Shalom,

Today we have Psalm 46. Do you recognize that song found in the first 2 verses? :

¹GOD IS our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.

²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas,

I remember how excited I was when I discovered the meaning of the word "very" used here. It is the Hebrew word, me`od, which means: vehemence or vehemently, wholly, speedily, diligently, exceedingly, greatly, mightily, utterly, abundantly, with "muchness"! That's the type of help our God gives to us in times of "trouble", the Hebrew word, tsarah, which means: trouble, tightness, adversity, affliction, anguish, distress, tribulation. He's not far off! He is PRESENT! Always there, always ready, always speaking, always leading, always guiding, always directing, always taking advantage of every time we allow Him to help! How exciting to know that! We should never operate in fear, doubt or worry again!

In Acts we see Paul, along with various others at different times, continuing to preach the Gospel everywhere he went! We see him here preaching in the synagogue, as he usually did, until they began harassing and opposing him. When this happened he stopped teaching in the synagogue and began to teach in the home of Titus Justus, who lived next to the synagogue. Paul may have been tempted to leave the city altogether until this happened:

⁹And one night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, Have no fear, but speak and do not keep silent;

¹⁰For I am with you, and no man shall assault you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.

Notice that the Lord told Paul that He had MANY people in that city! Only God Himself knows who are truly His in any given place! I am very sure that are many more that be with us than the very vocal ones that come against us. They just don't make as much noise! That's why I believe the Lord instructed Paul to speak and NOT keep silent!

Something else that I took note of is Paul's meeting Aquila and Priscilla. Verses 2-3:

²There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently arrived from Italy with Priscilla his wife, due to the fact that Claudius had issued an edict that all the Jews were to leave Rome. And [Paul] went to see them,

³And because he was of the same occupation, he stayed with them; and they worked [together], for they were tentmakers by trade.

Now notice verse 18:

¹⁸Afterward Paul remained many days longer, and then told the brethren farewell and sailed for Syria; and he was accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.

And then verse 26:

²⁶He began to speak freely (fearlessly and boldly) in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him with them and expounded to him the way of God more definitely and accurately.

Notice that Priscilla is mentioned first in these verses. The mentioning of her name first denoted that she was at the forefront of their ministry at that time. She most likely had the more public role. So much for the erroneous teaching that women are not supposed to be minsters of the Gospel! Don't the people who believe that remember Deborah the Judge, or the fact the very first person to "preach" that Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the dead was a woman! HER name was Mary! So let's encourage the ladies to be ALL that God has individually called each one of them to be! AMEN!

We begin Exodus today and I have always been amazed at how the Israelites, who are apparently very strong and many in number:

⁷But the descendants of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, and the land was full of them.

&:

⁹He said to his people, Behold, the Israelites are too many and too mighty for us [and they outnumber us both in people and in strength].

...became anyone's slave! My idea about this is that they were so accustomed to the life they were living, that they didn't even consider that things might change. Sounds a little like the USA today! When new leadership took over, they proceeded to turn a very numerous, strong and hard working people into slaves. I would hope that the Israeli people of today would learn from their past and not be put under any nation's dominion again! We do know that eventually they WILL sign a peace treaty that ends up being the worst decision in the history of their nation! But THAT is for a different book of the Bible! Right now we see Moses protected by God right under Pharaoh's nose! Exodus 2:10:

¹⁰And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. And she called him Moses, for she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

Isn't that SO like our God! We see here that there is a definite time frame between the "calling" and the "separation"! Moses was to be the deliverer of his people, but when he tried to help them in the natural, he failed miserably! Verse 11-15:

¹¹One day, after Moses was grown, it happened that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of [Moses'] brethren.

¹²He looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

¹³He went out the second day and saw two Hebrew men quarreling and fighting; and he said to the unjust aggressor, Why are you striking your comrade?

¹⁴And the man said, Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? Then Moses was afraid and thought, Surely this thing is known.

¹⁵When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh's presence and took refuge in the land of Midian, where he sat down by a well.

Moses needed the time in Midian to grow up and the Israelites needed to get fed up and desperate! When they called out to God, He heard and WILL act! Tune in tomorrow!

Shalom in Him!