I’m continually encouraged by each comments!!
Exodus Chapter 8.
God's desire was for Pharaoh to let the Israelites go so they could worship God without hindrance of the Egyptian bondage. Each time Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he would not let them go. Pharaoh would only want to let them go when things weren't going well for him and his people. But once the problem was taken care of, he changed his mine. God kept sending plagues to help him see the power of God and to help him get focused on what is right, but he would not listen. God wants us to worship Him daily and to isolate ourselves from that which hinders our worship or that which holds us into bondage. What hinders our worship and is bondage to us? Social media, our busy schedule, hardships, bad relationships, our thought life, or lusts of the world? God is continually knocking on the door of our hearts to set us free from bondage so we can get away and worship him and spend time with him. The sad thing is, I spend time with God, but later my mind gets trapped into thoughts that are not pleasing to him. I apologize to God and ask for forgiveness. I'll have my devotions but then later go back to my selfish thoughts. God wants to break the bondage, not just so I look free on the outside, but He wants me free from bondage on the inside also where others can't see but God can see. Forgive me God for my hard heart. Set Me Free so that I may worship you in holiness and be used by you effectively to help others.
I heard this on the radio, “Fight the good fight of faith. The devil wants to destroy our faith but we can cling to Jesus! And when we feel like we can’t fight anymore, give it to God! He will fight our battles when we can’t fight any longer.”
Moses has got to feel defeated because of the magicians and because of Pharaohs hardened heart. Things for the Israelites seem bleak, but God will deliver those who are faithful to Him!
I find it interesting that the magicians tried to copy the things that God did, but they reached a point where they weren’t able to do the same things. They had to admit that they were unable to do it and in verse 19, they said this to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” Pharaoh’s heart was so hardened that he wouldn’t even listen to his own advisers! He kept following the same pattern of just saying that he would let the people go whenever he wanted a plague to stop, but then he didn’t follow through and keep his part of the deal. We see that being in a position of authority with having a lot of power and control can be a dangerous thing! I don’t ever want to lead anything if Jesus isn’t leading me. I’m reminded of what John the Baptist said in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” As followers of Jesus, may we be known as people of integrity who can always be counted on to do what we say that we will do.
Today’s reading reminds me that unlike Pharaoh, we as believers see the hand of God in everything. There are no coincidences.
It’s easy to read the accounts of the plagues lightly but if we really stop and visualize each one, we can see the misery each one brought to the people of Egypt. Imagine Pharaoh responding to Moses’ question about when the plague should stop – by saying “tomorrow”. Seriously … why wouldn’t he say – “right now” and spare his people. That is serious hardness. Lord, let me deal with any “plague or bondage” in my life right now … not tomorrow.
PB,
I realize a main issue that hinders my worship is a busy schedule. I still pray and listen to God, but sometimes I put this challenge next….then next…until it’s bed time, I’m going to work on setting aside quality time for this, and sloooow down
Also, this chapter reminded me of
The original “Frogger”
Thanks for your ongoin inputs!
And Brian, thanks for being transparent and willing to commit to a new process so you have quality time with God!