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Exodus 19:5-6

“‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be a special people to Me above all nations; for all the earth is Mine. You shall be to Me a royal priesthood and a holy nation.’ These are the words you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

Encouraging Words

So, if we, the people who obey Gods’ voice and keep His covenant, will be set apart as a special nation above all nations, then why is not America, which so many claim to be a Christian nation, a royal people and a holy nation? Have we, as Christians who have keen blessed to live in a nation that has Christian people in it, forgotten what God has been teaching us from the beginning of time? Have we fallen into the same misunderstanding as the Jewish nation and believed that God was referring to a kingdom made by man? The Church, the universal body of Christ, is the special people, the holy nation, the royal priesthood that Exodus is referring to. This holy nation exists in Russia, England, China, Mexico, South America, Africa, America, and every other country in the world, It exists in every physical country that has at least one believer in it. Why is this important to embrace? Because if this is truly my nation, then I am only an ambassador, an alien, in the physical nation that I live in. I exercise my rights and responsibility in that earthly nation but I do not surrender my citizenship to that nation. God is my supreme Leader, not some elected official.

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

I do not understand Greek, so I have to rely on the experts when it comes to the analysis of what was meant when Greek was used as the original language. In these verses, we are told that the verbs ask, seek, and knock are present progressives. In common language that basically means; “be asking,” “be seeking.” and “be knocking.” It means that I should be in a constant state of prayer asking, seeking, and knocking. This is another reminder that my relationship with God is synergetic and that I must be engaging with Him in order to expect anything from Him. This also implies that what I am asking for is in alignment with God would deem best for me, not all of the cool stuff that I want in this world. If I am living my life this way I will be seeking God by trying to learn His truths and His will. And if I am knocking, then I will be knocking on God’s door seeking to know what His will is for me as His child. Living my life this way makes the whole concept of asking, seeking, and knocking totally different and totally God-centered. Glory be to God!

Psalms 13:5-6 (12:6 LXX)

But I hope in Your mercy;
My heart shall greatly rejoice in Your salvation;
I will sing to the Lord, who shows kindness to me;

Exodus 15:2

The Lord became my helper and the shield of my salvation;
He is my God, and I will glorify Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

Encouraging Words

Moses, in his wisdom, and because of his relationship with God, was able to prophesy of the incarnation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He was not looking forward to a man that would someday be born that would grow up to be a man that could just rescue his people here on earth. He was looking forward to that day when God Himself would become a man and become our helper and our shield who could rescue us from the hold that death had upon us. Moses lived his life with that hope, that prophecy, at the core of his essence, and through that lived a holy and righteous life. We, today, are blessed that we live in the age where this prophecy has been fulfilled and we too must put our hope in the living God and not the institutions of man to take care of us. God is our supreme leader, not the soon to be president of the United States. God is our shield and protector, not the military or our police forces. God loves us and tells us to love our neighbor, His way, not the way of Black lives Matter or White Lives Matter (or whatever the counter group is). He should be the center of our universe and not us. Glory be to God!

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.”

Command With a Promise

Once again we are told what to do, how to live our as Christians, and we are given the promise to go along with the command. So, what is the command? To go through our life, day by day, not worrying about how on basic needs will be met and to set our hearts and minds on the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. And, what is the promise? Our heavenly Father knows what we need to live our lives and He will provide for those needs. Now once again, this interaction requires my action, my involvement. This does not mean that I can lay around all day and expect God to send everything that I need my way, I must engage in life as a productive person in my society. If I am keeping my heart and mind on God then I will be doing things with a focus on quality and diligence that will generate that which is needed to sustain me. The key here is to not act or worry about how my needs will be met, I trust in my God to take care of me, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and in all other aspects of life. To God be the glory, not me!

Psalms 11:7 (10:7 LXX)

The righteous Lord loves righteousness;
His face beholds the upright.

Encouraging Words

Have you ever had one of those days where you ended up wondering if it was all worth it? Trying to live a good life, loving those around you, making difficult choices with others in mind, giving in to the needs of others, and just trying to do what you know deep down is the good and godly thing to do is not easy. When you live your life this way you feel like a fish swimming against the flow. But there is one promise that we can hold onto. Whether or not we ever get an acknowledgement about trying to live our lives this way from another doesn’t matter. What does matter is that God sees all and loves us and our attempts to glorify Him through our attempts to be upright and righteous. Thank you, Father. Glory be to You?

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

Using today’s logic and English language we record the story of Moses and Pharaoh as God hardening Pharaoh’s heart and not giving him a chance. This is not how God operates. God created us with free will and gives us the ability to choose how we want to respond to everything in our lives. So how do we reconcile this interpretation? We go back in time to where those who were closer to the original writings of the texts that have been handed down to us. John of Damascus (675-749 CE) shared in one of his commentaries on this passage that “It is customary for Holy Scripture to call Gods’ permission His action” (taken from the Orthodox Study Bible). Pharaoh consistently chose to harden his heart, even though God, working through Moses, gave him multiple opportunities to change his mind. And because God cannot violate His own creation, His own laws that He has put in place, He allowed Pharaoh to harden his own heart. The lesson in this for me is to continually ask the question, “Am I hardening my heart?” Do I consistently ignore the warnings that God lovingly gives me so that I can have my own way? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner?

Matthew 6:30

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Personal Challenge

Faith is so much more than just believing in who Jesus is. We have come to a place in our Christian practices that all that I have to do to be a Christian is to say that I believe that Jesus existed. There is so much more to being a Christian than this. Practicing a living, working faith in our lives is one of those things. Here we are told by Jesus that I must trust God in every aspect of my life, every minute detail. God promises to take care of me and to meet my every need. Do I truly believe that or do I strive on my own to meet all of my needs? Do I give of my abundance to those who need it more than I do or do I save it for a rainy day? Do I tithe and give back to God first or hold out until I have done everything that I want to do and give what is left over to God. Faith of this sort means being willing to take risks, to go on that short-term mission trip, to be loving and friendly to that offensive neighbor, to stand out in the crowd because I am willing to proclaim my Lord’s name. Faith is a verb, not a noun! To God be the glory.

Psalms 10:17-18 (9:38-39 LXX)

The Lord hears the desire of the poor;
Your ear heeds the readiness of their heart,
To judge the orphan and the humble,
That man may no longer increase his great boasting upon the earth.

Encouraging Words

Have you ever wondered why people always seem to gravitate to the underdog and root for those who are in a place of desperation? Well, we are erected in the image of God and this is where His heart and His attention is constantly focused. Even though He is the God of all and holds all of His creation in the palm of His hand, He still hears the desire of the poor and heeds the readiness of their heart. And as the beatitudes teach us, this poorness is not just poorness in physical wealth and possessions, but also poorness in spirit. This poorness in spirit reminds us that we are nothing without Christ. It teaches us that even though we have great physical wealth in this temporal world, if we do not have the living Son in our lives, then we are truly poor. His desire is for us to replace that poorness with His eternal wealth and then to share that abundantly. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!