When God Calls, He Enables

Israel had been oppressed by the Midianites for seven years because they did evil in the eyes of God. Despite their disobedience to God, He loved them, saw their suffering and set about His plan to rescue them.

Along came Gideon, a man who was the least in his family, from a clan which was the weakest in Manasseh. He was the lowest of the low and yet God chose to use him to in His plans to save the people of Israel.

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Pass It On

We read in Exodus that the Israelites had been rescued from slavery and oppression in Egypt by the mighty works of God through Moses. They went through the 10 plagues and then later the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. But the generation after Joshua has forgotten all these miraculous encounters, or they were not told what the Lord has done for their forefathers.

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Obedience to God in the Face of Fear

Moses had sent the twelve spies, one from each tribe of Israel, into the land God had promised. He asked them to recce the place and to bring some of the fruit of the land. This would help them assess the situation of the people of the land they were to conquer, and to know how fertile was the land.

At the end of the forty days, the spies returned to report their findings and brought back the fruit of the land. The visible evidence of the fruit of the land showed that the land was a land that flowing with milk and honey. This was the land promised by Yahweh when the people were led out from Egypt.

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Obeying God One Decision at a Time

In the 40-year journey towards the Promised Land, God made Israel into a nation by the giving of the Law of Moses, urging them to be careful and to heed His commandments. However, the Israelites were a grumbling lot who would craft their own idols and indulge in the pleasure of lives that were displeasing to God. Repeatedly, they forgot about God’s provision and protection over their lives.

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You Know Better than I

Joseph, was an extraordinary young man. He had a lot of things going for him. Gifted, A good education, loving parents who favoured him. Much to the chagrin of his older brothers, they were jealous of him, that they did what they did to him. He would’ve been no older than 20 years old when he was sold off to slavery and experienced another pitfall in his life and ending up in a pit.
With much time to himself, we can presume that he could reflect and ponder on his “fate”. But he never forgot all that he was taught.

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When the Odds are Not in Our Favour

Jacob’s journey takes him to the East where he finds Laban, his mother’s brother. He then begins working for Laban. After Laban asks Jacob what his wages should be, we read that “Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, ‘I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.’” He had noticed Laban’s younger daughter Rachel and had fallen in love with her.

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Let the reality of pain and suffering move us to prayer and action

Psalm 46 provides a dramatic picture of swirling trouble and chaos, as though the whole foundations of the earth would break apart and as though the seas would destroy the mountains. In the midst of this, the Psalmist calls the people of God to go to God for refuge and strength, acknowledging that He is their only dependable source. With the promise that God would inhabit His people, the people of God can stand strong, God being their helper.

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Nourished by the Bread of Life

“I AM the bread of life.”

This is the first of seven ‘I AM sayings’ of Jesus found in the Gospel of John. It was said to the crowds who sought after Jesus after experiencing His miracle of feeding the five thousand (John 6:1-13).

These ‘I Am sayings’ were specific revelations of who Jesus is, drawing from Exodus 3:14, where God revealed Himself to the Israelites as ‘I AM WHO I AM’. I AM describes a God who is completely sufficient in Himself. He stands ever present and unchangeable. In using ‘I AM’, Jesus was alluding to His own divinity.

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