Look and be saved

People were in pain all over the place.

Dying, breathless and in great despair.

Give me some air, give me a bed, I’m not ready, I can’t die yet!

Families were yelling, hurry! hurry!

Time is running out!

Help please! help! or we are going to lose our beloved one.

The man of God was called and the people pleaded.

"Please pray to Adonai and give us a solution". they begged.

The Holy book was opened to Numbers 21: 6- 9 CJB

And the man of God started reading out aloud

In response, Adonai sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit the people, and many of Israel’s people died. 7 The people came to Moshe and said; “We sinned by speaking against Adonai and against you. Pray to Adonai that he rid us of these snakes.” Moshe prayed for the people, 8 and Adonai answered Moshe: “Make a poisonous snake and put it on a pole. When anyone who has been bitten sees it, he will live.” 9 Moshe made a bronze snake and put it on the pole; if a snake had bitten someone, then, when he looked toward the bronze snake, he stayed alive.

14 Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life. John 3:14-15 CJB

Whoever is afflicted in the great crisis days that we live

Look at the crucified image of the son of man hanging on the cross.

And be saved.

Look to me, and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God;
there is no other. Isaiah 45:22 CJB

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But I believe in You

Running with all his might along the enemy territory

Trying to find a safe haven to hide at the back of some cave.

David finally found one and threw himself on the hard ground and there he lay in the pitch darkness panting loudly.

His soul shattered. His life in a mess. 

The enemy were still hounding him like a dog

A whole army after him!

“What did I do wrong O lord," he wept day and night.

“You anointed my head with oil through the hands of a mighty prophet,

You called me out to be the future king of Israel.

You put your spirit in me and let me kill a huge giant.

Tens of thousands have died through my sword,

You gave me access to the palace with my singing.

You gave me the king's daughter to be my bride.

Yet here I am alone, in the caves of an enemy territory, 

Fighting for dear life.

It’s the very people who were close to me and who  used to eat at the same table with me

Who have put their sword on my head.

Its people from my own family who are trying to kill me Lord

What did I do wrong?

What happened to the great promises over my life?

What happened to my kingly destiny, will it still hold?

All my life would I be running and hiding like a fugitive?”

His grief knew no bounds as he lay motionless for days and months on end,

In pitch darkness far from all whom he knew and loved.

And suddenly one day He heard a gentle whisper in his ear.  

“Soul arise, soul arise, focus on the Lord God Almighty”, the voice said

David woke up with a start, “I believe in you Lord,". he proclaimed loudly. "You have saved me in the past many a time from the jaws of death, I know your voice and I know I  am safe in your care .My heart will be steady from now on ", he declared.

Psalm 57: 8-11

(7) My heart is steadfast, God, steadfast.
I will sing and make music.
9 (8) Awake, my glory! Awake, lyre and lute!
I will awaken the dawn.

10 (9) I will thank you, Adonai, among the peoples;
I will make music to you among the nations.
11 (10) for your grace is great, all the way to heaven,
and your truth, all the way to the skies.

He kept his focus on the Lord by praising him day and night.

And God brought great healing to his soul.

He became joyful again.

His family which were searching for him far and wide 

Discovered him in the Philistine territory in a cave.

Men who were broken, misfits in society sought after him 

And soon an army of warriors was born under the mighty leadership of David

And God made the way for David to sit on the throne of Israel till the end of his life.

In one of his psalms he sang 

Ps 139:16 CJB

Your eyes could see me as an embryo,
but in your book all my days were already written;
my days had been shaped
before any of them existed.

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The Great Deliverer

Brought up as a Prince to lead millions

Now he was a shepherd watching sheep graze on a rocky mountain.

Trained for greatness

Now he was stuck with the mundane.

Was the second in command of a great nation.

Now he was just an ordinary member of a community.

"I couldn’t have fallen any lower, “ he often thought to himself.

“I blew my calling; I took matters into my hands.

Now I'm a fugitive in a strange land.”

Pushing back the painful memories of yester years

He would often breakdown in despair while watching his sheep graze on the quite mountain top.

On one such day he saw a bush burning without getting burnt.

He went to find out. It was the God of his fathers Abraham, Jacob and Isaac commissioning him to go back

To save his people.

But Moses gave God so many reasons.

“I am not good enough; I am not what I used to be Lord.

I have lost the ability to speak properly,

I cannot lead your people Lord, chose someone else”.

But God said,

“No excuses, Moses,

It’s you who I created and trained 

For a time like this.

What you consider are your wasteful days

Was actually your training ground for what I wanted you to learn, understand and write about.

And prepare you for the great task ahead.

Now it is time to deliver our people.

Go and tell Pharaoh to let my people go!”

Moses went. The rest is history.

Exodus CJB - Chapter 3 & 4 

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Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away

 The weak old lady stood staring pensively at the words written on the wall hanging

Mathew 24:35 CJB

35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

“What is it grandma what are you staring at? “ Talia asked

“Nothing dear... those words are resonating with my restless spirit." grandma replied.

"I don’t think I will be able to leave this earth in peace till I take action on this matter which has been eating me up for decades.

 I have never had the courage to fight for what belongs to me

And grandpa and later your father never ever let me to take on the men who have taken the property my father left me

They are the giant in the land we should not mess with them they used to say."

"Obviously grandma! aren’t they the war lords of this place. That’s what I heard from mother." Talia exclaimed.

"Yes dear, their power and influence is so much even the courts of the land are on their side. Grandma replied.

“But before I pass away i want to do this for you and the thousands of villagers who will be saved from starvation from the vegetation which can be harvested from 100 acres of barren land.”

“What's the plan grandma?”

“We will ask the villagers to start working on the land immediately and water to be sourced from the nearby wells and streams.

What about the giants... grandma?

"Let God deal with them .We will work on the land."

His word says

In Zechariah 8:11- 13 CJB

11 but from now on, I will not treat the remnant of this people as I did before,’ says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 12 ‘Now they will sow in peace, the vine will give its fruit, the ground will produce its yield, the sky will give its dew, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 House of Y’hudah and house of Isra’el, just as you were formerly a curse among the nations, so now I will save you; and you will be a blessing. Don’t be afraid, but take courage!’

When are you going to start?

 “Tomorrow at dawn”. Grandma replied beaming away in excitement.

Yay! It’s do before i die. attitude ..I love that spirit grandma...c’mon let’s do it. Talia said equally excited.

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The Blood of Jesus

The young seventeen year old was sitting by the window on a hot summer afternoon and staring at the beautiful scenery outside.

It was a year now since mum passed,

"She is in a beautiful place. She did her duty. It was so sudden; God has our days numbered".

pastor said.

A zillion thoughts was whizzing in her head all at once,

The political science class lecture was going on and the class as usual was boring and crowded.

She found her eyelids shutting and before she knew it she was lost in the land of dreams and visions.

Back into time she saw her now deceased mother reading to her younger brother and her stories from the bible when they were little.

It was the story of the Passover where the Israelites were asked to apply the blood of the lamb on the door posts of the house

“Why they did that ma,” her brother had asked.

“To keep them safe from the judgments of God”, their mother had replied.

Exodus 12:13 CJB

13 The blood will serve you as a sign marking the houses where you are; when I see the blood, I will pass over [a] you — when I strike the land of Egypt, the death blow will not strike you.

“Can the blood of the lamb keep us safe in today’s age and time,” she had asked

“Yes, Jesus is the Lamb of God, when we apply the blood of Jesus upon the door posts of our hearts, our minds, our homes, our businesses, our jobs, our families we are keeping ourselves safe from the all evil and dangers that may befall us.

"Jessy! Jessy! , she heard a voice and felt someone nudging her to wake up.

"The dreamer has again fallen asleep in class", she could hear her master’s voice.

"Tell me Jessy, how we can keep our nation safe from the rumor of wars and pestilence that is spreading near us"?

“By applying the blood of the Lamb”! She blurted out.

The whole class laughed, “Not a wrong answer though” the master said

"Since we have no other alternative we can try what Jessy said" he told the class with a smile.

 

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The Lord is my Shepherd

Old Dinah tripped and fell flat on her face

She felt blood in her mouth as tried to shout.

The only sound, she could hear, was the loud noise of the splattering rain.

Help! Lord! Help!

She kept reciting lines from psalms 23 in her head the only thing she knew what to do before she passed out.

  ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. KJV

Meanwhile, Mary, her neighbor who lived down the road

Found herself getting nudged to the front door.

Copper! It’s raining. It’s not the right time to go out now!” she shouted at her dog.

He just stood still, cocking his ear to the side and then started barking in urgency.

Scratching the door and looking and barking intently at her...

“What is it...is something wrong! OK go! She opened the door.

 Just to see Copper bounding off in the rain with great speed towards Dinah’s house.

Dinah! O God, please don’t tell me something bad happen has happened to her...

Following the dog, soaking wet, she reached Dinah’s house and heard him barking urgently inside the house.

She too jumped in through the open window. Shocked! She saw Dinah lying face down in a pool of blood.

She quickly knelt down and felt for her pulse and heaved a sigh of relief when she finally got one.

She is still breathing, hurry Copper, let’s get some help!

Hearing her cries and the loud barks of the dog the other neighbors too started pouring in and together they got Dinah to the hospital.

After a hip surgery and four weeks in the hospital.

Dinah smiled ready to go home.

“We had contacted your son, Dinah

He couldn’t come but he has asked us to send you

To a nursing home as you are no longer fit to stay on your own, her doctor told her, breaking the news to her as gently as he can.

No worries, doctor, she said continuing to smile.

“Wherever I will be,

My good shepherd will take care of me.

Continuing With a twinkle in eye...she said

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever….Ps 23...

Yes, he said, bending down to give the old woman a hug.

“When the good shepherd is with us there is nothing to worry about “

He said, feeling a tear drop down his cheek as he turned to walk away.

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Life beyond the Roof

The king was a devout man,

A man of immense faith.

He fought the bear and the lion when he was young with his bare hands.

The giant Goliath he killed with just a pebble stone.

A great and mighty warrior

David had a reputation to be after god’s own heart.

He was beloved to his people and he was known to be a true child of God.

But one day, he let his guard down, when he causally looked from his roof top.

He spotted an extremely beautiful woman, bathing herself in the sun.

He found out, she was the wife of one of his soldiers, who was fighting in the battle which was going in.

He had her sent for, and did the unthinkable, when he went and slept with her.

She returned to her house, and they went back to their lives, like it was before.

Everything went as planned, till the woman sent him a message, she was with child.

Panic set in, new plans had to be made.

He sent for the husband Uriah, and asked him to spend some nights at home.

To the king’s dismay, he refused to sleep in his own bed, but rested with the palace guards.

 The king sent him back to the battle ground, with a letter in his hand.

He asked his chief to put him in the battle front and make sure he would die.

Sure enough Uriah died and the king married his wife.

Everything went on as normal, till god sent the prophet Nathan, to confront the king of his wrong.

The king wept, and repented .God had forgiven him. The prophet to him said.

But there was a price; the king had to pay for the cruelty he had showed for killing a man for his own selfish desires and destroying his home.

The king will lose the child conceived out of wedlock and turmoil within his own family will not leave him till the day the king dies.

Dearly beloved live in the fear of God.

And live your life righteous before him always.

2 Samuel 12:7-11 CJB

7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man.

“Here is what Adonai, the God of Isra’el says: ‘I anointed you king over Isra’el. I rescued you from the power of Sha’ul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives to embrace. I gave you the house of Isra’el and the house of Y’hudah. And if that had been too little, I would have added to you a lot more.

9 “‘So why have you shown such contempt for the word of Adonai and done what I see as evil? You murdered Uriyah the Hitti with the sword and taken his wife as your own wife; you put him to death with the sword of the people of ‘Amon. 10 Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house — because you have shown contempt for me and taken the wife of Uriyah the Hitti as your own wife.’ 11 Here is what Adonai says: ‘I will generate evil against you out of your own household. I will take your wives before your very eyes and give them to your neighbor; he will go to bed with your wives, and everyone will know about it. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this before all Isra’el in broad daylight.’”

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