ShineforChrist.org

In Deuteronomy 17:16, God commands the Israelites not to return to Egypt to acquire horses, for He had delivered them from slavery. This verse signifies God's protection and guidance, ensuring that His people rely on Him rather than returning to their past or seeking help from worldly sources.  The context of this directive is crucial. The Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land after years of wandering in the desert. God wanted them to trust in His provision and not to look back at their former life in Egypt, which symbolizes sin and bondage. This shows God's desire for us to move forward in faith, without reverting to our old ways or trusting in human strength.  Moreover, in Isaiah 43:18-19, God encourages His people not to dwell on the past, as He is doing a new thing. This highlights God's transformative power and His intention for His followers to embrace change and new beginnings.  As we study these passages, we understand God's call for us to trust Him f...

God put Samson's strength in his hair so that he would have to be faithful to keep it safe. Sometimes your strength is out there, but it's only vulnerable when you let go of God's directions for it. It's only vulnerable when you're not faithful to God's will.  Samson's hair was outside, open to the rest of the world, vulnerable. But only vulnerable to those who knew a secret no one was supposed to know. God gives us all gifts and places of strength, and some are on the outside, in the open. And this is what God is saying to you about it: I know I've given you a big heart and a gentle, compassionate, tolerating spirit. And I know you've seen it often as a burden because it's in the open and vulnerable to the misuse of the world around you. But I came to tell you that I didn't just give it to you so you could lose it to this world, and I didn't just give it to you so others could stomp all over it. I came to tell you that I gave it to you w...

"I'm in my wilderness era." Have you heard someone say that? But today I want to analyze what people mean when they say this and it actually means. Sometimes people say this to identify a season where they're not really seeing God moving and working in their lives. They use this sentence to represent a time of lack, a time of uncertainty. But is that what it really means? And is that really true? Let's take it to the Bible. Exodus 13:21-22 When we take a look at this verse, does it really sound like a time where God wasn't showing up clearly? Does it look like a time where the Israelites couldn't feel God's presence or see Him moving? Not at all. Some might even argue that God showed up more in the wilderness than He did in the Promised Land. I mean He wasn't a fire by night and a cloud by day in the Promised Land, but only in the wilderness. You see the problem is that the Israelites wanted to reach the destination so much, that they ignored God...

Let me set the scene You have this one artist or singer or actor or just anyone that you've always wanted to meet. You're strolling one day and there they are, no crowds, no lines, nothing in the way of you talking to them and getting the picture with them you've always wanted to have. You talk to them, and they're just as great as you always imagined them to be. Then you try to take a picture with them and lo and behold comes the notification, your storage is full!!! The heartbreak, the disappointment Obviously in this specific situation, there are many other ways to get the picture, but not on your camera. So what does this mean? It means just that: your storage is full. There are many things God has for you, so many beautiful and perfect things in Christ, starting and ending with eternal life. But if that's the case, then where are these things right now? Well, some of these things are meant to come later. But the rest of them, are not here because your storage i...