is a time for hearing from the Lord for your next season. It's a time when we sleep the most, and during dark times is when the light shines the brightest. Kislev is the time for being impregnated with the purpose of your destiny. Kislev is the time when Jesus was conceived in Mary, and therefore was also the time when the Lord spoke to Mary about her destiny. I could go on and on and encourage you with stories about what God has done in this month, but also Interestingly during this month, Jews will read nine of the ten stories found in the Torah about dreams. It's as if God brings us to a certain place during the month of Kislev so that He might speak to us about our future. That He might give us dreams to propel us into our destiny and into our purpose for the next season of our lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no coincidence that we are in the right place and at the right time to hear and see the fulfillment of our prayers within the context of the dreams the Lord will give. You must also know that dreams are not random, they are not happen chance. God gives us a dream when we are ready to receive it. We must position ourselves rightly in mind and spirit to receive our dream from the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, Jacob has a dream, and he recognizes that he is in God's house. There is a ladder, much like the stairs we have in our homes today, and the angels are going upstairs and downstairs. They are traveling between heaven and earth much like we would between rooms in our house, and then the Lord appears right next to him. As if to welcome him into His home, and then the Lord introduces Himself to Jacob, telling him that He is the God of his grandfather and father, and then He begins to impart the information for which He had been preparing him through his trials and challenges. He says, Jacobs family will expand to cover the entire region and the Lord will be with him always to protect him, and to fulfill his purpose in and through him. The Lord promises to bring him home safely and to complete everything he has for him to do. It\u2019s an amazing encounter, and one that should not be taken lightly or read over quickly. There is deep meaning in each word the Lord speaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Silent \"I\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jacob wakes up at this point and says, \"truly the Lord is in this place, and I didn't know it!\" but there is a hidden gem that is lost in translation between the Hebrew and English translation. The correct translation should be \"And I, I knew it not.\" So, why is there a double \"I\"? The answer according to Jewish sages is in understanding how do we know that God is in this place? The answer is not knowing the I. We know God when we forget the self. In other words there is much detail contained in the Hebrew that is so often missed in English, and often what is there as well as what isn't is always for a reason. The silent \"I\" simply reminds us that we too must be silent. We must stop thinking about ourselves to truly be in a position to understand the Lord and His purposes for us. He is not here to be changed or directed by us, but we are to be changed and given purpose by Him. This is why we are brought to a certain place so that we can shift away from our selfish nature and be turned instead into one that lives wholly for His purposes. That is when we come alive and that is when our lives are truly changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jacob made a decree to serve the Lord all the days of his life after that, and we see in the story that he was led to a man that took great advantage of him, but he never reverted back to the person he was. He fully trusted the Lord and the Lord made everything turn out for his favor. Twenty plus years later Jacob returns home a rich man, not by his own doing, but truly by the blessing and protection of the Lord who was faithful to do everything He had promised. It was not an easy road for Jacob, but he learned that he could fully trust in the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you ready to receive in this season? As we enter the month of Kislev God also has a word for you. He longs to speak His purpose and destiny into your life. He loves to use dark times to shine His light the brightest. As we celebrate the birth of the Messiah this month let's also recognize this time to see God birth His plans for the next season into your life. You only have to remember that it only occurs when the \"I\" is silent and then you can begin praying in your dreams.<\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":654,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621\/revisions\/654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}