Genesis 24:9-27

Genesis 24:9-27 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter. 10 Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master's camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. 11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water. 12 Then he prayed, " Lord , God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too' —let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." 15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. 16 The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. 17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar." 18 "Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. 19 After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink." 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. 21 Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. 22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. 23 Then he asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" 24 She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor."25 And she added, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night." 26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, 27saying,"PraisebetotheLord,theGodofmymasterAbraham,whohasnotabandonedhiskindnessandfaithfulnesstomymaster. Asforme,theLordhasled me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives." Why is conversation important and why is it important to know the other person? In today's passage we read about Abraham, his servant, Isaac, Rebekah and her relatives. Who is the main character of today's story? Why is important to know how to converse and understand the point of conversation? All of Christ's teaching was given as parables. If you do not understand what he was speaking then all he taught means nothing. If you do not understand the person who speaks to you then what does it matter? Jesus taught us about heaven and how to get there, but we must be able to understand the point of his teaching, to know what he was saying and to achieve it. When we study history we know that war is won by understanding the enemy and knowing what their purpose and thoughts are. When we behave in a certain way in front of others our true thoughts and intentions are seen by everyone. In business, if we fail to sell the things that customers will buy we cannot succeed. If I give service the way I want and do not think about the customer then my business will fail. If I do not have Christ in my heart then I will never be like him. Unless Christ shines in my life then I can never be the true follower of Christ. It is not about raising my voice and interjecting my opinion, but it is listening to the end what the our person desires to say and at the end, with a calm voice saying what will give that person new and clear insight. A turtle can never beat the rabbit, but why do we say the turtle wins? It is all about perspective. The turtle saw the goal and ran his best race. The rabbit did not look at the goal but saw his opponent and was filled with pride. Looking at his opponent he lost sight of the goal and lost the race because he did not see the purpose. If you look at the world and think that you have done enough, you have prayed enough, fasted a few times, that you have been going to church since you re in your mother's belly, then you will fail. Because of your pride you will not succeed in this race to pursue Jesus. In today's passage let us look at the servant. His prayer was to please his master. He asked God to bless his work to please his master. We profess with our mouths that God is our master and that we are his servants. Then why is it that when we pray that we keep asking God for our needs? Why are our prayers focused on us and not for God's glory. We ask for strength, for blessings for all things that we can do for God but who are we really praying for? When Elijah prayed, he asked God to fulfill His word and God answered with fire. When we pray for God to do His will, then He will answer the prayer. The difference is small but the result is either the prayer is answered or not. If God is the focus then the prayer is answered. If you are the focus then the prayer will not be answered. If you are the child of God, as Jesus is His Son, then why do you think that you will only receive blessings when His own Son was crucified on the cross? Is it possible that you are missing the point? In bible times of you had premarital sex, you were stoned. In today's time we look at it as if it is part of the times. Mary put her life on the line to have Jesus. When we pray. We are not to ask for material blessings but we are to seek the things of the spirit, for strength to overcome our weaknesses so that we can do the will of God and transform our lives. It is not about material blessings we are to seek. Like Mary who submitted herself as a servant and risked her own life to bear Jesus as her son, we too need to submit to God so that we can find the strength of the cross in our lives. The bigger the crown the heavier it is. You may want it then you must bear the weight of it. As the world keeps attacking us, we must overcome, if we fail then it is our weakness. If I am not able to receive all the blessings that God desires for me then it is I who fail to to do so. I must have God as the focus of my life and from that focus all my thoughts and actions must be to give God, my master all glory. Just like the servant prayed to for success to please his master, we too must pray to God to help us succeed in pleasing Him. We must start with the very people who are closest to us. May you live the life that gives God glory.