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Exodus 8:11

But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, his heart was hardened; and he did not heed them, as the Lord said.

Personal Challenge

We all have difficult times that surface in our lives. Often we will turn to God and make promises to Him that our behavior will change if He will just help us with our difficulty, one more time. We pray more. We go to more church services. We even read the scriptures. Then, when God responds and starts helping us through the challenge, our hearts change, they harden, and we renege on our deal with God. God wants us to be true to Him all the time, for He is true to us all the time. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Matthew 7:21

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Personal Challenge

One of the institutions that Jesus was in conflict with was the church itself. Between the sadducees and the pharisees, the pomp and ceremony of the church became more important than the people within the church. Jesus makes it clear that many people who proclaim the name of the Lord, do not actually know Him and are therefore at risk of not entering the kingdom of God. What God wants is for us to be obedient to him, not putting on a show for him. Are we loving him and doing what He desires of us? Are we feeding the poor, clothing the naked, caring for the widows and the orphans amongst us? Are we pursuing the lost sheep and leaving the 99 to take care of themselves while we bring the lost one home? God wants us to be Christians all the time and not just talk about being Christians. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Exodus 3:5

So He said, “Do not come any closer. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

Personal Challenge

Here we find Moses standing before the burning bush and in the presence of God. He is told to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. This makes me think that we, the modern day Christian, have become too “familiar” with our God. We no longer hold Him in awe because of His holiness and majesty. We treat Him as just another person around us. This leads us to a place where we no longer heed Him as our Lord and Master, we follow Him frivolously, we ignore His commandments to love Him above all else and our neighbors above ourselves. We must continue to recognize God as God and submit entirely to Him, obeying Him, and loving those around us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Matthew 7:15-16

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

Personal Challenge

According to 1 John, what is the core essence that should be in the heart and life of everyone who proclaims to be a Christian? Love! Love for our God and love for our brothers and sisters, our neighbors. What does this have to do with false prophets and ravenous wolves? When our churches become more focused on the glorification of our liturgical and worship practices, the performance of choirs and leaders, the less we become focused on the simple, loving, and transparent teachings of our Lord. The practice of “doing” Christianity becomes our god that we worship rather than the God that calls us to “be” Christians. This is when even the leaders of our churches, the priests and the pastors, become the false prophets and ravenous wolves. This is when those who have a love for our Lord that focuses on being His light and salt are pushed out of the their churches because their message and belief is challenging and uncomfortable. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Genesis 50:19-20

So Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for I belong to God. But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”

Matthew 7:7-8

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Personal Challenge

God is not our vending machine who delivers whatever we ask for when we drop a prayer in the slot. He is our Father. He is our creator. He is our Lord. And He desires that we be in a relationship with Him. Relationships are hard. They take work and and persistence. That is why Jesus instructs us to persistently ask for what we need, seek Him and our Father earnestly, and continually knock on his door desiring to be with the Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Genesis 45:4-8

But Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore, do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to save life. For this is the second year of famine in the land, and five years still remain in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. For God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth, and to sustain you as a great remnant. So now, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Personal Challenge

Joseph’s brothers had done a very capricious thing to their younger brother. They were jealous of him and ultimately sold him into slavery and then faked his death so that his father would not suspect them. As a slave in Egypt. God blessed him because he stayed true to God. In this passage we find him sharing his feelings about these events with his brothers. God had a plan for Joseph. Joseph trusted in God. He looked back on everything that was done by his brothers, and others, as things that help God’s plan play out. This is always the way to look back on our lives… seeking to understand what God’s plan has been and how we can be used as part of that plan. Lord, have mercy! Lord have mercy, Lord, have mercy!

Matthew 6:31-34

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Encouraging Words

It is encouraging to hear from our Lord, that if we seek Him and His righteousness, then He will take car of us. This is a promise that He makes to us and He keeps His promises. We do not have to live our lives like those who do not know Him, always worrying about the things of this earth, for our treasures are in heaven. Glory be to God.