"Fear God, Love God, Serve God": September 2014

"When he (Jacob) reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD and He said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendents the land on which you are lying. Your descendents will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:11-17)

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is

in this place, and I was not aware of it." He was afraid and said,

"How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of

God; this is the gate of heaven."

Early the next morn, Jacob took the pillar that was under his head and poured oil on it and called the place Bethel. Then, Jacob made a vow to the Lord that if He would watch over him on his journey, give him food to eat and clothes to wear, and return him safely to his father's house, he said, "Then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."

(Jacob wrestles with an Angel)

"Now when he saw that he did not prevail against

him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of

Jacob's hip was out of joint as he wrestled with him."

(Genesis 32:25)

Jacob was destined to encounter Angels! He dreamed about then, and he wrestled with them. Here again Jacob encounters an angel; he evidently did not like what the angel said and he wrestled with him. They wrestled all night long, and the angel finally said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." Jacob would have none of that; he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." Then, the angel asked, "What is thy name?" Jacob told him and he said, "Thou shalt no more be called Jacob; thou shalt be called Israel." The name of Jacob has a meaning of "heel catcher/deceiver/ supplanter," but Israel meant "a prince of God."

Jacob's test and struggle are the reason we have a Nation named Israel. And, the Nation of Israel "wrestles" yet today with enemies all around her seeking to destroy her, yet she prevails! The Nation is blessed, and those who bless her shall be blessed; those who curse her shall be cursed.

Life for each one of us in God is a struggle to reach the apex of the time of blessings for a season, and then we all hit those seasons of disappointments; it is a ladder of rungs, each a climb to reach more in God, to reach those higher glories, to experience the depth of the mind of God, and the secrets of God. Those who do not climb will miss the blessings; they will miss the growth, the gifts, the impetus to do exploits. Each of those rungs represents greater dimensions, greater insight, strength and power in the Holy Ghost. The interesting thing is that the lower we bow, the higher we climb. God's blessings are not one step above each other, but one step below the other. Down is up with the Lord; climbing is bowing to a posture of greater and greater humility. We are never as tall in the Spirit as when we are bowed on our knees!

Lord, we seek Your face down on our knees, and we climb to stupendous heights down on our knees; we soar with the eagles down on our knees; we bow low to climb high down on our knees, and in the process we greet angels ascending and descending ... Even they know: "Life Is A Ladder!"