Who is Hurt?

READ: Exodus 9:22-35
MORE LESSONS: Gen.4:3-15
Bible Reading in One Year: Exodus 21-24

There is a saying that a man's deceptive practice reaches its peak the day he succeeds in deceiving himself. In our text, Pharaoh plays hide and seek with Jehovah. When he hardens his heart against releasing the Israelites and a plague strikes, he quickly soft-pedals and invites Moses for a talk. As soon as the plague ceases, he goes tough again. Who is hurt in the long run? It is sad that some people play with their life as Pharaoh did, thinking they are smart. They don’t pray or go to church, or do what is right and holy until they have a problem. Then they suddenly remember God, run to men of God for prayer and observe religious rites. But as soon a solution to their problem comes, their spiritual involvement stops. They will give a thousand and one excuses why they are not able to meet up with their spiritual commitment. When they have a problem, they put those excuses aside and seek for help from God. Such people seek to use God to meet their needs but never allow God to use them to meet His needs.

Pharaoh did not prosper in his hide and seek game with Moses. Although Pharaoh knew very well the powers of the gods, he chose to take on the God of Moses. At first, he was seemingly successful in playing on the intelligence of Moses' God to the admiration of his people. But Pharaoh lost everything at the end, including his firstborn. If he was straight in his dealings with Moses and God, he would have spared himself of the unwarranted losses.

I counsel you to love and serve the Lord with all your heart, might, soul and all your strength. Those who do so are always honoured by God. He will deliver them from their enemies, and in the days of famine He will keep them from destruction. Stop the deception now and seek after God with all your heart. Learn from Cain, who offered an unacceptable offering, became jealous of his brother, and even when God warned him about falling into sin, he didn’t listen. He bluffed God even after killing his brother. When God pronounced judgement on him, he protested that the judgment was too harsh. Why wait for your house to be on fire before calling for help when you have the opportunity to stop someone from putting the fire on your roof? Even if men come to your aid and put off the fire, you have lost your roof top at least. Be diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord (Rom.12:11).

Prayer/Action
* Lord, I repent of any hide and seek game I have played in serving You.
* I separate myself from everything that hinders my love and service to God.
* Ask God to establish you in His presence.

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The Enemy of your Household

READ: Exodus 10:3-7
MORE LESSONS: Isa.30:15-17
Bible Reading in One Year: Exodus 18-20

The background to this statement was that Pharaoh the king of Egypt did not want the Israelites to go to the wilderness to worship Jehovah. Pharaoh perceived that if Israel went, they would not come back, and that would be a big blow to the Egyptian economy since it was the Israelites that were their slave labour force. Pharaoh and his wise men had tried to play down what the God of Moses could do by repeating some of the miracles that Moses did to convince Pharaoh that God was not behind Israel’s request. What started like a mere display of miracles of rods turning to snakes and water to blood became full blown plagues of frogs, lice, flies, livestock disease, boils, hail and locusts in succession. The Egyptian magicians could no longer reproduce the same and admitted that there is a Being that is higher than the gods of Egypt at war against them. The servants of Pharaoh were fed up and they cried out to their master, And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, 'how long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? v 7.

Now, between Pharaoh and the magicians on one hand, and Moses and God on the other, who was actually the snare of the nation of Egypt? Pharaoh would not let Moses and his people go because of pride and arrogance. He was greatly encouraged by the magicians at the beginning of the battle. They showed him that Moses' miracles were not impressive by repeating some of them, which hardened Pharaoh's heart. The magicians and Pharaoh were the snare of their own people. I wish they realised this truth and faced their problem squarely, but they were pointing accusing fingers.

It is unfortunate that some husbands, wives and children are the snare of their home. Yet they do not realise this, and they keep trading blame. If only you will stop cheating on your spouse, obey your parents, come out of that unequal yoke, apologise and ask for one another's forgiveness, tell the truth to your parents or spouse, it will be well with you and your home. Why are you holding back? Can't you see that your home is in a shambles? Can't you see that the enemy is boring a hole in your wall of defence because of your pride and refusal to apologise to your spouse? Please, let go the hurt, the anger and bitterness and forgive one another.

If Pharaoh had listened to the counsel of his servants, all Egypt would not have lost their firstborn. Pharaoh, his chariots and horsemen would not have drowned in the Red Sea. Stop the next plague the enemy is planning for your household. You can do that right now by apologising and making it up to your spouse or children or parents. Receive the grace to do this.

Prayer/Action
* Lord Jesus, forgive me for holding back from saying I am sorry.
* Please deliver me and my household from snares of life.
* Cast out that spirit at work in your household.

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Anger Antidote II

READ: Eph. 4:24-32
MORE LESSONS: Matt. 26:36-39; 27:46-50
Bible Reading in One Year: John1-13

Some people have inherited DNA traits that make it rather natural for them to get angry very quickly. Such people can trace a whole genealogy of the work of anger through the years past and are wondering how to disconnect from that blood line pattern. There is solution today for you. Ever wondered how Jesus went through the pain and passion of Calvary without getting upset for a single second but rather prayed for those who whipped and humiliated Him and asked the Father to forgive them? That is too good to be true. If it were you or I , God knows how many times we would have rained fire from heaven before we got to the cross. But you see, everything Jesus did was about creating models by which we could pattern our lives until we become just like him.

The first thing Jesus did that kept Him stable throughout that gruesome moment of extreme pain and anguish was that the moment before at the garden of gethsemane, Jesus prayed. He openly told God the weakness of his flesh. He expressed himself in sincerity. Matthew 26:41 The reason some of us cannot break out of funny habits is because we are not sincere with ourselves and God. The first person to talk to when next you get angry is not your grandmother, it is your Father in heaven. It doesn't matter how deep the weakness has eaten you, when you pray and believe, miracles will happen.

The other thing Jesus did to overcome all the tendencies of the flesh during that great passion of the cross was that He kept His focus on the glory with the Father that was ahead of Him. The only thing that mattered to Him was the Fathers love. The only time we saw Him cry out wit a loud voice was when the Father forsook him for a moment. When we drink deep into the Father’s love, it is easy to extend love to others even when they do not deserve it. Anger just seems to vanish when love switches on. It's power and rage is neutralized when the reality of God's unfathomable love pulses through our veins. It is easy to smile at a storm when the love of the Father matters most to you. Nobody can just press your buttons anyhow and trigger you to anger because you have felt true love. When it comes to anger find it, figure out the reason why, and let God fix it for you. God is healing our hearts by His love. Let us receive His free gift today and always.

Prayer/Action
* Thank God because the blood of Jesus can neutralize inherited issues and circumstances.
* Ask for grace to talk to the father in prayer about your pain and difficulty every time.
* Pray that more of the love of God will saturate your heart by the Holy Ghost so that anger and all emotional dysfunctions will be displaced.
* Confess that the enemy has no control over your mind and emotions anymore.

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Anger Antidote I

READ: James 1:19-27
MORE LESSONS: Prov. 16:32
Bible Reading in One Year: John7-10

It is often said that anger is a thief of good moments. This is absolutely true because when we are angry nothing else seems to matter except gratifying the lust of that feeling. A lot of the wars and killings in our world today can be traced to someone's anger against another person. The human being is built with a little of this tendencies but we all have different anger thresholds. Some people can suffer long before they get angry but some others are easily sparked to anger by the slightest stirring. By and large, some degree of anger is important in protecting what is right, but when anger gets out of control, like wild fire it can cause more damage than was originally intended. When anger is out of control, one seems to loose discretion and right judgement. This kind of rage cannot produce the righteousness of God. James 1:20 says; For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Fire is not evil, because we need fire to cook and to keep warm in the cold amongst other things. But when fire is out of control, it is the most dangerous thing you ever knew. Anger, like a little flame of fire is not sin but can lead to sin if it is not put in check and appropriate control. The word of God helps us channel our emotions in the right direction. Life would be more productive for us if we channel the wrath of our anger from unedifying arguments and quarrels to the very works of the enemy in our society, family and our future. This is the kind of wrath that leads us to the place of deep intercession and warfare prayer until we can completely halt the activities of Satan around us to a standstill.

Everybody can be angry about one thing or the other. In fact, God too shows anger. He is mad at the devil’s works in your life. So the real question is what you are angry at? Is it your fellow brother that you have the power to forgive or like God, you hate what God hates and are angry at the devil too. I wish we can spend all our anger, wrath and indignation on the devil so when a person hurts us, we'll have no anger left to unleash at them except to love them. One sure antidote to anger is letting the word of God dominate your heart. It will channel all your emotions rightly. It will teach you when to speak and when to be silent. When to say sorry and when to say thank you.

Prayer/Action
* Thank God for releasing a revelation today that will destroy the very grips of anger and wrath over your life.
* Pray that the word of God will dominate your heart and life and cast away the spirit of anger.
* Ask the Holy Ghost to give you wisdom to channel your emotions aright so that you will not make decisions that you regret later.

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