Jehovah Jireh - The Lord will Provide

Joshua 5:11-12 “The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.”

The verses above strike me much. I’ve struggled with provision all my life. It defines almost everything I do - how I behave, how I see myself, how I think, how I work, all the decisions I make. I have strived all my life to ensure provision is enough. But God has promised many, many times He will provide for everything I need. Sometimes it is so surreal. I will see visions of Him endowing me with diamonds, money, castle etc. I know He just wants me to trust Him. It’s been quite a journey, my years as a Christian with God, especially these few years. The things I’m afraid to let go because I’m afraid they will not be enough, He will make me face them again and again to let go. To let go so I can trust Him, so that I can be free and be my true self in front of people and God.

And slowly and gently, as He pry my hands open to these things that I hold for my dear life, albeit sometimes kicking and screaming with tears rolling, He proves Himself faithful in His provision.

There’s still a long way for me to go, I know. Like the Israelites, I have to trust God to fight for me to get my inheritance. But like the verses above, God never let His people go hungry in all situations. Not when we have a God who provides.

Prayer: Dear God, I thank you for your provision in times of need, in times of abundance. I want to be able to let go and trust you more each day. May your glory fall upon us today, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

Demand for a sign or miracle

Mark 8

Mark 8:2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.”

Mark 8:12 “He sighed deeply and said, "Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it."”

Jesus knew our needs before we mouthed them. In Mark 8, He was filled with compassion for the people who came a long distance to see Him and He provided food for the hungry and filled the people. The people did not ask but a miracle was performed.

In the New Testament, we see many people of great suffering and need going to Jesus, begging Him for help and healing. He never rejected them. In the Old Testament, the Israelites grumbled and complained, God still listened and performed many miracles to meet their needs, though with many lessons for them.

However, when the Pharisees demanded for a sign or a miracle from Jesus to test Him, He refused to give. There was no need for a show or a performance.

What is our attitude when we approach God? Why do we want to see signs or miracles?

Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank you that you know our needs even before we speak. Help us to realize our hunger and to come humbly to you to fill us, in Jesus name, amen.

Barriers to God

Leviticus 8-9, Matthew 23

Lev 9:22 “Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down.”

Mat 23:13 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.”

Mat 23:23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

I was asking myself as I read the New Testament, why is it that almost everyone could recognise Jesus except the priests, the anointed ones of God? It is so ironical.

In Leviticus 8-9, we read that the priests were given a high place, they were set apart by God so they could help be a bridge between man and God. They represented God, they represented man. They were supposed to help God communicate with His people and the people with God. They should know who is God.

Along the way, the priests lost their way. The rules and laws set by God for them to perform for the people were to bring the people close to God – for justice, for mercy and faithfulness. Instead, the priests made it hard for most ordinary people to go to God- it became something that only the rich could practice. It became about status, power, money, learnedness, etc. Getting to God became something exclusive, only for the privileged few. The priests were proud of this as it puts them in high standing. Instead of being bridges, the priests became barriers to God for the people.

So once again, God has to come down to reach out to the people - the ordinary ones, the ‘last’ ones. This time, He really made sure all have direct access to know and be close to Him if they choose to.

I wonder what's the situation today? Are we bridges or barriers?

Rules and laws were always meant for good. They were meant for protection. It’s the people that fall short. Thank God He never.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for your grace. Please help make us bridges for the people to come to you, in Jesus name, amen.

Who cares for God?

Ex 29:44-46 “So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.”

Ex 32:1 “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."”

God took Moses away a long time – 40 days and nights, to tell Moses what are the rules and regulations for the Israelites and also giving very detailed instructions on building the tablenacle and all so that God can dwell with amongst the people. So that He can be their God and they can be His people.

Whilst Moses was away, the people cannot wait and built and worshipped other gods. I wonder how God feel. Does anyone care how He feels? Do we care for God?

All of us want someone to care for us, love us, and appreciate us. We want justice, healing, provision, significance. When we approach God, we expect Him to listen and help us, care for us, love us. But do we care about God?

Love is both ways.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to care and love you as you have cared and loved me, in Jesus name, amen.

Big Heart

Matthew 20:1-16 The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

Matthew 20:7" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'”

From the start when Jesus first taught, His thinking has always been unconventional, challenging our way of seeing things. All of us know when we work, we should be paid our due wages. Why should those who do not perform get the same pay or even be paid first? We reward those who do well. It’s all based on performance, we have to earn it.

But God’s heart has always been with the marginalised - the last in the society, those whom nobody wants. Perhaps they are old, weak, sick, handicapped, of lower intelligence, the prostitutes, the scums, the aliens, the poor, the humble. In the parable, somehow, no one would want to hire them and they were loitering, maybe waiting for a job to feed their family.

He said "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3). "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Mat 20:16).

What a big heart, one full of grace and compassion. Once when I watched an episode of American Idol’s charity programme, a man said “the one who stands tallest is the one who stoop low to help others”

Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank you for your big heart, one full of grace and compassion. May we remember the poor around us, in Jesus name, amen.

Treasure

Exodus 12-20

Exodus 13:22 ”Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.” Exodus 19:5 “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.”

These chapters of the Israelites’ escape are full of heart stopping drama, wonders and miracles. Magic, plagues, death, parting of the sea, water from rock, bread and quail from the sky. There are so many, what will they recall when it all come to pass?

For me, amidst it all, the most moving and most treasured is that God was always by the side of the Israelites – he was in front of them, guiding them, leading them, protecting them, feeding them, teaching them. They are His treasure.

Like the Israelites, we grumble and complain and always look for things, blessings, miracles and wonders from the hand of God. The physical, the emotional, our needs and wants, they overwhelmed us. We forget and overlook that through it all, God is always by our side. This is most precious and is more than enough. May we learn to treasure His presence with us.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank you that your presence is always with us. Forgive us when we overlook your presence and place more importance on things. May we learn to treasure it above all. In Jesus name, amen.

Hard of hearing

Exodus 7-11

Exo 8:19 “The magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.”

God listens when we cry out to Him. What about us? Do we hear when God speaks?

Pharaoh has a huge hearing problem. He would not listen at first because those he disliked and distrust spoke to him. Evidences piled up and he continued to dismiss them. Ah, but when those he trusted, the magicians, spoke to him and yet he would not listen, there is a real issue. It’s just a recipe for disaster when a leader would not listen to anyone and is totally out of touch with the ground. His people are suffering, the land is in ruin, yet he is still holding on to his pride and sin and would not relent.

It’s a vicious cycle. Each time pharaoh refuses to listen, his sins and pride increase, his heart hardened, and he finds it harder to listen. Sins and pride harden our heart, make us hard of hearing. It is dangerous not to listen, especially to God. He usually sends us warnings against our sins. It slowly builds up. We may say ok one moment and go back sinning next, just like pharaoh. Each time we do this, it become more difficult to let go. Until God sometimes has to send a painful lesson to wake us up. You see, our sins hurt not only us but those around us as well. Only then will we learn to let go.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank you that you hear us. Help us to hear and listen to you and your discipline early. Make us soft of hearing. In Jesus name, amen.