And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water (Exodus 2:10).
Moses was born at the time when the Hebrew men children were being killed. His mother devised a plan to save him from being killed, and hid him, “And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” (Exodus 2:3-6).
Moses got a new life, when Pharaoh’s daughter drew him out of the water. He was drawn out of the water, the same way that Jesus tells Nicodemus “except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (St. John 3:5). The waters gave Moses a new life, when he was drawn out of them. When the baby wept, Pharaoh’s daughter had compassion on him though he was the child of the enemy, being “one of the Hebrews’ children”. Before then, Moses was going to live like all Hebrews lived.
Such was the case with us. For Jesus came down to give us new life. We were lost and he found us. He drew us out of sin. He had compassion on us and he saved us, and redeemed us by his own blood. Just as Moses was drawn from the water, so were we drawn from sin “that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6).
So long Moses remained in the water, he could not be found neither could he be saved. Likewise we must come out of sin to be saved, hence Jesus tells Nicodemus: “ye must be born again” (St. John 3:7). Put plainly, we must get a new life. As long as we are hiding ourselves and our sins, we cannot be saved. We must expose our sins to God, and confess them so that we can be healed (James 5: 16).
Being drawn, also means to Come out of the world, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord” (II Corinthians 6: 17). After becoming Pharaoh’s daughters’ son, Moses left his family and started a completely new life. As believers, we have to be willing to leave our old lifestyles behind, even though that may mean separating us from family and friends, from places and activities we enjoy most.To be with Jesus, we have to completely reject our old lives. Jesus put it in this way: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (St. Luke 14: 26). Like Moses we have to find a new home, a new lifestyle and cultivate a new culture and new habits, so that we can “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6: 4).
Sometimes we want to be saved, without making any sacrifices on our part. We want the crown, but won’t carry the cross, we want mansions but don’t want to pay the price. The song says, “must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all this whole world go free? For there is a cross of everyone and there is a cross for me”. If we want Jesus there is a price, and if we reject him there is a price also. “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30: 19).
To start a new life, we have to come out of the old life. Lot and his family could not be saved as long as they lingered in Sodom and Gomorrah hence the angels held them by the hand, and led them out (Genesis 19: 16). If we want to be saved, if we want to start a new life with Christ,we have to let him hold us by the hand, lead us from sin and lead us to the new life.
Our Lord specializes in second chances. The woman caught red handed in the very act will testify. She was brought to be condmed, but Jesus gave her a new beginning and said “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (St. John 8: 11). Peter can testify how Jesus restored him after the betrayal (St. John 21: 15-17). For Jesus’ purpose was not to condemn, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (St. John 3: 17). “I am come” Jesus says “that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (St. John 10: 10).
Are you tired of your old life? Give it to Jesus. Moses’ mother got tired of hiding Moses. Moses’ mother knew that the child had grown and could no longer be hid. Our sins no matter how small or insignificant may seem to us, we must know that we can no longer hide them. If you are tired of the load of your sins, if you desire new life to begin, then come to Jesus and he will give you a brand new life. In Jesus we get the promise to leave our old life, pass from death unto life, and to walk in the light. “O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord” (Isaiah 2: 5).
But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved (St. Luke 5:38).
Often, when we get a new house we see the need to get new furniture as well. When we get a new outfit we see that the old shoes do not match the new. So is our new life in Christ. The old habits don’t fit anymore. We have to find new ways to fit our walk with Christ, so that we can walk in newness of life (Romans 6: 4). A new life has to be accompanied by a new heart and a new Spirit (Ezekiel 18: 31). David writes, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalms 51: 10).
God has spared our lives to see another New Year. We are being challenged today to make a fresh start, to make a new beginning so we can be preserved in this New Year. A new beginning begins with new desires, to desire to dwell in the house of the Lord (Psalms 27:4), the desire to abide in him forever.
If we are in Christ, we will have our minds transformed into new creatures, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things(II Corinthians 5: 17). are become new”
I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me (Psalms 39: 1).
We sin in many ways, especially with our tongue, “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man…And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell” (James 3: 2; 6). What comes out of our mouths defile us “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man (St. Matthew 15: 18).
Many sins are the results of our words: gossip, sowing discord, spreading rumours, lies, deceit, cursing, mocking and many others. All these come from our mouths, “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?” (James 3:9-11).
As believers our words must be edifying, “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4: 6). Often the nature of our conversation is determined by the people around us. If we want to change our speech or conversation, we may be compelled to change the company we keep. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful” (Psalms 1:1). We may not be able to stop or change the conversation but we can excuse ourselves.
Righteous living is not limited in what we do or what we don’t do, it is as much as what we say, how we say it and the things we refrain from saying. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned (St. Matthew 12: 35-37).
Let us watch what we say and what we do. Our words and our actions must be consistent of being believers. The tongue is a great instrument of peace if we learn to bridle our tongue. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace (James 3: 18).
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (Psalms 1: 2-3).
An active prayer life is essential to our Spiritual Growth. We cannot grow in the Lord unless we purposefully spend time in His presence. The time we choose to spend with God outside of worship services must be deliberate. It must be a sacrifice we are willing to joyfully give the Lord. Our idea of prayer are often limited to making our wish list, that is what we desire the Lord to do for us. Most of us do not even consider that time to pray could like manner be time to ask God what He requires of us and thus open opportunities for us to do for God. Prayer is not only about our petitions, supplications and our needs. Whilst praying we should not forget to give thanks, “and forget not all his benefits.” (Psalms 103: 2) and to praise (Psalms 117: 1) and adore Him. When we pray, it is a time also to hear from God (Joshua 3: 9), to seek His face (Psalms 105: 4) and to abide in His presence (Psalms 91:1), learning and meditating on his word and his will and to hear thus saith the Lord God.
By prayer life we mean our private time at home in the presence of God. This may include praying, singing, studying, worshiping whether alone or others such with members of your household. We often think of praying privately when we are in crisis and facing hardships. Daniel prayed in good times. And continued even when his own life was at stake(Daniel 6). His prayers during the good times, prepared him for the bad times.
For many of us however, it takes crisis to make us remember that God still exists outside the Church. A continuous prayer lifestyle, will strengthen our Spiritual posture in season and out of season. We will be stronger no matter the storm ( St. Matthew 7: 24-25). A strong prayer life will help us know his will and strengthen us to keep God’s commandments consistently, even when we are out of sight. Daniel continued to pray even when there was declaration of the King’s decree not to.
Spending time in the presence of the Lord, will give courage to correct our evil ways, revive our conscience and fear doing evil (Psalm 51:1-19). Meditating on the scriptures, will put the fear of the Lord in us. It will be easier and a joy to apply the word of God in our lives (Psalms 37:4-5). To reach this mark, we need to be willing to Make room for Jesus in our lives, give the Lord some of our time and surrender all of our lives to Him.
Building a strong prayer life requires commitment to God and a strong desire to living righteously. Be willing to sacrifice our personal time in His presence listening and learning what the scriptures teach us of God and God’s ways . Quality time spent with God will build a close relationship with Him and in return sin will flee from us (James 4:7). We must choose a suitable time of the day and schedule it so that other activities of life will be secondary.
Our prayer life must be woven into our lives as a continuous habit rather than a special occasion. Our lifestyles should uplift the commandments of God. A clashing lifestyle will not sustain a strong prayer lifestyle. Ungodly habits and/or company will choke our desire for God (Psalms 63:1).
Our schedule must be flexible enough to accommodate unforeseen life disturbances but still be consistent enough to keep this habit as a daily practice possible.
Our goals and objectives for this time will fuel our strength. For instance if our reason for praying are our problems, then when our problems go away prayer will cease too. Our reasons for praying will influence what we do and what we do will determine our strength.
As we learn to give our time to God, we will also learn to hear and to receive from the Lord. Our prayers are not only about receiving. They are also about giving our time and our attention to God. Next time you pray don’t only list what you want to receive, also list what you want to give, for if we seek him first, then all these things shall be added (St. Matthew 6: 33).
