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Blessed by God.

We read in Genesis 32:29 that, "God blessed Jacob there”. There are four reasons why God blessed Jacob there - at Peniel.

“Let us covet sincerity and honesty and openness with all of our hearts, and then there will be no limit to God's blessing upon our lives"
1 Alone with God
Jacob was blessed in the place where he was alone with God. He sent everyone else away and was alone (Gen. 32:24). 21st century believers find it difficult to spend much time alone with God. The spirit of the jet-age has got into most of us, and we are in a perpetual state of busyness. The trouble is not with our temperament or our culture. We just don't have our priorities right - that's all. Jesus once said that the one thing needful for a believer was to sit at His feet and listen to Him (Luke 10:42). But we don't believe that any longer and so suffer the disastrous consequences of disregarding Jesus' words. If we are always busy with our various activities and do not know what it is to get alone with God in fasting and prayer, we shall certainly not know God's power or blessing - His real power, I mean (not the cheap counterfeits that many are boasting of).

2 Broken by God
Jacob was blessed in the place where he was broken completely. At Peniel, a Man wrestled with Jacob. God had been wrestling with Jacob for twenty years, but Jacob had refused to yield. God had tried to show him how everything he had put his hand to had gone wrong, despite his cleverness and his planning. But Jacob was still stubborn. Finally, God struck Jacob's hip-socket so that his thigh was dislocated (Genesis 32:25). The thigh is the strongest part of the body, and that was the part that God struck.

3 Hungry for God
Jacob was blessed in the place where he was earnest and hungry for God. "I will not leave you", he cries out, "until you bless me" (Genesis 32:26). How God had waited for twenty long years to hear those words from Jacob. He, who had spent his life grabbing the birthright, women, money and property, now lets go of them all and grabs hold of God. This was the point towards which God had been working in Jacob's life all along. It must have delighted God's heart when Jacob at last lost sight of the temporal things of earth and longed and thirsted for God Himself and for His blessing. We are told in Hosea 12:4, that Jacob wept and pleaded for a blessing that night at Peniel. What a different man he was that night compared with his earlier years when he desired only the things of this world. God's dealings with him at last bore fruit!

4 Honest with God
Jacob was blessed in the place where he was honest with God. God asks him, "What is your name?" Twenty years earlier, when his father had asked him the same question, he had lied and said, "I am Esau" (Gen. 27:19). But now he is honest. He says, "Lord, I am Jacob" - or in other words, "Lord, I am a grabber, a deceiver and a bargainer." There was no guile in Jacob now. And so, God could bless him. God blessed Jacob there - when he was honest, when he did not want to pretend any more, when he confessed, "Lord I'm a hypocrite. There is shame and pretense in my life." I tell you, it takes real brokenness for a man to acknowledge that from the depths of his heart. Many Christian leaders say words like that with false humility - to gain a reputation for being humble. I am not referring to that type of abomination. What I mean is an honesty that comes out of a truly broken and contrite heart. That is costly. There is so much guile in all of us. May God have mercy on us for pretending to be so sanctified when we are not. Let us covet sincerity and honesty and openness with all of our hearts, and then there will be no limit to God's blessing upon our lives.

Jesus faced exactly the same temptations that we all face every day (Heb.4:15). He had all our limitations, and yet He overcame - because He loved righteousness and hated sin and cried out to the Father for help whenever He was tempted (Heb.1:9; 5:7). The Holy Spirit helped Jesus as a Man - and the Holy Spirit will help you also in the same way.

“The Holy Spirit helped Jesus as a Man - and the Holy Spirit will help you also in the same way."
Think often of how Jesus faced temptation as a young man. He felt the pull of the same temptations that all young men face. Overcoming temptation was not any easier for Him. In fact, it must have been more difficult, for His nature was totally pure and so temptation was more repulsive to Him - and so its pull must have been stronger than it is for us. And yet He overcame.

And now Jesus is on your side of the rope in the tug of war against temptation - and He stands ready to help you. The anchor-man on the enemy's side is the big heavyweight called Pride. Next to him is another heavyweight called Selfishness. But God will help you to pull them both over, along with all the other sins - and you will overcome. Praise the Lord!

Here is a promise that you can hold on to in faith: " Jesus is able to keep you from falling (stumbling)" (Jude 24). Walking by faith has to be learnt just like physical walking. There will be a number of falls initially, as for a baby. But the falls will become less and less as you press on. Finally, falling will become rare, although a time will never come, when even the greatest saint can say that he will never fall.

When you fall, you may be tempted to call your fall by some other name than ' sin'. That is dangerous. There are many who call their sins as 'mistakes', 'blunders', etc., in order to evade personal responsibility for their sins. They even misquote Romans 7:17, " It is no longer I doing it, but sin that dwells in me....", in order to excuse their obvious sins. This is a dangerous way to go. Avoid it - because you will then live in self-deception, as those other people are living. If we confess our sins God will be faithful to forgive us and cleanse us (1 John 1:9). But there is no promise of cleansing if we call our sins "mistakes". The blood of Jesus cleanses only sins. So, always be honest whenever you fall into sin. Call it " sin", turn from it, hate it, forsake it, confess it to God - and then forget about it, for it has been blotted out.

Sins of attitude are more serious than sins of action, because they are less easily recognized. Here are some sins of attitude: pride, critical attitudes, bitterness, jealousy, inward judgment of others (by what you have heard or seen - Isa.11:3), seeking your own, selfishness, Phariseeism, etc.

If a believer who preaches victory over sin, looks down on others, he doesn't realize that he does not have victory over the greatest sin of all - spiritual pride. To despise others is the equivalent of constantly committing adultery. And for such a believer to be talking about victory over sin is ridiculous! The more you grow spiritually, the more holy you become, and the more victory over sin you get, the more humble you will become. This is the primary proof of genuine holiness. In a fruit tree, the branches with the most fruit bow down the most!

Many confuse human self-control for 'partaking of the Divine nature'. Human self-control can produce an outward reformation. But it will leave the inner man haughty and proud and Pharisaical in its attitude. We are called to receive grace from God to overcome sin - and we can never be proud of what we received freely. We can be proud only of what we produced ourselves - and the holiness we produce by our own efforts will always be a false holiness.

The Divine nature that you are called to partake of is love. God is kind and good to unthankful and evil people, and makes the sun to shine on the evil and the good alike (Matt.5:44-48). This is the example that you must follow too. Love everyone - whether they agree with you or not. Avoid all controversial discussions and arguments - like you would avoid a deadly disease. If others around you want to argue about something, tell them lovingly that you would like to avoid all controversy. Pursue after being made perfect in love with all your heart.

.No sane person will attempt taking drugs unnecessarily even non-narcotics e.g paracetamol can be dangerous when taken anyhow.
Narcotics alter one's perception of reality and makes him a danger to himself and others.. We should all join hands and fight this evil.

Na wao