Struggle with God

I will be the first to admit that I struggled with God. I love God greatly but I do not understand His ways. There are many people that want to make me legalistic but they forgot about God's grace.

I can relate to Jacob. He had his own will and didn't always do what God wanted for him.
Life has an way to humble an person. A friend that the family lived died. I just went to an funeral of someone that was murdered. Life doesn't always make sense to me.

God appeared to Jacob in Genesis 35:9-10. Genesis 35:9-10 says, "After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. God said to him, Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel. So he named him Israel."

If you are wondering where Paddan Aram is at, it is in the area of Northwest Mesopotamia. This area was most likely the Eastern part of modern-day Syria and Iraq.  God appears to us in different times of our lives. God appeared to me in special ways.

I had trials that seem that it will never end then it does. God did great spiritual surgery upon my heart.
God did the same to Jacob. Jacob means 'he grasps the heels.' It is an idiom for people that are not honest.

I always find it interesting to think that people can live by following the Old Testament law after following Jesus. Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament law so when He died on the cross and arose from the dead. That the curse of the law would be no more. We are like Jacob. We can't live the law and be right before God, that includes Christians. Galatians 3:10 says, "For who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law." If you want to further study, you can study Deuteronomy 27:26.
I am sad to say that there a few movement that suppose to Christians that follow the Old Testament like Old Testament Jews should read Deuteronomy 27:26.

Even the best Christian will sin everyday. James 2:10 says, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles are one point is guilty of breaking it all." There are over 600 Old Testament laws. If you are an Sabbath Christians that believe in following the 600 laws, you can't follow over 600 of them.
You break these laws everyday.

If you a non-believer, you can't be made right by following the law. We need Jesus to be made right.
That is why Jesus died on the cross and arose from the dead. May we all from the legalist Christian to the non-believer realize Matthew 5:17-20. Only Jesus is sinless.

Genesis 35:10 says, "But you will no longer be called Jacob but your name be called Israel.' So he named him Israel." Many Christians say the Jews are more spiritual than they are because they keep the law. Israel means 'he struggles with God.'

We all struggle with God, this includes myself but we need more grace and not more legalism.
May we learn this.
May we embrace Hebrews 4:16.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B9hh8omaRg

We need grace

I have been studying to grow my faith. I have been lead to look at many verses. I will share with what  God has been showing me. I take my faith very serious.

1) The first verse is Ephesians 2:8-9. It says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourself, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast."

I see that these verses talk about the cross of Jesus and resurrection with faith will save an person from hell. No amount of God works can save a person or keep an person saved.

2) Here is the second verse. Jesus talked about what works the true believers needs to have. I will now show you this verse.
John 6:28-29, "Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

It is clear in this verse, that our works to to believe. I am doing the work of God because I believe in Jesus.

3) I am right before the Lord not by doing and observing the Old Testament but the blood of Jesus.
Here is Galatians 2:16, "Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified."

4) Here is an verse about grace that lead up the cross and Jesus is the Word of God.
Galatians 2:21, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing."

5) I believe that faith is the key and faith in Jesus. Romans 3:28, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."

6) These Bible verses talked about the curse that may want to follow. Galatians 3:10-14, "All who rely  on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the law." Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because,"The righteous will live by faith." The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit."

Here is some more verses that I have been studying. Study them with me.
They are Matthew 23:1-4, Matthew 23:23-28, Hebrews 11:1-6, Romans 11:6, James 2:10, Hebrews 9-11, Romans 3:1-4:25,  and Colossians 20-23.