Every once and a while I like to take a trip back into my archives to see where I was spiritually. Today I’m going back 18 years to share a meal I shared on this very date. Some of you may have been with me in those days. So here we go.
Today’s Prayer
(This is to be prayed individually)
Father, let me try each day to serve You a little better, to love others a little more, and make the world a little better because I am living now. At the close of each day, let me realize that where I have failed, or decided unwisely, or lost ground, even these departures were necessary for my spiritual growth. Let me accept myself as I am, as You have accepted me; let me ask Your forgiveness so that I can start anew tomorrow and do better. Thank You, Lord, that Your grace makes my living worthwhile, and my shortcomings bearable. In the matchless name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Let’s eat.
Twofold Redemption
Redemption by Power
— King James
Exodus 6:1 Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
— Living Bible
Exodus 6:1 “Now you will see what I shall do to Pharaoh,” the Lord told Moses. “For he must be forced to let my people go; he will not only let them go, but will drive them out of his land!
— King James
Exodus 6:2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
— Living Bible
Exodus 6:2 I am Jehovah, the Almighty God who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob–though I did not reveal my name, Jehovah, to them.
— King James
Exodus 6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
— King James
Exodus 6:4 And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
— Living Bible
Exodus 6:4 And I entered into a solemn covenant with them; under its terms I promised to give them and their descendants the land of Canaan where they were living.
— King James
Exodus 6:5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
— Living Bible
Exodus 6:5 And now I have heard the groanings of the people of Israel, in slavery now to the Egyptians, and I remember my promise.
— King James
Exodus 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
— Living Bible
Exodus 6:6 “Therefore tell the descendants of Israel that I will use my mighty power and perform great miracles to deliver them from slavery, and make them free.
— King James
Psalms 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
— Living Bible
Psalms 49:15 But as for me, God will redeem my soul from the power of death, for he will receive me.
Redemption by Price
(1 Peter 1:13-25)
— living Bible
13. So now you can look forward soberly and intelligently to more of God’s kindness to you when Jesus Christ returns.
14. Obey God because you are his children; don’t slip back into your old ways–doing evil because you knew no better.
15. But be holy now in everything you do, just as the Lord is holy, who invited you to be his child.
16. He himself has said, “You must be holy, for I am holy.”
17. And remember that your heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge you with perfect justice for everything you do; so act in reverent fear of him from now on until you get to heaven.
18. God paid a ransom to save you from the impossible road to heaven which your fathers tried to take, and the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver, as you very well know.
19. But he paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
20. God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but only recently was he brought into public view, in these last days, as a blessing to you.
21. Because of this, your trust can be in God who raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. Now your faith and hope can rest in him alone.
22. Now you can have real love for everyone because your souls have been cleansed from selfishness and hatred when you trusted Christ to save you; so see to it that you really do love each other warmly, with all your hearts.
23. For you have a new life. It was not passed on to you from your parents, for the life they gave you will fade away. This new one will last forever, for it comes from Christ, God’s ever-living Message to men.
24. Yes, our natural lives will fade as grass does when it becomes all brown and dry. All our greatness is like a flower that droops and falls;
25. but the Word of the Lord will last forever. And his message is the Good News that was preached to you.
— Living Bible
Exodus 13:13-16
A firstborn donkey may be purchased back from the Lord in exchange for a lamb or baby goat; but if you decide not to trade, the donkey shall be killed. However, you must buy back your firstborn sons. “And in the future, when your children ask you, `What is this all about?’ you shall tell them, `With mighty miracles Jehovah brought us out of Egypt from our slavery. Pharaoh wouldn’t let us go, so Jehovah killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both of men and animals; that is why we now give all the firstborn males to the Lord–except that all the eldest sons are always bought back.’ Again I say, this celebration shall identify you as God’s people, just as much as if his brand of ownership were placed upon your foreheads. It is a reminder that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with great power.”
Quote of the Day
Be free,… simple, a child. But be a sturdy child, who fears nothing, who speaks out frankly, who lets himself be led, who is carried in the arms; in a word, one who knows nothing, can do nothing, can anticipate and change nothing, but who has a freedom and a strength forbidden to the great. This childhood baffles the wise, and God Himself speaks by the mouth of such children. ~Francois Fenelon~
WITH HOPE AND FAITH
REV. ELDER G E STERRETT
FOUNDER
GCKRS HELPING HAND FOUNDATION –
THE RELATIONSHIP FACTORY
LIVING REAL LIFE TOGETHER