Read The Bible

e-Sword Screen (Capture)

I used to have a lovely graphic of an open Bible - but it's on my old computer, which still holds a bunch of stuff I have yet to transfer. There is a possibility it will live beyond me and either be trashed, erased, or completely ignored. The more digital material this world gains, the greater the loss because we don't get it shared.

Why do I mention this? Because I want you to read the Bible. I really do not care if it is printed or digital. I use e-Sword on both my phone and my personal computer because I got used to it, and it's been around for decades. Well written, every free translation is available free of charge, and lots of purchasable translations are also available. There is a copy of the Strong's Hebrew and Greek available - I use it with my King James Version. Yes - I still use the old KJV, but not the first KJV, and I'm not against using the NKJV or even other translations. I do suggest doing parallel Bibles to find out what is "missing" from the Textus Receptus used for the original KJV (that is very hard to read! I had a copy.)

Reading aloud from the same version during a lesson is helpful for a class situation, and I suggest that first for brand new readers of the Bible. Some people find any version difficult. Often because they find something there that means their life will change.

I promise you, it will. It will change because you know more than you did before and you will be required to make a decision: Is the Bible accurate?

Is it? No - you don't have to send me a note with your answer. Just be aware that I know there will be two different answers reached: 1) No, this cannot possibly be right; or, 2) Yes! this is is what I've been seeking.

In fact, if you have e-Sword you can do a search in the free KJV for "seek the Lord" and you'll see that phrase in 27 different verses. First one is:

But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)

But that single verse means nothing if you don't know where "But if from thence thou shalt" means. So now you know that verses do not stand alone. They are in context. However, if from thence iyou seek the Lord thy God, you are told thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all the heart and with all thy soul. In this one verse, there are conditions. God has conditions. If you seek Him, He will be found.

And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD. (2 Chronicles 12:14)

Who decided not to find out if God existed? You'll have to read this one in context, too. That twelfth chapter of 2 Chronicles pretty much lays out what happens when someone decides to ignore God completely. You have that capability. Everyone does. It is possible to leave this world without believing God exists. And that is why I have spent decades encouraging Bible reading. 

Know what you are giving us. Learn things outside of the Bible. Look up Pascal's Wager, and read people who laughed at it. Then read the Bible to find out what they turned down:

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:14-18)

When first reading that third chapter of John, you are introduced to Nicodemus, who has come to Jesus asking questions. Those who come to the Bible for the first time have plenty of questions - and those of us who read it are ready to answer questions. We've been prepared for some time only because we've continiued to read, study, and pray over what is in the Bible. Took thousands of years to write down what was there - and although there have been tons of books written sense, there is no need for more information than what is written there. The Bible is filled with complete fulfilled prophecy - and with some that is yet to be fulfilled. But it should not be added to, nor subtracted from:

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: (Revelation 22:17-18)

I have read about the plagues. I will not add anything to the book. I send people to do their own reading. I suggest they read with prayer and a spirit of seeking God. The last verse to use the "seek the Lord" phrase is the only one in the New Testament:

That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: (Acts 17:27)

The words of Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, Savior of mankind, Lamb of God, Prince of Peace, can be found in red in many of the printed and digital Bibles. Take them seriously when you consider:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (2 Timothy 3:16)

 

Funerals - Three in a Week

 Source unknown

I've used this graphic before - first on Baptist Funerals, and again writing of funerals. They happen. People die. Expectedly. And, extremely unexpectedly.

Friday we attended the funeral of a friend from church. That same day another friend from church died. His funeral will be this Thursday. Saturday morning the daughter of a church friend experienced a ruptured aneurysm. Her death Sunday morning was still a shock. Three deaths within a week's time of people we knew.

The first thing we are able lto do is to pray, and my first thoughts in those prayers take me to a verse I've used on this blog many times for a variety of occasions:

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:26-28)

Those verses are not a prayer - they are an explanation about prayer. We've been given instructions about prayers by the very person who is our intecessor in Heaven. He began by explaning how NOT to pray:

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. (Matthew 6:5-8)

Did you get the part "your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him"? Reminds me of "And he that searacheth the hearts knoweth what is in the mind of the Spirit." God knows exactly what just happened in our lives - every single moment in our lives. There are no surprises to Him as there are to us. From the last breath of a loved one in hospice to the staggering shock of an unexpected loss, God knew it was coming and He knows what we need.

My second thought about preparing to speak to someone who has experienced a loss is II Corinthians 1:3-4:

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter Jesus spoke of in John 14, and among those verses is:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26)

Remember Pentecost? When the Holy Spirit first came upon Jesus followers? From then on, believers' baptism included the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the comforter who was to teach us and help us remember all that Jesus taught. How do you get that education Jesus taught? Bible reading. 

Reading God's word with prayer brings us closer to understanding where we are, why we are where we are, where we need to be next, and trust God's presence in placing us where He wants us to be doing His will.

I knew two of the three people who died this week, and the mother who lost her daughter. Three families with multiple generations are missing someone who meant life to them. They need comfort. It is available in a number of ways.

First is contact at home, letting them know there is help with transportation, planning, and guests. Food is needed, and they have little attention left for meals. That is easily provided. The funeral can be attended as a sign of caring support - and in our church, a meal afterward is available with a variety of simply awesome comfort food. Key word remains "comfort." Never forgetting there is a Comforter provided by God through Jesus Christ for every event in our life, good, bad, or deadly.

Each of these people made a public profession of their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, based on biblical beliefs that go beyond John 3:16:

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)

It also encompasses:

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8)

Obedience to walk with God goes beyond public words. I'll be adding a small prayer for my readers:

Oh, Lord, my strength in all that is around me, I pray for those that stop and read your words here that they will reach for the full, so very Holy, Bible. Your messages to us over millennia carry history and hope for every living person. I pray it is opened and read, read and prayed over, understood and carried out that your will is done in our lives. Comfort us, Lord, in our losses, and restore joy in our blessings. Guide and directd our lives as we seek Thy will in our daily lives. Amen.

Come With Prayerfulness

 

Every time I pray for help in writing this blog, words flow. When I try to do it on my own, I have writers block like a train tunnel bricked up at both ends. There is no light at all in that particular tunnel.

From the beginning of the Bible to the very last chapter, there are examples of people - all kinds of people, rich, poor, smart, dumb, old young, Jew, and gentile - all prayed directly to God. Priests were available, not required until the Mosaid law, and I only found one instance where I have questions about that:

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. (Matthew 19:6-8)

In this, and a couple of other instances, I'd like to have the answer. But, I know I have to "know as also I am known", as Paul wrote. So I will wait upon that particular answer and stick to ones not ambiguous.

Best examples are the good things done in the Bible that worked well - and talking with God is outstanding. Priests handled sacrifices, prophets spoke to the people, but everyone had the opportunity to speak to God, and answers were available. Why do we often ignore that today?

Be careful when you start studying pray/prayer(s)/prayerfulness - there are over 450 matches in the King James Version. ESV has 321 (Hmmm. How about that?) ASV has 515. DRB has 505. No matter which version of the Bible you choose to study (I personally use more than one), it will take time to reach a personal conclusion regarding your own prayer life.

Jesus taught us a prayer - but we do not have to follow each and every word to reach Him. Matthew's (6:9-13) is longer and more familiar, given as part of the Sermon on the Mount. It includes phrases like "on earth as it is in heaven" and concludes with deliverance from the evil one. Luke's (11:2-4) is shorter and more concise, given in response to a follower's request. It uses the word "sins" instead of "debts".

Never in the Old or New Testaments is there a reason given to pray to a person here on earth in order to have our prayers reach God. Often, when someone asks for prayers in support, I will send them this:

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:26-28)

Or:

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

God Himself hears our prayers. We are saints (do not doubt that) and our prayers are sweet to Him:

And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. (Revelation 5:8)

In his letters to churches, Paul asks for prayer:

Romans 15:30-32, 2 Corinthians 1:11, Ephesians 6:19-20, Colossians 4:3-4, 1 Thessalonians 5:25, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2, and Hebrews 13:18 (Yes, I am one of those who thinks Paul wrote the book of Hebrews, perhaps with Luke writing it down and getting it out of prison. No, I do not want to argue about it. Research on your own and reach your own conclusion.)

Of course, our own best example is Jesus, in the Garden, with sleeping disciples, alone with His father, knowing exactly what was approaching down the road. Once, twice, and the third time, He prayed: 

Matthew 26:39; Luke 22:42; and Mark 14:36.

He also prayed for His disciples, then for you, me, and all the others who believe Him:

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: (John 17:20-22)

Please take a moment to pray to our Father in remembrance of His unspeakable gift of eternal life to all who believe His promise:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

It really is that simple.

What Comes To Mind

 

Copyright - not for reproduction

That light colored mass is behind my right eye, pressing into my right temporal lobe. Has been for over a decade, and for a variety of reasons, is considered inoperable - unless it reaches out to touch my optic nerve, which it hasn't. I decided to call it Henry - much more easily pronounced than meningioma, which fortunately usually represeents a benign tumor. We use annual MRIs to track Henry, who has grown in millimeters, not centimeters, which is fortunate. I just set up my annual appointment, so Henry is back on my mind.

What comes to mind when you have something growing in your body that you cannot see, and is measured in ways you don't understand? Odd thoughts. 

Henry was discovered when I took my headaches to my primary care physician and he requested the first MRI. The results sent me to a neurologist who sent me to a neurosurgeon. That's when I learned a complication meant the only removal option was cyberknife. Since Henry was slow growing, we all decided to remain on watch-and-wait. Frankly, as a septuagenarian there would most likely me something else that ended the watch. Fortunately, wait continues. My "time" has not come.

"Wait" has a lot of religious connotations for Christians. Jews waited for a Messiah. We think He came, but Christians have been waiting a very long time for His promised return. We continue to hope - to expect - 

Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. (Luke 6:30-36)

The single "hope" in this example Jesus gives is the only time the word is used in the four gospels. However, the word is used another 60 times in the remainder of the New Testament. Mostly in verses similar to:

And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: (Acts 26:6)

For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. (Romans 8:24-25)

That "hope" is faith that God has given us instructions to follow, and when we do, we reach Him. Simple, isn't it? Then why are there so many different denominations, undenominational churches, and disputes within denominations who all claim to be the right path to God?

My personal opinon is too many people deciding they know what is right over what is biblically correct. Add that error to a personal falibility in mankind - to chose what is liked over what is necessary.

Wasn't that how the world saw Jesus? How many in the world see Him today? Too many of us do not like a specific area Jesus taught, so we change what was said to fit our current view of the world view. Very famous world leaders have done that, and so has a neighbor down your street. It began with Eve. Adam and Eve were given simple instructions:

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17)

Of course God knew - Peter knew:

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (1 Peter 1:19-20)

Nothing surprises God, but His interference does not occur as expected, and has usually been foretold. Best to keep it simple, as He has put before us. If we think something spiritual comes to mind, test it!

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: (1 John 4:1-2)

Witnesses Testify Truthfully

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. (John 16:7, KJV)

The other day I posted verses. Today a new thought came from them. That happens a lot when we read Scripture with prayers to see what God has to tell us. Earlier I was thinking of the Holy Spirit and about both the just and the unjust who can have the same experiences of good and bad. 

Today I was struck by:  or if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; 

Jesus had a choice. He has the same human choice all people face - faith that God can do what He promised and follow instructions, or do as you please. 

We think of Jesus as being tempted once and coming through a test. That is not humanly possible. We are tempted daily. You and I both know that. Simple things, like bread. That's what Satan used first with Jesus:

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. (Luke 4:1-4)

How simple that would have been for the man who fed thousands with a few loves and fish to have bread in an instant. But He used what we should when we are tempted - scripture. That "every word of God" should be very important to us, but do not take things out of context. God will never ask that we break His commandments in order to follow His words. Question what we read, prayerfully and keeping in mind that God has given us a Comforter.

How can you - or I - use scripture if we don't know it? How do we get to know it? By reading it every day and memorizing when we can. The more time we spend with scripture, the more we read, question, prayer about, and eventually understand what God has in there that we've missed before.

I use e-Sword on my phone and on my computer more than I do a printed Bible. I find it extremely handy and helps me search for scripture when I am only certain about a word or two. It allows me to highlight and take notes, just as the printed Bible does, but it is easier to search in for specific words or phrases.

For example - where Jesus gives the most important law. I love those verses and can remember one phrase used there "second like unto" so I search for all three of those words, which only occur in one verse. But it takes four verses to get the gist, and it takes knowing the Ten Commandments to know why those two are the most important. The Bible is always more important than a single verse. Context is absolutely necessary in seeing beyond tradition and teaching errors.

It takes the whole Bible - from Genesis to Revelation to see why Jesus had to die - God has given His life story through prophets from Genesis forward. If Jesus took Satan's offer, what would happen? Frankly, heaven only knows. "If" truly is an illusion that never does occur when God's plan is followed. 

Who better to follow it then the human God created specifically for the purpose, in whom the Holy Spirit dwelled. Where was the Spirit between calvary and Pentecost? We can't know, and it makes no difference in our instructions. 

Until His return, His disciples were told what to do:

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8, KJV)

When we believe on Him we make a public profession of faith. At Pentecost, believers were given the Holy Spirit for the first time. It no longer comes with "tongues of fire," but we are still to be witnesses unto Jesus both at home and into the uttermost. 

How is your witnessing? 

He Has Character

That's just a snippit of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling -  the hand of God reaching out toward Adam's - one man's vision of the creation that doesn't match the Bible at all, but is a beautiful painting. God allowed but one man to glimpse Him as He left - and Moses did not leave a detailed description.

I have my own concept of God, gained by reading His word and my prayers to Him:

“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12, KJV)

Indeed. Like Paul, I know Him. Another Paul quote:

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

The God I worship is all powerful, omnipotent, capable of keeping the life I gave Him even if I'm incapable of doing all He asks of me. In previous blogs I have included a few assurances verses. These two scriptures are specific assurances that God is capable of keeping our souls that we put in His keeping. 

Our Father has inspired a wide variety of authors to get His story to us. Some of the authors remain anonymous - such as the oldest book - Job. Even so, there is a wealth of information about God's character - even if we are left with questions about Satan's character, location, and relationship with God.

My resume has some unique businesses, but two of them remain international firms with a wide range of employees. One in particular offered a position where co-workers worshipped god's dissimilar to the Judeo-Christian God of the Bible.

Saddest in my view was one co-worker who had been raised in a Catholic family, left their faith to seek "something that was missing," and was open with their Wiccan beliefs. "As it harms none, do what ye will." It was understood there were spirits involved, which the Bible faced much earlier:

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. (1 John 4:1-3)

My co-worker specifically rejected Jesus as being any part of God, or their being a God who inspired the Bible. Another co-worker worships a variety of gods who report to a single, more powerful god - but definitely require sacrifices and worship for themselves. There are idols representing them, whether they be major or minor gods.

Some see Christians as worshipping a trinity of gods, but God is singular. I've written about that often, the most recent being last week's "Let's Start With Baptism" so we won't spend time there except to say Jesus was killed because He continued to equate Himself to God. God was here in a natural, human, body, and fulfilled all the scriptures that pointed to His coming.

Yet there are a couple of religions that reject that. One is actively growing today, the other was more active in the 18th century.  While Christianity is often thought of as a separate religion, it should be considered a branch of Judaism, a continuation of Jewish prophecy. When we read:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: (Deuteronomy 6:4)

We also read Jesus Christ's confirmation in Matthew 22:36-40 and again in Mark:

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:29-31)

Thus, in a continuing story since the very creation of this world, a single deity has remained involved with His creation. God is a spirit:

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. (John 4:23)

That is where we are. Waiting with His commands in our lives for the remainder of the prophesies to be fulfilled. He has tasks for each of us. With His presence you will find your specific task. Do it as long as you are here. There's a marvelous reward for doing so.

Along Came A Spider

 

Let me expand the information from that graphic. A friend posted on X that she had taken the time to rescue a wolf spider inside her house. She had cleaner in her hand, sprayed the spider, caught it in a paper cup, rinsed it off, and placed it safely outside. Another poster write the above and I did a screen capture on this particular sermon.

Indeed - looking through the Bible there are a virtual mountain of examples where God took someone from a place theiy shouldn't be, put them in the place they should be, and proceeded with His eternal plan that we continue to wonder whether or not it exists - and if it does, why doesn't He share it with us now? Don't tell me that question hasn't run through your mind. Surely you know it ran through the minds of people who dealt directly with God.

First, of course, would be Adam and Eve. The first three chapters has that story pretty well covered. Knowing exactly what they would do with Eden, God moved them into the real world to get on with the rest of the story.

Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. (Genesis 3:23)

Then there was Abraham, who pretty much did what God told him to do - leave home and settle in a new place. It took some wandering around, the loss of his nephew's wife, but he was promised land for his descendants:

Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (Genesis 12:1-2)

Isaac wasn't Abraham's first born son - and that particular battle is being fought after a multitude of millennia! Isaac had to accept the wife his father had brought to him, put up with battles between his two sons, and one had to go to an uncle. This uncle foisted off one daughter after seven years service, then another seven for the second daughter, before Jacob could return to his family.

I'm certain both Isaac and Jacob would understand the wolf spider's confusion at his move.

Joseph - Jacob's beloved son - right? He had literal dreams of sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him. He was his father's favorite son and ten of his brothers had a problem with that. By this time Jacob's name had been changed to Israel, and he was the leader of several tribes - within a couple of generations, they were all in Egypt, bound as slaves - and we are only in the first book of the Bible.

Every one of the above people were placed where they needed to be by following God's instructions. Note that there was some deviation on the part of each person. None of us are perfect. God uses the people who respond to Him. That particular choice is explained in Esther - about half way between Moses and Jesus' times:

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14)

Simple. All Esther had to do was go to a place where people had been killed for sitting foot. It depended completely on the whim of a man who had complete control over her life and had been known to send people to their death for approaching him. What would you have done?

Oddly enough, God's name, titles, nor Judaism in any form other than birth is mentioned in Esther. Yet everyone knows the fate of the tribes of Israel were decided in the actions described in this book, and are celebrated among the Israelite people even today. 

I could go into detail about where we live today, but it would take a couple of chapters to explain how God brought it to specifically the right place to watch the conversion experience that convinced us we were moved here at the right time. Instead, let me turn again to the Bible to show how well God plans:

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21)