Scripture reading Ruth 1:1-7 Focus verse: Ruth 1:1, 3-6- in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. Now, Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and husband. When she heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.
I remember one day walking to the bus stage to border a public van for my traveling. There was one packed and getting ready. After I boarded it, I realized that it did not have very good seats, no good painting, and no good music for my entertainment. I saw it not meeting my expectation. A few minutes one well painted van, with nice looking seats and loud and bumpy music drove into the bus stage. Then I had a voice telling me, “you are in wrong van, you are going to get bored, get out and board that good looking van with the music you wanted.” Being that the bus conductor in the van I had boarded had not taken my bus fare, I quickly got out and squeezed myself through to the good looking van. Because it’s appearance pleased many, it was quickly full with travelers and begun the journey.
After it left the town, I began to sense some heat developing in the van and it sounded like it had a mechanical problem. A few minutes later, the driver stopped the van, stopped the music and we were told that the van had an engine problem and we had to alight. As we alighted, the van I had left at the stage came and passed in a very good speed, the engine producing a very good sound suggesting it was perfect. Then, I begun to regret, because we had to wait for some hours there in order for a mechanic to come and it’s problem be corrected. To make it worse, it failed and now we had to walk on foot to the nearby station to look for another alternative. I didn’t like the experience but I had to admit that it was my choice and I had to face it that way.
Choices have consequences! Elimelech realizes that life is not looking good in Judah and decides to go to Moab. He wanted to have it easy even at a time when God’s land, Judah and God’s people, Israelites were going through hardship (famine). According to him, Moab looked attractive, relaxing and safe from hardship. Little did he know that it was a land of death and regret for his life and that of his family. The Bible says, he lost his life, lost his two sons and lost his resources.
There are moments in life when we have to persevere and endure the hardships of life. Believers are not called to a life of everyday enjoyment and must not strive to find it easy. Even when situations are hard we should not compromise our faith just because we want it easy. We may have it easy for a moment but later it turn out poisonous. Proverbs 14:12 – There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Jesus at one point stated that, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” Matthew 16:25. As believers let us be led by faith and not by sight. Let our decisions during our troubled days be guided by total faith and trust in the Lord God Almighty and not be led by fear. Tough times may come but they will never last forever. Romans 8:18 – I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Let nothing separate us from the love of God. Let us not stop praying even when things still look darker, God is still at work. Ours is to keep waiting patiently in prayer as we follow all that he instructs us.
Pastor Eliazar Wambo
Director of Bethesda Faith Ministries (partner of Interlocking Ministries)
Friday, June 26, 2020
Sunday, June 21, 2020
When Your Trouble Becomes Your Blessing
Scripture reading: 1 Samuel 9:1-17 Focus: 1 Samuel 9:3, 15-17 – Now the donkey’s belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys.” Now the day before Saul came God had revealed this to Samuel: “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon my people, for their cry has reached me.” When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him. “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.”
I grew up as young boy in a community where herding was a common practice. I learnt the good and bad moments of herding. I remember one time when I was of overtaken with much play in the herding field alongside other herds’ boys and my father’s cattle wondered away; it was very stressful looking for lost cattle. When I finally got the cattle, they had entered another man’s garden and had eaten some of his crops. The report reached my dad and I will admit that his disciple of good spunks on my buttocks for being lazy was something I will never forget. Contrary, the spunks made me be more careful each day I went to graze and I later would be one of his best sons in herding.
Sometimes it is so difficult to believe that there is God’s hand in every trouble that he can let us go through. This happens because some challenges seem very stressful, brings lots of worries, pains and tears. Some leads to loss of job or loved ones while others may lead to one being physically disabled. Troubles often causes loss of resources and people are left to live a standard lower than their initial way of life. Some people have committed suicide when they can’t bear it anymore; while to others, divorce or separation has become their solution. Well, Saul’s father Kish had his share of the trouble, his donkeys got lost. He instructs his son Saul alongside with another servant to go and look for them. They walk to several areas and takes a few days looking for them but all in vain. Then finally when Saul is almost loosing hope and wanting to come back then the servant encourages him that there is a seer in the city ahead who could help them locate them. Prophets used to be called seers. He obeys the voice of the servant and goes to the city. Upon reaching, he finds that the seer had just returned from journey. When the seer (Samuel) sees Saul coming, God reminds him that, “this is the man I said I would send to you, anoint him to be the king of my people Israel.”
Why would God allow the donkeys to get lost? Why would he not just direct Saul to the seer on the first day rather than making him search for long? Sometimes when faced with life challenges we tend to asks many ‘why’ questions. Likewise, the present world challenges with disease and deaths, economic collapse, loss of jobs, racial and international tensions among other conflicts has caused a lot of ‘why’ questions. Nonetheless, we need to realize that our present challenges can be for our good if we seek the will of God with each one of them. Just like he knew the right time for Saul to get to the seer, he has the perfect timing for each of them. He is able to use our challenges to raise us to another level with Him. We must not give up but obey the voice of God and do all that He tells us even when we are in the mix of the troubles. Saul obeyed the voice of a servant, that’s some humility! We need to be careful and listen to the small voices that God is using to talk to us. The end result of Saul’s searching was his anointing to become the first king of God’s nation, Israel. Joseph at one times stated to his brothers that, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what’s now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20. Paul confirms the same in Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Written by:
Pastor Eliazar Wambo
Director Bethesda Faith Ministries
(partnered with Interlocking Ministries)
I grew up as young boy in a community where herding was a common practice. I learnt the good and bad moments of herding. I remember one time when I was of overtaken with much play in the herding field alongside other herds’ boys and my father’s cattle wondered away; it was very stressful looking for lost cattle. When I finally got the cattle, they had entered another man’s garden and had eaten some of his crops. The report reached my dad and I will admit that his disciple of good spunks on my buttocks for being lazy was something I will never forget. Contrary, the spunks made me be more careful each day I went to graze and I later would be one of his best sons in herding.
Sometimes it is so difficult to believe that there is God’s hand in every trouble that he can let us go through. This happens because some challenges seem very stressful, brings lots of worries, pains and tears. Some leads to loss of job or loved ones while others may lead to one being physically disabled. Troubles often causes loss of resources and people are left to live a standard lower than their initial way of life. Some people have committed suicide when they can’t bear it anymore; while to others, divorce or separation has become their solution. Well, Saul’s father Kish had his share of the trouble, his donkeys got lost. He instructs his son Saul alongside with another servant to go and look for them. They walk to several areas and takes a few days looking for them but all in vain. Then finally when Saul is almost loosing hope and wanting to come back then the servant encourages him that there is a seer in the city ahead who could help them locate them. Prophets used to be called seers. He obeys the voice of the servant and goes to the city. Upon reaching, he finds that the seer had just returned from journey. When the seer (Samuel) sees Saul coming, God reminds him that, “this is the man I said I would send to you, anoint him to be the king of my people Israel.”
Why would God allow the donkeys to get lost? Why would he not just direct Saul to the seer on the first day rather than making him search for long? Sometimes when faced with life challenges we tend to asks many ‘why’ questions. Likewise, the present world challenges with disease and deaths, economic collapse, loss of jobs, racial and international tensions among other conflicts has caused a lot of ‘why’ questions. Nonetheless, we need to realize that our present challenges can be for our good if we seek the will of God with each one of them. Just like he knew the right time for Saul to get to the seer, he has the perfect timing for each of them. He is able to use our challenges to raise us to another level with Him. We must not give up but obey the voice of God and do all that He tells us even when we are in the mix of the troubles. Saul obeyed the voice of a servant, that’s some humility! We need to be careful and listen to the small voices that God is using to talk to us. The end result of Saul’s searching was his anointing to become the first king of God’s nation, Israel. Joseph at one times stated to his brothers that, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what’s now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20. Paul confirms the same in Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Written by:
Pastor Eliazar Wambo
Director Bethesda Faith Ministries
(partnered with Interlocking Ministries)
Friday, June 12, 2020
Whose Voice Will You Follow?
Scripture reading: Numbers 13:26-33 Focus verse: Numbers 13:30-31 – Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”
I will admit that I have at times found myself in the mix of which way to go. When life presents you with two issues and you have to take on one, sometimes you find yourself in the mix and begin to reason with the choices. You may be tempted to reason and take on what seems possible for you and ignore the voice that tells you the opposite. That’s when faith and courage is mostly needed.
Caleb alongside with the other 11 spies are sent to go and spy the land that God had promised them and was about to give to them. They got to the land, spied it and safely came back to give a report of their spy. They began by telling the people how wonderful the land was, a land flowing of milk and honey. They also showed the people a sample of the good fruits that were growing in it. It was so nice! Then the second part of their report was not encouraging at all. They stated that though it was a good land but the Israelites could not take it because the people living in it were stronger than them. Then Caleb, one of the spies rises up courageously and gives hope to the people. He tells the people that “they can certainly do it.”
There comes a moment in life when we have to be very careful with what voices we hear and how they can affect our choices and life. There are voices of fear which are meant to distract us from walking in the will of God. They at times speak louder, many and may seem to be more reasoning and appealing. Out of twelve spies, ten were of that kind and they spread fear amongst the people. Matters of faith are beyond human reasoning because faith is an assurance of things hoped for and being certain of what we do not see. Courage prepares us to do what seems impossible. The two must be part of our virtues if we want to walk and act God’s way. Believers are called to walk in faith with God and believe God to do what seems impossible. We must not allow distractors for we know God’s great plans cannot be stopped by any challenge no matter how big it may appear. We have to silence any other voices that are not from what God has promised us but through prayers seek to walk in God’s way. The present challenges with life such Covid-19 pandemic, economic collapse, international conflicts and the racial tensions among other challenges, calls for the need to clearly hear from God and not from man. Our leaders and experts may speak their mind but believers should ask God’s guidance in all they do since only God understands what’s good for us. We must accept to get out of our fears and allow God to take control in all decisions. God will only walk with us and control our lives if we allow Him to do that. As Caleb said, “we can certainly overcome,” for nothing is impossible with God, we too can certainly overcome since we have God.
Pastor Eliazar Wambo
Director of Bethesda Faith Ministries, Kenya
I will admit that I have at times found myself in the mix of which way to go. When life presents you with two issues and you have to take on one, sometimes you find yourself in the mix and begin to reason with the choices. You may be tempted to reason and take on what seems possible for you and ignore the voice that tells you the opposite. That’s when faith and courage is mostly needed.
Caleb alongside with the other 11 spies are sent to go and spy the land that God had promised them and was about to give to them. They got to the land, spied it and safely came back to give a report of their spy. They began by telling the people how wonderful the land was, a land flowing of milk and honey. They also showed the people a sample of the good fruits that were growing in it. It was so nice! Then the second part of their report was not encouraging at all. They stated that though it was a good land but the Israelites could not take it because the people living in it were stronger than them. Then Caleb, one of the spies rises up courageously and gives hope to the people. He tells the people that “they can certainly do it.”
There comes a moment in life when we have to be very careful with what voices we hear and how they can affect our choices and life. There are voices of fear which are meant to distract us from walking in the will of God. They at times speak louder, many and may seem to be more reasoning and appealing. Out of twelve spies, ten were of that kind and they spread fear amongst the people. Matters of faith are beyond human reasoning because faith is an assurance of things hoped for and being certain of what we do not see. Courage prepares us to do what seems impossible. The two must be part of our virtues if we want to walk and act God’s way. Believers are called to walk in faith with God and believe God to do what seems impossible. We must not allow distractors for we know God’s great plans cannot be stopped by any challenge no matter how big it may appear. We have to silence any other voices that are not from what God has promised us but through prayers seek to walk in God’s way. The present challenges with life such Covid-19 pandemic, economic collapse, international conflicts and the racial tensions among other challenges, calls for the need to clearly hear from God and not from man. Our leaders and experts may speak their mind but believers should ask God’s guidance in all they do since only God understands what’s good for us. We must accept to get out of our fears and allow God to take control in all decisions. God will only walk with us and control our lives if we allow Him to do that. As Caleb said, “we can certainly overcome,” for nothing is impossible with God, we too can certainly overcome since we have God.
Pastor Eliazar Wambo
Director of Bethesda Faith Ministries, Kenya
Saturday, June 6, 2020
Source of Wisdom and Power
Bible Reading: Daniel 2
Focus Verse:
"He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power." Daniel 2:20
Daniel was in danger of death when Arioch, the commander of the King's guard, came to kill him and all the wise men after his dreams weren't interpreted. Daniel, with wisdom and discernment, asked the King for more time to interpret the dreams. Then Daniel went home and asked his friends to help him ask the God of heaven to
show them mercy by revealing the secret to the King's dreams, so they would not be
executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. After God revealed the meaning of the dream to Daniel in the night through visions, Daniel began beautiful praises to God to honor Him and declare His qualities.
"He (Daniel) said,
“Praise the name of God forever and ever,
for he has all wisdom and power.
for he has all wisdom and power.
He controls the course of world events;
he removes kings and sets up other kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the scholars.
he removes kings and sets up other kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the scholars.
He reveals deep and mysterious things
and knows what lies hidden in darkness,
though he is surrounded by light.
and knows what lies hidden in darkness,
though he is surrounded by light.
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors,
for you have given me wisdom and strength.
You have told me what we asked of you
and revealed to us what the king demanded.” Daniel 2: 20- 23
for you have given me wisdom and strength.
You have told me what we asked of you
and revealed to us what the king demanded.” Daniel 2: 20- 23
Daniel knew that God is his source of wisdom and power and also that he needed his friends to pray with him about this. It is a good lesson that when we are in a trial, a struggle or have a need, that we gather with our friends to approach God together to ask His mercy. We also see in verse 21 that God has the Sovereignty of all things in the world. This means that He is in control. He is even in control of the world events and who is king. He holds all the power and wisdom. What are you facing in your life that is a challenge? Are you concerned about world events? Remember the lessons... Gather your friends, pray to God, accept God's answer because He is sovereign, thank God and praise Him.
Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
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