"Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held — To subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut." ~ Isaiah 45:1 REFERENCE: Isaiah 45:1-4 Do you sometimes wonder if you have what it takes to do what God has called you to do? Do you feel you are to bless multitudes but struggle with the how or capacity to? What you need is divine enablement to do the work of God. That divine enablement is...
“For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, and stripped the naked of their clothing.” ~ Job 22:6 REFERENCE: Job 22:5-11 Eliphaz wrongly scolded Job as a great sinner. He concluded that his suffering was because of his social injustice. He charged him with wickedness, extortion, oppression of the poor, denial of sustenance to the weary, and insensitivity to widows and the fatherless plight. He said that for these reasons, snares, darkness, and sudden troubles surrounded Job. Eliphaz was wrong because Job wasn’t all he said; Job’s situation was by divine permission. Although Eliphaz was...
“So, the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.” ~ Exodus 2:2 REFERENCE: Exodus 2:1-10 Moses was one of the greatest leaders who walked the face of the earth. He was a friend of God and was the only one recorded to have seen God’s body parts. God attested that He spoke with Moses face to face as a man talked to his friend. Described as the meekest of men, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Reading about Moses gives...
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” – Genesis 8:22 REFERENCE: Genesis 8:15-22 God has set some universal laws in place that, if we understand and deploy them, we can influence our outcomes in life. One such is the law of seedtime harvest. It is a timeless principle of sowing and reaping. For every seed, there is a corresponding harvest. In other words, if you plant any seed, God sees that it yields a harvest after time elapses. Today, one seed you can sow in...
"Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening... And Joshua said, "Alas, Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? ...” ~ Joshua 7:6-7 REFERENCE: Joshua 7:1-9 'Why?' is often the pivot upon which our life improves. It forces us to probe our situation, seek for reasons, and discover solutions/answers. Isaac asked God, "Why?" when Rebecca had a difficult pregnancy. When in depression, David questioned, "Why are you cast down...
“But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs; therefore, the king was furious, and his anger burned within him.” ~ Esther 1:10-12 REFERENCE: Esther 1:1-12 The unfolding drama in today’s text led to the divorce of this royal couple; it all started with an ill-informed and ill-timed request from a drunk king, drunk with power and wine. It shows how most quarrels start in relationships, friendships, and marriages: two wrongs. The husband started it, the wife responded, and it elicited a response from the husband, and it all went sour. In the...
"For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock." ~ Acts 20:29 REFERENCE: Acts 20:26-36 Paul significantly invested in leaving a spiritual legacy. He gathered this group on the eve of his travel and told them what to expect from the enemy after his departure. Yet, he reminded them that he had prepared them by his teachings and lifestyle and commended them to the word of God. He warned them that the enemy is diverse in his antics of attacks (savage wolves and perverse men); hence, they must also...
“And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” ~ Luke 12:15 REFERENCE: Luke 12:15-21 The inordinate quest for riches today is quite alarming. Don’t get me wrong, God wants you to have riches, but He does not want riches to have you. He does not want you to lose your soul or faith in pursuing riches. There is a spirit behind money; if you do not learn to second money to your love for God, it can corrupt you. That is why...
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." ~ Romans 12:21 REFERENCE: Romans 12:17-21 We live in a world where evil and wickedness prevail. We all confront evil at some point and seek to overcome it. The problem, however, is that evil has unknowingly sipped into us because we live in this world; hence, our tactic for fighting evil is often with evil (i.e., revenge). Yet, the only scripturally guaranteed way to defeat evil is with good. Yes, it takes light to win darkness. Good wins over evil. I will illustrate with a story in...
“And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you?” ~ Malachi 1:6-10 REFERENCE: Malachi 1:8 When someone gives me a gift that I know they could have done better, it irks me and says they are either stingy or do not value me that much. I’m sure you feel the same way. The quality of our generosity is often the test of our capacity for kindness, goodness, or spirituality. When God...