From all the teachings that I have heard, I have never really heard anyone talk about Jethro, Moses' father-in-law. But last night, I was reading my Bible (I am reading the book of Exodus at the moment), a portion I have read once or twice before, but this time, God showed it to me in a different light.
In Exodus 16 and 17, we hear the Israelites complaining and gnashing their teeth quite a number of times at God and Moses because they feel that they have been brought into the desert to die. Indeed!... lol... But here is Moses, as soft-hearted as he already is, having to deal with these complaining and ungrateful Israelites. That must have been a handful for him. But God in His own splendid wisdom was preparing a way for Moses to be relieved of some of the stress He was feeling at the time, so that Moses did not give up and turn around. In any case Moses always presents His case to God and so it was only about time that God was going to straighten Moses' path. (Prov. 3:5-6).
Along comes Jethro, who had not made it a point to visit Moses until this time. How did Jethro find Moses anyway, since the Israelites had been moving around quite a lot? All this was God's plan. So let's see how God worked. In Exodus 18, Moses explains to Jethro, his role as the judge of the Israelites in verses 15-16. He would have probably been expecting a compliment from Jethro on how he was handling the business of judging the people well and his sacrifice of doing the job from "morning to evening". However, Jethro does the opposite in verses 17-23, showing Moses a better way of being a judge. This may seem insignificant but it is not because through this advice Jethro gave, we see the beginning of the formation of the judicial system which most countries have developed. And this idea all came from a priest of God, around the time that the Israelites were being taken to the Promise Land.
I want us to concentrate on the fact that Jethro is mostly considered to be a minor character in the Bible. Although people do not really look at the story of Jethro, he was, in reality, a major instrument for God. First of all, he hinted at the structure for the judicial system that we have in our nations at the moment, and then went on to provide Moses with the means through which he could rest and not be too stressed out by the people. This is Jethro's story; an insignificant one indeed.
This just got me thinking about the fact that in our lives today as Christians, we see a lot of our fellow Christians doing big things and achieving great things in the Kingdom. They are the Moses's of our time. But we forget that some of us have been chosen by God to be Jethros to advice the Moses' and encourage them not to get weary, while establishing "judicial systems" in our own little ways. People do not regard us because we are not in the "spotlight" like the Moses', however, we must remember that God has different plans for each and every member of Christ's body (Jeremiah 29:11-14). In any case, who is supposed to be the "spotlight"? Us or God? We must remember that we are only vessels for God's Kingdom and His Glory, and that's that. No more no less.
So in our walk with Christ, as we continue to strive to live for him, let us remember that there are Moses' and there are Jethros, each with a different purpose. Appreciate who God has made you because the little that you contribute to someone's life will go a long way to blessing other people through that little act of kindness or that advice or that sacrifice. Remember that God has called us called all those who love Him according to His purpose for our lives (Romans 8:28), so let's live according to that purpose. You are equally important.
God bless you!! Live for Christ!!!
Wednesday 29 June 2011
Tuesday 28 June 2011
IT SIMPLY DOES NOT EXIST
I have heard quite a number of people use it and I have used it quite a number of times to encourage fellow believers. But the phrase: "God will not give us anything we can't handle" simply does not exist anywhere in the Bible. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says:
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
This verse has been misquoted so much that we have arrived at the new verse "God will not give us anything we can't handle". But rather than preach the wrong thing, I feel that it is necessary that we begin to understand the difference in the actual verse and what we have finally come up with.
God NEVER said that He will not give us a situation we cannot handle; rather He said that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear for even in our temptations, He will provide a way for us to flee or stand up to the temptation. You see, in this verse, God is telling us that as Christians, there is no excuse for us to stand before Him and say that "There was nothing I could do; the lie was necessary" or "Father, I had to steal the money; how else am I to survive" because He has given us a way out, no matter how dire and hopeless our situation may be. He wants us to understand that we can indeed live without sin, because, Jesus Christ, whom we are being conformed into His likeness (2 Cor. 3:18), lived as a man, without sin. This is what Paul was teaching us in 1 Cor. 10:13.
Although God will not tempt us beyond what we can bear, He will certainly give us more than we can handle. Not because He is a wicked God, but because He wants us to understand that His weakness is stronger than any man's strength and His foolishness is wiser than any man's wisdom (1 Cor. 1:25). God places us in situations where we WILL be overwhelmed because He wants us to realize that leaning on our own strength is futile, but when we commit our ways into His hands, He will make our paths straight (Prov. 16:3). In those situations where we feel hard-pressed and hopeless and down, that is the moment where God decides to show Himself strong and lift us up out of the slimy pit and the mud and mire and set our feet upon a rock and give us a firm place to stand (Ps. 40:2). This is the same message Paul gives us in 2 Cor 1:8-9.
Our loving Father wants us to know that He loves us so very much and that in every hopeless situation, He is there to lift us up. Do not rely on your own strength in whatever you are going through, but look to Jesus and He will lift you up!
God bless you and continue to live for Christ!!!
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
This verse has been misquoted so much that we have arrived at the new verse "God will not give us anything we can't handle". But rather than preach the wrong thing, I feel that it is necessary that we begin to understand the difference in the actual verse and what we have finally come up with.
God NEVER said that He will not give us a situation we cannot handle; rather He said that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear for even in our temptations, He will provide a way for us to flee or stand up to the temptation. You see, in this verse, God is telling us that as Christians, there is no excuse for us to stand before Him and say that "There was nothing I could do; the lie was necessary" or "Father, I had to steal the money; how else am I to survive" because He has given us a way out, no matter how dire and hopeless our situation may be. He wants us to understand that we can indeed live without sin, because, Jesus Christ, whom we are being conformed into His likeness (2 Cor. 3:18), lived as a man, without sin. This is what Paul was teaching us in 1 Cor. 10:13.
Although God will not tempt us beyond what we can bear, He will certainly give us more than we can handle. Not because He is a wicked God, but because He wants us to understand that His weakness is stronger than any man's strength and His foolishness is wiser than any man's wisdom (1 Cor. 1:25). God places us in situations where we WILL be overwhelmed because He wants us to realize that leaning on our own strength is futile, but when we commit our ways into His hands, He will make our paths straight (Prov. 16:3). In those situations where we feel hard-pressed and hopeless and down, that is the moment where God decides to show Himself strong and lift us up out of the slimy pit and the mud and mire and set our feet upon a rock and give us a firm place to stand (Ps. 40:2). This is the same message Paul gives us in 2 Cor 1:8-9.
Our loving Father wants us to know that He loves us so very much and that in every hopeless situation, He is there to lift us up. Do not rely on your own strength in whatever you are going through, but look to Jesus and He will lift you up!
God bless you and continue to live for Christ!!!
WE ARE EQUIPPED
So I was just reading Exodus one evening and this message hit me. God instructed Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let His people go, but Moses was to scared, doubtful and unsure of his abilities that He pleaded and pleaded with God to “send someone else to do it” (Exodus 4:13; NIV). God then introduced Aaron as Moses’ helper (Exodus 4:14-16; NIV), but still charged Moses to use the staff that he had in his hand, since it was going to perform miraculous signs (Exodus 4:17; NIV).
I read all that and it got me thinking. God sends us out with a task at-hand, but we complain about our inadequacies and choose to remember and remind God about our inabilities, just because we are afraid that we cannot do what God has sent us out to do. We choose that moment to forget that God has blessed us with talents and abilities, and as a member of the body of Christ, we have individual but special roles to play in the Kingdom of God. We forget about what we carry in our hands.
God will surely give us an Aaron to help us, support us and hold our hand as we strive to accomplish the goal He has laid down for us, BUT that staff in our hand, which is supposed to do miraculous signs, is what we must believe in. That that ability, talent, tool that He has so graciously blessed us with shall be put to use in His Kingdom so that people may see and glorify our Father in Heaven (Matthew 4:16 ).
In whatever situation or encounter we may have gone through or may be going through, we must remember that God will never leave us nor forsake us and so we should not be terrified, neither should we be discouraged, but rather we must be strong and be courageous because the Lord goes before us (Deut. 31:6). In any case, He has provided us with an Aaron in every endeavour that we shall face. But primarily, we must remember that God has equipped us properly to walk through the fire and come out unscathed because He will be with us. He has adorned us with a staff that shall perform miraculous signs to bring HIM glory. Go into the world a fearless child of God and release the Israelites from bondage. We are not alone!
God bless you! Live for Christ!
I read all that and it got me thinking. God sends us out with a task at-hand, but we complain about our inadequacies and choose to remember and remind God about our inabilities, just because we are afraid that we cannot do what God has sent us out to do. We choose that moment to forget that God has blessed us with talents and abilities, and as a member of the body of Christ, we have individual but special roles to play in the Kingdom of God. We forget about what we carry in our hands.
God will surely give us an Aaron to help us, support us and hold our hand as we strive to accomplish the goal He has laid down for us, BUT that staff in our hand, which is supposed to do miraculous signs, is what we must believe in. That that ability, talent, tool that He has so graciously blessed us with shall be put to use in His Kingdom so that people may see and glorify our Father in Heaven (Matthew 4:16 ).
In whatever situation or encounter we may have gone through or may be going through, we must remember that God will never leave us nor forsake us and so we should not be terrified, neither should we be discouraged, but rather we must be strong and be courageous because the Lord goes before us (Deut. 31:6). In any case, He has provided us with an Aaron in every endeavour that we shall face. But primarily, we must remember that God has equipped us properly to walk through the fire and come out unscathed because He will be with us. He has adorned us with a staff that shall perform miraculous signs to bring HIM glory. Go into the world a fearless child of God and release the Israelites from bondage. We are not alone!
God bless you! Live for Christ!
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