Verse of the Day: Exodus 4:11 The Lord said to him(Moses), “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
Memory of the Month: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Today's reading: EXODUS 4-6 MATTHEW 14:22-36
The Return
We live in a world that is governed by 'returns'. The great question of the world or indeed, the self, is "What's in it for me?"
Returns on investments? What have you invested your life in? What are you planning to invest your life in? What is the next best move? What will happen if you fail? What will happen if you succeed beyond all expectations?
None of us know what will happen on this earth. None of us really know. After all the great education and planning there are still only very few who have planned their entire life and lived out that plan to its end. I know a man who has a great education and is super intelligent and has worked as an executive in 6 different areas. He is considered a success but none of these areas is the area in which he began.
At what point did we reduce ourselves to 'intelligent squirrels' who just lay up nuts for the winter?
Yes, I know...a lot of good has come in this world from the squirrels who work and give and try to help people. My question is, "What have we done to prepare for what comes after the winter?"
Samson was the strongest man who ever lived. His body was probably like no other ever seen. He was a beautiful specimen of a man. Now, we focus mostly on what finally happened to Samson. He defeated more of his enemy on the night he died that in any other single battle of his life. But what was the entire story?
Samson had a weakness that was not just cutting his hair. He was a slave to sin-sexual sin. He could not leave the women alone. He was a Levitical priest and was forbidden by God to go after foreign women. After visiting a harlot in Gaza, he fell hard for a woman in another foreign city.
He had plans for his entire life-to serve God as a priest. He turned his back on God's laws and found himself a slave to the enemy-with no eyes-powering a grist mill-in chains. Blindly he walked day after day in a circle.
We often overlook this part of the story. He sinned against God.(The wages if sin is death. Romans 3:23)
Isaiah 30:15 - The Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says, “If you come back to me you will be saved. Only by remaining calm and trusting in me can you be strong.
The best part of this story to me is not Samson's victory in his death as he conquered his enemy, but the prayer he prayed just before it.
“Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more..."
If you are young and working, remember, the battle is the Lord's, 2 Chronicles 20:15. No matter what happens to your plan through victories and defeats, return to the Lord-keep returning to the Lord. He is patient. Pray, everyday,
"Sovereign Lord, remember me, please God, strengthen me for this day".
If you find yourself going in a circle day in and day out, return to God. If we return to God He is faithful.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If you plan for life or you are
in the middle of your plan, remember this:
Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
Unless the Lord is in all our plans, they are in vain. If the Lord 'builds the house'-if you ask God to guide you and you obey Him, if you give your life into His hands, if you 'delight' in Him, He will give you the desires of your heart, Psalm 37:4.
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
Forgive me, have mercy and forgive me for planning and working plans without you and for being disobedient.
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