GOD WILL HEAR YOUR CRY

DAY 6. EXODUS 2:23-24
23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

Let me share to you how I can relate with this Scripture...

I can relate Slavery to many areas in my life:

• Slavery to sin. I remembered those times when I was away from God, every night I cried to God because I don't like anymore what is happening in my life ... I was being enslaved to sin... to impurity and to immorality. But God is so good, he heard my cry. I will share to you in more detail what happened in my future posts .

• Slavery to poverty. Have you experienced in your life begging from other people just to survive? Well, I also experienced that, I almost groaned to God for help and He is so awesome ... He heard my cry also! (Again, I will share to you in my future posts how God saved me from poverty).

• Slavery to inferiority complex and a lot more...

Believe me, if you will sincerely cry to God and asked in prayer...He will listen to you!

I experienced it and the Bible also tells in Psalm 145:19...

"He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also hear their cry and will save them."

P.S. If you want me to share to you personally my secrets, how I overcome and become victorious. Put your name below and your active e-mail where I can share and send them, plus free other resources that can help you to experience breakthrough in your life...

God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose

DAY 5: 

Areyou puzzled of the things happening in your life right now?

Maybe you are asking why bad things happen to good people? 

Is that also a question troubling your mind and challenging your faith?

Hope this may help and may inspire you!

In the previous chapter (Exodus 1:22), we learned that Pharaoh made a decree that all male Hebrew babies that will be born be thrown to the Nile river so that they will die! And you know what... this was the time when Moses was born!

Can you relate?

Have you ever tried to ask your parents how you were born or ask what is the condition during that time?

Maybe many were born during unpleasant circumstances... many are asking why they are born poor or why they are born with physical defects or why they are born short or why they are born not so beautiful or not so handsome :)

Seriously...

Maybe even now, are you experiencing sequences of problems , may it be spiritual, financial, health or relationship problems and maybe still living with so much insecurities in your life.

I encourage you not to brag on God, instead sincerely pray/talk to Him and ask God all your whys and ask Him what is His purpose for all of these so that He may enlighten you,may give you direction and may strength you not to only overcome but be victorious!

Now let's go to our scripture of the day to encourage you more...

EXODUS 2:3-8 (NIV)

3 But when she could hide him (baby Moses) no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

8 “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother.9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him.10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

Imagine that! Moses was born during the time when all male Hebrew babies were hunted down and being thrown to the Nile river to die that's why his mother was forced to hid him and let him go. Moses on the early days of his life already encountered challenges but God can turn that challenges/circumstances into good and to work according to His great plan! He became a Prince in Egypt, was raised in a Palace and was educated to probably the best university at that time!

I believe He can do the same in our life so let us continue to trust God and continue to trust His plans.

I hope this scripture may encourage you more...

Romans 8:28New American Standard Bible (NASB)

^"28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

To your Success,

Chris T. de Guzman

A BEAUTIFUL CHILD IN GOD'S EYE

DAY 4

Exodus 2New Living Translation (NLT)

The Birth of Moses

1 About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married.2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. 

Maybe you will wonder why I use the title "A BEAUTIFUL CHILD IN GOD'S EYE" in this post. Well, I have 2 personal reasons for that :

1. I used Act 17:20 NLT version as cross reference and I was inspired how St. Stephen described Moses...  “At that time Moses was born—a beautiful child in God’s eyes.

> Her mother saw him also as a non ordinary baby, EXO 2:2 "She saw that he was a special baby" 

     The Bible revealed how God used Moses to rescue and deliver His people from Egypt, out of slavery. And God used Moses to display His awesome power and miracles as chronicled in the Book of Exodus. Also the Bible described Him as "A Friend of God". We will learn about it as we continue to explore the Book of Exodus.

My 2nd reason is I want to encourage everyone, and that includes YOU and myself, because I believe that God sees everyone as "His beautiful child" ... and this realization will make a breakthrough in your life if you will believe, accept and live with it!

Don't be discourage how others or the world sees you because YOU are a beautiful child in God’s eyes and He can use you also as a testimony of His awesome love and power.

Now take time to pause to pray and thank God for giving you life, thank Him for creating you- a beautiful child in His eyes. Ask Him for what specific purpose or mission He is giving you. I believe He has a wonderful plan for your life!

Live an awesome life for Him!

To your success,

Chris T. de Guzman

GOD KNOWS AND WILL BLESS YOUR SACRIFICES

DAY 3: EXODUS 1:15-21

"15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”

20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own."

Everyday we face different kind of challenges...struggle against sins, authorities, peer pressures and other people around us, but how we will stand if we our obliged by others to compromise?

Let us follow the examples of Shiphrah and Puah,two ordinary women with great fear in God saved many lives! They chose to follow God and they let their holy fear for God to weigh more beyond their fear of Pharaoh even this will lead them to death.

Many of us, including myself tend to easily compromise and not standing up for God. Madali tayong maggive-in kapag nasabihan na tayong..."wala ka namang pakisama" o kaya "kailangan mong sumunod kasi boss mo ko","di mo na ko mahal...mas pinipili mo pa yang church mo","baduy magbasa ng Bible" at marami pang iba. Hindi ko sinasabi dito na huwag tayong makisama o sumunod sa mga authorities o sa mga mahal natin sa buhay, ang nais ko lang sabihin ay kapag mali na ang ipinapagawa sa atin at magdudulot ito upang tayo ay magkasala o madedeny ang faith natin...as Christians, kailangangang mas mangibabaw ang dakilang takot,pagmamahal at pagsunod natin sa Diyos.   As the author of Hebrews said..."In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (Heb 12:4).

So let us not stop in following God, standing for what is right, doing what is good and standing for our convictions because I believe that God knows 'coz He fail not to mention these ordinary midwives: Shiphrah and Puah and blessed them, so I believe He will bless our sacrifices too, as the Bible says in Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Your brother in Christ,

Chris T. de Guzman

Our great power is from God, not from ourselves!

DAY 2. Exodus 16:14 (NLT)

 "6 In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation. 7 But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.

8 Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. 10 We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.”

11 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. 

I want to highlight this verse as my take for today:

12 But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. 13 So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. 14 They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands."

I was inspired and challenged as the same time by this verse, "But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread"

Wow!!!

As Christians, are you not challenge by this? How we can apply this in our life and in our evangelism?

Most of the time, when we are facing persecutions, hardships and problems...we tend to shrink back! May we be inspired by these Israelites...the more they we're oppressed, the more they multiplied :) 

I pray that our persecutions,hardships,problems, troubles and life's challenges may not hinder us to grow in our Christian life and will not hinder us to share Jesus and the faith we profess!

As an encouragement, let us meditate on this scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:5-18

"5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever."

P.S. 

I believe that they were able to go stronger and multiply because God allowed it and He is blessing them! As 2 Cor 4:7 says.."This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves."

Btw,here is a map to give you idea where Goshen, Pithom and Rameses were probably located.

Your brother in Christ,

Chris T. de Guzman

EXODUS - my 77 DAY Quiet Time Challenge!

Hello everyone, it has been a long time since my last post I guess. I've gone through really tough times, probably I will share it to you on my upcoming posts... the challenges I've gone through and how God helps me to overcome.

But for now I am very excited to share to you the challenge I gave my self... presenting "EXODUS - my 77 day Quiet Time challenge!" 

Maybe you will wonder what is this all about? Well, I challenge myself to do Quiet Times on the Book of EXODUS and this starts today, the 16th of October 2016 and I committed myself to finish it in 77 days!. Not just simply reading it but to DIG/DIVE on it. Revisiting the principles and apply it to my spirituality and life. Hope this might inspire and might help others also.

EXODUS is really a great Book in the Bible that displays God's Awesome Power and Greatness, this Book also presents principles and symbolisms that explains our Christian Life and our Beliefs. I'm inviting you to join me in this Journey hope you will be one of my accountability partner to remind me of my "EXODUS - 77 days Quiet Time Challenge!" 

DAY 1: EXODUS Chapter 1: 1-5 (NIV)
"1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah;3 Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.5 The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt."

So how they got in to Egypt in the first place?

I suggest you to read Genesis starting from chapter 37:1, but just to give you a brief background, as stated in Exo 1:5...Joseph was already in Egypt.

Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob (Israel), he was sold by by his own brothers to Midianite mechants who then sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials.Joseph also encountered many great challenges in his life but not give in to those challenges so God blessed Joseph and was with him to fulfill His wonderful plan .

"4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping.7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’

12 “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”

So Jacob believed their testimony and was convinced to go to Egypt.

That's it for now 'coz we need to go to Worship our Awesome God...today is Sunday. Come let us wosrhip Him...

P.S. Pls. pray for me that He may give me more insights that I can share to you and together let us rediscover...

"God's Wonderful Plan for the nation of Israel and His plans for us revealed here in EXODUS!"

Your brother in Christ,

Chris T. de Guzman