"How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?" ~ Hosea 11:8 REFERENCE: Hosea 11:8-9 "How can I" in this verse is not about the inability to do a thing; it is God declaring the absurdity of doing it. It is like someone saying, "How can I stop following Jesus?" It is not because the person cannot stop following Jesus, but why should they; it would be absurd to do so. So, when God said, "How can I give you up," He said to Israel, "Don't ever think that I would do that; it...
“Hearing God’s teaching and doing nothing is like looking at your face in the mirror and doing nothing about what you saw…But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it…” ~ James 1:23-25 (ERV) REFERENCE: James 1:23-25 The entrance door to our office has reflective glass. I have noticed that when anyone wants to enter the office, they glance at themselves. Mirrors do have that effect on people. However, how many people look at the mirror to pay attention to what it says about their looks and make adjustments? Many take a...
"But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time." ~ Luke 1:20 REFERENCE: Luke 1:13-20 Have there been times when you left the place of prayer fully convinced that God had heard your prayers, only to say something like, "If only God would grant my requests," a few moments later? Perhaps you received a prophetic word from church or a revelation from your time of Bible study. Still, no sooner than that encounter, you say...
"Those planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing…" ~ Psalm 92:13-14 REFERENCE: Psalm 92:12-15 Aging is a human phenomenon that places certain limitations on men, which God is not bound by. He is the ageless one, and 120 years are just to Him, like 120 days. For this reason, He does not place an age limit on when He can call and use a man for any assignment. That means you are not too old to start...
"They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses on account of them." ~ Psalm 106:32 REFERENCE: Psalm 106:32-35 Every leader's nightmare is a 'people palaver' (trouble, nuisance, fuss). Any leader or business owner will tell you that one of the significant challenges they have to grapple with is people. Nobody ever puts on their resume that, "I am a gossip; I am very rude; I take what isn't mine; I cannot be trusted." These traits show up only after they join the team with their glowing resume. In Numbers 12:3, Moses is described...
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” ~ Isaiah 53:4 REFERENCE: Isaiah 53:1-5 If you are a human being, I am sure you feel the effect of man’s fall in the Garden of Eden daily. When Adam ate the forbidden fruit, the whole of God’s creation was thrown out of balance, and corruption came into the created order—pain, sorrow, sickness, afflictions, fears, etc., was introduced into the world because of sin. These became the totality of man’s grief. Grief (Hebrew: Chǒlîy) is a pain like a...
“He sent a man before them—Joseph—who was sold as a slave.” ~ Psalm 105:17 REFERENCE: Psalm 105:16-22 How different would our attitude to life’s misfortunes be if we saw them through the eyes of God? We would see that things are not as they seem. In the most turbulent seasons of our lives, God is ever present, working a bigger purpose and setting the stage for a testimony of His goodness. The events in your life happening around you now are not happening by chance; God knows. From man’s eyes, Joseph went through an excruciating experience of betrayal; his...
"Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn." – Genesis 48:14 REFERENCE: Genesis 48:9-19 Manasseh and Ephraim were brought to Jacob, their blind grandfather, to bless them. Their father Joseph placed Manasseh, the firstborn, by Jacob's right hand and Ephraim on the left. The reason is that the first in the order of birth should receive the double portion blessing of the spiritual inheritance. However, a switch occurred, and the younger was blessed by...
"Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, "My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life." ~ II Kings 8:5-6 REFERENCE: II Kings 8:1-6 Nothing changes a man's life quicker or more dramatically than finding himself at the right place at the right time and with the right people. This rarely happens, but it...
"The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers." ~ I Chronicles 10:3 REFERENCE: I Chronicles 10:1-8 Nothing pleases God more than to be obeyed, and nothing displeases Him more than to be disobeyed. Obedience to God tells Him that we trust His good intentions and plans for our lives; it shows Him that there is only one Lord, and it is Him and not me. We often go against God's word and counsel because we are ignorant of the dangers of disobedience. Disobedience to God will cost a man more...