God is Faithful

Exodus 2:2 “The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.”

Moses was beautiful when he was born and that beauty is referenced in Exodus 2:2, Acts 7:20 and Hebrews 11:23. This beauty of the baby has an important role in the salvation of the whole kingdom. This is because we learn that God blesses us for one important reason, we use them for Him. It is because the king’s order was so powerful that if they saved Moses, the whole family will be in danger. This beauty is the reason the mother was forced to protect the kid. As per Hebrews 11:23, this beauty gave the parents faith against the king’s orders.

This is the reason behind all our blessings and resources. If God has given us anything good, then He has a purpose with that. We can see many such examples like David’s experiences when he was a shepherd, Samson’s strength, Solomon’s wisdom etc. We do not see anybody sacrificing to or worshipping God. We read in Acts that Moses was divinely beautiful or beautiful before God. This tremendous beauty is God’s answer to a nation’s slavery. We expect the Lord to be powerful to show great miracles in our lives so that we will be proved to be successful in front of others. But God answers us with simple things like when the romans were ruling and Israel was so lost, a simple child was the answer and was encouraged to celebrate by us. It is not impossible for God to directly redeem and send us away from Egypt, but His plan is that we would become worthy to inherit Canaan.

God could have prevented the king from killing innocent children. We should know that God has pre-destined us and he knows who will actually get to live in Canaan. It was the children of those who were living there. The murders continued for many years and only Joshua and Caleb where spared. God knew who would enter glory and kept their parents alive. God would turn evil into good as in Gen 50:20 because He is faithful and has only one plan with our life that is we become worthy of the kingdom of heaven. In 1 Corinthians 1:9 we read that we are called towards the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Moses was delivered to the world for protection. The same Nile which had killed many children had saved Moses from death because God had a plan with him. Miriam wanted to see what would happen to Moses came forward and with a great courage and told her that she would bring somebody to nurse the baby. All this happens because the baby was crying. The baby was beautiful to be saved by Moses’s parents and he was crying to be saved by the Pharaoh’s daughter. We see God’s faithfulness here.

When Moses had grown up, he thought he was strong to kill an Egyptian. But the Lord never allowed him to fight the whole of his lifetime. Even in Midian we read that he just stood up and did not fight. In the only occurrence of his fight, we read he became fearful. In Galatians 5:20, we read how anger and enmity even to the worst enemy comes from the flesh. We read these sins as the works of the flesh. In flesh if we try to receive blessings or authority, people will say “who made you judge and a prince”. Moses was actually a prince but his own people denied that. In Acts 7:35, we read that. But if people had accepted Moses as a warrior, the actual salvation would not have happened. This is the faith we should have on God.

Even in Midian, Moses thought that all his beauty, his knowledge and strength was all used to shepherd a priest’s flock in wilderness. But it is the faithfulness of God to bring him to Horeb, the mountain of God. This is his destiny where he is transformed to be a great leader. To come to Horeb, he had to come through the taste of death, education by the world in its sinfulness (Hebrews 7:25), rejection by his own people and become a very simple shepherd with no great authority.

But life after Horeb is different.

Amen.

Taskmasters of the world

Exodus 1:11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Ramses.

The Jews in Egypt had grown well and the Pharaoh was very frightened because of their might and to control them, they had used taskmasters to ensure they perform heavy work. Satan uses a similar stand against us where he is really worried if we would escape his dominion or enslavement and become God’s free people. Our meditation today is on how Satan plans well to make us become his slaves.

The first thing we should learn is in verse 8 where there arose a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph. This person was the only reason of survival and so, the savior to the whole nation. But a king in the third or fourth generation had completely forgotten and this shows how grateful the kingdom is. This is how the world will receive any goodness from us. We would think that our work will produce well and keep us safe. We may think how our kindness to others will give back one hundred times. But the world which is an enemy is so selfish that it will consume all the goodness in us and throw us away in hell. John 15:19 explains how our efforts to please the world by making peace with it will throw us in hell.

The devil’s first plan against us is to use taskmasters. These people’s job is to ensure that we are in slavery. They do not allow us to think. Taskmasters slowly consume all our energy and will. Video games, cinema, TV serials are such task masters. We are not building anything of our own here. Their purpose is not to build a city or anything good, but to afflict us with heavy burdens. In Ex 5:10 we read how they work by just making our sufferings worsen. There are some taskmasters who seem to be good in our eyes like education, business ambitions, art etc. But these consume us more that the evil taskmasters. It is OK to work, but to spend all our energy is not good.

The truth is that we are already strong and mighty but ignorance had blinded the whole country of Israel. That’s why the Lord wants us to know the truth. The truth is that the Lord has made everything that is necessary for our redemption and has given us strength. The truth is so important that everything else is a lie. The truth can be only one thing but lies can be many. The truth is that we are mighty and too many for the enemy. The truth is that we can easily beat the enemy because God has made us strong. But we had not known this and allowed the enemy to plot against us. This is the reason why Jesus said that if we know the truth, it will set us free. This knowledge alone is sufficient but since we had allowed the enemy to enslave us and consume our strength, now we need a savior to come and save us out of the world. This is what we read in Isaiah 52:3.

The enemy has is cunning and planning to make us fall into their graves. We read that in 1 Peter 5:8. It is important that we do not take the enemy easily. Our resistance to him in primarily by being watchful and a sober mind. A lack of such an alertness will make us a prey for his deception. In John 8:44, when a person calls himself not enslaved after sinning as the son of the devil and he is a mighty tool of the devil and allows himself willingly for the devil’s purpose.

The devil knows that if we join his enemies, we will easily overcome him. And so, he makes sure that we become weaker and weaker day by day. This attitude in us not to look for external help is again useful to the devil. He wants us not to join others through prayer and fellowship. Also, he is sure that we will not initiate the revolution from inside because we look at him as our father.

The devil builds cities using our efforts to store his wealth. The pornography we watch in our teenage will be stored inside us to deceive adults. One sin like a small lie can bring forth bigger storehouses for Satan. So, let us be careful in our lives.

Amen.

Growth of Israel in Egypt

Exodus 1:7 But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

Israel was blessed well because of Joseph’s holiness and victory of sin. He was an important tool in the Lord’s blessing to Abraham. Even though Joseph was not the father of the family and to most of them, he was only an uncle, but God made sure that the whole nation grew well with this person’s opportunities. But this happiness did not last and they became slaves. Our meditation today is on how we grow when we are in the Lord’s protection and plan.

The Lord makes us fruitful. The fruit is attributed to the Holy Spirit who helps us produce well so that others could reap from us. We read the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. But in Proverbs 11:30, we read the fruit of righteous as the fruit of life. This means that this fruit which we produce will give eternal life to others who see our lives. This is important in Christendom. Our righteousness should have a purpose of burden towards souls. Every time we sin and stray, it makes our fellow people eat junk or poisonous food. We also should see that being fruitful primarily does not produce outside but inside our families. The ones who reap from our righteousness are the people we love and care about. It is important for every person to bear fruit in the Lord.

We read the word increase and multiply which both are the same in this verse. The increase is a result of the fruitfulness of ourselves. But multiplication is different where our products will be fruitful. God will not give us friends who support us, but friends and family who will have better ambitions and plans for themselves but will bring honor to us. Proverbs 29:2 shows how this multiplication brings joy to people’s lives. In every country or region, if the righteous, smart and educated increase, the whole region flourishes and the growth of righteous people alone brings hope to all. The problem with India is that all the money now is being stacked up with evil politicians who are not educated and so are their generations. These people are going to rule the future. But if there is a responsible generation who would stand up against corruption and is willing to make sacrifices without hoping for selfish plans, the whole country will flourish.

Being fruitful and multiplication is not sufficient until we are ready to face the enemy. That’s why the Lord made the people stronger. They became exceedingly mighty that the Egyptians were so worried of their growth. It is important that we understand Ephesians 6:12 where we struggle against powers and rulers of the kingdom. Adam’s sin gave this world up to Satan making it his kingdom. The righteousness of Jesus produces victory over the world and until He comes again to bind the deceiver, the Church is His product and the path towards His kingdom. For this, we should not just multiply but be strong enough to overcome. 1 Cor 1:26 explains that weakness in the world will be shamed because it is not actual might and power.

The result of this blessings to the country help them to fill our lands. If righteousness is strong and we allow that to multiply in our lives, that will fill our life completely. The church should be full of strong and fruitful members so that it can cause the enemy to be afraid. They might throw us into tribulation but we will overcome with the power of the Lord. Psalms 80:9 explains how God has worked strongly to clear everything that’s against His will out of Canaan and helped Israel fill the land. But Israel had failed and let corruption fill from inside. This caused the Lord to abandon them.

Let us be increase, be fruitful, multiply, become exceedingly mighty and fill the land.

Amen.

The Image of God

Acts 17:29 “Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.”

This verse is Paul’s explanation to those in Athens about how to seek and understand God. When we seek God, we do that with an expectation or imagination. This imagination is often the best of our own skills. For example, an engineer will seek a God who is very much more skillful and intelligent and a farmer will look for a God who provides good harvest. This is all our imagination and they are based on our own needs. Paul explains that we can do this if we do not have any relationship with God. We are His children and so, it is important that we see Him as God and not with man’s imagination. We should not align ourselves with men’s knowledge and craftsmanship.

The start of knowing God can be done from Psalms 100:3 that He owns us completely and had given us life for a reason. The verse emphasizes that we did not make us, which means we have to acknowledge His authority in our lives. In the verse we read that we are sheep of His pasture which means that God has created us so that he would feed us. He wants to decide on what we would consume and grow into. The Lord always has enjoyed calling Himself as the shepherd instead of owner or feeder because this job has both the responsibilities but with lots of love.

The primary quality of the Father should be seen as in Lev 11:44, Isaiah 6:3, 57:15 and 1 Peter 1:15, 16. The Father is Holy, Holy and Holy. Peter further explains that this is the only expectation of the Father from us. This is what He expects us to know of Him.

The Son came to us as a savior. He always addressed Himself as the redeemer, shepherd who gives his life. Peter explains how the redemption is complete through the Father and the Son together in 1 Peter 1:19-21. Because Jesus carried all the sins on mankind and died, God was powerful enough to raise Him up and glorify Him. So, if we believe that the redemption is complete, by the blood of Jesus and the power of God who raised Him up, we are saved. This was greatest gift to mankind by the son (Himself) and God (His only Son) and the mightiest act of God by raising Him up.

The Holy Spirit is our teacher and companion.  Any other purpose seen will misuse Him. If we do not seek the Holy Spirit for God’s purpose that is Holiness, His presence will be ineffective in our lives. In John 14:15 and 16 we read how the Holy Spirit is a helper for us to keep His commandments. The Lord Jesus always had mentioned that the Holy Spirit will bring to remembrance all that Jesus has taught. We also read in John 16:9-11 more effectively how the works of the Holy Spirit is done.

If we seek the Lord for this divine purpose, we would be pursuing His likeness with all our strength so that we can fulfill His purpose. But if we seek Him for anything else, we will be lost.

In Galatians 4:8, we read that we were slaves to those who are not gods by nature. This means there is no trace of any God’s character in these entities which enslaved us. A true picture of God only will liberate us from them. The following verse equates both knowing God and God knowing us as equals. But this knowledge should make us turn away from weak and worthless elements which take us to slavery again. If our worship and ministry does not liberate us and help us progress towards what God wants us to do, it takes us into slavery.

John 16:2-3 explains how extreme serving God without knowing Him will take us. This will push us towards breaking homes and churches to prove our service to God.

So, that is why Jesus mentions that knowing Him is eternal life and does not lead there, this knowledge itself is life to us.

Amen.

The Seven Churches - Laodecia

Rev 3:14 14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.”

The Lord introduces Himself as the beginning of God’s creation and not as the first creation but the start of creation. It means that He was present and was the primary reason why the creation initiated. The word amen means assurance and acknowledgment. The Lord calls Himself Amen which means He is the assurance of everything the Lord says. He is the faithful and the true witness means that He would communicate what is true to us and to the Father God. When He saves us, He does not cover our sins but cleans and removes them before presenting us to the Father. Amen also means that He is the final judge.

Laodicea was flourishing well in business. But had trouble in water. Colossae nearby had cool water from the mountains and Hierapolis nearby had hot water springs but the water in Laodicea was brought from Colossae through mud pipes built in their times. But due to the heat, when the water arrives, it becomes lukewarm and with the taste of the minerals it would taste awful. That’s why the Lord uses a very local example to teach the church.

The members of the church were rich because of the city’s business and had enough. But Lord confirms clearly and finally that it is wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. The Lord’s decision is final and He expects us to buy gold from Him and not anywhere else to become rich. He also wants the church to buy white garments from Him. He was telling businessmen that your gold is not gold and garments are wretched. This is because how the world can blind us. We may be experts in anything but the Lord wants us to understand that everything that we are is nothing but if we buy from Him, we can actually become rich.

We cannot buy when we are poor and naked. But the Lord considers that as a purchase if we come to him and receive. (Isaiah 55:1) Being poor, naked and blind are serious problems the church should attend to. And we should depend on the Lord for these problems sincerely. We should keep asking the Lord for solutions to these problems. Poverty shows how we will become pitiable we are and gold shows the knowledge and understanding they lack (Col 2:3). The white garment is holiness the Lord provides. The Lord gives us ointment but it is us who have to apply in our eyes. Otherwise the blindness which is our own understanding will continue to reign in our hearts.

The Lord assures that it is His method that he reproves and disciplines who He loves. Having worldly richness or self proclaiming richness does not mean the person is loved by God. So, we have to repent from our love of the world to Him. I stand at the door and knock is a very important verse. But we have to open the door with understanding that he loves and disciplines. Jesus would eat with us and we will eat with Him means that He will understand us and we will know Him. But we have to open our ears to hear his voice and open. We should not open because the door is knocked. But have to hear that it is Jesus who is calling and then open to Him.

If we conquer, He will honor us by placing us in His throne.