God often uses our mistakes, small or large, to teach those that come behind us.  They’re still mistakes, so don’t think that it’s OK to make them.  We should strive to do the will of God in every situation.  We may be weak, we may be tired, we may be hungry … whatever.  Don’t let sin steer you in the wrong direction.  In this week’s sermon, we are given three lessons from the life of Isaac and Rebekah and their boys, Esau and Jacob: Pray, Love, Eat (eat spiritual food, that is).

Take time this week to reflect on the following verses:

Monday — Philippians 4:6-7

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

If you are faced with a challenge, go to God first.  Don’t think that you can accomplish great things without His hand being a part of it.  “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (Matthew 15:5)

Tuesday — 1 Corinthians 13:4-6

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

God wants us to love Him first, and then to love others (friends and enemies).  Too often we look for faults in others and then use those faults to justify our own faults, saying: “Well, I’m not as bad as that guy.”  We can never elevate ourselves by tearing others down.

Wednesday — Ephesians 6:4

4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

The love you have for the Lord Jesus, should extend to your children.  Isaac loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.  What a mistake they made!  Let their mistake be a lesson to us.

Thursday — Matthew 16:24-26

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Esau sold his birthright for a bowl stew.  Let us not forget the cost of our salvation, nor the value that is has forever.

Friday — Galations 16-25

16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Esau despised his birthright; he saw it as inconvenient and worthless.  When we let the works of the flesh take over, it’s because we don’t see the value of our “birthright” … may you walk in the spirit of the Lord!