Welcome

Our first two studies have shown how Moses’ parents’ faith included in Hebrews 11 was based upon their knowledge and understanding of the Word of God. We have seen how Moses would have providentially been given access to that Word, which we will see was necessary for him to exhibit his own faith.

Called the son of Pharoah’s daughter

In our first study we saw how the acts of faith recorded in Hebrews 11 in which Moses is involved predominately concern his early life. The first act shows the faith of his parents, and we explored what words of God may have produced that faith and suggested it concerned God’s promises to Abraham.

The power of the faith of Moses’ parents

Readings: Exodus 17-18; Psalm 72; Mark 5

Israel’s exodus and wilderness journey is full of lessons for us in our discipleship. The day they encountered the tribe of Amalek is described in our Exodus 17 reading, and is worthy of very careful attention. It was a day to be remembered for ever; but why?

The lives of Old Testament characters can provide us with help and encouragement, which is increased if we also consider the divine commentaries the Father provides through New Testament writers. Moses is no exception, but what is recorded of his acts of faith in Hebrews we may find surprising. Hebrews 11 verses 23-29 record 5 acts of faith involving Moses, yet none of them occurs in the period covered by the majority of the Old Testament historical record. In verse 23, the first act of faith is that of his parents, and in verse 29 the fifth is an act in which Moses was only one of the multitudes who passed through the Red Sea.

Readings: Exodus 7-8; Psalms 60-61; Romans 12

By way of exhortation let us look at the sort of action we need to take or could take to follow more closely in the footsteps of our Lord with regards to how we support and help one another on our journey to the kingdom.

Healing

Reading : Isaiah 32

It has been said that of all the nations recognised by the United Nations Organisation, over half of them have been involved in war in recent years. Even today we live with the threat of a third world war, it’s no wonder then that people ask the question, “Will there ever be peace on earth?”

This paper is an attempt to answer that question from the Word of GOD and the answer is, yes, there will be peace on earth one day. When? When the Lord Jesus returns to this earth to reign as King of Righteousness and of Peace.

When considering this subject of leaven, I thought I ought first of all to establish exactly what leaven is. The dictionary definition is “The ferment, for example, yeast, that makes dough rise.” And what is fermentation? We have a rather complicated definition of this: “A slow decomposition process of organic substances induced by micro-organisms or by complex nitrogenous organic substances of vegetable or animal origin, usually accompanied by evolution of heat and gas.”

In Scripture times, leaven usually consisted of a little bit of old dough which was in a high state of fermentation. But there was a disadvantage to this, because the bread produced with this had a disagreeably sour taste and smell. And because of this we generally use yeast for the same purpose nowadays.

Readings: Genesis 42-43; Psalms 46-48; Matthew 28

In our reading from Genesis 42-43, we find Egypt suffering severe famine; but earlier chapters tell us that before the famine commenced Pharaoh had wisely accepted the advice of Joseph the Hebrew prisoner. Joseph had been brought from prison to interpret a troubling dream and subsequently had been given authority to make all necessary preparations before the famine started. So, the Egyptian people were delivered from the disastrous crop failures and were able to come to Joseph for supplies from his grain stores.

It is a fact that some who read this article would not be alive today if it were not for blood transfusions. We each have around 5 litres of blood in our bodies. Through accident, disease or a lengthy hospital operation, this vital fluid can easily run low, and then the ability to respire – to transfer oxygen from the air to the body cells – declines, and death looks us in the face. Transferring blood from another person with a suitable blood group can speedily make up the deficit, and give us life.