“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).
In certain cultures blessing one another is not normal. You get a sense of that with their naming. For example, certain names are actualy given like to spell an omen on someone. When examined there are multiple names here in Africa and in Uganda in particular which literally spell a curse on someone or even pronounce death. You may ask around!
The opposite though was found among the Hebrews. Aware of the power of the tongue we find an emphasis to pronounce blessing not just with names but also events. A case in point is just before she was released for marriage to a far away bachelor, Isaac, the household of Betheul and Laban, “blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the cities of their enemies” (Gen 24:60). Rebekah had already received expensive gifts to accompany her, but here was the most important of all. A salutation of blessing was given just before she embarked on a new life journey.
The Apostle Paul often ended his letters in which he had certain admonitions to the church with a note of blessing, as with the church at Corinth, “Greet one another with a holy kiss. All God’s people here send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” ( 2 Cor 13: 12-14). To the Phillipians he ends his letter with, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” ( Phillipians 4: 19).
As God’s people we should adopt the Hebrew culture of sending off people with a word of blessing. Like Apostle Paul we should be in the habit of closing off any important message with a pronouncement of blessings.
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I pray for your blessings upon my life and to pass on peace and blessings to those you bring into my life, this I pray in Jesus’s name.
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18/05/2024 - 19/05/2024 All day“Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2:15)
Perhaps one of the most inspiring passages in the Bible with enduring lessons is where Moses pleads to Pharaoh to let the Jews go. Instead Pharaoh dared Moses if he had the power as that of a king. Challenged to “perform a miracle” Moses turned to Aaron who threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs (Exodus 7: 9-12).
What we see here is the presence of occult powers in high places, as is true even today. A common mistake by some is to deny the existence of the occult behind certain thrones or power centers, especially in instances where we find those putting on a genteel manner of social respectability. There are also those who through their education and confined exposure to the spirit realm of things, doubt the existence of occult powers. The reality is that in the world we live in the enemy is much at work. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
In this passage we see that while Pharaoh did release his snakes the staff God had placed in the hands of his messenger, Moses, was far greater and swallowed all. Here is the point. As believers we do have a far greater and mighty power to protect us from any attacks of the enemy. It is the blood of the lamb. As it is written, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony...” (Revelation 12:11).
Today whatever snakes you may encounter from anywhere be assured that you have a far greater power than of the enemy. It is the blood of Jesus. As His word says, “call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me” (Psalm 50:15).
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I pray for protection from the attacks of the enemy by the blood of the lamb, this I pray in Jesus’name.
