Jacob | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Our Failures are the Cracks through which God’s Light Enters

Anita Mathias — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 23:08:22 +0000

The Book of Revelation, the final book of the Bible ends on an ecstatic note, “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. Maranatha. Come Lord Jesus.” Through the day, when you feel distracted, or sense […]

The post Our Failures are the Cracks through which God’s Light Enters first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

Oh, Let it All End in Worship

Anita Mathias — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 21:36:01 +0000

And Jacob worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff (Gen. 47:31). And so it ends, Jacob’s long busy life of intrigue and wrestling. Ever has he schemed, manipulated and deceived to get the blessings which God intended to give him even before he was born (Gen 25:23). And his intrigues backfire–disastrously. Quite […]

The post Oh, Let it All End in Worship first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

In which there is Poetic Justice, for God is a Poet, but there is also Mercy

Anita Mathias — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 08:29:15 +0000

Even while Esau was out hunting his father’s favourite wild game, Jacob and Rebecca slaughtered and cooked two choice young goats. Jacob served these to Isaac, pretending to be Esau, stealing Esau’s blessing. A cruel deception. And, uncannily, years later, in his own old age, Jacob’s sons sold his favourite son into slavery, dipping Joseph’s precious robe in […]

The post In which there is Poetic Justice, for God is a Poet, but there is also Mercy first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

A Table in Presence of my Foes

Anita Mathias — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 17:35:41 +0000

I am reading the story of Jacob in Genesis. Jacob was in a most unpromising position to make a fortune. “Name your wages,” Laban said, and Jacob did, modest ones: the streaked and speckled sheep and goats, and dark sheep (Gen 31-32). (Sheep were normally pure white, and goats pitch black). Laban […]

The post A Table in Presence of my Foes first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

In which Failure can be a Greater Blessing than Success

Anita Mathias — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 08:28:17 +0000

Image Credit I would like to have been successful in everything I did the first time round. Sure, I would. And some things I have failed in, yeah, sure, I would rather have been successful in. However, what failure has taught me is to learn to lean. In that way, ironically, it has brought me […]

The post In which Failure can be a Greater Blessing than Success first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

In which Manipulation Backfires (in the long run). Not so seeking God’s Blessing!

Anita Mathias — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 12:40:49 +0000

I am reading the story of Jacob in Genesis. God tells Rebecca who was pregnant with twins, “The older will serve the younger.” When we meet the twins in Genesis 26, Esau, “a skilful hunter,” comes in famished, and wants Jacob’s red stew. Jacob, “a quiet man, staying among the tents,” driving an exploitative […]

The post In which Manipulation Backfires (in the long run). Not so seeking God’s Blessing! first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

“Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it:” How the Best Thing can Spring out of the Worst Thing

Anita Mathias — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 09:07:34 +0000

So Jacob, running from murderous Esau whom he has cruelly and unscrupulously deceived, rests at Bethel. And in his dream, he sees a stairway between heaven and earth, with the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And at the top, stood the Lord, who speaks blessing and encouragement. And Jacob says, […]

The post “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it:” How the Best Thing can Spring out of the Worst Thing first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

Blessed are the Failures

Anita Mathias — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:36:48 +0000

Blessed are the broken, Blessed are the failures, Who set out to do glorious things Everest, Antarctica… higher, faster, stronger, first Whose bright promise was praised And they believed their press. Who have schemed and striven and intrigued, Only to find themselves with empty hands After they wrestle though the night with the Mysterious One […]

The post Blessed are the Failures first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.