FEBRUARY 1
TOPIC: FOR CHRIST SAKE
Memory verse:-"Then the slave drivers and the foremen went out and said to the people, "This is what
Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. Go and get your own straw wherever
you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’” So the people scattered all
over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. The slave drivers kept pressing them,
saying, "Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.”
The Israelite foremen appointed by Pharaoh’s slave drivers were beaten and were
asked, "Why didn’t you meet your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”
Then the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: "Why have you treated your
servants this way? Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’
Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.” Pharaoh said,
"Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice
to the Lord.’ Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must
produce your full quota of bricks.” The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble
when they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for
each day.” When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them,
and they said, "May the Lord look upon you and judge you! You have made us a
stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us. Moses
returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this
people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name,
he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”
It is honor to worship and work for God but it is also a burden. We see from this biblical passage that Moses and Aaron suffered the anger of both the Pharaoh and his own people the Israelites. It was because of doing the task assigned to them by the Lord. The same is seen everyday in our Christianity and the ministry that God has entrusted into our hands. We go through persecution, insults, reproach, pain, and more but in all we have to notice that "for Christ sake” we will not give up.
He the Christ went through the same pain, persecution etc when He was here on earth. He knows how we feel when we go through such situation but He wants us to stand and execute our responsibilities as His children. Again, being a child or a worker of God is honor and also a burden but the reward there from cannot be compared to the burden attached to it. Let us strive to serve our Lord for our labor will not be in vain.
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