Genesis 27:26-27
“Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed.”
INSIGHT
-Kiss in Hebrew is written as nashaq which according to scriptures is a symbol of affection, reconciliation, homage, unity between parents & children, adoration to idols, social worship etc.
-When Isaac was old & could scarcely see, he knew his days on earth were few & purposed to bless his children. Isaac kissed his son Jacob with the intention of confirming whether this was Esau by checking his body scent & as a sign of parental love, then he blessed him. The blessing was a legal oral right that parents handed down to their children; which is also essential today. Rebecca knew the importance of the blessings & crafted a pre-meditated plot in favor of Jacob her favorite son; though this was Gods’ will since he had the birthright. Isaac blessed Jacob by first declaring that the field was blessed; bearing in mind the curse that was birthed when Adams fell (Gen 3:17) & was later corrected through Christ. Children therefore need the blessings of their parents which removes many forms of hindrances in their lives & makes them prosper through the grace of God. Parental love coupled with value of time has also been emphasized & proven to create strong family bonds, for when the family unit is anchored on Christ; there is genuine love, joy & peace in the home.
PRAYER
Thank You Lord our Father for we have began a new week in perfect health, receive all the glory & praise. Heal all the sick Jesus, forgive us all our trespasses & wash us by Your precious blood merciful Father. Help us Jehovah to harbor forgiveness in our hearts & bind all our families together with bonds of love that cannot be broken. Remove all evil influences of the enemy from our families Father; & bless us with the dew of heaven, the fatness of earth & plenty of grain & wine for Your namesake Lord. Many are the plans in our hearts & in our president’s heart Lord, ordain our steps Father. Amen
1 Kings 19:20-21
“And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.”
INSIGHT
-We read that Elisha willingly left everything behind including his routine ploughing job & followed prophet Elijah, though he had to first kiss their parents goodbye. A contrast is seen between these events & those of the disciples when they were called by Jesus, they also left everything but followed Christ immediately (Mat 4:18-22). Jesus calls us to follow Him immediately & requires us to give Him all our hearts, to focus on Him with all our minds & entrust our souls to Him; the same way He requires us to love Him. Elisha broke the yoke of the oxen, boiled their flesh & fed the people. Some of us have intentionally refused to break every yoke by kissing the past in works of the flesh to completely follow Christ, which may have caused a delay in ones progress. We who have received Christ Jesus are called to walk in Him, remain rooted & built up in Him & established in the faith, & abounding in it with thanksgiving (Col 2:6-7).
PRAYER
Shepherd of our souls take complete control of our lives & help us to break every evil yoke & follow You Jesus. Help us to disconnect from all attachments to fleshly things & seek first Your kingdom & Your righteousness Lord. Strengthen us Holy Spirit when our flesh is weak to dwell in the spirit which yields life for You have called us to be holy because You are holy. We seek Your direction & purpose in all aspects of our lives, hear us Father. Amen
Psalms 85:10
“Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.”
INSIGHT
-At the cross of Jesus; mercy & truth met &, righteousness & peace kissed. These four divine attributes bring us closer to God in a revelation of His continuous redemptive plan for the whole human race. Mercy calls forth truth in reconciliation through the everlasting love of God & righteousness embraces the peace of Christ in purification through His blood. In glad unanimity for the salvation of Christ; we share in thanksgiving & greetings through kisses of love & peace (1 Pet 5:14). Our fellowship unites in such a manner as else were inconceivable either to our faith in God that elicit hope in our hearts by the astounding beauty of His love for us all.
PRAYER
Lord King of glory Who is seated at the right hand of the Father we adore You & glorify You forever. You have always been faithful to us Lord our Savior, we thank You & give You praise. Shower us with Your love merciful Father that our fellowship & thanksgiving may always bring glory to Your name. May Your truth, righteousness, mercy & peace forever unite us with You & with one another, that it may be known that You are the only one true God to the ends of the world. All creation bow down before You Jesus for there is none like You; be exulted now & forevermore. Amen
Song of Songs 1:2-3
“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine. Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the young women love you!”
INSIGHT
-These verses might sound like those found in soup operas or love stories; as king Solomon displays his prowess in love matters. He was well known for applying sweet fragrances that attracted young women to him & probably also because of his wisdom, power & wealth. In Proverbs 7:8-27 we find the adulterous woman who displays a seductive approach in her moral conduct; for when her husband went away probably to work; she desperately kisses another man & lures Him into her bed. Her problem was obviously not lack of money for her husband carried a bag full of it (Prov 7:20) but the fallen nature man to satisfy his/her sexual desires. King Solomon attempted to satisfy his sexual needs by marrying 700 wives & 300 concubines but this was all vanity. It is therefore not humanly possible to satisfy ones sexual desires but only through the grace of God Who gives us freely the fruit of self control; that we may live in holiness through abstinence until marriage & holding fast faithfulness in marriage. We are also called to flee from sexual immorality & all uncleanliness for our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit Who is in us (1 Cor 6:18-20). Christ has freely poured out His love which attracts us to Him like sweet fragrance; so that we may be satisfied by Him alone.
PRAYER
You have called us Lord to honor You with our bodies, give us the fruit of self control & grace to flee from sexual immorality & all uncleanliness. Forgive us Jesus for the many times we have engaged in sexual immorality & wash us by Your precious blood. Be with all those who find bread through the business of prostitution & direct them in other more productive areas of the economy. Shepherd all those who are involved in lesbiansm, gayism & other such sexual relationships Father that they may find You. Heal all our wounds Jesus & strengthen us when we are weak so that we may always find hope through Your everlasting love. Help all the married couples Lord to share love in the family & serve as a good example to many. Direct us Father to focus on things which are more pleasing to You so that we may bear much fruit. You satisfy us Jesus with Your love, we thank You & praise Your name forever. Amen
Luke 22:48
“But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?””
INSIGHT
-It is interesting how Judas betrayed Jesus after three years of discipleship & had the courage to walk to his Friend & kiss Him instead of simply pointing at Him. We can contrast Judas kiss of betrayal with the kisses of love by the sinful woman who anointed Jesus feet with expensive fragrant oil from the alabaster flask. Judas’ kiss of betrayal reveals ones character when he/she indulges into will-fully sin & the sinful woman’s kisses of love can be likened to one reconciling with God through repentance. Judas’ betrayal haunted him later; he threw away the 30 pieces of silver, neither did he repent nor turn back to Jesus before hanging himself, what a sad ending. We are called to be reconciled to God Who is full of mercy & love, & clothes us with His righteousness by the continuous redemption of our sins.
SUMMARY
In the image & nature of God we have been created; consciously having the knowledge of good & evil that we may not only seek to only hear but to do according to His will. A kiss may be classified into two main parts; a kiss of love & a kiss of betrayal. The kiss of love is associated with love itself, affection, reconciliation, care, homage, unity, social worship etc. while the kiss of betrayal relates to ones sinful desires. In this realization we are called to hold fast love for God & our neighbors; by which the fear of the Lord is yielded & leads to wisdom. We also know that nothing can wholesomely quench our desires be it family, wealth, relationships etc, but only Jesus Christ can completely satisfy us for without Him we are nothing. We are therefore called to offer our bodies as living sacrifices with sweet fragrances holy & acceptable to God which is reasonable service.
PRAYER
We bow down at Your feet Jesus with humility in our hearts, have mercy on us & on the whole world. Purify us Lord by Your precious blood & renew our minds that we may adhere to Your good, acceptable & perfect will. Your love satisfies us Jesus, have mercy on us, our families, leaders, friends, societies, nation & the whole world. Thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross for us all; we look to You & turn to You Christ our Savior; lead us in Your ways of righteousness, truth & life. All glory & praise belongs to You Lord. Amen