“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” Genesis 28:15 REFERENCE Genesis 28:10-15 In this account, God promised Jacob that He wouldn’t leave Him until He had done what He promised He would do in his life. Jacob’s time in Haran with his uncle Laban wasn’t all rosy – he was deceived and forced into marriage, he was cheated and his wages were changed ten times, he labored and slaved running Laban’s business, he faced hostility from his cousins, and...
And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.” Genesis 21:6-7 REFERENCE Genesis 21:1-7 The background to this story is found in Genesis 18:1-15 where God visited Sarah to make her a promise that she would bear a son. In this account, He visited her to perform that promise in her life. Irrespective of how impossible it was for a 90 year old woman to bear a child,...
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” Genesis 18:12 REFERENCE Genesis 18:1-15 As a young girl, Sarah had many hopes like any young girl. She must have said to herself, “I will get married at 20, and by 25, I will have all my children.” But, it did not happen like that; things did not go the way she expected, at least not after the order of life. Do you know what it feels like to have an expectation and wait for 70 years? I am assuming...
But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 1 Corinthians 12:20 REFERENCE I Corinthians 12:12-30 As believers God expects us to function as one Body in Christ. We all occupy different offices and have different callings and gifts, but we need to work together as a single unit in order so we can arrive at our destination quicker. It is our duty to look out for each other in the Body because if one part becomes weak or fails, it will definitely affect the rest of the Body. Sometimes, believers whose gifts are not so visible in the...
“And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.” Jeremiah 18:4 REFERENCE Jeremiah 18:1-6 The potter’s wheel usually spins around while the lump of clay is being worked on. That is so much rotation for the clay, enough to cause dizziness, but while that’s happening, the potter’s hands are wrapped around it, so that through the spinning, a beautiful shape is evolving. Like the pot on the Potter’s wheel, you may feel like you have...
That the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. Philemon 1:6 REFERENCE Philemon 1:4-7 When you look at areas of your life you think you are disadvantaged in, discouragement sets in, and several times a sense of despondency comes and you get stagnated. But, in God and with God on your side, you are never at a disadvantage. Yes, you are not…you have God on your side. This is not the time to sit and moan over what you lack or lost, it is a time to count your...
And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. Ruth 4:9 REFERENCE Ruth 4:1-11 In life, when it gets dark is when some people find the opportunity to shine. While some may be swept away by the waters of an economic wave, those with foresight will be lifted by it. Boaz was one such person that was lifted by an economic wave while others drowned in it. The book of Ruth reveals Boaz’s character and some practical...
…Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.” Ruth 2:15-16 REFERENCE Ruth 2:1-16 The greatest temptation in times of famine/economic downturn is to become tight-fisted and to hold back from giving to God and to others. The need for self-preservation becomes very strong, and the fear of not having enough if you share what you have tends to take center-stage in your heart. Considering what transpired in this story...
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. - Ruth 1:22 REFERENCE Ruth 1:22 & 2:1-8 Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem from Moab at the beginning of the barley harvest; so, it was barley that Ruth went out to glean at Boaz’s field. It has been discovered that barley is cheaper than wheat and easier to cook, so it was actually the food for poor people in the days of famine because they couldn’t afford wheat which was...
Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!” Ruth 2:4 REFERENCE Ruth 2:1-4 Stephen covey, an American author, told a fable about a struggling farmer who had a goose that laid golden eggs. This farmer soon became rich by selling the goose’s golden eggs. He was too fascinated with the eggs that he seldom feed the goose. One day, in his eager quest for more golden eggs, he decided to ‘cut open’ the goose. To his surprise, there were no eggs inside the goose;...