Reading: Exodus 13:17 - 14:1-31

Scriptures: Exodus 14:10-14; 31 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Observation:

God is keeping his promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 6:2-8). From previous chapters, we’ve read that God said He will: save his people from the Egyptians and bring them out of that land and lead them to a good land (a fertile land) (Exodus 3:8 NCV). Every step of the way God gave instructions to His people through Moses. Everything God told Moses will take place, took place. God warned the Egyptians over and over through the plagues and hardened their hearts that He may use his great power against them, bring honor to Himself and let them know there is no one like him. God clearly was revealing Himself, not only to his own people and the Egyptians but to all the earth (Exodus 9:16). Through all these miracles God was saying, “I am the LORD”.  In Exodus 14:10-14, the Israelites, as they were overwhelmed with fear when they saw the Egyptians pursuing them, began thinking they were better off left alone as slaves in Egypt than to die in the desert. But Moses points their focus back to God by reminding them that it is God who fights for them and they only need to be still.

Application:

God is not blind to the troubles and sufferings of His people. He hears their cries for help. God always does what He says He will do. He wants us to know that He is LORD and will do as He pleases. He accomplishes what He wants to do. Trusting Him and obeying Him go hand in hand. As God’s people, we must always acknowledge Him for who HE IS. He is an awesome GOD and it is right for us to fear the LORD and put our trust in Him.

Prayer:

LORD, truly there is no one like You. You are an awesome GOD and I pray that I will always live my life seeking to know You more and more.

junn

Scripture : Genesis 43:8-9

Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.”

Observation :

I noticed a different Judah in this passage. Genesis 37:26-27 tells us that it was his idea to sell Joseph to the Midianites in order to keep him from being killed by his brothers. But why sell their young brother like a property in the first place? What reasoning could justify this action? And then hide the truth by having their father believe that he was torn to pieces by a wild animal? He could’ve told his brothers – No! this isn’t right… don’t do this! Or was he, just like the rest of his brothers, jealous of Joseph, too, and deep down inside also wanted to ‘get rid’ of him? Did he (and his brothers) realize the pain this would cause their father ?

In Genesis 43:8-9, a new Judah has emerged. Here, he is taking personal responsibility to bring Benjamin back safely to his father. This time he can’t bear the thought of putting Jacob through the same sorrow and grief when he ‘lost’ Joseph. This time he was willing to stay behind in Egypt and be a slave in place of Benjamin so that he can go home to his father (Gen. 44:33-34).

Application:

Judah’s transformation is evident in these passages. Clearly, he had a change of heart and has learned his lesson from his past mistakes. As followers of Jesus, our hearts and lives must change, too. (Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Luke 13:3 New Century Version). We will still make mistakes, but, we should always be ready to learn from them, to make restitution and continue to have an attitude of humility knowing that there is always something to learn from the Holy Spirit because He wants to help us change our hearts and lives to make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:29).

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, teach me what it means to be a true follower of Jesus. Have your way in me and make me more like Him.

tet

Scripture: The Fall of Man (Genesis 3:1-6)

Observation:

Here we find Eve engaging in a conversation with a serpent – bad idea. Obviously the serpent was up to something. Eve was quick to doubt that she had more than enough in the garden because God is providing for her. She was quick to forget what God had said, “You must not eat fruit from the tree…. or you will die.” Her desires (what’s pleasing to her eyes, the thought of becoming like God and gaining knowledge of what’s good and evil) took control of her and she and her husband, who was with her, disobeyed God.

Application:

The devil is a deceiver. He is the father of lies and has been lying from the very beginning. Any thoughts that are not of God has only one place – out of our lives. We must submit to God every desire in our hearts. There is nothing wrong when we desire good things for our children. It is right to desire education for them, to provide for them, etc. But sometimes our desires (such as a car or vacation I cannot afford, etc.), if they’re not part of God’s plan for us, can get us into trouble. Ask God, “Lord, is this what you want for me?” As Jesus’ followers He is our Lord and we must always seek His will for our lives and be able to say no to things that will hinder us from being in right relationship with God (obedience).

Prayer:

Jesus, today I declare You Lord over my life. Help me to see things in my life that I need to let go, or run away from, or stop doing. I love you, Lord. And I will choose to obey You. Help me to hear you clearly when You speak to my heart.

tet

SCRIPTURE:

Luke 4:17-18 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
 ¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
      because he has anointed me
      to preach good news to the poor.
   He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
      and recovery of sight for the blind,
   to release the oppressed,
    ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

OBSERVATION:

Jesus was born in a little fishing village called Galilee. At the time Israel was under military occupation by Rome. Rome’s rule was that the Jews could own land and continue to make a profit in business, as well as continue to worship God in the temple. However Rome imposed taxes on just about everything,(no wonder tax collectors get a bad rap in the bible). They heavily exported goods out of Palestine for their own use and to make a profit. What typically occurred is that certain favoured Jewish families were granted special status and were employed by Roman authorities to be involved in business and export. (Think of the Rich Young Ruler.) Because of this many Jewish fishermen and their families were not able to get work as individuals and were very poor. As well this would have caused common food shortages in Palestine.(Why did Jesus multiply so many fish, if Palestine’s waters were filled with enough to feed God’s people?) Because priviliged groups ruled over the temple, poor families were commonly not able to bring their own offerings for worship. Instead temple priests would force them to buy “good” animals to sacrifice at very high cost. This created a market for temple lenders. These were people who loaned money to poor families at extremely high interest rates so that they could buy the animals. This would send families into debt. (Forgive us our debts.) Debt was common in Jesus’ time and place. This was the world that Jesus came into. This is “the world” that Jesus calls us not to be like.  

APPLICATION: WHen Jesus called the rich young ruler to forsake what he had, he wasn’t doing this because he wants us all to be poor. He did this because the rich young ruler was able to get rich by exploiting others. Jesus was calling him to an allegiance to justice. He was calling him away from the systems of greed of the day. When Jesus said forsake your father and mother, he was condemning the rich families who stored up more than their fare share of the wealth that God had blessed all his people with. He was calling people out of the corrupt system. He called them to a different way of life. Acts 2:42-47 tells us that the early Christians shared all their possessions in common. Those who had, gave to those who did not. This is what God had wanted for Israel all along. Jesus came to bring about this. The ‘favourable year” Isaiah talked about and Jesus proclaimed had come through him, refers to the OT rule that every 50 years Israel was called to celebrate the “Jubilee”. In this year all money debts would be forgiven even if the party couldn’t afford to pay. All land would be reclaimed by the original tenants, so that everyone would own the land that God had given each family in the first place. All slaves would be set free. In other words if there was poverty in the land it would be no more.

Today, injustice still exists and we are called as Christians to proclaim the favourable year of our Lord.

Today’s Roman Empires - Canada? the United States? China? Europe?

Today’s Rich Young Rulers - Walmart? Apple? The Church?

Today’s Temples - Square One? Scarborough Town Center? Future Shop? Television?

Today’s Poor Fishermen - South American and Asian textile workers? Immigrants? Sex Workers?

Today’s proclaimers of the Jubilee?  Me? You?

PRAYER:

Dear Jesus let us proclaim your liberty and your salvation. Let us live as one person put it ‘more simply so that others may simply live.” Jesus may we abandon the ways of the Kingdoms of this World that wage war against each other in a violent game of power and greed. Jesus fill us with your Spirit so that we may live out your mercy and justice and grace. May this generation come together in the spirit of John the Baptist, to question the powers of this world and to put them to shame by living out a radically different calling. May we remember those who were exploited and do our part to bring about God’s way

Today’s reading: Psalm, 65, 98, 138  & Proverbs 18

Theme: Praise

DAY 18

Scripture: The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Prov. 18:21 NIV)

Observation: Words are a reflection of the heart. Naturally our hearts should cause our mouth to speak. They have potential for great good or great harm. Words can affect us tremendously (Prov. 13:2-3). They can also grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30-31).

Application: As the book of James teaches, we should be quick to listen and slow to speak (Jas 1:19-20; Eccl 5:2; Ps 141:3). We should guard our hearts and mouths, especially, when we are angry and very emotional. The Holy Spirit will help us when we ask Him. Let us be encouraged today to fill our mouths with praise, thanksgiving to our God, and as Paul says, “whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – we are to think about these things” (Philippians 4:8), for “out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34-35 NIV).

Additional Reading . . .

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. (Pr 10:19 NIV)

But no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (Pr 3:8 NIV)

Let the words of my mouth AND the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Ps 19:14)

Prayer:

Dear God, help us to be thoughtful with the words we utter in our every day lives. Above all else we guard our hearts and protect our lips from evil talks. May we not participate nor contribute to anything that are destructive. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

junn

Below, is a video from Relient K.   Be Blessed!

Scripture:

Lord, listen to my words. Understand my sadness. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, because I pray to you. Lord, every morning you hear my voice. Every morning, I tell you what I need, and I wait for your answer. You are not a God who is pleased with the wicked; you do not live with those who do evil. Those people who make fun of you cannot stand before you. You hate all those who do evil. You destroy liars; the Lord hates those who kill and trick others. (Psalm 5:1-6 Contemporary English Version)

Observation:

I noticed that David would pray to the Lord every morning to cry out for help and to wait for God’s answer to his prayers. This is his lifestyle! David believes that God hears his voice in prayer. And He pours his heart out to Him and continues to seek His guidance to show him the right thing to do.

Application:

It is right to lift up in prayer not just those we love but even those who persecute us. We can talk to God about everything like; when we are afraid, depressed, worried, upset … etc. We can be assured that God will answer our prayers.

Jesus said, “Love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you” (Matthew 5: 44 NCV)

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, it’s good to know that you hear my prayer. Show me the right thing to do. Show me clearly how you want me to live. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

junn

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)

To “fix our eyes on Jesus” means we are to look away from everything and look only to Jesus, the One Great One, who should be everything to us.  The challenge for us is to make sure that the distractions of life do not slow us down or knock us out of the race.  Jesus is the one who endured the cross and shed His blood for us so that our sins may be forgiven.  Jesus is the One who will make all things new.  We are to put our faith in Jesus and trust in Him only, no matter what our circumstances are.

Think about Jesus’ example… He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him.  So do not get tired and stop trying  [Heb. 12:3 (NCV)].

junn

S - Scripture:  ”I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus and there you will be told all that you are to do.’ I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led into Damascus by my companions,” Acts 22:10-11 (NLT)

O - Observation:  Upon Encountering Jesus, Paul recognized him as Lord of all, asked the only appropriate question, “What shall I do?” and obeyed without reservation.

A - Application:  This ought to be each believer’s continual, daily response to God. Renewing the mind, requires seeing Jesus as the one who controls all things and who alone deserve to direct our lives.

P - Prayer:  Father God, take all of me - I submit to your Lordship - show me the way that would please you. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

junn

S - cripture: John 9:1-41 . . . Jesus heals a man born blind.

O - bservations:

Here, on a Sabbath day, a man born blind is healed by Jesus. Such an incident stirred people’s hearts and minds. According to their law, no one’s allowed to do any kind of work on a Sabbath. Jesus broke the law that they (Jewish people) received from Moses. Was He being rebellious about their Sabbath Law? Or, was He challenging their thinking about it? There were several accounts in Scripture when Jesus ministered to people on the Sabbath (read Matthew 12:1-14; Mark 2:23-28 – 3:1-6; Luke 6:1-11). The Pharisees and other Jews were greatly offended by this “work on a Sabbath”. But Jesus continues to do the work God sent Him to do. And, clearly, NOTHING or NO ONE could stop the coming of the Kingdom to those who believe…. not even the Sabbath. Jesus has authority over all. He is Lord of the Sabbath. He did not fear any man. He kept doing the work that God sent Him to do so that people might come to believe in Him. Jesus obeyed the Father in everything. Nothing and no one can stop God. He will do what He wants and when He wants to.

A - pplication:

Reading this story 2000 years later, I am also confronted with this question that the blind man asked the Pharisees, “Do you want to become His disciple, too?” For me, how can I say NO? How can I resist this IRRESISTIBLE Jesus. There’s only One LORD and I BELIEVE.

P – rayer: Jesus, I believe that You ARE the Son of God. I believe that You ARE the only Way to the Father. I believe that You are LORD and You have authority over all things. So, Jesus, have your way in me, I pray, Amen.

junn

S-Scripture- Luke 19:12-27

vs.26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.”

O-Observation- The parable Jesus is speaking about relates to our ability to multiply what God has provided to us. Jesus is speaking to the disciples to ensure that we become good stewards of the resources He has placed under our authority. Jesus cares about multiplication and wants to ensure that those who have been entrusted with resources multiply their resources for the glory of God.

A-Application- My hands and feet, the knowledge I have and my actions must result in multiplication towards the kingdom. In every area of my life I must ensure that I am not only producing a good result but participating in increase for the kingdom.

P-Prayer- Help me Lord to be your hands and feet of multiplication in all matters of the kingdom. In Jesus name amen.

Dave