Weekly Devotion

Abraham once again lied about his wife, Sarah. He told King Abimelech that she was his sister. He was afraid that he will be killed if the king desired to have her. And sure enough King Abimelech liked Sarah and took her to his palace. But before he could sleep with her, God intervened. God appeared to Abimelech in a dream and said the following:

"You are a dead man, for that woman you took is married." Genesis 20:3

God intervened in the situation despite Abraham's insecurities. Isn't our God wonderful? But one cannot help but feel sorry for Abimelech. He didn't know that she was married and here God declares that he is a dead man. Fortunately God is a merciful God. He gave Abimelech a chance to correct the situation. He told Abimelech to return Sarah to Abraham and then he will live. Abimelech immediately rectified the situation. He got up early the next morning, called all his servants and Abraham and said:

"What is this that you have done to us? What have I done to you that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin?" Genesis 20:9

In this situation Abimelech was the honourable man and Abraham wasn't. Abraham, one of our heroes in the faith, was overcome by fear and acted out of his own sinful nature.

"Well, Abraham said, "I figured this to be a godless place. I thought, "They will want my wife and will kill me to get her." Besides, she is my sister - we both have the same father, though different mothers - and I married her. When God sent me to travel far from my father's home, I told her, "Wherever we go, have the kindness to say that you are my sister." Genesis 20:11-13

Abraham loved God very much, we know that, but yet when their lives were in danger, he didn't trust God enough to handle the situation on his behalf. He decided it was much safer and easier to lie, than to trust God to help him. But before we look at his life with judgmental eyes, we need to look at our lives first. Do we truly trust God to turn things around for us? Do we really turn to God first before making rash decisions when we feel threatened? Or do we also retreat and allow our sinful natures to run our lives on our behalf?

You see the devil knows our weaknesses and he knows them even better than we do ourselves. And in those weak points, he will come and tempt us to fall. He will look for vulnerable spots in our spiritual armour. Therefore we need to be on guard and clothe ourselves with God's armour every day. We need to put on His helmet of salvation and know without a doubt that we are saved, we need to put on His body armour of righteousness and claim that we are the righteousness of God because of Christ's finished work. We need to put on the belt of truth and only believe what God's Word says and not what situations tries to deceive us by. We need to take up our shield of faith and believe in God's promises found in His Word, which is His sword. Then finally we need to put on the shoes and be ready to spread the gospel of Good News!

Do not allow the devil to side track you and have you paralysed with fear. We already have the victory that Jesus won for us. Therefore we simply need to resist the devil and his temptations and stand strong as the conquerors that we are. I say it again, do not allow fear to take hold of you, but fight fear with God's armour. Nothing can stand against it. God is gracious and good and always ready to help us even if we fail like Abraham did. Aren't you glad that we serve an amazing God?!

Father please help us to stand strong against our own fears. Thank you for Your armour to protect us and help us in resisting the devil. Help us to put it on each day. Thank you that victory is ours through Jesus Christ, Your lovely Son. And thank you Father that we can know that even if we fail like Abraham did, You are still there to help us and to guide us. We love You. In Jesus' Name. Amen

Abraham moved south to the Negev and settled there for a while. When he arrived there he was afraid that the king will take Sarah from him because she was very beautiful. He was also afraid that he could be killed in the process. So he did what he did the last time he was in the same situation, he lied. He told them that Sarah was his sister. And sure enough King Abimelech saw her and wanted her as his own. So he sent for her and took her into the palace.

Now I don't know if you ever thought about it, but Sarah was about 90 years old at this stage. Ninety years old! She was ninety years old and still beautiful and desirable. I tried to reason it away and tried to spiritualise the situation, but the fact remains that a gentile non believing king thought that she was beautiful. Beautiful enough to lust after her. That is staggering and in my eyes nothing but a miracle. God kept Sarah young and beautiful, despite her age.

This made me think of so many text verses that the Lord gives us in His Word stating that He will renew our youth and give us a long and fruitful life too. Let us explore some of these verses together:

"The Lord says, "I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My Name. When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them. I will satisfy them with a long life and give them My salvation." Psalm 91:14-16

"But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted into the Lord's own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green." Psalm 92:12-14

"Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things He does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He ransoms me from death and surrounds me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagles!" Psalm 103:2-5

"When You send Your Spirit, new life is born to replenish all the living of the earth." Psalm 104:30

"My child, listen to Me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life. I will teach you wisdom's ways and lead you in straight paths. Don't lose sight of My words. Let them penetrate deep within your heart, for they bring life and radiant health to anyone who discovers their meaning." Proverbs 4:10, 11, 21, 22

"Fear of the Lord lengthens one's life, but the years of the wicked are cut short." Proverbs 10:27

Isn't it just wonderful text verses? There are many more, but for today I will stop there. Meditate on these verses this week. Ponder them and make them your own. The essence of these verses for me is to love God, praise Him, spend time in His Word and obey Him. He is so full of love and mercy and He longs to bless us. He wants to shower us with His blessings. Draw near to Him today and He will draw near to you. He is altogether lovely and altogether worthy, He is the Almighty God to be praised forever and ever. May you have a special week with these text verses and embrace time spent with Him. Therein lies all the treasures that this world can offer.

Dear Father. We love You. We adore You. Your Word is filled with so much wisdom. Open up Your Word to us and lead us into deeper understandings of it. Fill us with more of You, renew our youth like the eagles and satisfy us with a long, good life. In Jesus' Name. Amen

Lot was saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. His wife looked back and turned into a salt pillar, but his two daughters stayed with him. Originally he wanted to go and live in Zoar, but fearing for his life, he fled with his two daughters to live in a cave in the mountains. How sad is that? Lot had so much land, so many possessions and so many cattle. He and Abraham had so much that there was not enough room for all their livestock to roam and that is why they split ways. Lot chose to live close to the 'glitz and glamour' of Sodom and Abraham lived wherever God led him. Now what happened to all Lot's possessions? We can safely assume that it must have been destroyed in the devastation of Sodom and Gomorrah. He now lived in a cave in the mountains with his daughters alone. His daughters became desperate and realised that they will never get married or have children. So they took matters into their own hands and did something terrible.

The two daughters conspired together and decided to get their father drunk. The first night the eldest daughter went to their father and slept with him. And the following night the youngest daughter went and did the same. Both became pregnant from their father and both bore sons. The first born was named Moab and the second born was named Ben-ammi. Moab became the father of the nation - the Moabites. And Ben-ammi became the father of the nation - the Ammonites.

What a terrible story and what a way to end your life. Lot basically had grandchildren through his own two daughters, a despicable act in any generation. Why Lot didn't go and live with his uncle Abraham again, one will never know. Abraham had many men in his household whom Lot's daughters could have married. They could have lived in the household of a Godly man. They could have enjoyed their lives and not be forced to commit incest. And yet they didn't. Lot failed to look after his daughters properly. And the end result was that two nations were born that later became two of Israel's greatest enemies, the Moabites and the Ammonites.

What I feel we can learn from this terrible situation is that we should never take matters in our own hands. When you become desperate, never simply do the first best thing that comes to mind, especially if it is a sinful thing that you want to do. Desperation is not the answer. Things done because you are desperate, has the tendency to leave you worse off than what you would have been. Be patient, breathe in deeply, analyse the situation carefully, get Godly advice from trusted people, pray about it, read the Word, obtain peace about the direction you need to take and only then move out. Wait on God if He tells you to wait. Do not rush things. The only way that things will work out as it should, is if you wait upon God. Waiting is very difficult, but I promise you that waiting is very rewarding. Be patient, and remain hopeful, because you are a child of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Father please give us the patience to wait with a good attitude. We know that when we get desperate we make mistakes. Please help us to refrain from rushing forward and messing things up. Thank you that we can know that You have a good plan for us. We look forward to walking this road with You. In Jesus' Name. Amen

Lot, his wife and two daughters were forced out of Sodom by the two angels God had sent to destroy Sodom, Gomorrah and surroundings. The cities were about to be destroyed, because not even ten righteous people could be found in the entire area. Now the angels instructed Lot and his family:

"Run for your lives!" the angel warned. "Do not stop anywhere in the valley. And do not look back! Escape to the mountains, or you will die." Genesis 19:17

Now as we have seen last week, Lot's wife did not listen. She looked back and turned into a salt pillar. She couldn't let go of all that she left behind.

Now notice something else in his instructions. The angel told them to escape to the mountains. Now what did Lot do? Did he listen? He didn't want to. Despite the fact that they just saved his life, he didn't want to go into the mountains. He was sure that he would die there. So he dared to negotiate with the angel in these dire circumstances and asked him to please rather allow them to go to a small village, Zoar, nearby. He was sure that his life would be saved there. Lot must have been so used to living among civilisation; he was scared to travel into the unknown into an unfamiliar territory. Now the angel was kind to him and granted him his request. And in the process the lives of those in this village, Zoar, was also saved. The moment Lot and his family reached Zoar, the angels rained down God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding areas. What a sight that must have been! Abraham also saw the devastation the next morning and must have been shocked that not even ten righteous souls were found. But I am sure that he was relieved that Lot was saved.

Now what is very interesting to me is that the very next verse tells us that Lot didn't stay at Zoar.

"Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters." Genesis 19:30

Isn't that ironic? God told Lot to go and live in the mountains, but he didn't want to. Instead he said he will die in the mountains, he rather wanted to live in Zoar. But now it seems that he will die in Zoar, so now he went to live in the mountains where he should have gone in the first place. It is clear to see that God knew best from the start. He knew that the people in Zoar were evil; in fact He wanted to destroy them along with Sodom and Gomorrah. He knew that Lot won't be able to live there, but He granted Lot's request, because he had to see for himself.

God knows best for us too. Sometimes we are scared of the 'mountains' where He is sending us to. Sometimes we do not want to go there. We are scared of the unknown, we are afraid of what might happen to us once we arrive there. We would much rather follow our own little plans and go and settle in 'Zoar' where it is seemingly more comfortable for us. We would rather negotiate with God, thinking that we know best. But as we've seen with Lot now, God really does know best. If He wants you to go to the 'mountains' then that is the best route to take. Do not doubt His goodness and Fatherly love. He knows what will be best for you. Trust Him with your life. A heavenly, eternal perspective is much better than an earthly one. Let go and let God. You might just save yourself a lot of heartache and pain if you listen to Him.

Father thank you so much that we can know that You know best. You are our eternal Saviour, our God of all. Please give us the courage to follow You wherever You may lead us. Help us to follow in Your footsteps. We would love to go where You may lead us. In Jesus Name. Amen

Sodom and Gomorrah is about to be destroyed. The two angels forced Lot, his wife and his two daughters out of the city. They were hesitant to leave, but the angels didn't take no for an answer. They literally took them by the hands and forced them out. He told them to leave for the mountains. But Lot didn't want to.

"Oh no, my lords please," Lot begged. "You have been so kind to me and saved my life, and you granted me such mercy. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don't you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved." Genesis 19:18-20

The angel granted his request. And not only did he grant his request, he also told him that he wouldn't destroy that village either. The angel waited until Lot reached the village, before judgment rained down on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

"Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulphur from the heavens on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, eliminating all life - people, plants and animals alike." Genesis 19:24, 25

And then unfortunately Lot's wife looked back. She longed for her home and all her possessions. And because she didn't listen to the angel's instructions of not looking back, she turned into a pillar of salt. She was judged alongside the people she lived with for years.

Now it is easy to judge her. It is easy to look from a distance and say that she should have listened. But a lot of times we are the same. Sometimes we also look back and long for the 'good old days' and murmur about the terrible situation we find ourselves in now. Instead of looking up to God and being the difference for His kingdom, right here and right now. When we look back the whole time, we miss all the things that God wants to bless us with right now.

Other times we look back longingly at sin that we just don't want to let go of. We want to move forward with God, but we don't want to let this sin go. We enjoy it so much and justify our actions whenever we are confronted. Jesus told us that we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). You either serve sin or you serve God. Maybe the time has come to let go. God wants you to follow Him wholeheartedly and not with sin still tagging along like a best friend on holiday.

Also do not put your love for your possessions above your love for God. Do not desire things, like a house, cars, rings, clothing etc more than God. Always place God first. He deserves first place in your heart. Look up to Him.

Do not be like Lot's wife. All that people remembers of her, millennia after she lived, is that she was the one that looked back and disobeyed God. That is all people know of her. She might have done good things in her life, we don't know, but she will be remembered for this one act. Do not be like her. Do not be remembered as the one who couldn't trust God and kept on looking back. Rather be remembered as a man/woman of faith, standing up for what is right and following God's light no matter what, looking forward to all He is planning for you. Then one day in heaven God will be pleased and say, "Well done, My faithful child, I am proud of you." Can there ever be a greater moment than that?

Father please help our unbelieving hearts. Help us to look forward to where You are leading us. Please help us, as we are afraid and uncertain of what the future holds. But thank you Father that we can be safe with You. We want to make You proud. In Jesus' Name. Amen

Sodom and Gomorrah was terribly wicked. The moment they knew that two men (the two angels) entered into their domain, they came over to Lot's house and demanded that he hand them over so that they can have sex with them. This just shows the horrific practices that were at the order of the day there. But for me it was so shocking to read of Lot's response:

"Please, my brothers," he begged, "don't do such a wicked thing. Look - I have two virgin daughters. Do with them as you wish, but leave these men alone, for they are under my protection." Genesis 19:7, 8

I couldn't believe what I was reading! How can any devoted father suggest something like that? Of course it was the custom of the day to protect your guests at all cost, but I would have hoped that there was a different way to protect them than to offer your two daughters to the wolves. Luckily for the daughters, the homosexual men didn't want them. But Lot's offer made me wonder about his spiritual welfare. He didn't pray, he didn't believe that God will help them; he didn't even try other alternatives. Fortunately the two angels helped Lot in his predicament and blinded the men of Sodom so that they couldn't find the door.

It was then that the angels announced their plan of doom against Sodom and told Lot that they will destroy it. The angels were kind to Lot and allowed him to find his relatives and to hurry out of the city before it was destroyed. Lot hurried and tried to persuade his future sons-in-law, but they didn't believe him and thought he was joking. Lot himself was hesitant to go. He didn't want to leave everything he owned behind. But the angel forced him to leave.

"When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. "Run for your lives!" the angel warned. "Do not stop anywhere in the valley. And don't look back! Escape to the mountains, or you will die." Genesis 19:16, 17

The city was going to be destroyed, because not even ten righteous people could be found. Only Lot, his wife and two daughters were saved. It would seem that after all the years that they spent in Sodom they didn't even have a single convert. Even his own sons-in-law didn't respect him enough to believe him when he tried to warn them. Lot's life didn't influence the people that they lived among. Isn't that sad?

Today it is the same with us. Do you think that you are a good influence to the godless people all around you? Do you portrait God's love to them or do you rather blend in with them, because you don't want to cause a stir? The fact of the matter is, it is much easier to pull someone down from a wall, than it is to pull someone up from one. Gravity holds on to the person being pulled up. The fallen world will hold onto the person that you are trying to pull up, and you should be very careful not to fall down yourself. You need to be spiritually strong, otherwise the worldly people will influence you more than you will influence them. 

I have shared once before how much the people drank that I worked with. Getting drunk was the norm rather than the exception. And because I mingled with them a lot, they began to influence me. I never joined them, but later it didn't shock me anymore and I started to accept it as normal. They influenced me more than the other way around, sad to say. I wasn't spiritually strong enough at that stage to be a real influence on them.

Now I am not saying that you should be judgmental, God is the only true Judge. Leave all the judging to Him. But you need to be an active witness of the love of Christ. You need to proclaim true life to the people around you. They need to see Him in you, they need to see that you are different, they need to see that you handle stress in a much better way, they need to see His light and love in you. Be the influence that you need to be in this world. Do not hide your light under a bucket, but let it shine out for all to see.

Father, please help us to shine Your light. Please help us to be the influence on this world that You want us to be. At the end of our lives we want to know that we have made a difference. Please give us the courage to stand up and speak out, give us the wisdom to know when we must be quiet and only the example and please help us to know the difference. In Jesus' Name. Amen

My dearest South Africa. How My heart longs for you. People have gone astray, even those claiming to be righteous. The cry to 'turn back' had an impact for a while, but My people returned to following their own ways. Hatred is prevalent, and not only amongst those that actually act upon it. Negative speech is mostly what comes from people's lips; don't you yet realise that life and death is in the power of the tongue? Corruption has infiltrated all levels of society and people do not even think it is wrong anymore. Laws are broken on a daily basis and not only by criminals, but by many so-called Christians, either cheating on their tax return or driving over red lights.

The time has come for My children to stand up and live in the truth about themselves. I came to set you free from bondage; I came to liberate the captives. I came to give you My righteousness as a gift to take. I came to create a new person inside of you. I came to make all things new. Stand up in the newness of life that is proclaimed over you. This newness of life is what you are destined for. Come and sit at My right hand, come and let Me teach you. Give your life over to Me and allow My love to flow through you. Allow more of Me to fill you, allow My life to infiltrate every cell of your being. Once I am the One you focus on and the One you follow, all else will start to fall into place. You will start to focus your sights on the realities of heaven; you will start to live in a realm that is above your own. You will start to look at life through My eyes. My love will start to flow through you to others. You will shower them with My love and it won't be hard for you to do, because it will be Me flowing through you, My mighty power changing lives.

You will obey the laws of the land, because I am a God of order living inside of you. You will speak life and not death, because My river of life-giving water is bubbling on the inside of you. You will not be corrupt, because money will have no hold over you anymore. You will start to realise that all I have is yours, and because it is, you are rich without measure. You will bubble over with My goodness and share My Good News with your children and family, not as a set of rules and do's and don'ts, but as a way of life. My love bubbling within you will cause your children to fall in love with Me as well. There is so much power in families praying together and when you are filled with Me, it will flow out of you. You will also radiate Me on the sports field, whilst talking politics, while at work, whilst doing homework. I will shine and you will start to glow.

That is what I want for South Africa. People on fire for Me. People living in My realm. People filled with Me. People overflowing with My love. Then I see a river, springing up from sources all around the country, trickling up, joining one another, flowing into a bigger stream, flowing into yet another stream, flowing into a river, into a mighty river, until the dam walls break and deliverance comes to all. Only My life-giving water can do that. Only My bubbling spring can accomplish wonders. And it all starts with one soul, ready to give his life over to Me. There are many more than 10 souls in this country who are prepared to do that, I know. I wouldn't have destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah if there were ten righteous people. And today I proclaim that I will not destroy South Africa, because there are more than ten. I want to be merciful, but more than that I want to bless you. But it is in your hands. Are you going to come to Me? Are you going to drink Me in? Come, I have the life-giving water, come and drink. Then you will be like trees alongside the riverbank, always green and always full of life. Take hold of that life and spread it all around, just there where you are. People need to see My love in action, and as My hands and feet, you are the perfect vessel.

Also stand and proclaim victory over your enemy the Devil. He is in charge of all that is evil and his plans are filled with strife and hardship. Stand up against him and proclaim My victory. Be like David that proclaimed victory over Goliath as he approached him. Proclaim that I am in charge, proclaim that I am fighting for you and you will see wonders. Stand somewhere today and proclaim this over 'Goliath' in South Africa:

"You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the Name of the Lord Almighty - the God of the armies of Israel (South Africa), whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head (spiritually we have overcome the Devil because of the work of Christ). And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel (South Africa)! And everyone will know that the Lord does not need weapons to rescue His people. It is His battle, not ours. The Lord will give you to us!" 1 Samuel 17:45-47

Rejoice! I am in charge. Be filled with wonder at My mighty power. I am the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the One who loves to love. I am your Bridegroom, eagerly looking forward to our wedding day. Be filled with anticipation, look up to Me, and fall in love with Me all over again. Then My love will change it all. My love will free South Africa from all bondage, My love flowing through you, will bring healing and restoration.

"This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don't be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God's. You will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord's victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem (South Africa). Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out there tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!" 2 Chronicles 20:15, 17

God revealed to Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. God discussed His plans with Abraham and Abraham was shocked. He didn't want God to destroy the righteous with the wicked. He started to plead with God to be merciful to those that are righteous. And God, in His unending mercy, agreed to not only save the righteous, but also to save the whole city because of them. Now Abraham started to plea with God and asked Him to save the city if 50 righteous people were found. And God agreed. Abraham continued and asked God to save the city if only 45 were found, and God agreed. And so Abraham continued until he asked God to please save the city if only 10 were found and God agreed. I think after Abraham started with his plea to save the city if 50 righteous people were found, he realised that there might not be 50. He knew his nephew Lot was there and wanted to save him at all cost. He ended with 10 righteous people and I think he ended there, because he must have hoped that Lot would have had a couple of converts there after all the years that he has lived there. He must have been confident that there must be at least 10. As we shall see later, he was wrong. Lot was not an effective evangelist, in fact Lot himself wasn't the most righteous of all men.

But for now let us consider this conversation that Abraham had with God here in Genesis 18:16-33. First of all I would like us all to notice how gracious God is. He is the Master of the Universe, the Judge of all and yet He had the patience to listen to the opinion of a fragile human being. Okay Abraham was a man of faith, but he was still human, still a sinner and yet God gave him the opportunity to engage with Him and to intercede for the city. That just shows me how patient and loving God is. We can come to Him and talk to Him about everything. We can intercede for cities, for our nation and we can plead God's mercy on us and God will listen. Not because He has to, but because He wants to. We are clothed with the righteous cloak given to us by Jesus Christ, and we can come boldly to the throne of Grace and plead with God. We should take this honour seriously and intercede on behalf of ourselves, our family, our friends and our nation.

Second of all do you notice here that God wants to be merciful? He doesn't rejoice when He has to punish nations. He is the Judge over all and has to punish sins, but He loves to be merciful. He was more than willing to save an entire city full of the most wicked sinners, just because 10 are found to be righteous. Isn't it amazing? Now if we look at our nation today, we can only shudder at the horrific and evil things that are happening all around. Women and children are regularly being raped, children are sold into slavery (human trafficking), people are killed for a cell phone, drunken drivers crash into innocent victims, people are beaten and hurt for a mere R100 and so I can go on. I think you all know what I am talking about. The things going on today is wicked. I sometimes wonder if Sodom and Gomorrah was much worse than this. But then I rejoice, because I know without a doubt that there are more than 10 righteous people in our country, much more than 10. And I know, because there are, we can plead with God to be merciful to us. We can plead with Him to take over the government of our country. We can proclaim Him as Lord over South Africa once more and we can humble ourselves with fasting and prayer, that He will be merciful and turn our country around, to a country built upon His principles and His love.

I challenge you today to pray earnestly to the Lord this week for our beautiful country, South Africa. Let us humble ourselves before Him. Set aside one day this week where you will fast and pray. Recently I have found the amazing power that lies within fasting once more. I am writing a book about it at the moment, but believe me when I tell you that fasting releases mighty power in the supernatural and many nations have been turned around through it. It is a key that God has given us to use to unleash His mighty power and we should use it. Tell your friends and neighbours to do it as well this week. The time has come to set our nation free from the evil powers holding it in their grip. Enough is enough. Let's stand up as the righteous people of this country and claim our country back under God's power and rule!

Father, we stand humbled before You today. Thank you that You are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. You are the same God Who would have saved Sodom and Gomorrah if 10 righteous people were found. And therefore we ask of You today: there are more than 10 righteous people in South Africa today, much more Lord, there are thousands, if not millions. And we stand in the gap for South Africa today and we plead with You to be merciful to us. The chaos in our country and the evil running around rampant are signs that the evil one has taken hold of our country. And therefore we plead before You today to be merciful to us. You are Almighty, El Shaddai, the wondrous One, and we pray with boldness because of what Jesus has done for us, that the powers of the evil one should leave our country! We pray that they will have no hold over us anymore. The righteous are standing before You today, pleading that You will unleash Your mighty power and that You will deliver us from the evil one. Father, we know You can and we know that You can't wait to throw the evil one into the lake of fire, but we also know that Your timetable is not ours. We know You have plans for this world as a whole and for us to. And therefore we pray that Your good plans be done, that Your will be done as it is in heaven. Lord please forgive our sins, and save our nation, because of all the righteous that are suffering too. We plead it of You just like Abraham of old. He is our spiritual father and because he is, You have promised that we will also receive all the blessings promised to him. We therefore claim those blessings, we claim a land dedicated to you, a land filled with Your mighty Spirit. We thank you Lord, You are gracious and true and we stand in awe of You. May You reign supreme in our lives, our country and in the world. May You be exalted and You alone. All power and honour and glory be Yours forever and ever. Amen

A while after God confirmed His covenant with Abraham, God and two angels came to visit Abraham. He thought that they were ordinary men, but even though he did, he was very hospitable. He invited them in and he gave them the best of all that he had. He gave them the best bread, a nice fat calf, cheese and milk and he personally served them at the age of almost a hundred. Abraham gave them his best, as though he was doing it for the Lord (when in actual fact he was). Then one of them, that we later learn is the Lord, speaks up and tells Abraham that in a year's time Sarah will have a son. Sarah was listening in on the conversation and laughed.

"How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby? And when my master - my husband - is also so old?" Genesis 18:12

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Even after Abraham told her of the covenant God had made with him, she still found it difficult to believe. And then God says the following:

"Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, 'Can an old woman like me have a baby?' Is anything too hard for the Lord? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son." Genesis 18:13, 14

And it happened exactly as the Lord said it would. A year later she was holding Isaac in her arms. Despite her unbelief, God blessed her due to His covenant with her husband Abraham.

When reading this, this one phrase stuck with me: "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" Now I think all of us will answer, 'Of course not! Nothing is too hard for Him to do'. And though we answer that way, our actions mostly reveal a different truth. Do we really act as if He can do anything? Or do we laugh behind closed doors like Sarah, finding it difficult to believe that God can work miracles in our situation? Or do we take matters into our own hands, fearing that things will not work out as we have planned it?

I think next time when things look bleak and without hope, we need to remind ourselves that anything is possible with God. God can help us break bad habits, He can help us to conquer sin in our lives, He can help us to make the right decision, He can turn any 'impossible' situation around, He can bring healing and He can restore lost years to us. He can do anything. We must just do our best, what we can in the natural, and then give the impossible over to Him. He can take the impossible and turn it into our greatest victory, all to His glory. Trust Him for that. God is faithful and true, the God of more than enough, the God of the impossible.

"We give all our 'impossible' situations into Your capable hands o Lord. We will do what we can, but then we trust You to take the matter further. All glory and honour belongs to You. Lord do whatever brings You most of the glory and give us the grace to be able to handle the outcome. We believe that You know best. In Jesus' Name. Amen"

God established His covenant with Abraham. He changed his name and He gave him fresh promises of a multitude of blessings and all Abraham had to do was to accept the covenant. And his way of accepting it was to circumcise all the males in his household, which he did, on the very same day that God gave him this instruction.

Now circumcision for me is a very interesting thing to do. Of all the things God could have asked him to do, He required this of him. Why? I would like to share with you the explanation in my Bible, the Life Application Study Bible:

1. It was a sign that they will obey God in all matters.
2. It was a sign that they belonged to His covenant people. Once circumcised there was no turning back. The man would be identified as a Jew forever.
3. It served as a symbol of 'cutting off' the old life of sin, purifying one's heart and dedicating oneself to God.
4. It might possibly have served as a health measure in those days.

Now Abraham and his descendants continued with this tradition of circumcision. This tradition continued to live on in the lives of the Israelites, even during their years of bondage in Egypt. It was only during the 40 years that they travelled in the wilderness after the Exodus, that they didn't perform circumcision. But before they could enter the Promised Land, God commanded that they be circumcised again (Joshua 5:2). Why? Well to mark them off as His people again. It served as a physical sign of the covenant that He had made with Abraham and it reminded them of that. Here it also indicated that they should now leave their old lives as slaves behind and start their new lives as rightful owners of land.

This tradition never stopped. Jesus Himself was circumcised as a Jew. And today the Jewish people still perform this ritual. But for us as Christians, this ritual serves as a reminder to us, to be spiritually circumcised. This means that when we accept Jesus into our lives, we should 'cut off' our old life of sin and embrace our new life in Christ. We should depart from our fleshly desires and rather give in to the desires of His Holy Spirit inside of us. We cannot serve two masters, and at a stage in our lives we need to choose: Are we going to follow our fleshly desires or are we going to follow the Holy Spirit, as we cannot serve both. One will be the master and one will be the servant. I can tell you that the flesh makes a good servant, but a terrible master. It will be in our best interest if we give the Holy Spirit total reign in our lives. Our lives will be filled with His power and love. What more can we ask than to be filled in totality with His Spirit. It is only then that we will have total fulfilment in life.

Next time when you read about the ritual of circumcision, think about the spiritual circumcision in your life. I have spoken previously how we are the spiritual children of Abraham, the father of faith. And if we would like to partake in all the blessings God has in store for us, we need to accept the covenant from our side and undergo spiritual circumcision. Have you done it? Have you turned from following your fleshly desires? Have you 'cut off' your own self from ruling your life? Be circumcised in the Spirit today and experience the fullness of His Spirit guiding your every step. You will never be disappointed. It will be one of your most liberating experiences. You are part of God's covenant until the day He comes to fetch us, what a wonderful prospect.

Thank you Father that we can be circumcised in the Spirit. Thank you for paving the way for us Jesus. Thank you for helping us in every regard. Please help us and give us the strength to turn from our evil, fleshly ways and rather follow You, where our lives will be overflowing with grace and love. Amen