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Wrestling with God

The Kedge Anchor
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Have wrestled with God? Are you wrestling with Him today? It’s not uncommon and it’s not a sin. It’s ok to wrestle with God and I’m pretty sure God is ok with it. In Genesis 32:22-32, Jacob wrestled with God and even though he walked away with a limp he still walked away a better man and blessed by God. Verse 30, – “So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

Have you wrestled with anyone? Your kids, your spouse, in a fun away of course. Maybe you wrestled in high school, maybe you just like to watch wrestling. It’s hard when the other person overpowers you and all you want to do is to be let go, to be free, have your way out. It’s the same when we wrestle with God. Sometimes it’s about not being so willing to give God our hearts and lives and let Him have control. Other times it’s struggling over what He wants us to do, like with Jonah. Jacob was trying to do life his way. When we wrestle with God we need to understand that God will prevail and we walk away blessed.

I like the part, “It is because I saw God face to face …”. When you wrestle with someone it’s full body contact, face to face, an embrace, it’s pretty intimate. Even just arm wrestling you’re face to face. I’m not suggesting we make a practice out of wrestling with God. God wants nothing more than to be our Father, to have our hearts and His way in our lives. We as humans, sinful, prideful, want our way. God wants a relationship with us and He provided a way to do that, through the sacrifice of His Son. While we maybe struggling and wrestling, God is literally embracing us.

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Is God Fair or is He Gracious?

The Kedge Anchor
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How does it make you feel when you have worked so hard for something only to not achieve it or just fail at it. Perhaps you were working hard for a promotion at work. You stayed late when you had to without complaint, went above and beyond to prove your abilities, you were honest and loyal and someone else who was far less experienced and than you got the promotion. Hardly seems fair.

Maybe all your friends are getting married and having babies and you are having a hard time finding the right guy or girl or experiencing miscarriage after miscarriage. You take care of yourself, eat healthy, exercise, and still no baby. Or maybe it’s your marriage. Your friend’s marriage crumbled but now, they are back together but your marriage seems like there is no hope that any reconciliation is possible. How is this fair? But it happens and God allows it. It seems like the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. Life just isn’t turning out how you had planned. Sometimes God’s actions clash with what we expect.

Habakkuk saw injustices happening and what appeared to be the evil ones succeeding. Read the book of Habakkuk, it’s only four chapters. In this book, God offers hope, as He always does.

Habakkuk makes no bones about complaining to God and asking questions like, why and how long. Habakkuk had to posture himself before God. Be it on your knees or not, the most important the posture of your heart – humility. Philippians 2:3-8 offers some insight into the posture Jesus had. Habakkuk also had to be patient and wait on God – Psalm 46:10 – this can be hard but so necessary. I sometimes wonder if “being still” means not frantically worrying and worshipping the problem we face, but instead frantically worshipping our Father. How many times does a solution comes to us when we aren’t thinking about it. For me I could be cooking dinner, driving, reading a book, in the middle of writing a blog post or serving Him and God will hit me with the answer to my problem. Most times, that’s how God speaks to me, when I’m not solely thinking about my problem.

God replies to Habakkuk in 1:5; “Look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told …”. Then in Chapter 2, verse 2 God tell Habakkuk to write down His answer to warn others. God is telling Habakkuk in verse 3 to wait, wait for what He is going to do. God will make everything right, but we have to wait. We need to continue to have the right posture and be patient.

God’s ways are not our way- Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.” “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” – Psalm 115:3. God is sovereign, He sees the big picture. What appears to be unfair to us now, God is delivering us grace. That can be a hard pill to swallow. Through all the injustices we see now, God sees, He knows what He is doing. We need to have faith and trust Him.

Here’s something to think about, what is the difference between grace and fairness? Leave a comment below, what are your thoughts?

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March 14, 2022 – Ephesians 2:8-9

The Kedge Anchor

Memorize Monday, free coloring page – Ephesians 2:8-9 – ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Salvation isn’t by luck or chance, it is a gift from God to everyone. It is a free gift, we do nothing to earn it, we just need to accept it, receive it. God doesn’t force it on us, He gives us a choice, we are free to choose it or accept it.

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If you enjoy these free coloring pages please like and share, thank you.

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March 7, 2022 – Psalm 5:12

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Happy March! Where does time go? When you think of the month of March, St.Patrick’s Day most likely comes to mind. Maybe luck o’ the Irish, leprechauns and a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

But with God, it’s not luck. Nothing is random. God is in control and it’s His favor and on us and blessings that He bestows on us. A flat tire may look like bad luck, but God may have allowed that flat tire to happen to prevent an accident.

So as you color these pages remember that the good and what seems bad all come from God. Evil does exist because of the fall of man, but God sent His Son to take care of that. What happened to Jesus seems bad, it was bad but it was God’s way of providing us the greatest gift, salvation.

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How Do I Pray for Ukraine?

The Kedge Anchor
WARNING: This video has audio and at times a chilling sound of sirens. https://bit.ly/3Mqmh6H

Where does one begin to pray for the Ukraine and the situation over there? It can be a bit overwhelming, where does one start.

So I asked God and searched the scriptures and this is where He lead me.

PRAY FOR GOD’S WILL Pray for God’s will to be done. Matthew 6:5-15 and Luke 11:1-13, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Is what’s happening God’s will? He is allowing it I don’t know why. Since the fall of man sin has overtaken the earth we are dealing with those consequences. Not all evil is ordained by God. Look at Job, God allowed Job to go through what he did to show that Job was faithful. If God is allowing something He has a purpose and a plan. We can pray against anything that is not from God. Isaiah 54:17  – “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper…” What was meant for evil God will use for good – Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” That can be hard but we have to trust that God sees all and He’s allowing it for some reason.

PRAY FOR ALL THE PEOPLE, EVEN THOSE IN AUTHORITY Pray for God’s will to be done in each of everyone’s lives. 1 TIMOTHY 2:1-4 – “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants ALL people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

PRAY FOR ENCOURAGEMENT Pray for ur brothers and sisters in Christ to be encouraged. Thessalonians 5:11 – “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” God has a way of bringing His people together. Ask God to allow their paths to cross so that they can encourage each other. We have a big God and He can use anything to encourage.

PRAY FOR COMFORT Pray for safety, pray for comfort, not only for physical comfort but many have lost loved ones and are mourning. Matthew 5:4 – “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

There are other ways to pray for this horrible situation, these are just a few suggestions for those who may be having a hard time finding words. Please share how you have been praying for the people in Ukraine and Russia. And if this post has helped you, please like and share.

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February 28, 2022 – Mark 12:31

The Kedge Anchor

Loving your neighbor could be the same as loving your enemy. Are you loving your neighbors? We all live in a fallen world, no one is perfect. You could be the difficult one to your neighbor, think about it. God is all about repairing relationships. After all He sent His only Son to die for us on the cross and to rise again on the third day so that we could spend eternity with Him. That’s is how He showed us love, while we were still imperfect and still His enemy, Christ died for us.

How can you love your neighbor today?

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Pray for Ukraine

The Kedge Anchor

Sometimes it seems like our prayers aren’t enough. But most times that’s all we can do. It’s hard to process all that is happening over in Ukraine, in our world. I feel for those families that are there living through this, it’s scary. I feel for those who have lost lost loved ones, I feel for our troops and their families. My heart goes out to all of them and this mere social media post… what can it do?

In the millions of posts, stories, and articles flooding news feeds asking for prayers for Ukraine I hope that this small post will bring hope. Because there is Hope. Jesus is our only Hope. That alone brings me encouragement. God knew long before the foundations of the very universe He created what would happen. This is no surprise to God. Hebrews 4:13 – “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” (KJV). In the later part of this verse the NIV says “…Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Proverbs 11:21 “Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.” (NIV).

God sees all, nothing goes unnoticed, He noticed everyone of us being formed in our mother’s womb – Psalm 139:16. He sees EVERYTHING and we all we give an account one day to the choices we make today. We can choose heaven or hell. Our leaders and world leaders will all be held accountable for their choices and actions, no one is exempt from this.

But God loved us so much to save us from His wrath He provided a way out for us. He sacrificed His only Son to pay the penalty of our sin. Jesus willingly sacrificed His life for us. And it’s through a simple prayer, inviting Jesus into your heart and choosing to follow Him, will save you from His judgement and wrath. See God doesn’t choose to send people to hell. People choose to reject Him and choose hell. Harsh words? Maybe. But it’s the truth. But God also gives us grace. Mercy is not getting what you deserve; grace is getting what you don’t deserve. And He gives us the Hope in in Son Jesus Christ that one day, this old earth will pass away and there will be a new heaven and new earth – Revelation 21:1

Jesus is alive today, He conquered the grave! He is our only Hope this we have in this world and it’s our choice. You can believe or reject it. God gave us a free will.

Pray. No matter how small or short the prayer is, God sees your heart. Nothing goes unnoticed.

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February 21, 2022 – Matthew 5:44

The Kedge Anchor

Love your enemies. I didn’t say it, Jesus says to love those who persecute us. He gives us the free will to do that. He never said it was easy. He never said the we would feel like it. So you can choose to love your enemies even though you don’t feel like it. It’s humbling to love someone who has hurt you. We are no better than anyone else. Think, if you have hurt someone, how would you want to be treated? If you are sorry for what you did, you’d want to be forgiven. Jesus forgives and loves unconditionally.

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A Conversation with God

The Kedge Anchor

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Prayer is really just talking to God. It can be transforming and life changing. But we have to first listen. We need to be still before God. As much as God wants to bestow blessings on us, He is not a genie. Prayer is so much more than just asking God for things and to do things. Prayer is about communing with God not just communicating.

Prayer is our chance to invite God into a conversation with us, not just listen to a poetic monologue, Matthew 6:7.  He’s not impressed with “thee’s” and “thou’s” or how eloquent you speak. And even though He knows what’s on your mind and in your heart, He still wants to hear all about it. He loves us, He is patient with us so even if we keep coming back with the same story, Philippians 4:6 -“…but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” He hears you and He is God and will answer according to His will. Psalm 66:19 -“But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.” (NKJV)

Have you ever been angry at God? I have. And I have gone to Him in prayer about it, with reverence. He knows what’s on my heart and why so why would I try to hide it? Have you ever been so happy and excited about something that you had to tell someone? Tell God. He wants to hear or joys and sorrows. He is our provider and blesses us. And remember to thank Him.

Sometimes I don’t know what to pray. And that’s ok. It’s ok to sit in silence with God. Just mediate on His words, pray back scripture to Him, recite the Lord’s prayer slowly and think about each word, each line. Breath in on a line and breath out on the next. Communication is a two way street and God needs a little time to get a word in.

When was the last time you just poured out your heart to God? Let it all out? He won’t be shocked or surprised, nothing goes unnoticed Hebrew 4:13 -“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (NIV).

It’s ok to talk to God like you were talking to a person of flesh and blood. Jesus was flesh and blood once, He walked as a human on His earth, He understands, He knows, He knows all. Invite God into you day, into your heart, let His words transform you.

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“Come, follow me.”

The Kedge Anchor
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What company in their right mind would hire someone without any training or knowing how to do the job? Granted there are some jobs that offer on the job training. But more often then not the process goes something like this; learn the skills, gain the knowledge, apply for the job, interview, and hopefully someone calls you and hires you. That’s how things work on planet earth.

But God, God calls us first then equips us. God calls us to follow Him. No skills required, no interview. He only requires recognition as our Lord and Savior, recognition that we are sinners, and a willing, repentant heart. We are so far from worthy but yet He calls us. He shows us grace and mercy and calls us to follow Him. As Bob Goff says, “Grace is like the sunrise: It’s there for us everyday whether we choose to enjoy it or not.”

Jesus simply called His disciples to follow and learn from Him. That is how He equips us. He didn’t hand the disciples a textbook or a manual. He offered a simple invite to follow Him, live life with Him and learn from His example. He offers that to us today. If you have been watching The Chosen, S1 E1 Jesus calls Mary of Magdala a woman tormented by demons. Jesus meets her in a tavern or a bar, she’s a mess, physically, emotionally, spiritually, totally unworthy but yet Jesus called her and called her by name.

Jesus didn’t wait for the disciples to clean up their acts. They answered His call as they were. They followed Him. Jesus’ style of teaching in the Hebrew culture; hevei mitabek b’afar raglehem, a well known blessing literally means “cover yourself with the dust of their feet.” (Dave Adamson) The rabbi’s students were to follow so closely behind that they should step where their rabbi stepped, that the dust kicked up by the rabbi’s feet would cover their their clothes. That’s close.

Jesus called out to the disciples, “Come, follow me.” He calls out to us today, just as we are. No qualifications, no formal education, no skills, no interview. When we agree to follow, to follow closely behind Him. And in the dust of His footsteps is where He will equip us.