Today's Passage - Acts 7:37-43

Acts 7:37-43   "This is that Moses who told the Israelites, 'God will send you a prophet like me from your own people.' He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us. "But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. They told Aaron, 'Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt-we don't know what has happened to him!' That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and held a celebration in honor of what their hands had made...   The Israelites should have been rejoicing when they left Egypt.  Instead when they entered into the wilderness, they were full of complaints.  Why was this so?  It was because although the Israelites had physically left Egypt, Egypt was still in their hearts.  As such, verse 39 says, "their hearts turned back to Egypt".  When they were in the wilderness, each time they complained, they would say, "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." At other times they said, "It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" Although they had left Egypt, Egypt was still in their hearts.    In order to enter God's Promised Land, we must first remove Egypt from our hearts. What is the "Egypt" in our hearts? I believe that it refers to the influence of the world.  Too often, the values and ethics of the world surround us every day.  We pursue the things of the material things of this world instead of seeking God's presence in our lives. If we continue to live under the influence of society, listening to secular music, reading the news on the stock market, watching Hollywood movies, reading secular books and magazines, or even gambling once in a while when we are on vacation, our hearts and minds cannot be longing for God.   How can we remove the influence of the world in our lives? It starts with our living environment.  Let yourself be immersed in an environment that is led by God.  Let your office be filled with God's Word. When you are in the car, put on some praise and worship music.  When you are on vacation, go to some Christian retreat or conference so that your body, spirit and soul may be set free.  We need to let God rule and reign in each and every area of our lives today.  Ask God to break the powers of darkness, and influence of the world on our lives.        Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we ask that your light will come and shine upon us, so that we can see the things in our lives that do not please you.  Help us see what the "Egypt" in our hearts are and where we have been influenced by worldly views.  Pray Holy Spirit that you will help remove the "Egypt" in our hearts, so that we may focus on walking with you. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!          See Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - on Facebook!