October 23, 2016 - God Prepares Moses

TONY AND MICHELLE PAWLAK

MEMORY VERSE

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.

Psalm 119:9

Have you ever gone through some hard times?  Did you wonder why God was allowing such difficult things to happen to you?  Maybe you even thought that you were being punished.  Maybe you just felt that nothing ever goes right for you.  Sometimes bad things just happen and sometimes God does punish people in order to bring them back to Him.  Sometimes, however, God is preparing you for a special job and He needs you to be ready.  It can be hard to have faith and stay positive in times like this but we must remember to trust God.  

Today's story is about God preparing a man for a very important job.  Last week we talked about how God provided for baby Moses a way to not only survive, but to grow up as a prince in the house of Pharaoh.  Little did he know that this was the start of his preparation.

Moses, as the adopted grandson of the Pharaoh, had the best of everything, food, clothes, house, education, you name it!  Moses, however, never forgot he was a Hebrew, a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel.  As he grew up, Moses saw the

awful way the Hebrews were being treated by the Pharaoh.  Pharaoh had made them slaves and forced them to work very hard.  It broke Moses' heart.

One day, when he was

forty years old, Moses saw an Egyptian guard beating one of the Hebrew slaves.  Moses got so angry that, when he thought no one was looking, he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.  The next day Moses tried to break up a fight between two of the

Hebrews.  They turned to Moses and said, "Are you going to kill us like you did the Egyptian?"  Moses knew he had been caught.  He had to run away.

So Moses left Egypt and took off across the desert until he came to a land

called Midian.  There he saw some shepherdesses trying to get water for their animals but some other shepherds came and bullied them away from the well.  Moses came to the women's rescue and chased away the bully shepherds and, like a true

gentleman, help the ladies water their animals.  

Because Moses did this, the ladies' father, Jethro, took Moses in and even let him marry his daughter Zipporah. Moses spent the next forty years of his life being a shepherd in Midian.  His life in Egypt became a distant memory.

Meanwhile, back in Egypt, Pharaoh was still treating the  Hebrews very badly and they began to cry out to God for help.  God heard their cries and remembered His promise to Abraham that He would make his descendants a great nation and that He would bless those who blessed them and curse those who cursed them.  It was time for God to keep His promise.  In fact,  God had spent the last eighty years preparing someone who would rescue the Hebrews from Egypt: Moses.

One day, while Moses was tending the sheep, he saw a

fire on a mountain and went to check it out.  When he got there he saw a burning bush.  The strange thing was, the bush was not burning up!  Moses was thinking this was very strange until suddenly God spoke to him

from the bush saying, "Take off your sandals because this is holy ground."

Moses obeyed.  God then told Moses that He was the same God that his ancestors; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel, had worshiped four hundred years earlier.  God then said that

he had heard the cries from His people, the Hebrews, in Egypt and said that he was going to send Moses back to Egypt to set them free.

Moses couldn't believe it!  "I am not important enough to go to Pharaoh.  He would never listen to me! I can't do it!" Moses told God.  "I will be with you." God answered Moses.

"What if the Hebrews won't even listen to me?  What if I tell them You sent me and they ask WHO YOU ARE?" Moses asked.  "I Am Who I Am!" God said. "Tell them that I AM sent you. God also said, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’“This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation."  (Exodus 3:15)

God then said to Moses that He was going to keep His promise to bring them into their own land flowing with

milk and honey. God then gave Moses miraculous signs to show the people to prove he was sent by God.  First, God changed Moses' shepherd's rod into a snake then back into a rod when Moses picked it up by the tail.  Then He told Moses to put his hand in his shirt and it was covered with leprosy when he

pulled it out.  God then healed Moses when he put it back into his shirt. God also told him to change water from the Nile River into blood.  This would convince the Hebrews to believe Moses.

"But I can't speak very well, God. Can't you send someone else?"  Moses said to God.  This made God angry because He had spent eighty years preparing Moses for this job and knew that he could do it but Moses' lack of faith was getting in the way.  Finally, God said to Moses, "I

will send your brother Aaron to do the speaking for you.  He is already on his way to meet you.  

So Moses took his family and set out for Egypt.  On the way he met his brother Aaron and they all headed back to Egypt.  Moses was

finally about to do the job that God had spent the last eighty years preparing him for and it was going to be spectacular! 

When we go through hard times we must remember that God may be preparing us for something very important.  We must keep our faith strong and keep going.  God has His reasons for what He does and sometimes we don't understand what they are until afterwards.  Just keep plodding on my friends.

October 16, 2016 - Baby Moses

TONY AND MICHELLE PAWLAK

MEMORY VERSE

Listen, my son, to your father’s

instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

PROVERBS 1:8

Have you ever heard of the word "PROVIDENCE?" It means that God, being a loving father, provides for all your needs according to His perfect will and purpose. Just like your parents provide you with food, clothing, a home, love, etc., God makes sure that His children have what they need.  Today we learn of a story that shows how God provided for a small baby so that he could grow up and do extraordinary things for God's people.

Last week we learned how God used Joseph's servant heart to save his family as well as all of Egypt.  You would think that the Egyptian people would remember and be thankful for Joseph and his people forever...right?   Well, they were for a while.  For the next four hundred years or so, Joseph's people, the children of Israel, grew and had families.  Their children had children and their children's children had children and their children's children's....oh, you get the point.  

Eventually, the children of Israel, or Hebrews as they were

called almost outnumbered the Egyptians.  By this time a new Pharaoh that did not remember what Joseph did had come to power.  Seeing so many Hebrews made him afraid that they might try to take over.  Pharaoh thought about it and decided to do

something drastic; he made all the Hebrews into slaves! He worked them so hard that they would never think about trying to take over.  

Much to Pharaoh's surprise, the Hebrews kept having more and more children and Pharaoh knew that soon

there would be too many to control.  So Pharaoh did something very very evil.  He ordered that all Hebrew baby boys were to be thrown into the Nile river and drowned!  One Hebrew couple named Amram and  his wife Jochebed had a

beautiful little baby boy and they loved him so much that they decided that they couldn't let him die so they decided to disobey Pharaoh and hide the baby.

Three months later they discovered that they could no longer hide their little boy and that something had to be done.  So Jochebed

decided to make a basket and cover it with pitch to make it waterproof (just like Noah's Ark).  She put her baby boy into the basket and placed it in the Nile river.  She didn't know what would happen to him but she knew this was his only chance of survival.  Jochebed sent her daughter, Miriam, to watch the basket to see where it would end up.

The helpless little baby floated down the river with only God and Miriam watching.  It just so happened at that very moment the Pharaoh's daughter was bathing in the Nile with her maidservants.  She caught sight of the little basket and ordered one of her servants to see what was in it.  "It's one of the Hebrew babies." the servant told her.  Seeing this beautiful baby boy the Pharaoh's daughter immediately fell in love with him and decided to raise him as her own son.  

However, she knew she would need special help with a baby

so small.  Just then, Miriam jumps out of hiding and said, "I know a woman who would be perfect to take take of him for you!"  "Go get her for me." The Pharaoh's daughter told Miriam.  Right away, Miriam ran and got her mother and brought her to the Pharaoh's daughter.  The Pharaoh's daughter hired her to take care of the baby not knowing that it was was baby's own mother!

The Pharaoh's daughter decided that, since she drew the baby out of the water, she would give him a name that means to draw out.  Or, as we all know him today....MOSES.

Isn't it wonderful how God provided Moses with a loving mother and father, a smart sister, and the good fortune to be adopted as the Pharaoh's own grandson.  God provided all this for Moses as a baby so that he could Prepare him for a special job later on.  But that's a story for next time...

October 9, 2016 - Joseph as a Servant

TONY AND MICHELLE PAWLAK

MEMORY VERSE

The greatest among you

 must be your servant.

MATTHEW 23:11

Do you find it hard to serve others?  Would you rather be served?  Could you serve someone who has mistreated you or that you don't like?What if life had been really unfair to you?  Today we are going to talk about having a servant's heart even when it's not easy.

Joseph was one of the youngest of many brothers.  He had eleven brothers to be exact.  One day Joseph caught his brothers doing something wrong and told their father, Jacob/Israel, on them.  This did not make his brothers very happy with him.  

One night Joseph had a dream that there were 12 sheaves of grain, one for each of the brothers, and that all the other sheaves bowed down to his.  Joseph had another dream where there were twelve stars, one for each of the brothers, and the sun and moon, all of which bowed to his star.  When he told his brothers this they said, "What? You

think we're all going to bow down to you??"  This made them even angrier at Joseph.  It didn't help that Joseph was his father's favorite and even gave him a special coat with many colors to show it.

One day, Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers who were watching the flock.  As he approached them, they decided to steal his coat and throw him into a pit.  Later, they pulled him out and sold him as a slave to the Ishmaelites, their relatives.  They put blood on Joseph's coat and made their father think that Joseph had been attacked and killed by a wild beast.

Joseph was then sold to an Egyptian soldier named Potiphar.

 He served Potiphar so faithfully that he put Joseph in charge of his house and everything he owned.  Potiphar's wife, however, wasn't so nice.  She tried to get Joseph to do something that he knew was wrong.  When he refused, she lied

to get Joseph in big trouble.  Potiphar believed her and threw Joseph into prison.

While in prison, Joseph served the guard so faithfully that he put Joseph in charge of the whole prison!  While he was there, two other prisoners, the Pharaoh's cook and cup bearer, were also there for some

reason.  One night they both had dreams that they couldn't explain.  Joseph, with God's help, interpreted their dreams.  The cup bearer's dream meant that he was going to be released in three days and get his job back.  The cook's dream wasn't so nice.  Joseph told him that it meant he would die in three days.  Joseph was right on both of them.  

Joseph asked the cup bearer to talk to the Pharaoh about getting him out of jail since he was innocent but the cup bearer forgot for two whole years...until Pharaoh had a

dream.  Since no one knew what the Pharaoh's dream meant, the cup bearer told him about what Joseph did for him in prison.  Pharaoh sent for Joseph immediately and told Joseph his dreams.  Again, with God's help, Joseph told what the dreams meant.  He said that all of Egypt would have seven wonderful years where there

was plenty of food.  After that, there would be seven horrible years where there was no food at all.  Joseph told the Pharaoh to hire someone to collect all the food they could for the first seven years so that there would be food for the bad

seven years.

Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph that he put in charge of all Egypt!  The only one higher than Joseph was the Pharaoh himself.  God used Joseph to collect enough food to save all of Egypt as well as all the

people in the surrounding countries and lands.  

God can use someone with a servant's heart to do wonderful things.  We are told to serve one another and to treat each other as better than ourselves.  This

isn't always easy but it is very important that we do.  Remember, if you want God to use you in great ways, you must have a servant's heart!

October 2, 2016 - Jacob and Esau

TONY & MICHELLE PAWLAK

MEMORY VERSE

Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart,

that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11

Two weeks ago we saw the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah.  Well,

the story didn’t stop there.  Isaac and Rebekah went on to have children, a pair of twins named Jacob and Esau.  Now Esau, the firstborn, was a tough and hairy man that liked to hunt. Jacob, on the other hand, was more of a farmer

and very smooth skinned.  For twins, these two didn’t have much in common. 

Last week, we talked about how Esau had sold his birthright, the larger inheritance given to the firstborn son, to his younger brother Esau for a bowl of lentil stew.  This was very foolish of Esau because the

birthright is one of the two most important things a firstborn has.  The other is the blessing that the father passes down to his firstborn.  At least Esau still had that coming….right?

As Isaac got older, he began to lose his sight.  Eventually 

he went completely blind.  He knew that it may not be long before it was his time to die so he decided it was time to give Esau the blessing.  He called Esau to him and told him, “Go, hunting, Esau.  Kill an animal and bring it back here and cook it just the way I like it.”  So Esau hurried off to hunt.  What he didn’t know was that his mother, Rebekah, was listening and she

knew that Esau was about to receive the blessing. 

Rebekah thought that the blessing should belong to Jacob just like the birthright so she came up with a plan.  She told Jacob, “I will cook up a goat just the way your father

likes it and I want you to take it to him and pretend to be Esau back from hunting.  Then your father will bless you instead of Esau.”  Jacob wasn’t so sure this plan would work.  After all, his voice was different that his brother’s. Also, what if Isaac touched him? 

He knows Esau is hairy and Jacob isn’t so that would give him away.  Also, Isaac was able to identify them by their smell!  When he told this to his mother, she said, “Wear this fur so Isaac will think you are hairy like Esau, and wear some of his clothes so that you smell like him. This way, your father will think you are Esau.”

So Jacob did what his mother told him to.  Isaac was completely fooled and gave the blessing to Jacob by mistake.  This was the blessing…

"May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed."

This means that the promise that God gave Abraham and Isaac was to be given now to Jacob instead of Esau.  Also, Jacob was now in charge of the family, including his brother Esau!  When Esau learned of this when he got home, he was broken-

hearted and furious.  He hated Jacob so much for stealing his blessing that their parents, Isaac and Rebekah, were afraid that Esau may eventually kill Jacob.  They figured the best thing to do was to send Jacob away to protect him from Esau.  It was many years before they saw each other again.

Over the years, Jacob did very well.  He got married, had children, and had collected great wealth and possessions; but this wasn’t enough.  Jacob eventually wanted to go

home to his family so he sent two of his servants to see Esau who was now living in Edom south of Canaan.  When they returned, the news wasn’t good.  Esau was coming and he was bringing four hundred men with him!  Jacob was very afraid.  He decided that it would be smart to split his group so at least half of them would be safe if Esau attacked.  He also thought that it would help if he sent Esau a nice gift.  So Jacob sent Esau…

200 female goats

20 male goats

200 sheep

20 rams

30 female camels & their young

40 cows

10 bulls

20 female donkeys

10 male donkeys.

That night, Jacob sent everyone ahead and stayed by

himself.  When he was alone, he was visited by an angel!  Instead of what you would expect from an angel, this one attacked Jacob.  They wrestled all night long but the angel could not overcome Jacob so he touched his hip and injured him so badly that Jacob limped.  As the morning drew near, the angel told Jacob to let him go.  Jacob refused.  “Not until you bless me!” Jacob told the angel.  So the angel blessed Jacob and gave him a new name.  Instead of his name being Jacob, which means trickster or supplanter (or heal grabber), his name was now to be Israel which meant to wrestle or contend with God. 

The next day, Jacob and Esau finally met again after years of feuding.  Jacob did not know if Esau would attack him or forgive him.  As Jacob approached Esau, he bowed down seven times.  Amazingly, Esau ran to Jacob/Israel and hugged him tight!  All had been forgiven and the long feud was finally over. 

Esau had a lot to be angry at Jacob for.  Yet, he was able to forgive him.  There is a lesson we can learn from each brother.  From Esau, we can learn to forgive even the worst things that people do to us.  From Jacob, we can learn that, when we wrong someone, we need to do whatever we can to try to make it right.  Nobody owes us forgiveness.  Forgiveness is a gift.