God still leads me to proclaim His Word.  May this bring a Smile to God!

July 9 Genesis 24:34-38 Properly yoked  5^th Sunday after Pentecost  We need to seek our spouse and friends from those who share faith in God.

Old Testament reading Zechariah 9:9-12

“9 ¶ "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.’ 11 "As for you also, Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 12 ¶ Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you.” (Zechariah 9:9-12 NKJV)

“34 So he said, "I am Abraham’s servant. 35 "The LORD has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 "And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him he has given all that he has. 37 "Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; 38 ‘but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’” (Genesis 24:34-38 NKJV)

All through the Bible is the warning about being seduced from God by the world.  Even Jesus was tempted to redeem the world by power rather than sacrifice. His faithfulness brought us the hope of peace.

Rather than at the head of an army Jesus entered Jerusalem in peace and forever cut off war and destruction as the way to bring peace.

But we are still in the world and it still works under force and power.  Many people we know, even in the Church use power and force to build God’s Kingdom.

The Genesis passage is a reminder to not be married to a nonbeliever since this will either weaken or destroy our faith.  But I believe more is meant than that.

We must be careful who we fellowship with and have friendship with.  If too many of the people you spend time with are nonbelievers your faith and your life will be weakened and be tempted to use the world’s ways.

Over time you may even turn from God and go back to a life without God or His people.  We must be careful for we are living on enemy ground in a fallen world.

Living in a foreign land can cause one to go “native” and lose our connections to God and to His Church who is our King and our people.  Keep your heart and mind upon God and Heaven as your ultimate reality and home.  “For I am homesick for a place I have never been.”