Category Archives: Devotional Studies Through the Bible

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Fit To Be Tied

 

Now the LORD said to Moses,

‘One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt;

after that he will let you go from here.

When he lets you go,

he will surely drive you out from here completely.  

Exodus 11:1

 

The climax is here. The tenth plague upon Pharaoh and the land of Egypt has been pronounced. The death of the firstborn son. This plague will be an attack on Pharaoh himself. The people of Egypt believed that their Pharaoh and his firstborn son was an incarnate god. He was believed to be a god-king. He was worshiped, as was his firstborn son. In all the land of Egypt the firstborn was often worshiped, the firstborn of man and beast.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the thin line of the thread of truth that can be found in all false religions. This proves to me the accounts of Scripture because all these thin threads when followed come to the Word of God. All roads point to the Word of God and the Word of God point to the one road of Jesus Christ. There is only one “firstborn” who is worthy of our worship.

He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn of all creation.

For by Him all things were created,

both in the heavens and on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-

all things have been created through Him and for Him.

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

He is also head of the body, the church;

and He is the beginning,

the firstborn from the dead,

so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.  

Colossians 1:15-18

In Exodus 4:22-23 we read “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, ‘Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.”  The word firstborn in Hebrew is bekor. This word does not just mean first from the womb, it also denotes preeminence. This preeminence means having the responsibilities, rights, and privileges of a firstborn.

Jesus is called the firstborn not because He is a created being, but because He is preeminent in power in all things. He holds the right of the firstborn in everything. He was the firstborn from Mary’s womb. He was the firstborn and only begotten Son of God. He is the firstborn among the dead as He is the first to die and rise to never die again. However at the peek of it all He holds the responsibilities, rights, and privileges of the firstborn because He was God the Son before He even entered Mary’s womb. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things.     

Although Israel was not the first nation to exist, it is this nation that God says is His firstborn. He claims them and calls them His son. The people of Egypt believed that Pharaoh and his firstborn son were incarnate gods, but the True God is declaring that Israel is His son. Moses is to deliver this message to Pharoah after God has performed all His signs and wonders in Pharaoh’s sight. God knew before Moses started that it would come to this death.

God does not hide the pronouncement of this plague from Pharaoh. Moses explains to him that at midnight God will go through the land of Egypt and all the firstborn will die, from the very son of Pharaoh to the son of the slave, as well as the firstborn of the cattle. However, not one son of Israel will die, so that Pharaoh would understand how God makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel (Exodus 11:7). God began setting apart the land of Goshen with His fourth plague and the children of Israel have been protected from every plague since.

Moses is so very frustrated with Pharaoh. He knows that God has given Pharaoh opportunity after opportunity to let the Hebrew slaves go, yet he has refused. Pharaoh has continued to harden his heart. The judgments of God and the mercies of God have only angered Pharaoh.

In his stubbornness he has had absolutely no regard for the people of his nation. No concern for the plagues he has brought upon them because of his disobedience. Now Moses stands before him announcing this plague of death and still Pharoah refuses to bow, “With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor…” (Proverbs 10:9)

We read in Exodus 11:8 that Moses “went out from him in hot anger.” Moses was angry and God did not rebuke him for this anger. Moses was angry because Pharaoh continued to push God. He was angry because he had seen the torment that Pharaoh was bringing on his own nation because of pride. His refusal to repent and his refusal to do what was right for his people was beyond the understanding of Moses.

Oh precious one have you been there?

Have you watched friends and family continue to live in disobedience to their Creator even after they have experienced His judgments and His mercy?

Have you experienced the frustration of knowing that they have clearly seen the hand of God in their lives yet they still refuse to submit to His authority?

Have you sat by and had to watch the destruction they brought into the lives of others because of their disobedience?

Know precious one that it is okay for us to be angry. But also know that you must not act out in anger, but go out from them, and let God do what God has to do.        

 

Oh Father,

How easily we can be deceived by the deceitfulness of sin. The serpent of old is quite crafty and he knows us well. He is a master at perverting Your truth and there is no other who knows how to appeal to our pride as he. Oh Father may You open our eyes to Your thread of truth and may we follow it as a lifeline to Your Word. May Your Word then cut us to the quick and judge our thoughts and the intentions of our heart (Hebrews 4:12). My God, help me to walk in humility so that my pride would not be used by the evil one to destroy another.

 

My Jesus, it’s in Your name that I pray,

Amen

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Proven Path Ministries

Look To The Light

 

Then the LORD said to Moses,

‘Stretch out your hand toward the sky,

that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt,

even a darkness which may be felt.’ 

Exodus 10:21 

 

Have you ever been in a place that was so dark that you lost your sence of stability? A place so dark that you could not even make out the shadow of your hand? A darkness so thick that for a sudden moment it felt as though you were suspended in time and air, without a body and form? This darkness that can even be felt I have experienced both physically and emotionally.

Darkness that can be felt is a heavy thing. The weight of emotional darkness can quickly become unbearable. It can feel as though Satan himself as laid himself upon you, suffocating you with his presence. It’s a place where you can find yourself in the fetal position in the middle of a floor with your ears covered and your eyes closed and your heart gripped in a fear that you cannot even explain.

Darkness is a powerful thing and something about it stills even the most courageous heart. In 1 John 1:5 the Word declares, “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” How thankful I am for the absolute truth of this verse.

Now, here in this ninth plague God is on the brink of reaching His climax with Pharoah.

This plague of darkness is an attack on the Egyptian god known as Ra. Ra was known as the sun god. He was believed to be the father of all Pharoahs. He was the most universally worshiped god in Egypt and was represented in both upper and lower Egypt. He was worshiped as the father of creation. In this ninth plague the True Creator is going to make Himself clearly known.

The true Creator, Eliohim, had been watching over Egypt from the beginning. It was He always who had taken care of the nation of Egypt, yet they gave their worship to false gods. “However at that time, when you did not know God, or rather to be known by God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods.” (Galatians 4:8) The nation of Egypt, the people of Egypt, did not understand that they were sharers in demons, “they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.” (1 Corinthians 10:20). Their true Creator is trying to set them free. One plague at a time, He is destroying their faith in these false gods that hold them in chains.

God is Light and in Him there is no darkness (1 John 1:5). When this thick darkness fell upon the land of Egypt, light still shone upon the land of Goshen. For three days the darkness was so thick upon the Egyptians that they could not see one another, and no one even rose from their place (Exodus 10:23). I believe that where ever they were when the darkness fell is where they stayed. Yet Israel had light.

The Egyptians would know that it was not their sun god, Ra, who provided light for them. It was not this demonic hawk headed figment of man who created the earth and caused the sun to shine. It was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was the God of Moses and his Hebrew brethren. It was the “I AM”

I don’t think that God had to send darkness upon the nation of Egypt, I believe God simply made them aware by opening their eyes to the darkness they were already in “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may recieve forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.” (Acts 26:18) God desired to rescue them from this domain of darkness and transfer them into His kingdom (Colossians 1:13). He wanted them to become children of Light (Ephesians 5:8).

Oh precious one, are you walking in the Light? “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

God is Light and in Him there is no darkness.

Dear friend, if you have found yourself in darkness, look to the Light.

Do not remian huddled in a ball of fear. Do not believe that you are without form. Do not remain in the domain of darkness. If you have discovered yourself to be blind, to be in a darkness so thick that you cannot see, then cry out to Christ for sight (John 10:39-41). There may be darkness in Egypt, but there is light in Goshen!

 Oh Father,

 There was light in the land of Goshen. Goshen in Hebrew means “drawing near.” Oh Father may I never forget that light is found in drawing near to You, for You are Light and in You there is no darkness. Thank You for rescuing me. Thank You for making me aware of the darkness that I was in so that I could see the light.        

My Jesus, it’s in Your name I pray,

Amen

 

Devotional Studies Through the Bible

>No Bargains

>

So Moses and Aaron
were brought back to Pharaoh,
and he said to them,
‘Go, serve the LORD your God!
Who are the ones that are going?’
Exodus 10:8
 
Moses and Aaron come before Pharaoh after the seventh plague and they once again request that the Hebrews be allowed to go and worship their God. The eighth plague that shall come with Pharaoh’s refusal is a swarm of locusts upon the land of Egypt, a swarm that will fill the land and houses in such a way that has never been seen before or ever will be seen again.
 
This eighth plague is an attack upon the Egyptian god known as Anubis. He was the god of the fields, including cemeteries. It also was another attack upon the god Isis who was supposed to protect Egypt from the locusts and also the god Seth, who was known as the protector of the crops.
 
As we read this tenth chapter of the book of Exodus we can see that these plagues are beginning to have an impact upon even the servants of Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s servants come to him and ask him to let the Hebrews go.
 
So Pharaoh calls Moses and Aaron back in and tells them to go and worship their God, yet he puts his own stipulations upon them. Pharaoh wants to tell them who will be allowed to go. He plans to maintain the reigns on these people by keeping their women and children and flocks and herds under his control. Oh my friend, God doesn’t play games with us and He is not in the business of bargaining.
 
How many come to Christ, and they look up at His cross, at His outstretched arms and they say, “Jesus, I want to have Your heaven and in exchange I’ll give you A, B, and C but I’m keeping D through Z.”
 
In Luke 18:18-27 we read of a conversation between Jesus and a ruler who asked Him about eternal life. This ruler wanted to know what he must do to enter the kingdom of God. The ruler had kept the Law from his youth yet Jesus said to him “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Luke 18:22) Unfortunately when the ruler heard this, he walked away sad. He had given God A, B, and C but he was not willing to give God D through Z.
 
God does not bargain with us. We have no right to come to Him with stipulations for our obedience. We have nothing to bargain with, as 1 Timothy 6:7 says “For we have brought nothing into the world.” We own nothing and we have control of nothing. God declares in Psalm 50:12, “For the world is Mine, and all it contains.”
 
Pharaoh did not own these Hebrew slaves as he so thought. Pharaoh was not the god he claimed himself to be. Pharaoh still has yet to realize that he sits on his throne only by the power and authority of this God he is fighting so hard against.
 
But how can a man be in the right before God?
If one wished to dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
Wise in heart and mighty in strength,
Who has defied Him without harm?
Job 9:2-4
 
Oh precious one, we have not a leg to stand on if we think we can stand before God. There is no one more righteous. There is no god more great. We have no one to appeal to on our behalf. We have no argument that can hold up in court. We have no grip tight enough to hold on to what we are so desperate to control.
 
Pharaoh’s stubborn hardening heart is leading him and the nation of Egypt straight into destruction. The locusts shall come and leave devastation in their wake. Pharaoh will cry out for mercy once again, yet as before, when mercy is received, humility it will not bring.
 
Pharaoh is a man who is hardened by the mercy of God, convinced in his own mind that he is somehow able to manipulate this God of the Hebrews as he has been able to manipulate everyone else in his life. However, this God, is not a man nor a figment of man’s imagination, that He might be manipulated and controlled by anyone. This is the Living God, Elohim, Creator of heaven and earth.      
 
 
Oh Father,
 
Forgive me for the times that I have attempted to bargain with You. Forgive me for the times that I have tried to maintain control of a situation instead of just letting go and submitting to Your authority. You are wise in heart and mighty in strength and all the world is Yours and in the midst of all that You are, there is this love that You have for me. You are God, and yet You are mindful of me. This alone should be all the reason I need to humble myself before You. Oh Father I do not desire to fight against You, but to submit to You in all things, in all areas of my life. You alone are in control.     
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen
Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Uncategorized

>Admitting Is Not Enough

>

Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron,
and said to them,
‘I have sinned this time;
the LORD is the righteous one,
and I and my people are the wicked ones.’ 
Exodus 9:27
In the midst of the seventh plague, Pharaoh admits he has sinned against the Lord. He calls out to Moses and Aaron and asks them to go before God on his behalf and ask for the thunder and hail to cease. He proclaims that the Lord is righteous and he and his servants are wicked. Could it possibly be that Pharaoh is beginning to get it?  
Sadly, no, Pharaoh still is not getting it. Moses goes before the Lord to ask Him to stop the thunder and hail, but it will be so that Pharaoh will know that the earth belongs to the God of the Hebrew slaves. Before Moses asks for this seventh plague to cease he looks at Pharaoh and assures him that he knows that this profession of his sin and wickedness is empty words. Moses is well aware that Pharaoh and his servants do not yet fear the LORD God.
Oh precious one, it is so much more than just admitting that we have sinned and that God is righteous.
Some will look at themselves and admit that they are sinners and then use this admittance to justify their sin. They will then point their finger in the face of God and claim that He has no right to judge them because it’s His fault that they are a sinner to begin with. They claim He made them this way. The arrogance of man unrestrained by the Spirit of God has no bounds.
When we look at the many religions in the world, very few profess man as originally good. Most openly declare man as wicked and their god as the one who is the judge of his goodness. In most of the religions of the earth man must work to gain his goodness in order to please his god or, at the very least, to please the men around them who also serve his god. So for Pharaoh to proclaim himself wicked, to admit that he has sinned, does not mean that he is choosing to bow the knee to this righteous God.
Some can see the obvious power of our Creator and submit immediately, others eventually, yet there are and will be many who refuse to the end. They are unwilling to deny themselves and surrender to God’s authority.
At the end of the age God will once again display His power through plagues and judgments upon the earth. Just as He did in Egypt, the plagues will begin small and will increase in intensity. God’s desire is not for mankind to be destroyed but for mankind to repent and turn to Him and be saved. However, just as in Egypt, many will refuse until the very end and their opportunity will be gone.
In Revelation 6:15-16 we read how the kings of the earth, the great men, the commanders, the rich, the strong, the slave, the free, all hide themselves from God after they have seen His display of power through the breaking of the first six seals.
They could have came to Him in repentance and cried out for His mercy and grace, but instead they hid and cried out to the mountains and the rocks of the earth. We hide from God when we know we have sinned and we do not want to stand before His righteousness. Just acknowledging our wickedness is not repentance.
In Revelation 9:20-21 we read once again how mankind refuses to “repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass and of stone, and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorcereries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.” This refusal comes after the plagues within the six seals, and after the plagues within six of the seven trumpets that are within the seventh seal.
Twelve plagues later God is still giving mankind an opportunity to repent and be saved. The gospel of God is still being preached. The one-hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from the tribes of Israel are still preaching salvation. Yet, mankind will not submit to the authority of their Creator God. They still will not fear the word of the LORD.   
Pharaoh and his servants still would not fear God. Seven plagues behind them and still they shake their fist in the face of God. Why will they not humble themselves? Why do they refuse to honor this God?
They refuse because it would mean that they would have to exalt Him above themselves.
My friend, the root of sin is not evil acts.
The root of sin is self.      
Oh Father,
How very stubborn we can be. In Proverbs 18:14 your Word declares, “The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but as for a broken spirit who can bear it?” We can endure our sin when we have pride to stand on. Our strong wills can hold our fist up high and tightly balled for the fight when we refuse humility. Oh, but Father, when you finally choose to break our spirit, to bring our pride crumbling down around us, this we cannot endure. Here is the point we often must reach before we finally willingly submit to Your authority. How thankful I am that You chose to break me.
My Jesus, I love You and it’s in Your name I pray,
Amen

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Uncategorized

>Calling His Shot

>

The LORD set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow
the LORD will do this thing in the land.”
Exodus 9:5
Our God is not a God of chance. He is not a God of happenstance. His work is not dependant upon anyone or anything outside of Himself. He is self-existent and self-sufficient. Our Creator God is omnipotent. He is all powerful and His power comes from within Himself. He is sovereign over all the universe, even over time. God decides to specifically point this out to Pharaoh as He brings His next three plagues upon the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh’s refusal to keep his word after the fourth plague leads to this fifth plague, a severe pestilence upon the livestock. This fifth plague is an attack upon the Egyptian god Apis, who was worshiped as the bull god.
The Egyptians believed that the souls of their gods lived in these bulls, as well as in goats, rams, and cows. Moses tells Pharaoh that “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing…” (Exodus 9:5) and we read in Exodus 9:6, “So the LORD did this thing on the next day…”
I read this and I think of the late and great baseball player, Babe Ruth. I am reminded of the legend that speaks of him standing at home plate in the 1932 World Series and pointing to the outfield stands and “calling his shot” right before he knocks the ball out of Chicago’s Wrigley Field. However, God is not going to leave any room for controversy.
Once again God will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. The pestilence comes and all the livestock in Egypt dies, but not even one dies from Israel.
Pharaoh once again hardens his heart and would not let the people go.
God then sends the sixth plague, boils upon the beast and men of Egypt. This plague is against the Egyptian god Thoth, who was known as the god of medicine and wisdom. The Egyptians had several medicinal gods and it is believed that it was to these gods that human sacrifices were made.
Humans were burnt upon a high altar and their ashes were scattered into the air in order to send out a blessing to the people. Moses does as the LORD commanded and takes handfuls of soot from a kiln and throws it toward the sky and instead of a blessing the people of Egypt receive a plague of boils.
The magicians who probably were the ones who used to toss the ashes of human sacrifices into the air are also covered in these sores. So much so, that they cannot stand before Moses because of the boils. Yet still, Pharaoh, covered in his own sores, hardens his heart and refuses to submit to God.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1 the Word of God declares, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-“ It is now time for Pharaoh and the people of Egypt to know that there is no one like the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
When God calls Moses to stand before Pharaoh to deliver the coming of the seventh plague He tells him “For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:14) This nation has been worshiping false gods formed by there own hands through their own imaginations. They have been worshiping mere men and bowing before pharaohs who had set themselves up as gods. They have refused to look at the creation around them and give glory to the one true God. Instead they have believed the lie and worshiped the creation instead of the Creator (Romans 1:25). Now, one plague at a time, God is opening the hearts and minds of those not only of Israel, but those throughout all the land of Egypt.
“Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will send a heavy hail, such has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.” (Exodus 9:18) God is calling His shot. He is pointing out His finger. He is extending His hand. He is giving fair warning to His opponent and giving them a heads up so that they may position themselves accordingly. God has always done so, and He will do so until the end of the age.
I heard another voice from heaven, saying,
‘Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not participate in her sins
and receive of her plagues;
for her sins have piled up as high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.
Revelation 18:4-5
God does not act in secret. He never has. He never has to, because He is just in all his ways.
Before God sends this seventh plague upon the land of Egypt He has Moses announce to Pharaoh that He could have already destroyed him and his land, but that He has allowed him to remain in order to display His power and to proclaim His name through all the earth.
With each plague that comes because of Pharaoh’s refusal to submit, the LORD God takes His stand against the false gods the people of Egypt have lifted up in worship. With each plague more people hear about this great God of the Hebrew slaves.
This seventh plague of hail is God’s stand against the Egyptian god Nut. She was the sky goddess, the god of the harvest. Her husband was Geb, the Egyptian god of the earth that God came against with the third plague, the plague of lice. This plague was also against Shu, the god of the wind, storm, and violence from the sky. He supposedly held the ladder to heaven.
Our God is showing the world that He alone is omnipotent. He alone is to be feared. “The one among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses; but he who paid no regard to the word of the LORD left his servants and his livestock in the field.” (Exodus 9:20-21) The people of Egypt could trust in their gods, or they could trust in the God of Moses. They would have to choose whose word they would fear.
How about you?
Do you fear the word of the LORD?
That is really the bottom line. God has given us all fair warning of the judgment that is to come. He has laid out to us what is true and good. He has set before us blessings and cursings (Deuteronomy 11:26) and He leaves the choice to us. He has not acted in secret. He has given us all ample time and opportunity to take Him at His word. He has the power, authority, and right to destroy us but He waits, and still so many of us, like Pharaoh, exalt ourselves or choose to trust in our own little “g” gods and refuse to regard His word.  
Oh Father,
You leave us without excuse (Romans 1:20). You have made Yourself known to us. You have allowed us all to experience good and evil. You have openly displayed Your glory for all to see.  Your Word does not sugar coat the actions of Your people. You have recorded their failures along with their victories. You have recorded Your judgments along with Your mercies. You are good, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness (Numbers 14:18). All You ask is for us to trust You. To acknowledge You alone as God and submit ourselves in obedience to Your Word. Oh Father, forgive me for the times that I have exalted myself andf trusted in my own ways and not had regard for Your Word. You alone are God and I humble myself before You.
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Uncategorized

>Kingdom Seals

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I will put a division between My people
and your people.
Tomorrow this sign will occur.
Exodus 8:23

Pharaoh’s refusal to listen to his magicians leads to the next plague, swarms of insects. This plague is an attack upon the Egyptian god Khepfi, who was worshiped as the god of insects and dung beetles. The Lord sends this fourth plague upon the land of Egypt.

However, this time God is making a distinction in the land. This plague will not touch the land of Goshen. Goshen was the land in which the Hebrews lived. It was given to them by the Pharaoh whom Joseph served when Jacob and the rest of his sons came to live in Egypt during the famine (Genesis 47:6).

The last three plagues affected all the land of Egypt, including the Hebrews land of Goshen, but this plague shall not. God has always drawn a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. He does this so that we may know He is God. He does this so that we may know that His way is right and good.

We all live in this fallen world, the righteous and the unrighteous. We all, whether believer or non-believer, experience both good and evil. We all deal with the consequences of sin, our sin and the sins of others. Yet there will always come a time when the plumb line is dropped (Zechariah 4:10).

We read in the book of Ezekiel about God’s judgment on Jerusalem. The temple of God had become a place of idol worship. The priests of God were worshipping false gods within the walls of the temple and there were women prostituting themselves at the temple gates. God had finally had enough, but before He brought His judgment, He marked His remnant.

The LORD said to him,
‘Go through the midst of the midst of the city,
 even through the midst of Jerusalem,
and put a mark on the foreheads of the men
who sigh and groan over all the abominations
which are being committed in its midst.’
But to the others He said in my hearing,
‘Go through the city after him and strike;
do not let your eye have pity and do not spare.’
Ezekiel 9:4-5

God will continue to spare His righteous ones even until the end of the age. In Revelation 7:3 we read of an angel crying out after the breaking of the sixth seal “saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.'” After the breaking of the seventh seal we read in Revelation 9:4 how God protects those who serve Him, those with the seal on their foreheads, and He would not allow the plague of locusts and scorpions to harm them.

In Psalm 37:25 David wrote “I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread.” My friend, God knows those who are His, and He will not forsake them. He has promised us over and over in His Word that when the righteous cry, He hears and He delivers them out of their trouble in His time and in His way (Psalm 34:17).

Oh precious one, the question that remains is are you His?
Do you wear His mark on your forehead?
Do you sigh and groan over the abominations you see committed around you?
Is your righteous soul oppressed and tormented day after day by the lawless deeds and sensual conduct of unprincipled men (2 Peter 2:7-8)?
Do you wear His seal or are you more the “fellow citizen” we read about in Ezekiel 33…

But as for you, son of man, your fellow citizens
who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses,
speak to one another, each to his brother, saying,
‘Come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from the LORD.’
They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people
and hear your words, but they do not do them,
for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth,
and their heart goes after their gain.
Behold, you are to them like a sensual song
by one who has a beautiful voice
and plays well on an instrument;
for they hear your words but they do not practice them.
Ezekiel 33:30-32

My friend, we can sit in church every Sunday and sit before the pastor and claim to be a child of God, we can sing our songs of worship with our arms lifted up, but if we refuse to practice what we hear and sing then all we have to look forward to is judgment.

What is even worse, is that with every word, with every song, with every refusal, we harden our hearts. Every opportunity we have to believe and we do not do it, we harden our hearts (Mark 8:16-17, Hebrews 3:15-16).

Perhaps you feel you are offering up to God a good effort, that you have found a good compromise. You are after all there, and maybe you serve in an area, possibly you even tithe regularly. Maybe you feel you can rationalize and excuse your disobedience in other areas of your life by holding up your list of works. Oh precious one, we can see through God’s dealings with Pharaoh that our God just does not accept compromise.

God has sent this fourth plague upon the land of Egypt. He has made a distinction between the land of Goshen where the Hebrews live and the rest of the land of Egypt. God is demonstrating His power and authority once again before Pharaoh. God is giving Pharaoh another opportunity to hear and to be obedient.

Pharaoh offers a compromise up to Moses and tells him that his people can sacrifice to their God in the land of Egypt, but Moses refuses because that is not what the LORD commanded. Pharaoh concedes and says that he will let the people go. However, as soon as Pharaoh experiences the relief of the mercy of God, he once again goes back on his word.

Mercy has hardened him again. He professed to obey God out of the desire for his own comfort. His obedience had nothing to do with surrender from the heart. It was fake. It was for selfish gain, but my friend do not think that this took God, or even Moses, by surprise.

Oh Father,

As I live in this world I am surrounded by both good and evil. This plague of sin is all around me. I fight it from within and without, but I fight to win. I know that you see my heart. I know that you see whether I am oppressed and tormented by my sin and the sin of others or whether I secretly seek it for pleasure and put on a face of hating sin for show. Oh Father, open my eyes to any disobedience that is within me. Purge me of all iniquity. Let me not deal deceitfully with You, with others, or myself. May my heart be pleasing to You.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Uncategorized

>Pride Falls

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Then the magicians said to Pharaoh,
“This is the finger of God…”
Exodus 8:19

Pharaoh’s hardened heart and his refusal to keep his word leads to another plague upon his land. This third plague that the LORD sends upon Egypt, is a plague of gnats or lice. This plague was an attack upon the Egyptian god Geb, worshiped as the god of the earth.

Moses strikes the dust of the earth with his staff and the dust becomes the gnats. We do not know how much time passed between the plague of frogs and this plague of gnats. Quite possibly the plague of gnats from the dust of the earth have come while the piles of frogs are still stinking up the land of Egypt.

I am sure that Pharaoh is slightly annoyed by this point, but I am also sure that he is still smug in his attitude. I can picture him walking arrogantly into his throne room while he struggles to not slap and scratch at the lice covering his body. I can hear him loudly summon his magicians once again, expecting them to diminish his hidden fear.

How arrogant we humans can be when we do not want to be humbled. So many times we would rather struggle in our sin, suffer in our consequences, and sink deeper in our pits than just admit we are wrong. Proverbs 16:5 declares, “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; assuredly he will not be unpunished.”

The magicians come and they pull all their tricks out of the bag. They try, but their secret arts cannot bring forth gnats. The magicians look at their Pharaoh and they say, “This is the finger of God.” (Exodus 8:19) God is through playing games. The magicians now realize this.

They now fully understand that the power of trickery and illusion that they held in their hands is no match for the One True Living God. They now understand that they are not dealing with a false god that they have created, that they have given power through their own manipulation, but they now understand that this God is real.

The magicians attempt to convince Pharaoh that he needs to listen to this God. His heart is so hard that he will not hear, and he hardens it further still.

When we see the obvious power of our God and yet refuse to bow to His authority we, like Pharaoh, harden our heart. Oh precious one, how careful we must be. Let us not excuse, rationalize, or dismiss the obvious finger of our God. Let us not chalk unexplained events up to circumstance and coincidence. Their are no coincidences with God. He is sovereign and is at work at all times.

When Jesus gave up His spirit on the cross it is written that the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. It is written that the tombs were opened and the dead arose. It is written that the earth quaked and the rocks shook and darkness fell over the land. It is written that when Jesus yielded up His spirit a centurion who was standing at the foot of the cross said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:50-54, Mark 15:33-39) It is also written that after even all of this obvious finger of God upon this moment in history, many still refused to believe.

Religious leaders came and asked for guards to be placed at the tomb because they knew that Jesus had foretold His resurrection. Then, even after the resurrection, when these eyes saw the risen Christ walking and appearing to many, they still attempted to excuse, to rationalize, to dismiss the obvious power of God. And their hearts were hardened. In Luke 16:31 we read “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'”

Pharaoh is a man blinded by his own pride. Pharaoh curses and spurns the Lord. He is a man who in the haughtiness of his countenance refuses to seek God or even admit that there is a God besides the god that he himself claims to be (Psalm 10:3-4).

He has seen the evidence of the existence of the God of the Hebrews, yet denies Him still. He has seen the signs of the power of this God, yet still refuses to acknowledge Him as God. He has even experienced the mercy of this God, yet still refuses to give Him praise. Oh how stubborn we in our pride can be.

Oh Father,

Your Word says that “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” (Proverbs 16:18) How easily I can find myself stumbling in my pride. It was pride that led to the fall of man. It is pride that can keep us from ever getting up from that fall. Oh how the arrogance of our heart can deceive us (Obadiah 1:3). Father, forgive me for the times that I have let pride overtake me. My God, may I always be quick to recognize your power and your work in my life. May I always give You all the glory and praise.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Uncategorized

>Frogs and Mercy and Forgiveness

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Then the LORD said to Moses,
“Go to Pharaoh and say to him,
‘Thus says the LORD,
Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
But if you refuse to let them go, behold,
I will smite your whole territory with frogs. 
Exodus 8:1-2
Seven days have passed since the Lord turned the Nile to blood. Seven days for Pharaoh to think and consider and ponder letting the Hebrews go for a time to worship their God.
God sends Moses before Pharaoh once again to request that he let the children of Israel go. God is asking permission from Pharaoh. God does not have to do this. He does not have to consider Pharaoh at all. God could destroy Pharaoh and all of Egypt with a single breathe from His nostrils, yet He comes and is allowing Pharaoh to make a decision.
With every judgment God is giving Pharaoh an opportunity to bow his knee in submission to the One True Living God.
Egypt worshipped many gods and the True God is about to show Pharaoh and all of Egypt that He alone is sovereign over all the earth. The signs and plagues that the Lord is sending upon Egypt are not random. God is choosing very specifically.
The first sign that Moses brought before Pharaoh was his staff changing into a serpent. The cobra was sacred in Egypt and was connected to many goddesses. One was Wadjet, the cobra goddess of Buto, who represented kingship. Another was Renenet, who was a fertility goddess and was sometimes depicted as a woman nursing a child. She also was known as a protector of Pharaoh.
Let us recall that it was the snake of Moses that swallowed the two snakes of the magicians. Knowing this makes that sign a little more important doesn’t it?
In the first plague God turned the Nile to blood. The Nile was the life-sustainer to all of Egypt. The god of the Nile was known as Hap or Hapi. He was known as the greatest of all gods. He was declared to be the creator of everything. They even believed that all the other gods came forth from him.
Once again let the weight of this knowledge weigh on you as you put yourself in the place of an Egyptian during this time as they watched this unknown God of the Hebrews control the waters of their greatest god.  
Now we come to the second plague, the frogs. The frogs of the Nile were worshiped as sacred objects and if someone killed a frog, even accidentally, the punishment was death. One of the frog goddesses was known as, Heqet or Heka. She was one of the eight gods that the Egyptians associated with creation. She was thought to be the initiator of fertility and resurrection. When the Egyptian women gave birth this was the false deity they called upon. They believed that she was the one who breathed life into the child in their womb. The Egyptians also believed that it was this goddess who took their Pharaohs to their eternal thrones after death.
The LORD told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out his staff over the Nile and bring forth frogs up out of the Nile. Aaron did as he was commanded and frogs came and covered the land of Egypt. Once again, Pharaoh and the people of Egypt, saw that the God of Moses, the God of the Hebrew slaves, had power and authority over another of their gods.
Pharaoh goes to his magicians and they are able to make frogs come out of the Nile also, but once again, they cannot make them go away.
Pharaoh goes to Moses and he tells him that if will ask God to remove the frogs, then he will let the Hebrews go and make a sacrifice to their God. Moses asks Pharaoh to just say when. He leaves the time of the removal of the frogs to Pharaoh’s word because he wants him to “know that there is no one like the LORD our God.” (Exodus 8:10) Moses entreats the LORD on behalf of Pharaoh and the frogs are destroyed.
Pharaoh receives the mercy of God upon himself and upon his nation. Pharaoh gets the relief he wanted. His circumstances have changed. He no longer is in the difficult situation that caused him to seek God for help. This mercy should have caused him to thank the God who delivered it, but instead in the midst of the relief of the mercy of God, Pharaoh hardens his heart. He went back on his word, on his vow, and refused to let the people go.
Oh precious one, have you been there? Have you been in the midst of a difficult time and cried out to God and made promises to Him that you did not keep once He delivered you out of your distress?
Well, my friend, I know that I have. I know that I have cried out to God to deliver me from pain or to give me the outcome that I wanted in a situation. I would cry, “God if you will do what I am asking, then I will do this, or I will never do that again.”
One particular time stands out more than any other. I was eighteen years old and standing outside hospital doors while my best friend’s sixteen year old little sister lay in the ICU from a car accident. At the time I was a rebellious and immoral young girl and I cried out to God and asked Him to save her. I also knew I was living in a way that was not pleasing to God or my parents and as I looked her death in the face I feared my own. I promised God that I would stop having sex outside of marriage. I promised that I would start going back to church. I promised Him that I would change.
The promises I made to God, I didn’t keep. It wasn’t that I didn’t try, but they were promises that were too strong for me to keep in my own will, in my own strength, and especially when it was against the will of another. 
Two months later I found out that I was pregnant.
One month later my grandfather died.
One month after that I miscarried the child.
I lost a dear friend, a grandfather, and a child in a three month span all on top of the guilt of broken promises to a God I had rebelled against and made promises to that I didn’t keep.
Not long after this I received a bracelet as a gift and it had the Ten Commandments on it. I put it on my wrist and thought that if I wore it on my body at all times I could keep these commandments and obey God and say no when I knew I was supposed to say no.
I couldn’t, and my heart grew even harder. 
Now I did not realize that I was hardening my heart in the face of God in these situations, but my failure to keep my promises was from the same root that was planted in Pharaoh. The root of the lie that I had power on my own, apart from God. I thought that the ability to keep my vows all resided within me, in my own strength. I made promises and it was up to me to see them through. I had not yet realized that I was a slave to sin, and had no authority over myself. The good that I wanted to do, I could not do, but I practiced the very evil that I did not want to do (Romans 7:19). I just thought I was a failure and was doomed to an eternal hell because I was not strong enough to do better.
How thankful I am for the grace of our God.
My friend, pay close attention to your heart, to your responses to the mercy of God. Where are you at in your life. Have you hardened your heart in the face of God as He relieved you from your distress? Have you made promises to Him that you have not kept because you failed to be able to do so in your own strength? Precious one search out your heart. Search for the root of this lie that convinces you that you have power on your own.
If you have been delivered it was not because of you, but because of His mercy. Thank Him, humble yourself before Him, and acknowledge Him for who He is.
If you have failed time and time again in your attempt to keep your promise to change, then oh my friend, please know that you alone will always fail.
Know that God has not condemned you to hell, He has not forsaken you. You must stop trusting in and relying on your own strength, because you have none. “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25) You must bow the knee, and acknowledge your weakness to Him and call out to Him to save you. Then in His strength, through His might, you will have victory!
Oh Father,
I am forever grateful for Your patience. I am humbled by Your great mercy. Your lovingkindness knows no end. How long I struggled while I tried to obey You in my own strength. How I failed time and time again. I was convinced that I had done to much and failed to often for You to ever want me. Yet, You still desired me. You still pursued me. You still loved me. You still died for me. Now I know that it is not by might, nor by power, but by Your Spirit (Zechariah 4:6). Now I know that I can do all things through Jesus, my Christ, who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). My God, how very great You are.
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen
Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Uncategorized

>Thankful For Affliction

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Thus says the LORD,
‘By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand,
and it will be turned to blood. 
Exodus 7:17
Moses came to Pharaoh with a request and with a sign. The request was to let the children of Israel go into the wilderness to worship their God. Moses did not even come to Pharaoh demanding freedom for the Hebrew slaves. God sent Moses to Pharaoh simply requesting a time for the children of Israel to come and celebrate a feast to him. Yet Pharaoh would not listen.
Moses returns to Pharaoh to request again. This time he comes with a sign to show the authority of the God in whom he comes. When Pharaoh’s magicians mimic the sign that Moses displayed Pharaoh hardens his heart. He refuses to let the Hebrews go. He pays no attention to the fact that Moses staff swallowed up the staffs of his magicians. This sign of God performed by Moses does not humble Pharaoh, it hardens him.

Then the LORD said to Moses,
‘Pharoah’s heart is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go.
Exodus 7:14

The sign has been given. The easy opportunity has passed. Now the judgments begin. My friend, God always sends a sign before He begins His judgments. His desire is not for us to perish. He desires for us to live. We will see how His judgments start out small and increase with the continued rebellion. Jesus said, “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” (Matthew 24:8)

The judgments of God come like a woman in labor. The pain comes light at first and increases with intensity as the time of birth draws closer. Why does God work this way? Because, once again, He is not willing that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9).

With each judgment that God will send upon Egypt there also comes an opportunity to repent, to turn to Him in obedience. God is not just after the hearts of the Hebrew slaves, He is after the hearts of all of Egypt, and the hearts of all the world. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16). These great judgments will spread the name and fame of God throughout the land. We know this from a harlot in Jericho as she declared, “For we have heard how the LORD…” (Joshua 2:10)

God uses the very staff with which He performed the sign before Pharaoh to bring about the first judgment, the first plague upon the land of Egypt. Moses “lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.” (Exodus 7:20) What is amazing is that it was not just the water in the Nile that turned to blood. The water in the homes throughout the land of Egypt stored in vessels of wood and stone were even turned to blood.
Pharaoh turns to his magicians and then they too use their magic arts to do something similar, and Pharaoh once again hardens his heart. “Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house with no concern even for this.” (Exodus 7:23)

Pharaoh thought he had power of his own therefore he hardened his heart in response to this act of God. Pharaoh saw no reason to submit to the authority of God because he thought he too was powerful. Pharaoh thought himself self-sufficient, but there is only One who can make that declaration (Psalm 50:7-12). My friend, we must be very careful, because we can harden our own hearts in the very same way.  

One thing that perplexes me is that Pharaoh once again misses the obvious. If his magicians were as great as God, why could they not reverse the situation. Why could they not turn the Nile filled with blood back into the Nile flowing with water?

We read that the Egyptians had to dig all around the Nile to find drinking water and we read that seven days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile (Exodus 7:24-25). Seven days and the magicians could not reverses the hand of God, yet this appears to not even cross the mind of Pharaoh.

Oh precious one, the lies we will believe when we do not want to accept the truth. How very sad it is to watch the Pharaoh tighten his fist in the face of God. He is not the first to do so and he will not be the last. There is another day of judgment coming. A day when God will not just be judging a nation, but the whole world. In that day many will tighten there fist in the face of God and refuse to believe the truth. One will come with even more power than Jannes’s and Jambres’s and many will be deceived because they have rejected God and His Christ.
that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan,
with all power and signs and false wonders,
and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish,
because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence
so that they will believe what is false,
in order that they may be judged who did not believe the truth,
but took pleasure in wickedness. 
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
This judgment coming on Egypt in Exodus is the day that the children of Israel are to be set free and consecrated unto God as His chosen nation to represent Him to all the world. It also is a foreshadowing of the great day of judgment that is to come. The day when God will concecrate all His chosen, from every tribe, every nation, and every tongue, (Revelation 5:9) to Himself forever and finally destroy Satan and those who follow him.
In Revelation 8:8 the Word declares, “The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood.” The waters one day will once again be turned to blood, and in that day some will fear God and be saved, but sadly, most will shake their fist in the face of God and show “no concern even for this.” (Exodus 7:23) 
Oh Father,
Thank You for Your signs. Thank You for Your judgments. “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word… It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.” (Psalm 119:67, 71). Thank You for loving me enough to pour out Your wrath upon me. For if I had never experienced Your wrath, I would not have cried out for Your mercy. Had I never cried out for Your mercy, I would not have experienced Your grace. Had I not have experienced Your grace, I would still be dead in my sins, seperated from You for all eternity. Thank You, my God, for being so patient with me.
My Jesus, I love You so.
In Your name I pray,
Amen

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Uncategorized

>It’s a Miracle! …Or Not

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When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying,
‘Work a miracle,’
then you shall say to Aaron,
‘Take your staff
and throw it down before Pharaoh,
that it may become a serpent.’
Exodus 7:9
The first sign before Pharaoh is the same sign that Moses performed before the children of Israel when he came to them from the wilderness. His staff would become a serpent. I have always found it interesting that God chose this as a sign. In my opinion this points us all the way back to Genesis 3:1, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made…” I believe God chose this sign as a direct mock in Satan’s face. I think this sign was to remind Satan that God had created him and that he, God, still had complete authority over him.
Now when Moses threw his staff down and it became a serpent, Pharaoh called in his wise men and sorcerers. They too came in with staffs. They threw their staffs down and theirs also became serpents. My friend do not think for one minute that Satan has no power here on this earth. He is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) and his desire is to blind you and deceive you so that you might not see the glory of God. He has many tricks up his sleeve and many who will do his will just to experience his power.
In 2 Timothy 3:8 we discover the names of these two magicians, “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses…” But more importantly we discover the nature of these two magicians. Men and women like these have existed since the fall. They are those who are caught in the snare of the devil, and held captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26). Most are so entranced that even when they are face to face with the truth of God, they refuse His authority over them. Choosing rather to have the temporary power of Satan.
We read in Acts 8:9-10 of “a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from the smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, ‘This man is what is called the Great Power of God'”. We read on in Acts how the people were all amazed by this man’s magic arts. They were captivated and deceived by his tricks. They were confusing his sorcery with the works of the Almighty God.
Then we read how the truth of God showed up through Philip bringing the people the gospel. The people believed and were being baptized. The magician, Simon, saw his followers slipping away, and he also saw that the apostles of Christ came with a power and authority that he had never had and he wanted it. Simon professed to believe and was even baptized, but what we discover was that his profession was not of faith. He simply thought this was his means to gain this power of God.
Oh, but our God does not work that way.
In Acts 13:8-10 we read of a magician named Elymas who is working to oppose the apostles to keep the proconsul away from the faith. We read that Paul “filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, ‘You who are full of deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?'”
These men are everywhere.
Still today we must be on the look-out for those like them.
Going back to 2 Timothy 3:1-9 we read of the difficult times that will come in these last days. We read of those who rise up and appear to have “a form of godliness, although they have denied it’s power;…” (2 Timothy 3:5)
What power is it that they have denied?
The power of salvation (Romans 1:16).
The power of the grace of God.
The grace of God that instructs us to “…deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.” (Titus 2:12)
These men attempt, as Paul said, “to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord” They mimic God in an attempt to deceive those who are weak so that they may hold a position of power over them. They will succeed if you do not hold fast to the truth, the Word of God.
Holding fast is not just obtaining knowledge. These men are quite knowledgeable of the Word of God, which strengthens their ability to deceive. Satan himself attempted to use Scripture to tempt and deceive Jesus in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-12). It’s not just about knowing, it’s about obedience to what you know.
You, however, continue in the things you have learned
and become convinced of,
knowing from whom you have learned them,
and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings
which are able to give you the wisdom
that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 3:14-15
Obedience to God’s Word is key to our not being deceived by men such as Jannes and Jambres that stood in Pharaoh’s court and opposed Moses. It is key to keep us from being deceived by Simon and Elymas who opposed the apostles. We guard ourselves against these men by keeping our eyes wide open and watching their deeds.
We read in 1 Timothy 5:24-25 that “The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after. Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.”
Men such as these can only go so far. My friend, Satan can only go so far. “But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.” (2 Timothy 3:9)
Yes, the magicians of Pharaoh mimicked the power of God. They threw down their staffs and into serpents they did become, but that is not where it ended. “…But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.” (Exodus 7:12)
Oh precious one, don’t you just love our God! This sign so simple, yet saying so very much. Our God is greater. Satan can only mimic the power of the I AM. He can not originate his own. Satan may be able to deceive some for a while with his trickery, but his ways will be swallowed up in the victory of our God. “He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 25:8, 1 Corinthians 15:54).
Oh Father,
How great You are! You are my God and I follow no other. Keep my eyes open that I may not fall prey to those who are doing the will of Your enemy and mine. Let me not be impressed by a smooth tongue and magic arts. May the power of Your Holy Spirit work mightily in and through me as it did in Moses and in Paul and in Philip. May I not be afraid to stand up to the Jannes’s and Jambres’s of my time. For You my God will prevail. I will continue in Your Word and hold fast to Your truth walking in obedience to what I already know as I pursue to know even more. Strengthen me my God, according to Your glorious might, and Yours alone.
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen