Pregnant with Promises

Now after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she secluded herself entirely, saying, [I have hid myself]. Because thus the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He deigned to look on me to take away my reproach among men. (Luke:1:24,25)

Zachariah and Elizabeth were an old couple who just got their shock of their life when the angel of the Lord announced that they will have a son soon. As per the angel's message, Elizabeth is now pregnant and what does she do? She goes into a hiding and for five months kept things to herself. She would have been tempted to confront all those people who might have made fun of her barrenness. But she didn't. She decided to carry the promise of GOD in the best possible way. By being humble and decided to spent time with GOD, thanking and praising Him for his mercy and faithfulness, making sure the promise got fulfilled in the end. 

We too get pregnant in our spirits when we encounter GOD and receive a word from Him, a promise, maybe. How we behave or use that promise determines whether it gets fulfilled or not. Yes, it's a promise from GOD, but we need to play an important in making it come true. Just like a pregnant woman's body prepares itself for child birth by undergoing certain changes, our spirit needs to be transformed with respect to the promise it is pregnant with. Our inner man needs to attain the spiritual maturity needed to steward the promise,(whatever it maybe like promotion, deliverance, salvation etc.) once it gets fulfilled. Our mind must be renewed and transformed daily in His presence, so that we will attain the spiritual maturity required to give birth to that particular promise i.e seeing it come to pass in reality. 

It's also important not to boast about our promise to others, sometimes even to our close family members. We all know what happened to Joseph, when he shared his dreams with everyone in the household instead of keeping it to himself. Of course, the Lord worked out all things for his good in the end, but it's a lesson for all of us. Elizabeth didn't make the same mistake that Joseph made. Hold on to your promise, proclaim it and confess it, until it becomes a reality. 

Blessings!

Prayer gets a Lot better

Now when God ravaged and destroyed the cities of the plain [of Siddim], He [earnestly] remembered Abraham [imprinted and fixed him indelibly on His mind], and He sent [Abraham’s nephew] Lot out of the midst of the destruction, when He destroyed the cities in which Lot had lived. (Genesis:19:29)

This verse tells us the relationship that the Lord had with Abraham in more than many ways. In the previous chapter, Genesis 18, the Lord meets up with Abraham and decides to reveal the plans concerning Sodom and Gomorrah. Why? Because that's what friends do and they have no secrets. The Bible calls Abraham as the friend of GOD, a friend He can trust. Jesus called His disciples as His friends and we are called to live in such a relationship with Him. How to become a friend of GOD isn't what we are going to ponder upon now, though. 😃

If we read the conversation between Abraham and GOD in Genesis chapter 18:16-33, we see Abraham pleading for the forgiveness of the twin sin cities Sodom and Gomorrah, where his nephew Lot and family are currently residing. But, conspicuously no where in their conversation did we find Lot's name being mentioned. Abraham was genuinely concerned about the plight of the people of both the cities that is on the verge of getting destroyed for their sins. He was hoping that the Lord would not carry out His judgement if He finds a handful of righteous people. Abraham knew it's a long shot and still, he never prayed like, "Lord, do whatever you want to them but just spare my nephew Lot and his family."

Let's go to Genesis:19:29, where we see that the Lord remembers Abraham and spares Lot and his family. Hang on a second, did Abraham pray for Lot's deliverance? No. But still, the Lord knew what was buried deep down in Abraham's heart. A silent unheard prayer for the safety of Lot. Abraham may not have prayed out loud but deep down he would have been worried for Lot's safety and the Lord heard his unsaid prayer and delivered Lot and his family. Likewise, when we genuinely pray for a cause concerning others, the Lord likes it so much that He will hear and answer our silent prayers as well.

Blessings!

Broadway is yours!

You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. (Psalms:18:36)

We have been taught how Christianity is about walking the straight and narrow path. It's very much true but the psalmist here talks about the Lord making his path broader so that he doesn't stumble. What a loving GOD we have! The world we live in is a fallen world and it's full of evil. Don't be surprised if we get treated undeservedly by people and wrongly accused of something which we didn't commit. Life is so unfair because of the world we live in. These things surrounding us make our paths so narrow that before we could realize what is happening we would have fallen.

Today, GOD is promising us that He can make our paths broader. When the path we are traversing is broad we can not only reach our destination quicker but will have enough time to look around and enjoy the ride. GOD wants us to enjoy the journey called life on this earth and He has made the necessary resources available to us. Proverbs:3:5 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." When we are dependent on our own strength to get through this life, we will focus only on whats ahead of us missing out on the things around us like our family, friends, love, peace and joy. But, when we put our trust on GOD, He makes sure the path is broad enough, keeping all the problems that we face at bay, and not allowing them to overpower us. 

No wonder David talks about this because Saul who had been a constant threat to his life was never able to overpower David because GOD kept him at bay. David trusted GOD and inspite of all the troubles he encountered, David enjoyed the ride praising GOD with songs and instruments. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (I Peter:5:7)

Blessings!

Call the Lord unlike Elijah

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” I Kings:19:1-4

The severe famine that Elijah prophesied a couple of chapters earlier didn't kill him for the Lord had sent the provisions miraculously through ravens. Elijah wasn't even flustered by the famine, because he was the one who prophesied about it and he very well expected GOD to take care of him and He did. The same Elijah's life is now under threat from Jezebel and he fled the scene in no time without checking with GOD first. Why? Because this is an unexpected event and he felt that he didn't have the same level of control he had with regards to the famine. It's important that we learn to trust GOD whether we feel like we are in control of a situation or not.

Moving on, it's amazing that Elijah choose to give up exactly after a day's journey into the wilderness. It's no coincidence that it matches the deadline that Jezebel had set to have him killed as we read in verse 2. Elijah thought that if he can get through a day- the deadline set by Jezebel to had him killed, the gods she worship may deal with her and he needn't worry about her. Maybe, that's why he left his servant at Beersheba, hoping to hear good news from him. But when that didn't materialize he gave up and asked the Lord to take away his life. How convenient! The lesson for us here is to trust GOD from the start and look for His guidance all along during times of trouble. It's such a bad idea to assume that things may pan out well and if it doesn't, we will only end up blaming ourselves and others just like Elijah did.

Blessings!

Christ carved in the Ark

The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” Genesis:7:1-4

We all know the story of Noah. It sounds even more wonderful when we look at the parallels it has with the life and purpose of Jesus Christ. The ark represents Jesus Christ Himself and the family of Noah is us, the humans. We were all placed in Christ when He faced the wrath of GOD's judgement and came out of it victorious on the third day. Similarly, Noah's ark had to face the judgement of GOD in the form of heavy rain and it came unscathed at the end, protecting those inside the ark. We also escaped the judgement just like Noah's family when Jesus rose from the dead, raising us along with Him.

..and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Genesis:8:4. The ark rested on the mountain top of Ararat. Similarly, Jesus Christ's act of redemption on the cross has placed us on heavenly realms according to Ephesians:2:6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. (NLT) We rest on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and enjoy the life of redemption.

Finally, Noah's family were told to go out and multiply. Similarly, when Jesus were taken up to heaven, He gave a final commission to all His followers that they should go out and evangelize the whole earth, expanding and establishing the kingdom of GOD. It's amazing to draw out Jesus Christ from Old Testament which is in reality a shadow of the New Testament. May the Lord open each one of our eyes to know the truth that is hidden in His word.

Blessings!

Tempted yet Strengthened

Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him. Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” John:7:3-8

This just cannot get worse for Jesus you would think. His own brothers are challenging him to go to Jerusalem and make a public display of GOD's power and reveal Himself as the Messiah. But Jesus patiently denies their request and goes to the festival unseen to avoid unwanted attention. For the time has not yet come for Jesus to reveal Himself as the Messiah. We see on many occasions Jesus strictly advising people not to publicize Him in order to keep His enemies plans at bay until the time is right.

Here though, Jesus' own brothers are kind of taunting Him for they did not believe in Him. How did Jesus resisted the urge to heed to their words? With the power at His disposal He could have done anything to them or gone to Jerusalem and made a public spectacle of His power. But He didn't. The key to Jesus staying calm even in this situation was that He has already experienced such kind of taunts earlier. Where? Jesus was tempted by the devil right before His earthly ministry began and those encounters with the devil stood Him in good stead when He faced similar temptations like this one from His brothers.

Are you feeling weary and lost because of too much temptations and troubles? Don't lose heart. It's all for your good and it's a learning curve for you to pass the future tougher temptations with flying colors. Remember, GOD never tempts us (James:1:13) but it's from the devil. GOD uses those temptations and bad experiences in our lives as lessons for us to learn which will help us to succeed in our future.

Blessings!

Mercy for all I see

At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Matthew:12:1-8)

The passage talks about how quickly we judge people and on what basis do we judge them. When the Pharisees judged the disciples attempt to get rid of their hunger by eating grain from the fields on Sabbath, Jesus corrected them saying the Pharisees wouldn't have condemned the disciples if they had known the meaning of the words "I desire mercy, not sacrifice". He even goes on to call the disciples as innocent. That's how GOD judges based on mercy, like what Jesus did with the woman who was caught in adultery.

Let's ponder on the words that really matter according to Jesus "I desire mercy, not sacrifice". Jesus is expecting us to trust His judgement and show mercy to the people who fail to live by the Word. Infact, the sacrifices in Old Testament were meant to bring mercy and forgiveness upon the people. GOD was more concerned about showering them with His mercies than receiving their sacrifices. When we see someone committing a sin, GOD doesn't want us to judge him/her quickly instead pray for His mercy. That GOD would have mercy on that person and he/she should turn back from their evil ways. Jesus showed us how it should be done when He hung on the cross crying "Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing". Jesus didn't judge anyone from Judas to Pilate to the Jews who were involved in His arrest and crucifixion, instead let GOD be the judge and He cried out for His mercy to fall on them.

The church and its rituals (sacrifices in OT) doesn't mean a thing if it isn't going to help people who are in need. We, the church should stop at judging the world around us and start being merciful to them and pray for GOD's mercy over the lives of those around us. The world will become a better place and it all starts with us. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew:5:7)

Blessings!

Blessings for the taking

....for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down. The mountains shake, and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily! (Isaiah:5:24-26)

This is a frightening explanation of events that would happen to those who reject and spurn the Word of GOD. It talks about how the Lord will lift up a banner and whistle for the evil to come upon the people of Judah who has spurned the Word of GOD. The good news for us in this is that whatever the judgement that was supposed to fall on us for rejecting the Word of GOD in our lives has already fallen on Jesus Christ. He bore all our sufferings, sickness and judgement on the cross on behalf of us.

What lies ahead for us, who accept and live according to the Word of GOD with the leading of the Holy Spirit? It's just the opposite of the above mentioned events. The Lord will lift up a banner and whistle for all the goodness to come upon us. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me. All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. (Psalms:23:6) What you think is impossible and what you have not even dreamed of or heard of, will come to pass in your life. I Corinthians:2:9 says What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived" -- the things God has prepared for those who love him. We are in line to receive the impossible and improbable blessings known to mankind. All we have to do is accept what Christ did for us on the cross wholeheartedly, rest in His finished work and look up to Him in expectation. Prosperity, healing, favor etc. are all ours for the taking.

It happened in the life of Joseph. Where ever Joseph went or sent rather, success followed him. Genesis 39:1 says The Lord was with Joseph and he was a successful man. Now, if Joseph who was under the older covenant experienced such a blessed life, how much more you and I are entitled to receive under the new covenant sealed and signed by the blood of Jesus Christ! Get ready to be overtaken by blessings of GOD!

Blessings!

GOD's heroes

Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent. (Isaiah:5:22 & 23)

We live in an age where there are no shortage of heroes. Especially on screens we have DC and Marvel comics fighting it out by introducing a hero in every one of their new film franchises. In this verse too, we come across a certain kind of heroes, who are heroes at doing the wrong things. What are we good at? Are we using the talents that the Lord has given us for the right reasons? Herbrews 11 is a chapter dedicated to the heroes of faith. GOD has called us to emulate them and add ourselves to that list by living a life worthy of our talents and faith.

GOD has called us to be the light of the world and He has put all the necessary ingredients in our born again spirit. It's up to us to co-operate with the Holy Spirit and shine brightly for the world to see. None of us can give an excuse saying that we don't have what it takes to be a hero. Who is a hero? A hero can be anyone who does what is right. No matter how he himself or others feel about it, a hero always does the right thing. There are things, big or small in this world that can be accomplished only by you. Never forget that. No one can play your role better than you and be a substitute for you. GOD has a specific purpose for each and everyone of us. It doesn't matter if it's being a good parent for our kids or being a president of a nation. GOD looks at each one of us through the same glasses - as His sons and daughters. For Him, you and I are His heroes. He is glad with what you have achieved so far and can't wait to see you do greater things in the coming days.

Blessings!

It's not wise to feel wise

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. (Isaiah:5:21)

"How do you see yourself in 5 years from now?" is a question asked during interviews often. What are we in our own eyes plays an important role in all walks of our life. When Moses sent out the spies to look at the kind of people staying in Canaan, they saw giants and they termed themselves as locusts except Caleb and Joshua who had a different view of themselves. A view similar to what GOD had about them.

The verse today for our meditation is not about how to look at ourselves but about how not to look and think about ourselves. It's dangerous to feel wise and clever about ourselves at the expense of GOD which would allow pride to creep in. Paul says in Romans:12:3 Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. With GOD, yes we are who we are in Christ but without Him we are nothing. Apart from Him we can do nothing.

We read about Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, an apostle couple who decided to sell their property and offer the money to the Lord. But, they thought they were acting wise and decided to keep a portion for themselves. That's what will happen to people who are wise in their own eyes. They think they are too wise and attempt to manipulate with regards to the things of GOD which is equivalent to cheating GOD. Their life ended right then and there. People who are involved in doing the ministry of GOD should be careful with the finances that they maintain. It belongs to GOD and the money is their responsibility. It should be spent for the ministry as per GOD's leading and should not be used for personal gain. If misused or manipulated it will not only ruin the minister's life but also puts the Lord's name under shame.

Jesus had the chance to manipulate when He was questioned about paying taxes, yet, He paid them instead, acting as a perfect role model for us to follow. The more we rely on GOD, like Jesus did, the more humble we will be. Humility keeps the devil away, who tries to deceive by prompting us to manipulation just like he did with Ananias and Sapphira. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? (Acts:5:3) Let us not fall for his trap.

Blessings!

Roll on, Gilgal

Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. (Joshua:5:9)

As I was about to write this blog, I noticed that the verse taken for today's meditation is from Joshua:5:9 and guess what? It's today's date. 9/5 or 5/9 in whatever format you like. I didn't notice it while I was reading the portion and I am sure its not a coincidence. I believe and a few certain men of GOD like Bill Johnson believes that there are no coincidences in the life of a believer. Well, we are off to a great start today and I can't wait to see what GOD is going to do in yours and my life in relation to 5/9.

Let's dive into the scripture now and see what it has to offer. We all knew the verse "The Egyptians you see today you will never see again." from Exodus 14:13. The Lord gave this as a promise to the people of Israel when they had just left Egypt and at the Red Sea with Pharaoh and his armies closely pursuing them behind. Here at Gilgal (meaning rolling, wheel), the Lord says He has rolled away the reproach of Egypt from them as they had just set foot on Canaan.

What is GOD trying to say to us from this passage? Even though the Israelities never had to encounter the Egyptians again, they still were carrying the reproach caused by their life of bondage in Egypt. If you read the first few verses of Joshua chapter 5, it is clear that all the people that came out of Egypt had died and the remaining ones are a new generation, born during their parents wandering in the wilderness for disobedience. The slave generation, who were still under a slave mentality even after coming out of Egypt, with their unbelief and disobedience and willingness to return to Egypt doesn't exist anymore. A new generation that has seen the hand of GOD leading and guiding and providing miraculously is what remains now. At Gilgal, a new generation without the disgrace, shame and reproach of Egypt has risen!

In our lives too, our old sinful life is finished the moment we let Jesus into our hearts and a new holy life has begun. GOD is calling us to bury the scars of our past and create GOD driven memories for our future. Let's get it started.

Blessings!

No Knowledge = Bondage

Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding; those of high rank will die of hunger and the common people will be parched with thirst. (Isaiah:5:13)

Two things happen when we, believers don't have the knowledge of GOD. The first one as this verse points out, a lack of knowledge or understanding of GOD will make us prisoners. The Israelities were taken captives and kept as prisoners due to their lack of knowledge of GOD and His promises. Today, we too without our knowledge are prisoners of so many mediums. A little retrospection of our lives will tell us what kind of a prisoner we are. For example, many of the believers from the Western countries have started practicing Yoga in the name of an exercise to keep their body healthy. But little did they know that Yoga is a form through which satan can have access to their lives. Yoga's meditation involves blanking our minds which can be a doorway to satan according to the Bible in Matthew:12:43-45. The positions a person takes up while performing Yoga resembles that of a serpent and some of them are a form of worshiping the idols of the east. That's what lack of knowledge can do to us. We need to be careful and be equipped with the knowledge of GOD to escape from the snares of the devil.

Secondly, lack of the knowledge of GOD can lead us in crucifying Jesus on the cross, for a second time. Jesus said in Luke23:34 "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." The people of Israel failed to recognize Jesus as their Messiah that the prophets and the Law had foretold and crucified Him. Today, some of us still use our own efforts and rituals to reach GOD instead of believing the finished work of Jesus on the cross. If we keep condemning and hating ourselves daily for every mistake that we make, when Jesus has paid for it, it is equivalent of saying that His sacrifice is in vain and He had to be crucified again. Let's not do that. Jesus has paid for all of our sins and you are a free individual.

Blessings!

Good grapes is what it takes

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. (Isaiah:5:7)

This chapter is referred as "the Song of the Vineyard". When we read the verses from 1-6 it narrates about how GOD goes to great lengths to cultivate a vineyard expecting good grapes in return. But all He got in return was only bad fruits. In verse 4, He says "What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?". The Lord did everything He could but still didn't get the expected results from the vineyard.

We see that the vineyard here represents the people of Israel (v.7). The good grapes that the Lord was looking for was mentioned in verse 7 - justice and righteousness, which the people of Israel failed to produce. Now, how this verse is relevant to us today? GOD has planted each one of us in his vineyard (the Kingdom of GOD on earth) and expects us to produce justice and righteousness. One of the things that the Bible refers to as justice can be found in Ephesians:6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is just and right. As individuals are we obeying our parents? As a church, are we obeying our elders? As an employee, are we obeying those who are above us at work? Any disobedient behavior is what GOD refers to as bad fruit.

The second part, "righteousness" is what GOD was looking for but what He got was "cries of distress". The reason can be found in the following verse "Woe to those who join house to house and join field to field [to increase their holdings by depriving others], Until there is no more room [for others],So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land! (Isaiah:5:8) The people of Israel were taking advantage of the poor among them by abducting their lands and houses, which caused the poor to make that call of distress. Even today, some of us are taking advantage of innocent and ignorant people around us. We are sitting on their blessings claiming it to be ours. We have robbed their time, space, peace and wealth and yet calling ourselves believers and justifying our actions. That's a bad fruit in the eyes of the Lord. Let's repent and return back those that are not rightfully ours.

Blessings!

Don't wait for me, not this time!

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. (Exodus:14:15 & 16)

We all find ourselves crying out to GOD in a critical situation sometime or the other in our lives. Moses was no different. But the answer he got from the Lord seemed to be sarcastic. It was as if GOD was saying "Why bother me when you already have the solution?. So, what's the solution the Lord is talking about? Isn't it the right approach asking GOD for guidance when we don't see a way and at the same time hard pressed against all sides? Let's explore further.

Moses performed unfathomable miracles before the eyes of the mighty Pharoah and his people with the "staff" that he carried with him all the time. At this juncture, the Lord was expecting Moses to take a leap of faith using his staff, just like he had done before. The same staff with which he has performed mighty miracles so far. Of course, the staff didn't have any magical powers but it was the power of GOD that worked through it. If Moses indeed did try it, the Lord surely would have honored his act of faith and performed a miracle on his behalf. In contrast, let's look at the life of David. When he came up against Goliath, he never cried out to to the Lord, but took a giant leap of faith. He went to Saul and voluntarily signed up to fight the Philistine. How did he do that? David derived that courage and faith from his previous victories against the bear and lion. Once he knew, it was GOD's will to get rid of the Philistine, there was no holding him back.

GOD wants us to take such bold steps of faith. We need not wait for a clear sign from Him every time and we may not get one every time. Just step out of the boat like Peter or show yourself to the king like Esther, provided the step that you are taking by faith is in alignment with GOD's will. The Word of GOD is the will of GOD!

Blessings!

It's Personal

When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel. (Deuteronomy:17:18-20)

This commandment was given by the Lord to be followed by the future kings of Israel. It applies to each one of our lives as well even today but in a slightly different way. It says that the king has to write for himself a copy of the Law given by GOD. It tells us that no matter who we are and what position of authority we hold, it is imperative to get a personalized copy that is a personalized word from the Lord in every step of our lives. It's not getting a brand new copy of a Bible but to spend time with the Lord and get a personal word from him "for ourselves" daily and act on it. The king himself has to write with his own hand writing, it has to be personal - a personal relationship with GOD. We can't and shouldn't always depend on others to get that Word for us.

The commandment goes on to say that the Word has to be with the king and he should read it all the days of his life. The personal word which we have received from the Lord shouldn't be forgotten. It will come in handy not only when we are faced with a daunting task in our jobs, family or businesses but also while making simple decisions. It goes on to say that when we follow carefully all the Words given to us by GOD, we will stay grounded and will not think highly of ourselves more than we ought to. This will enable us to have a secure position in our lives inspite of whatever wrong that is happening around us today.

Blessings!

You are Unique!

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. (I Samuel:8:4&5)

The people of Israel decided to replace the Lord GOD with a man as their king just as the Lord had predicted in Deuteronomy:17:14. GOD didn't stand in their way as He always does with people who reject Him. GOD is good and a loving Father and He never forces us to do things His way. He decided to let the Israelities have a king but not before instructing Samuel to make it clear the problems they would face if they appoint a human as their king instead of the Lord himself. GOD didn't want them to get hurt and tried to change their hearts by showing the consequences of a bad choice they were making, but they wouldn't listen.

The people of Israel requested for a king not only because Samuel's sons weren't as good as he was but by mainly looking at the nations around them. They forgot their uniqueness and the calling that the Lord had placed on their lives. After all, how many nations had the privilege of having the Almighty GOD lead them from the front? None, except the Israelities. That's their uniqueness. Many times, we too forget how unique we are in the hands of GOD and look at people around us and wish to become like them, whereas GOD had called us to become like Him. We can do that only if we chose to be the individual that He created us to be.

It happened as early as in Genesis, when the serpent tricked Adam and Eve. They forgot the fact that they are already GOD-like and ate the forbidden fruit in order to become like GOD! You and I shouldn't fall for that lie of the devil. Study the Word and know your identity in Christ, grow deeper in Him and we will not be swayed by the thoughts of becoming someone else. When Moses was born, his parents saw something unique about him that they decided it was worth a risk to keep him hidden unlike the other Hebrew parents who thought it would be for a lost cause. GOD has created each of us unique in His own image and the more we realize who we are in Christ Jesus, the more we will become like Him.

Blessings!