Thurs., 1/30/20 Devotion (Gen. 31:16b)

Today's encouragement comes from Genesis 31:16b, where we read these words:

" . . . whatever God has said to you, do it."

These words (above) of Jacob's wives, to him, are pretty good. How encour-aging is it, when other believers urge us on in our holy faith in Jesus, and in our keeping the loving injunctions it puts upon us? This is especially true, when what we are called upon to do, by God, is not easy, and it grates against our natural tendencies.

Let all the faithful church be found saying this to one another: "Whatever God has said to you, do it." And what is it that God would have us always do? To be united to Christ, by grace through faith in Him. When this is the case, we can do *anything* our Lord calls upon us to do. When this is not happening, we can do *nothing* of any eternal value whatsoever.

[AUGUSTINE quote of the day: “Evil is not a substance: the loss of the good is what we call evil.” —from “The Literal Meaning of Genesis,” Bk. 8]