"The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone" ( Psalm 118:22)
The Gospel of Jesus is about lives once shunned but accepted. When the parents of baby Moses along with his sister Miriam placed him in a papyrus basket which set sail to nowhere only for Pharaoh's daughter to pick him up it was all about a God who picks up the abandoned. The once rejected Moses would grow up to become the savior of a nation ( Exodus 2:1-8).
Moses's story of abandonment was in the same pattern as was of Joseph. After an attempted murder on his life Joseph was abandoned to slave traders and later sold to the house of Potiphar ( Genesis 39). Falsely accused and abandoned to the dungeon God picked up Joseph to crown him as premier of ancient Egypt. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck" ( Genesis 41:41-2). A life once discarded now having a final say in the affairs of then the greatest nation on earth.
When Jesus was born and Herod sought to kill all baby boys afraid of a prophecy that one would grow up to become King of the Jews, he had to be ferried away into exile to Egypt (Mathew 2:13). From that inauspicious beginning of abandonment he would return to start his ministry of salvation.
No one determines the circumstances of his birth and upbringing. There are countless lives which at birth are rejected. There are many children who grow up in unloving environments characterized with rejection. And in life many adults are thrown out into the streets, like Joseph was. Fortunately, and what a blessing to know, there is a God out there in the business of picking up lives once abandoned and turning them around!
Today, yours could be such a life. You might have been rejected at birth by your very family members. In life you might have found yourself thrown out by your very own. Do not be discouraged. Out there is a God who sees all and is about to pick you up and restore you to your very right place as He did and has never ceased to do for all who belong to him!
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, you are the God who picks and turns around lives once abandoned and so I pray that anyone who feels rejected may come to you for restoration, this I pray in Jesus' name!
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17/05/2024 - 18/05/2024 All day“And I in righteousness I shall see your face; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with seeing your likeness” (Psalm 17:15)
One of the defining aspects we see in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ is that He began the day with prayer. “Very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). As he was always surrounded by crowds and after such a busy day before of preaching and engaging the Pharisees in debates this must have been a therapeutic moment for Christ when he would have some good time to himself.
But there was also more. For Jesus being away in a secluded place would also mean a chance to pour out His heart to God, meditate in quietness, plan for the day ahead and listen to the Father. Jesus must have looked up to this moment every day knowing its benefits. Conversations with His Father must have been real and intimate, bringing a certain soothing and uplifting of His spirit. You do not wake up and stick to something on a daily basis that is a drag – this must have been his best time of the day!
Martin Luther the leader of the protestant reformation is reputed to once have said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Here is the point. In the olden days before the arrival of locomotive transport those who were setting out for a long journey on foot had to start early with the first cock crow before the punishing sun came out. One of the things they had to start with also was a good meal, which was fuel needed to give them energy through the long walk to their destiny.
There are no rules about waking up to pray as first thing- or even saying prayer at a defined hour of the day. God is everywhere and ever with us. He is accessible at any time of the day. But there is something special about prioritizing our lives that the first thing we do is to talk to God. Just like the early traveller we need fuel, for the long day ahead!
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, what a joy and privilege to make time at the start of any day, talk and hear from you, for the power I need through the day, this I pray in Jesus’ name!
