- araratchurch
- Jul 11, 2022
- 3 min read
“”And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.””
Exodus 8:22-23 NKJV
When I was a little girl, all zoos—at least those I knew about—had animals in cages. When at the zoo, it was clear that you were in a place where the animals could not reach you.
As opposed to the animals-in-cages approach, now there are zoos where the means of containment for the animals is more subtle. In other words, there may be a hidden moat, or some other natural looking obstacle, that keeps the animals from interacting with people. Now, if you were just dropped into one of these places (with the not so obvious boundaries for the animals), you might suppose that your life was in danger. But the fact is, the animals cannot get to you to harm you.
Full disclosure: although I hate to see animals in cages, there is some heightened sense of security when you see the barrier between you and the dangerous animals. In fact, I think most people really want to be sure that there is provision for their safety when in dangerous situations.
Now, here’s the problem with always wanting to see what is protecting us: in the realm of the spirit, we rarely see God’s provision of protection for us. Oh yes, after some incident in which we were miraculously saved, we may know that only the Lord could’ve protected us; but we probably never saw the source of the intervention. And because this is the case, many people are afraid when they really don’t need to be afraid.
When we see scary things going on around us, it can shake our very core. But, we must remember that as God’s children we have an unseen Hand of protection, care and keeping!
“A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;”
Psalms 91:7-11a NKJV
There is no doubt that we are living in the Last Days before the coming of Jesus Christ; and as such, we will continue to see scary things going on, much of which is the result of judgment. But instead of joining in on the world’s fear, we must remember that these things must come; and God can actually use them for our benefit!
“Wait on the Lord, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.”
Psalms 37:34 NKJV
Today we find Moses in the situation involving the ten plagues that came upon Egypt. But, in reading the whole account of the plagues, you will find that the Lord, beginning with the third plague, makes a clear distinction between the Egyptians and His people. I’m sure it was scary for them to be aware of what was going on; but the Lord did indeed protect His people and used the plagues to force Pharaoh to let the people go.
For today let us discover what Moses discovered:
Though judgment looks scary, God protects and promotes those who are His.
- araratchurch
- Jul 10, 2022
- 3 min read
“So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage. “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.” And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?””
Exodus 6:9, 11-12 NKJV
“For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.”
Exodus 7:12-13 NKJV
It’s a rude awakening in life when you realize that no matter how hard you may try to be friendly to others, and to not abuse others, there will always be those that just don’t like you.
Several years ago I was driving in my car, thinking about what my father had said the day before about praying for your enemies. I said in my prayer, “Lord, I thank you that I don’t have any enemies.” The Lord spoke to me very clearly and told me that I did have enemies and that they were working against me. Now, some people may think that would be an odd thing for the Lord to say, after all, isn’t He all about love? Yes, He is about love; but He also knows what is in people: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Soon after that I found out that there were those—for whatever reason—who were working against me, putting me in a light of suspicion. I was honestly surprised and saddened.
Jesus explained that our relationship with Him would most likely divide us from others who don’t believe as we do.
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’”
Matthew 10:34-36 NKJV
But when we are rejected because we speak and stand for the truth, we should know that we are in very good company. As Stephen pointed out just before becoming the first Christian martyr, being persecuted is more often than not the “thanks” for the prophets of the Lord:
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.” When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.”
Acts 7:51-54 NKJV
However, there is a blessing associated with being persecuted because of Jesus!
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:11-12 NKJV
Today we find Moses in a position in which he would find himself over and over again, as he spoke for the Lord, and was then rejected because of the word. At this point, he has been rejected by his own people, then rejected by Pharaoh, who would reject Moses’ word over and over again.
Moses has been given his commission by the Lord, even entrusted with the ability to perform mighty signs and wonders, yet these very things caused him to be rejected.
If in your walk with the Lord you expect others to welcome His word—and you—with open arms, you are going to be sadly disappointed. But remember, our part is to be obedient and faithful to the word of the Lord. And—when in so doing we experience rejection—it is not an indication that the Lord is not with us, rather, that the word is doing what the word does.
For today let us discover what Moses discovered:
Rejection is often part of the process of following the Lord.
- araratchurch
- Jul 10, 2022
- 3 min read
“Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them. And they said to them, “Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.” So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.””
Exodus 5:20-23 NKJV
I know that what you really don’t want to hear about today is roach baits; but hear me out. Different companies make roach baits. These baits have some irresistible delicacy (to the senses of a roach) mixed with a potent roach killer. The way these work is that the roach is attracted to the bait, eats the bait, also taking it back to the nest. Ant baits work much the same, actually working even more quickly as ants are such tireless workers. Now, on the ones I have used (as much as I love animals of all sorts, insects cannot share my home) there is a disclaimer saying that there may seem to be more roach/ant activity when you put out the bait. But—given time—it will work the way it is meant to work.
Here’s another scenario: anybody who has ever had a knee or hip replacement knows that they went from bad to worse quickly after the replacement was implanted. So, there is generally a period of time when the surgery is regretted. But—given time—for healing and therapy, there is often great pain relief.
I have known people who had wounds where the surface had healed over but the inner part was not healed and contained infection. The remedy was to totally expose the wound again, making it look worse. But—given time—it healed as it was supposed to heal.
Now, what do roach baits, joint replacements, and scraping out infected wounds all have in common? As you have probably already supposed, they all present a scenario that looks worse, but GIVEN TIME, gets better.
We see examples in the Bible of people who—after being anointed to be king—went through an intense period of assault and struggle. We also see people who, having received a promise from the Lord, are first met with a move in the “wrong” direction (ask Joseph about that).
Today we find Moses, having just been assured by the Lord that he has been sent to deliver God’s people, facing the anger of people whose situation is worse because of Moses’ intervention.
We will later learn that the Lord has allowed circumstances to harden Pharaoh’s heart so that the plagues would come on the Egyptians, proving the preeminence of the God of the Hebrews.
My mind now turns to prophetic passages referencing the fact that (in the end of days) the Lord will actually allow the gathering of all nations against Israel so that they may be dealt with (and I mean DEALT WITH) in one fell swoop.
““For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land.”
Joel 3:1-2 NKJV
“Then the Lord will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.”
Zechariah 14:3-4 NKJV
We don’t have a full understanding of how everything works. But the Lord does. If He has said He will do something, He will do it. It just doesn’t happen on our time schedule and we may see some “scary” things before the word is realized.
For today let us discover what Moses discovered:
Sometimes it seems things are getting worse before the breakthrough.