After three months of hiding her infant son, Jochebed could hide him no longer. She got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch then placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile river. (Exodus 2:3-4) Isn’t it interesting that the baby ended up in the Nile river after all. Not as Pharaoh intended, but rather how God had orchestrated. The very river that the enemy meant for evil, God used for good as the tiny basket was discovered by none other that Pharaoh’s daughter who had compassion on the babe and adopted him as her own.…

In yesterday’s blog we learned about the midwives who took a stand in the face of evil and defied the orders of the king by not doing as he commanded. Today we continue our story with Jochebed, the mother of Moses, who took action against that same decree. Jochebed had just given birth to her third child, a son. Imagine looking into the face of an innocent, beautiful gift from God and hearing the words of a tyrant saying, “throw all baby boys in the Nile river.” What kind of a monster could do such a thing? She knew that the decree was wrong and there was little she could…

This week we had the opportunity to vote. It’s a privilege that many other countries do not have. With our votes we have the opportunity to change things and make them better for our communities, our states and our nation. But sometimes policies and laws are given that are not right and do not serve a Godly purpose. What do you do then? You take a stand. Shiphrah and Puah were two Hebrew midwives that were faced with that exact situation. A mandate had been given by the king that all male Hebrew babies were to be killed. These women would told by the king that when they were helping…

Jochebed’s story begins in the book of Exodus chapter 1. As an Israelite her life, along will all the others, was changed in an instant when a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt and he saw them as a threat. He dealt shrewdly with them desiring to oppress them and crush their spirits. As I read the first chapter of Exodus I wondered how that could happen so quickly. The Israelites were numerous and had become established in the land of Goshen, then in an instant everything changed and they become slaves. Their freedom was taken away from them and they were burdened with…

I was walking down the street the other day and I came across a shop that had several beautiful plants in the window. As I looked at them I notice two specific plants and was amazed by their size. One was a Christmas cactus and the pot that it was in was as big around as my arms when I make them into a circle and it’s shoots hung over the pot with bright red flowers on the ends. The other one was a succulent type of plant and the branches on it were about 6 inches in diameter and it reached from floor to ceiling. The reason these two…

For the month of November we will discover some the many lessons that can be learned from studying the life of Jocebed. Overview – Courageous Jocebed was the mother of Moses.  Her story on the surface may be very familiar, but when you take a moment and imagine yourself in her shoes you see a woman that defines courage. Pharaoh had issued a decree that all male babies were to be killed.  Having just given birth to a son Jocebed immediately went into action and hid her son for three months.  When she could no longer hide him she wove a basket, covered it with pitch and placed it among…

This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) Have you ever had one of those mornings when one thing after another goes in a different direction that you planned or would like it too? That’s how my day started and as I thought of the old saying that “things happens in threes” I was reminded that that was just wishful thinking. The truth was that I was under attack and my thoughts were quickly spiraling out of control much like the Hulk roller coaster that I experienced a few weeks ago. Slowly and steadily my thoughts kept building up…

Sometimes life can feel like an obtacle course. Our paths are filled with different challenges at each turn that require learning new skills and developing new talents to overcome. But some obstacles are far beyond our ability to move on our own and our only option is to fully trust in the Lord. When Zechariah was told by the angel that Elizabeth would have a son, he doubted and because of that doubt he was unable to speak until the day the child was dedicated to the Lord. He saw a son being born in their old age as an obstacle too big to even comprehend, but no obstacle is…

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.  He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,  for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.  And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient…