“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” – 2 Corinthians 3:18 REFERENCE: II CORINTHIANS 3:12-18 New Testament believers have no veil over their faces, unlike Moses, who wore a veil to hide God’s glory reflected on his face (Exodus 34:29-35). You and I can look at God’s face as we study His word (which reflects His image like a mirror) and reflect the image of His glory to our world. We can share unhindered...
“Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” ~ Genesis 30:31 REFERENCE Genesis 29:31-30:2 Humans are mostly needing beings, preoccupied with things they desire, and spend time praying about things they lack. Leah desperately wanted her husband’s affection; she longed to hear him say, “I love you,” and if it meant bearing several sons to get it, so be it. However, it was not on record that Jacob loved her. It seems the more sons she birthed; the more aloof Jacob was from her. She finally...
“She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore, his name was called Levi.” ~ Genesis 29:34 REFERENCE: Genesis 29:30-35 Leah was a woman unloved by her husband; this created a great gap (her husband’s attention and affection) that she needed to fill. Although God compensated her by making her prolific in child-bearing, she lived her life trying to gain her husband’s love, as we can see in our main text. Leah saw child-bearing as a way of getting her husband to love...
“When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.” ~ Genesis 29:31 REFERENCE: Genesis 29:30-35 Leah was a wife of fraudulence forced on Jacob by Laban, her father. Jacob loved her younger sister Rachel instead, and worked to pay for her dowry. But Laban tricked him into marrying Leah because he said it was improper for the younger sister to marry before the older. Jacob had to work for a second seven years for the dowry and still married Rachel. Hence, Jacob loved Rachel and ‘tolerated’ Leah. How emotionally crushing would this have...
“He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes; in seven no evil shall touch you.” – Job 5:19 REFERENCE: Job 5:19-27 God delivers His children from all troubles, no matter the size or kind. For example, He said, “I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit,” Zechariah 9:11. If you have found yourself in a situation where everything around you is dry, God’s got you. David said, “He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me,” Psalm 18:17. If those with authority and power over you are oppressing you, God has the power to break...
“He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes; in seven no evil shall touch you.” – Job 5:19 REFERENCE: JOB 5:19-24 God is a very present help in trouble. That is, in trouble, He is with you to deliver you. In our text, Eliphaz said about God, “He will deliver you in six, and indeed, in seven troubles.” No matter the kind or size of the trouble you find yourself in, you are assured of God’s deliverance. There is nothing that will confront you in this life that God cannot confront, there is no trial that comes your way that...
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” – Psalms 34:19. REFERENCE: PSALMS 34:17-20 Life comes with its many twists and turns, but there is a God who delivers. David echoes this in our text; bad things happen to the good and godly ones, but the Lord will save them and not let them be defeated by what they face. As a believer, you will experience trials, persecutions, and afflictions sometime in your life journey, but that should not be your focus. Your focus should be on the victory that is assured....
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” – Psalms 34:19. REFERENCE: PSALMS 34:17-20 Affliction is anything that causes persistent pain, harm, distress, suffering, or agony. Affliction can manifest in the form of diseases, terminal illnesses, and recurrent loss, be it physical, spiritual, or financial. Isaiah 53:4 says of Jesus, “Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Jesus also suffered affliction! He was rejected by His own, called a devil, nailed on a cross, bore all the sins (present and future) of the world, and finally, His Father...
Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible. – Luke 1:36-37 REFERENCE: Luke 1:26-38 What makes God worth being called God is that He has the power to make the impossible possible. The bible is full of instances when God did things eyes had not seen nor ears heard. The conception of the Virgin Mary was one of such. It seemed incredible, and even Mary herself wondered at the possibility of such,...
“Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.”’ – Genesis 18:9 REFERENCE: Genesis 18:6-14 Growing up as a Yoruba boy, the elders had an adage around the hymn, “Pass me not O gentle Savior;” they would say, “‘Do not pass me by, O Lord,’ is not a song you sing sitting down.” They meant you don’t want God to bypass you in life, so you must stand up to meet Him. You must go after what you want and take actions that communicate that you don’t want to miss...