Sunday Mornings

  I was 12 years old when I joined the royal army. Israel was going to war against Canaan and needed all the men they could get. While some who had passed the training marched on to the battlefield with Deborah to face Jabin and Sisera after being oppressed for 20 years, I, together with the other new recruits remained in the camp to complete our military training. It was at the camp that news reached us that God had given us the victory through a certain Jael. After this, Israel enjoyed peace for 40 years. The elders thought it cruel to continue with the military training amidst the rest God gave us from our enemies. It had been a long time coming. So we left the camp and went each man to his home. Things continued this way till we sinned against God; we broke the LORD's altar, we ceased the evening and morning sacrifices and the LORD's hand was heavy upon us. We had a new oppressor - the Midianites. Things grew from bad to worse. It became more difficult to remember the years...

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope. It is quite easy for us to say we trust God’s plan for our lives, even when we do not know exactly what this big plan is. This is because we believe the words of our Lord from today’s scripture. The question however is: “how much do we trust God’s way of achieving this plan He has for us?” It is one thing to Trust His plan and another to trust His way of achieving this plan. Trusting God is not just about affirming our faith and proclaiming God’s ability to provide our needs. It is about believing in God’s providence, that every experience we live is a step towards the expected end He has designed for us. We might not particularly like it. God’s way could involve casting our net to a particular side of the boat like the disciples (Luke 5:4), or selling all that we have like the Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-24), or even death such...

  And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" Exodus 3:14 Who is God? This is a question that we all get to wrestle with. When we are waiting on God to show up and fulfill the promises that He has given to us in scripture, who is God? While we may not be able to fully describe God, God has given us in scripture a whole lot of details about Himself that is adequate to answer this question whispering in our thoughts. Consider the children of Israel at this point in history; all the promises that were made to Abraham were yet to be fulfilled. The promise of being a great nation was not yet in sight. It was not fulfilled in Abraham's days, neither his son Isaac. This was many generations after and they were not yet in the promised land; they were instead slaves in a gentile nation. All the more reason to validate the silent question in their heart: who is God? Were God's ...

 ..."Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my fingers into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." John 20:25 b By the grace of God we will be rounding up our Easter related studies today. We began with looking at how pivotal submission to the will of God was to the grace that Jesus received for His journey to the cross. Last week we saw how the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was a prove of God's faithfulness and providence (intentional sovereignty) over the years. Today we will take a brief study on our resurrected and glorified LORD. May God grant us insight as we glean at His feet and may these not just remain Easter only lessons, but meditations for our everyday and season. Every scar has s a story to tell. Scars are reminders of wounds. They bring bad memories to us when we look at them and we could go to such great lengths to conceal them from ourselves, but sometimes from others. So, are scars unhealabl...

And Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the Lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together. Genesis 22:8   Today as we celebrate the Resurrection of our LORD, we would love to journey back in time to savor God's providence in our salvation once more in a story so familiar to us. Many years ago, a father showed his love to God by sacrificing his son on a mount; fast track many year later, a Father would sacrifice His Son on a hill to show His love for mankind. Just how similar were the two sacrifices and what can we learn from them? May God grant us wisdom as we study. Amen. Our Journey begins in Genesis 22 when God demanded the sacrifice of Isaac from Abraham. If we do not consider Abraham to be a man, as we are, we may fail to see the gravity of the steps that he took as he journeyed to mountains of Moriah. Here are a few key lessons to learn from this as we reflect over the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus: 1.  "Your son, your o...

And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. Luke 22:43 It is that time of the year where we collectively reflect over the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Our anchor text for today's study is timed just before the arrest and trials of Jesus. May God grant us insight as we glean at His feet together. Amen. Can two work together except they agree? Amos 3:3 In Jesus' agony in the garden of Gethsemane, we see something that we can all relate with. There always comes that point in a believer's walk with God that there is a conflict of interest. God would be leading you in one direction, but you would rather prefer some other method or direction. Jonah once went on this path, and when he was in the belly of the fish, this is what he had to say Those who regard and follow worthless idols turn away from their living source of mercy and loving-kindness. Jonah 2:8 it was in the light of this fundamental truth that even though Jesus would have preferred ...

  Many times when we read about the heroes of faith, we fail to realise that they were men like us. Trusting God was not any less difficult than it is for us today. If we were to read their diaries, what would we learn from their journey to the hall of faith? Let's have a peek at David's diary today as God grants us insight. Amen. Months had passed since the Prophet Samuel visited my father’s house to anoint me as King over Israel. As I sat meditating over the events of that fateful day, a lot of questions were looming round my head: why me? (I was an insignificant member of the family. A family sacrifice could have successfully happened without me; a king could have been anointed in the family while I was away in the fields because my presence was insignificant) A King? Even if it were to be so, how could a king be anointed when there was already a king? And why was I not on the throne yet? Few weeks after Samuel’s visit, King Saul sent for me to join his royal service. Was ...