Text: Genesis 21:14-20
Synopsis: When Hagar and her son Ishmael were dying of thirst in the desert, Ishmael cried out and God heard him, coming to their assistance. The story is notable in that Hagar, the mother, was weeping, but the passage does not tell us that her voice was heard. There was something about the cry of a child that touched the heart of God.
Text: Exodus 10:27-11:8
Synopsis: The first nine plagues sent against Pharaoh and Egypt were the river turning to blood, frogs, lice, flies, murrain of beasts, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness. It was an almost comical situation up to this point - though annoying, none of the plagues was life-threatening. However, after Pharaoh grew tired of the game everything turned deadly serious. Pharaoh chose to discontinue the contact with Moses, resulting in the devastating plague of the deaths of the firstborn children.
Some “play church” today, much like Pharaoh did with Moses, for a time. It is dangerous, however, to reach a place where you no longer want to see or hear the preached Word from the man of God.
Text: Job 23:1-10, Psalm 1:1-6
Synopsis: The Bible declares that there are some things God does not know: another god, for example (Isaiah 44:8), or sin (II Corinthians 5:21). However, God knows the way of the righteous, so no matter what road a child of God finds himself on he can rest confident in the knowledge that God knows where he is.
Text: Matthew 26:20-28
Synopsis: Over and over again the Bible speaks of the need to examine ourselves. One thing that separates great men and women of God from those who never reach their potential is the ability to engage in self introspection. All too many people blame problems in their lives on their circumstances or others around them, and this attitude is often found in the church as well. Few people are honest enough to admit that they are the problem when they fail God or when it comes to problems within the church. Are we praying, or are we complaining about the lack of revival in the church? Are we a daily witness, or do we complain about the lack of new converts?
Text: I Kings 17:1-16
Synopsis: Even though the widow of Zarephath and her son faced certain death from starvation during a severe drought, she obeyed the voice of God in supplying food and water to Elijah, the prophet of God. Because of her faith, Elijah promised her that the cooking oil she had left would not run dry until the drought ended.
Often God challenges our faith, even when we feel that we have reached the end of our rope. It’s then that He asks us to let go and trust Him. No matter what spiritual drought we may be enduring, we have His assurance that the oil of the Holy Ghost will not fail us until the rains return to our life.