Ex 10: 21-29

By now, Pharoah was convinced that the sight of Moses and Aaron was not going to fare well for either him and or the Egyptians. He saw firsthand the Nile become blood, frogs,gnats, flies, livestock die, boils, hail and locusts. The spectular was yet to come, in the form of darkness. The darkness was pervasive throughout the land except for all of the Israelites in the places where they lived. For three days, the land was in the dark and it was complete darkness like a blanket between the earth and the rays of the sun. Pharoah then summoned Moses, who told him that the people can leave but the flocks and herd had to stay. Normally, that would be a victory but Moses insisted that wasn't good enough since the animals would be used for sacrifice. In Moses' word, not a hoof was to be left behind. But God hardened Pharoah's heart and he sent Moses away with the threat that he will die the next time their faces meet. Moses replied that it would be just as Pharoah says and that he will never appear before him again.

Darkness is a scary thing. Not initially, we get used to our immediate surroundings and stay put while we rely on secondary means of illumination when available. After a while, I would tend to go to sleep - hoping when I awake that the light would be restored. For three days, the light was turned off and that is a long time especially since you don't when it will be restored. The same thing is with our faith and how we "turn off" the light for a period of time. For me, I tend to miss the "light" and will return to it and desire to be illuminated by it. God's word was and always will be the light that I need daily.

The week is over and we do expect our first snowfall overnight for 2012. The amounts should be managable but I will pray for my s-i-l and her family who usually gets more and her safety as she treks down to our area for lunch.  Prayers for the safety of those in the Seattle area especially Scotty and Katy and their family as they cope with the ice and the damage that comes with it.

Praise for today: Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Is. 12: 5

Ex 10:1-20

"That you may know that I am the Lord" - the motivating factor that is behind all of this. The Lord, who is all powerful, all knowing created a situation by which history (or His story) can be told to all generations. The fact that this was so spectacular and so impressive that even today, a person like me could read and experience the times and glean who God is. How protective God is of his people and His holiness. God does bring down the proud and mighty because if you are, then you can never love Him with your whole heart, strength and mind. The locusts were next and even by this time Pharoah's officials even threw in the towel and pleaded with him to relent in order to save what was left of his ravaged country. Pharoah's response to Moses's request (10&11) brought God's wrath and the locust with the wave of Moses's staff. The locusts were devastating (13) and brought Pharoah to summon Moses and "repented" so that the plague would cease. Still even after the locusts were gone, the Lord hardened Pharoah's heart and the Israelites' status was quo.

Overall it was a decent day at work. The reduction in comp was well advertised but whether or not it was well received was another story. Even after the ding, I still give praise to Him who provides all things and we will get by. This will be a year of fiscal constraint which won't be too well received on the homefront but still that is beyond my control. The object for today is to get the laundry done so that I won't have to lug it home to do. With the CNY approaching, there is enough to do without having that as well. Looking forward to see my s-i-l and her family on Saturday as well. Hopefully, I will finally see Warhorse as well.

Praise for today: Jesus looked at them and said. "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." Mark 10:27

Ex 9: 13-35

Here we are at plague #7. Up until now, it seems that God had not sent the full force of his plagues against Pharoah and his people. That is why some livestock lived from #5. Now God has warned Pharoah that he will send the most devasting hailstorm ever! He even warned Pharoah to shelter every man, woman and child as well as the livestock that remained for whoever and whatever remains outside will die. There were some that listened and some that didn't and left slaves and livestock outside. Then Moses was given the word by God to the deed. The storm was true to its billing and eroded away everything almost like a sandstorm would. However Goshen was spared. Pharoah, gave lip service to Moses and "promised" to after apologizing to Moses and God that he was wrong and would relent. Moses took him at his word and gave the order to for the hailstorm to cease despite knowing that Pharoah still didn't respect or fear God. As far as crops went, flax and barley were destroyed since they ripe for the picking but the wheat and spelt were not since they ripen later. After the plague ceased, Pharoah and his officials hardened their hearts again and were bent on not letting the Israelites go.

You would think that after seeing the "finger of God" at work after all of these plagues that Pharoah would be in awe of the Lord, I would. Still even today, man's heart is hardened and is incapable of belief and repentance. I am so glad that each one of my children and wife loves the Lord above all things.

Today is the day when I find out my comp for the year. From what I heard, it will not be a great day at the Rock, still bad breath is better than no breath at all.

Praise for today: How great are your works, O Lord, how profound are your thoughts! Ps 92:5

Ex 9: 1-12

The next plague that attacked Egypt was that against the livestock - horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats will all die except those that belonged to the Israelites would live. After Pharoah saw that this would come to pass, he still would not relent and let the Israelites go. The plague of boils would follow and that would affect men and the remaining animals not affected by the previous plague. The magicians couldn't stand before Moses since they too were affected by this plague. The interesting thing was how this plague would start - God told Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of soot from a furnace and toss it in the air in the presence of Pharoah. It would become fine duse over the land of Egypt and the rest was history. Still this would not move Pharoah's heart, which was predicted by God to Moses and Aaron.

It was a decent weekend and got back to Delly yesterday around 5ish. I led service on Sunday and felt it was approrpriate to start the service with excerpts from Dr. King's I have a dream speech. He truly loved God and this country and the quote from Is 40:4 which is in there is a highlight. What a remarkable man in the face of adversity and I am grateful for what he had done.

Although this will be a shortened workweek, still this will have its moments. Long day today but at least all I have to do is nuke my dinner. Looking forward already to this weekend, with CNY around the corner. Enjoyed my time in Brooklyn although it was wicked cold this weekend.

Praise for today My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will praise the Lord. Ps 26: 12

Ex 8:16-32

The next plague came in the form of gnats that were created from the dust of the ground. When Aaron waved his staff in the air, gnats came upon men and animals. Since Pharoah's magicians couldn't replicate the deed, they told him that this was from the "finger of God". Still he wouldn't listen, just as the Lord had said. The flies were next as swarms of flies would come upon Egypt except for the land of Goshen,where God's people lived. This was the distinction between God's people and the Egyptians. The flies ruined so much of Egypt that Pharoah summoned Moses and Aaron to sacrifice to the Lord to rid the land of the flies here in the land. But Moses and Aaron refused since the sacrifices would cause an uproar with the Egyptians and wanted to do this in the desert. Pharoah allowed this but also requested prayers for himself from God. After this, God did what Moses requested but that still kept Pharoah's heart hardened.

Like frogs and other reptiles, I don't claim to have an affinity for gnats or flies either. It is hard to imagine the sheer magnitude of the gnats and flies that invaded Egypt to be called a plague. Still God defied the laws of nature that He created to prove his point - not just to Pharoah and the Egyptians but also to Israelites who witnessed this as well.

Got my review last night and although that went alright, the news of lower compensation was still voiced and grimly. Still glad to have a job and thankful for each day. Looking forward to the long weekend and going to Brooklyn tomorrow. Prayers still for my peeps.

Praise for today: Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Ps 107: 8-9

Ex 8: 1-12

The next plague to be brought upon Pharoah and the people of Egypt is the plague of frogs. I don't know about anybody else but I am not a fan of lizards, snakes and reptiles. Frogs don't place well with me either. When I see the little lizards when I am down in FL, it doesn't bother me too much because of the their size and their timidity. Still, I know that some species of frogs are dangerous given that they also have poisons which I am also still not to fond of. Still in the case of the frogs, God brought them out the Nile and in turn, the socerers were also able to replicate the deed. Pharoah pleaded with Moses to remove this plague which he did and told him that he would let his people go but reneged upon his word even after Moses complied. The frogs died and were swept into an area where the stench was awesome. With the plague gone, Pharoah's heart grew hardened and he went back on his word. The period of time between the first and second plague was 7 days.

How often is my heart hardened even when God has done great things? I should be more generous, extend my heart and hand more but still I don't. I pray for a more patient, giving and caring heart...  Prayers for my friend Deb and her daughter who were in a car crash yesterday in Franklin, TN. Glad to hear that they were ok even though the car wasn't . Also continued prayers for the family that lost their home the other day and for Donna who is still hurting.  Am happy that I was able to rearrange my schedule to see GG now that he will be home for CNY and have dinner with the family.

Praise for today: Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! Ps: 66: 20

Ex 7:14 - 25

The first plague is brought upon Egypt in the form of blood. Moses was instructed by God to go Pharoah in the morning when he goes to the bank of the Nile. With the staff of God in hand, the Lord instructs Moses to challenge the hardened heart of Pharoah to let his people go. The first sign would be the Nile's waters and every water that is drawn from it is turned to blood. The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the water will be undrinkable. The Lord then instructed Moses to carry this out over all the waters of Egypt - streams, canals, ponds and reservoirs.With Pharoah rejecting this sign and returning to the palace, the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile because they couldn't drink the waters of the river.

What was interesting in this plague was that the Egyptian magicians were able to replicate this with their own form of black arts (22). But here the main source of life in the area was now gone, from the Nile flowed life and sustained life, yet still Pharoah could not see past himself.

Over all good day and praying for the same today. Still prayers for Donna as she struggles to get better and for the family near my s-i-l whose house was burned last night. Praises for all of their lives that were spared but the recovery will be devastating and laborious.

Praise for today: You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. Ps. 119: 68