# 264 Let’s Make A Deal!

The Book of Genesis

Day 264

Ge 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,  21 "so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.  22 "And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."

When I first read this, I was just a little bit miffed at Jacob’s vow. It sounded like another deal or scheme that he was coming up with. “Hey God, if you do this, this, and that, then I will believe, then You will be my God.” I guess I was a little miffed because I see so much of this in our lives even today. . “Hey God! Get me that job, then I will serve You, then I will tithe to You! Hey God! Save my marriage, then I will worship You! Hey God! Jump through this hoop, Hey God! Jump through that hoop! “It’s like we try to turn the God of the universe into our own dog and pony show!

Funny thing, many times out of sheer mercy, God responds to those urgent requests of ours! But then the crisis passes and we shuffle God off to a distant corner of our lives to be called upon again only when we have a need! The other side of that coin is when our requests are not met in the manner that we see fit, we simply surmise there mustn’t be a God!

Friends, that’s just not the way it works! “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you!” Say it again! “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you!”

Understand this: Everyone who calls out to God for help with a sincere heart, gets help! But it is not to be the cry of “Let’s Make A Deal!” We’re not dealing with Monty Hall here, we are dealing with God Almighty! Jesus said in Jn 6:37, “the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” This is the seeking of the kingdom of God.

In Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the Bible. “The Message” he phrases Rom 10:9 this way: Say the welcoming word to God, “Jesus is my Master.”

That’s what it really means to call on the Name of the Lord! There is no wheeling and dealing there, only a humbling. A humbling that calls out to God, trusting Him to set things right in our lives and we don’t have to guess what’s behind stone number 1,2, or 3 because the stone has been rolled away!

The grave is empty revealing eternal life for all who trust Christ, calling on the Name of the Lord! We are saved by grace, and there is no better deal than that!