¹And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

   ²Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.

   ³For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

   ⁴And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.

   ⁵And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?

   ⁶And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:

   ⁷And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.

   ⁸And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.

   ⁹But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.

   ¹⁰And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.

   ¹¹And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

   ¹²Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

   ¹³And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

   ¹⁴The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

   ¹⁵And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

   ¹⁶But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

   ¹⁷And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

   ¹⁸And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

   ¹⁹And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:

   ²⁰And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

   ²¹And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

   ²²And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

   ²³And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

   ²⁴And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,

   ²⁵And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

   ²⁶And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.

   ²⁷And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

   ²⁸And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

   ²⁹But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

   ³⁰Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.

   ³¹And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.

Love is a reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion that is inspired by God’s love for us and in us. Love sees all as valuable and precious, even when they do not appear to be so.

 

If I can speak in the tongues of men and even of angels, but have not love I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

And if I have prophetic powers and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not God’s love in me, I am nothing – a useless nobody.

Even if I dole out all that I have to the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not God’s love in me, I gain nothing.

 

God is love and His love is shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit. Because love lives in me:

 

I endure long and am patient and kind;

I am never envious nor do I boil over with jealousy,

I am not boastful or vainglorious, neither do I display myself haughtily.

I am not conceited, arrogant or inflated with pride;

I am not rude or unmannerly and I do not act unbecomingly.

I do not insist on my own rights or my own way, for I am not self-seeking;

I am not touchy or fretful or resentful;

I take no account of the evil done to me,

I pay no attention to a suffered wrong.

I do not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but I rejoice when right and truth prevail.

I bear up under anything and everything that comes, I am ever ready to believe the best of every person, my hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and I endure everything without weakening.

Because love never fails, I never fail. God’s love in me never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end.

 

As for prophecy, it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

For our knowledge and our prophecy is fragmentary – incomplete and imperfect,

But when the complete and perfect comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside.

For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim and blurred reflection of reality as in a riddle or enigma, but then when perfection comes we shall see in reality and face to face!

Now I know in part – imperfectly – but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood by God.

And so faith, hope, love abide

Faith is believing that what God said He would do, He will do.

Hope is a joyful and confident expectation.

Love is true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for us and in us.

The greatest of these is love.

 

Paraphrased from 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, 1 John 4:8&16 and Romans 5:5 AMP

 

You will never walk in the blessings of God’s Word until you put it on the inside of you. You must get into the Word and get the Word into you so that it can start to work for you. The Christian who will not walk in love is immature, worldly, and carnal. If you desire to be a spiritual and mature Christian then you must become an imitator of your Father, God, and walk in love toward God and your neighbor – Christian and non-Christian alike – in all circumstances and at all times. Confess this passage of scripture until it becomes so much part of you and so real to you, that you begin to automatically walk in it everyday

 

¹And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

   ²But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

   ³And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

   ⁴These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

   ⁵And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

   ⁶These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

   ⁷And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

   ⁸And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

   ⁹And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

   ¹⁰And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

   ¹¹And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

   ¹²And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

   ¹³And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

   ¹⁴The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

   ¹⁵And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

   ¹⁶And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

   ¹⁷Saying, We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

   ¹⁸And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

   ¹⁹And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you [yourselves] may not be judged. Look! The Judge is [already] standing at the very door. 10[As] an example of suffering and ill-treatment together with patience, brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord [as His messengers]. 11 You know how we call those blessed (happy) who were steadfast [who endured]. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the Lord’s [purpose and how He richly blessed him in the] end, inasmuch as the Lord is full of pity and compassion and tenderness and mercy.  James 5:9-11 AMP

 

There are times in life when we feel that we have been mistreated by others. Sometimes it is true that someone has deliberately mistreated us, but sometimes it is just a matter of our perception of what occurred! For instance, you know that children often feel mistreated just because Mom made them wash the dishes or Dad told them to go to bed or clean up their room before their favorite cartoon was over. Now anyone with common sense will realize that the parents are making decisions that are in the best interests of the child and preparing them for the realities of life and responsibility. They will eventually appreciate their parent’s “tough love.”

 

Unfortunately, even adults sometimes do not know the difference between a deliberate mistreatment and feeling mistreated just because they did not get their own way! There are many people, who complain continuously about how they have been abused by others, when all it is, is that they would not let them have their own way in the situation. People who regularly behave like this are usually selfish and self-centered, with a victim’s mentality. This is not how Christians should behave.

 

God makes provision for every situation and circumstance you find yourself in: if people are treating you badly- whether real or imagined – the Lord tells you to walk in love and in forgiveness. He tells you not to murmur or whine or complain. In fact, when you complain, you bring judgment upon yourself, because with your complaining, God says that you are judging the other person and His Word already says that if you judge, you will be judged with the same measuring stick!

      

Therefore you have no excuse or defense or justification, O man, whoever you are who judges and condemns another. For in posing as judge and passing sentence on another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge are habitually practicing the very same things [that you censure and denounce]. 2[But] we know that the judgment (adverse verdict, sentence) of God falls justly and in accordance with truth upon those who practice such things. 3 And do you think or imagine, O man, when you judge and condemn those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment and elude His sentence and adverse verdict? 4 Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repent (to change your mind and inner man to accept God’s will)? 5 But by your callous stubbornness and impenitence of heart you are storing up wrath and indignation for yourself on the day of wrath and indignation, when God’s righteous judgment (just doom) will be revealed. 6 For He will render to every man according to his works [justly, as his deeds deserve].  Romans 2:1-6 AMP

 

God has plenty to complain about concerning you and me and He has every right to do so, but He chooses to love us, forgive us, be patient with us and be kind to us. In this way, He leads us to repent. He expects us, as His children, made in His image, to behave like He does – not just for the sake of others, but for our own sakes. If you will open your eyes and realize that the way you treat others is the way you will be treated and the way you judge others is the way you will be judged, then you will finally begin to behave in the ways in which the Lord is leading you. If you are His disciple, then you will walk, talk and behave like Him – you will walk in love, forgiveness and kindness and you will leave God to judge those who do not obey the Word. Other people are not your responsibility – they are responsible for themselves before God – you are your responsibility – so take care of your own attitude and do not complain about other people! Love others in the same way that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit love you.

 

God’s love does not insist on its own rights or its own way, because it is not self-seeking, it is not touchy, fretful or resentful. Love takes no account of the evil done to it and it pays no attention to a suffered wrong. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes and love is always ready to believe the best of every person (1 Corinthians 13:5&7 AMP paraphrased). If you will not complain when people do the wrong thing to you, if you will walk in love and patience and joy, then God will bless you and protect you and whatever has been taken from you will be restored to you with interest!

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.  Hebrews 13:8 KJV

 

Jesus said, “I and the Father are one – if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” If Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever, then the Father and the Holy Spirit are the same yesterday, and today, and forever. They never change – you can depend upon them to always be constant and consistent. You can depend upon God and you can depend upon His Word.

 

Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. Isaiah 48:6 KJV

 

God never changes, but He has hidden things that we don’t know about. He has many new things to tell us and to show us – when we are ready to receive them.

 

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.  Malachi 3:6 KJV

God’s character and nature remain the same – above all else He is a merciful God. Because He does not change, He is always looking for an opportunity to pour out His mercy rather than His wrath. When God pours out His wrath, it is because His mercy was not received. We can see from the Bible that God had to withdraw His hand of protection and blessing from Israel many times because of their sin, disobedience and rebellion, and yet, He never did utterly destroy them. Religion and the devil have portrayed God as a killer and a destroyer, but that is a lie!! He is first of all, loving, caring, compassionate and merciful. It is only when He withdraws His hand from the life of a rebellious child that they experience the pain of being in the devil’s territory. For all the awful things that men have done to God and against Him – if God was as bad as they say, then we should all have been wiped out a long time ago. No – He is a good and a merciful God and He does not change and that is why we have a hope and a future!

 

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.  Isaiah 43:19 KJV

 

God’s new thing is always a way of mercy, love, provision and blessing. Father God will reach out to us to bless us with whatever we will humbly receive from Him. It is not that He doesn’t have it; it is not that He won’t give it to us; it is that we don’t know how to reach out and receive it because many times our heart attitude and our motivation are wrong.

 

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.  Jeremiah 31:31-34 KJV

 

God loves doing new things in our lives. He loves to show us His heart and His character and His mercy. It gave Him great pleasure and satisfaction to offer us this New Covenant, even though it was established at the great price of the precious blood of His only begotten Son. God delighted in outwitting the devil and bringing men into a relationship and a covenant with Himself that could not be annulled or broken. You have to understand that the devil (when it suits him) is a legalist and if he caught God in a lie, then He, and we, would be in big trouble. God cannot and will not violate His own Word. The devil will never catch God out in a lie, but he is always trying. God follows the rules and we must follow the rules – if we want to receive the blessing!  

 

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.  Lamentations 3:21-26 KJV

 

The good news for this New Year is that God’s mercies and compassions are new every morning. It does not matter what mistakes you have made, what sins you have committed – if you will humble your heart before the Lord, God’s grace is enough to wash away your sin and to restore you into fellowship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit once again.

 

 

The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.  Proverbs 10:16 NIV

 

Our righteous labors will result in wages that bring life and blessing, but the profit of the wicked leads to further sin and the resultant punishment. And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you. 30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them. 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand. 33 A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually.

Deuteronomy 28:29-34 NKJV

 

When you are rebellious and disobedient to the Lord, everything you have worked for and everything that is precious to you will become the property of others. You will become a slave to your enemy.

Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.

Deuteronomy 28:47-51 NIV

 

You must serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity. When you are blessed of the Lord, you must appreciate your blessing and continue to serve and honor Him with joy and gratitude. If you are ungrateful and unappreciative, you open a door for the enemy to destroy that for which you have worked so hard.

 

For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham. 43 He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy; 44 he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for–45 that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the LORD.   Psalms 105:42-45 NIV

 

When you turn to the Lord, honor Him and remember Him, you will reap what others have sown. They will do the work, but because of their disobedience, you will benefit.

 

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it. 14 I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;

 

They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. 15 I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them,” Says the LORD your God.  Amos 9:13-15 NKJV

 

When you obey God, everything you put your hand to will prosper. You will be blessed with the fruit of your labor. The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”  1 Timothy 5:17-18 NIV

 

God’s plan is for you to get what you work for and to be blessed by your labors. Slavery is a result of disobedience, but every person should be able to enjoy what he or she deserves and to reap what he or she has sown.