It is written:
 
"I have CREATED  you Jacob and FORMED  you Israel"
(don't know the verse reference)....
 
What's God saying.... ?
 
A "Jacob" was a deceiver, a coniever, a manipulator, a
selfish person.... (Just like us living 'in the flesh nature)
 
An "Israel" is a person transformed by God into a person
who "won't let go of God until He blesses me" type person
who totally puts his trust in God to keep him and to provide
for him.... to deliver him etc... (Just like us living in the Spirit)...
 
In the same way Jesus called Peter... "Simeon"
sometimes it was "Simeon-Peter"
sometimes it was just "Peter"...
 
Sometimes Peter was behaving like a Spirit filled person
and was a "Peter"...
Sometimes he was a little of both... hence "Simeon-Peter"
and ....
Sometimes he was totally "in the flesh" as a Simeon...
 
These people with "mixed messages" on their bumper
is a "Simeon-Peter"..... a mixture of The Truth and a Lie...
 
Sometimes I react "in the flesh" and don't appear to be
very Godly.... but...
 
I am glad that Jesus is "forming" in me an "Israel"...
 
so that I will behave and abide "in the Spirit" and be trusting
God to work out all the plans in my life...
 
I want to be an "Israel" in all that I do..
 
Hope this helps,
 
Don Best
 
 

---

One day a young pastor and I were looking out the window
of a church watching the people arrive in cars in the
parking lot.... (the parking lot wasn't well defined at that
time but was a gravel lot)... next to the gravel lot was
a grassy area... As some of the people drove onto the
grassy area to park, the young pastor said to me..
"Why do people park on the grass instead of  in the parking
lot where they are suppose to park?"...
 
I heard myself say in response..."God is still working
in them "Thou shalt not kill"... He hasn't gotten down
to the lesser of "Thou shalt not park on the grass," yet.
 
We all laughed....
 
As I new born christian I would walk over to my book shelf
and remove a questionable book and throw it away...
eventually I threw most of those books away as I learned
that they didn't line up with the Truth.... The Word of God
 
God is faithful to expose "our weeds" so that they can
be plucked out....
 
New wine is for new wine skins... I am sure glad that He
soaks me in His Word so that I can receive His new wine...
 
Don Best