- Genesis 35 Daily DEVO So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.” Genesis 35:2 – Following God requires a whole life change. We see Jacob leading his household by telling them remove all the idols that the have, clean themselves up, and even put on fresh clothes because they were journeying to where God was leading them. From changing which god they would trust in to the way they looked to the outside world, in order for them to be where God wanted them they needed to make some changes. That’s how it is with us as well. God loves us, but God’s leading us to change. A change in who we trust and a change in how our lives look to those around us. This is a complete life transformation we’re being led to. God isn’t about asking you for a halfhearted change of your life for Him, He’s asking for a complete surrender of yourself to Him and His plans for you. If you think that’s unfair, realize He’s already sacrificed His life for you. Now it’s our turn to give our life up to Him to be used for Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 515
- Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone. Genesis 35:3 – Who is God to you personally? To Jacob we see God was the one who answered him when he was in distress and was always with him. That’s the God he pursued and followed. Who then is Jesus personally to you? While yes Jesus is the salvation of the world and the universe creator, sometimes we need to remember something more personal about who Jesus is to us in our pursuit of Him rather than a big answer. Like your answer could be…I’m pursing the Jesus that was with me all throughout my mom’s cancer…or I’m pursing the Jesus that broke my chain to alcohol…or I’m pursing the Jesus that was at the center of healing my marriage. Maybe one of those is your story, maybe it’s something else, but who is Jesus to you personally? Make your pursuit of Him personal. For 100% sure Jesus is the salvation of all, the breather of scripture, the Rock of all ages, and King of Kings. This message isn’t at all knocking those precious titles of Jesus! Yet sometimes we need to remember also how Jesus personally leaned into our story to motivate our next step of faith. Who then is Jesus personally to you? Follow that Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1839
- God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. Genesis 35:9 – God now appears to Jacob multiple times, directing Jacob’s steps and actions back to the land the Lord had been telling him to return to for a while now. Finally Jacob fully listens to the Lord and follows. He puts away all the family idols that they had been worshipping up to this point, they change their garments, they take out the earrings that likely were attached to their idol worship, and they set off in the direction God told them to go. We see the Lord bless their journey by putting a fear in the neighboring lands so they didn’t attack Jacob’s family. We see though that while being blessed by God and while finally following the Lord properly, Jacob still wasn’t exempt from facing hardship. After his turn to walk faithfully after God, Jacob sees the death of his mother’s nurse, his beloved wife dies in childbirth, his oldest son sleeps with his aunt, and his father Isaac passes away. Again, this was after Jacob’s turn to follow God. After he put away the idols, after he changed, after he began to listen to the Lord, and he still after all those things experienced hardship and loss. While it’s not a new message to us who follow Jesus that we will still navigate hard times even after choosing to follow Jesus, it can be comforting to see we aren’t alone in navigating hard things when following God. The scriptures are full of examples we can lean on, like Jacob’s, where the faithful still found struggle to walk through but God continued to bless and provide. Like Jacob did, find yourself looking back and seeing the ways God provided and came through on His promises. Hard will still come as we follow Jesus like hard came to many other followers of Jesus before us, and the ways God took care of them is reminders He will take care of us. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2841
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