Seize the Moment – Day 422
Capture the Moment!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, May 13.
I am so happy and proud of Jacob in this triumphant scene. He wrestled with God and God changed his name to Israel. But after all we have seen from Jacob, is a name change anything more than window dressing?
Yes, Jacob does the right thing in a difficult and dangerous situation. Jacob put his life in jeopardy in order to reconcile with Esau. Genesis 33:3-4 captures this touching scene: “But he himself passed on ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.”
I feel like a proud father watching his child make an important decision and follow through with it. I want to capture this moment and celebrate it!
This is the promise of new creation from 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Jacob is now Israel! His name has been changed and now we see the first fruits of his new life.
Each of us needs to the capture the moments of life transformation when we act more like Jesus. We will not live a perfect life once we become Christians, but we will have moments that capture the truth that we are a new creation in Christ.
Every believer in Christ is being transformed from the inside out. We are a new creation and a name change to Christian is not window dressing, it’s the beginning of living a new life.
Seize the moment and celebrate that God is making all things new and has already begun to fulfill that promise in each of our lives.