Tag: God

Categories
Christian Living

Waiting on the Lord can be Scary. You need the Faith of Moses.

Yes, waiting on the Lord to come through can be a time of anxiety and fear. But do not worry – He always answers. (Though His answer and timing will not always be just what we were expecting.)a photo of an old clock reminding us of waiting

In Exodus, we find that Moses led the people out of Egypt. But Pharaoh determined that He would not allow his slave labor to slip out of his hands so easily. So he gathered up his army and pursued the people.

It is not clear whether God had shared with Moses how He would rescue the people, but even before it occurred, Moses trusted that God would keep His word.

Here is part of the story from Exodus 14:

The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army—chased after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea.

The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Even though the people had recently seen ten amazing miracles of God’s remarkable power, they are now unwilling to trust that God could keep His promise of rescue. They had hoped that God would come through, but they are now doubting that He will.photo of lifesaving float that is used for rescuing those in trouble

Moses spoke up showing his faith, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you….”

And in the next moments, God parts the Red Sea, lets the Israelites escape, and destroys Pharaoh and his army.

But that’s how God took care of the Israelites more than 3000 years ago. What about my waiting on God today? Can I trust Him to come through for me with my problems and worries?

God has promised that He is with me. And therefore He tells me that I do not have to fear. So why is it that I still doubt? Why am I so similar to the fearful Israelites, when God has been faithful to take care of me through so many difficult situations in the past?

A Prayer for us today: “God, forgive me when I worry. Give me the faith of Moses, so that even before You show Your might and power, that I trust in You and in Your amazing ability to take care of my every need. Help me to be faithful, even while I am waiting on Your answer. Amen.”

What has helped you maintain faith (and eliminate worry) while you were waiting on God’s answer to come?

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Categories
Bible

God Is A Great Story-Teller

We all love stories. And God is great at providing amazing stories. And He has even written you into the story!photo of old books - reminding us that we love a good story

By calling God a story-teller, I’m not indicating the Bible is fiction. Too often, we’ve said something like “that person is telling stories” to indicate that they are lying. But a good story-teller is able to make a true account into a great story – not by embellishing it with fiction, but with tying the story together in a masterful way. Some are better at this than others. And God is simply the best!

As we read the true accounts of history in the Bible, we become amazed with how God unfolds His story of love and redemption and rescue. For example, we can see masterful story-telling in the story of Moses. In the story of the birth of Moses, we see that God is in control. And this should teach us that our great God is sovereign, and we can trust Him completely.

In the opening chapters of Exodus we find that the reigning Pharaoh has commanded that every Hebrew boy that is born is to be thrown into the Nile River and drowned. But Moses’s family places him in a basket in the river. The command of Pharaoh caused the family to try to hide Moses, and the best place they could come up with is the very river that was supposed to be the place of his death.a picture of the story of Moses in a basket in the Nile River

When Pharaoh’s daughter comes down to the river to bathe, she catches a glimpse of the basket, and she pulls the baby out of the river to raise him in the luxury of the palace. The family that had ordered the death of all the baby boys in the river pulls a baby boy out of the river and saves him from death. In a sense, Moses is resurrected to life. And this baby boy will be the one God will use to rescue His people from their bondage and slavery in Egypt.

How ironic that the ruler who says “drown all the infant boys in the river,” has his own daughter rescue God’s chosen spokesperson from the very same river! And on top of that, she then gives Moses back to his mother to wean him before bringing him to the palace to be raised. This shows how God is sovereign and is actively at work in so many ways.

Later on, God will tell us the story of another baby boy born (in Bethlehem) who a new king (Herod) orders to be killed. But instead of dying in infancy, God rescues this infant too, and He is the one God uses to rescue His people from their bondage and slavery to sin.a picture of the story of the birth of Jesus in the manger

This rescuing of His people occurs through Jesus’s death on the cross. And then Jesus is resurrected to life, proving to us all that He is the Savior of the world.

God’s story of love for us is remarkable. So why don’t we trust Him more completely?

Whatever you are worrying about today, turn it over to the sovereign control of God. If we trust the heart of God, then we can leave every worry behind. He is the master story-teller, and you have been written into this beautiful story!

Thank Him for rescuing you today and including you in His story of love and grace and redemption!

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Categories
God

Life Is Messy. Our Families Are Too. God Still Has A Plan For Us.

Though we can make things quite messy – including our lives and our family’s lives – I am thankful that God loves us through the messes we  make. 
photo of messy paint splatter everywhereFor example, I know that Abraham and Sarah were godly people. However, as we read their story in the Bible, we see that they still struggled to do what was right. Some of the errors they made: Abraham was fearful that the attractiveness of Sarah could get him killed as they travelled (he had more fear of man than he had trust in God). His fear led them to tell half-truths to several people (another word for that would be lying!). There was also impatience with God’s timing, which led Abraham to sleep with Hagar to help God out instead of waiting on Him. Then there was Sarah’s jealousy and mistreatment of Hagar. And yet, through it all, God was good to Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac.

That’s the amazing God we serve – still loving us in the midst of our messy mistakes and sins.

And we see this repeated in Abraham’s grandson Jacob, though it seems to get even worse. We find out that Jacob was a liar who deceived his brother and father, but his uncle Laban turned the tables on him, which landed him with two wives (which was not God’s plan for marriage). And his wife Leah finds herself married to a man who didn’t choose her. Leah was in this mess of a situation due to the lies of her father and herself. She was part of the lie which wed her to Jacob. Not only that, can you imagine the anger that this act would have provoked in Rachel, knowing that her older sister tricked the man she loved into this marriage. So add in family divisiveness. What a mess.
photo of an extremely cluttered and messy storage roomAnd yet, even though Jacob didn’t love Leah in the way that he loved Rachel, God still loved Leah and blessed her. And even though Jacob had also been a deceiver, God still loved Jacob.

The whole story is strange, and it is a bit difficult to understand God’s working through what seems such a dysfunctional family full of deceit and jealousy. However, even with all of the sinfulness in the family, God still loved them and had a plan for them. I’m thankful for this story!

Here’s why: I’m glad to know that God is so gracious and forgiving toward us. I’m so glad that He still has a plan to work through the messes that I make in my own life and within my own family.
Aren’t you glad He loves you and works through your messes too?

You don’t have to clean up your life to come to Jesus. But once you come to Jesus, He will begin cleaning you up. Come as you are, with all of your messiness. Turn your messy life over to Him. He’ll love you in the midst of it all, and He’ll begin to clean you up.photo of a clean and orderly grocery store reminding us that our messy lives can be cleaned up

Take a moment to thank God that even though you have been a mess and you have made some messes, that He is a God who loves, a God who forgives, and a God who redeems!

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Categories
Worship

Awe Shapes the Direction of Your Life

Where you look for awe will shape the direction of your life.

My last post indicated that the awesome things of this earth are signposts pointing to our awesome Creator.
grand teton mountain range at sunset to symbolize awe-inspiring things that provide direction as to what we care about
Today I want to share a bit more from Paul David Tripp’s book, Awe.

It just makes sense that your source of awe will control you, your decisions, and the course your story takes. For example, if you live in awe of material things, you will spend lots of money acquiring a pile of material stuff. To afford your ever-increasing pile, you will have to work a lot. You will also tend to attach your identity and inner sense of peace to material possessions, spending way too much time collecting and maintaining them. If material things are your awe source, you will neglect other things of value and won’t ever be fully satisfied, because these material things just don’t have the capacity to satisfy your awe-longing heart. Yes, your house will be big, your car will be luxurious, and you will be surrounded with beautiful things, but your contentment in areas that really count will be small.

Awe stimulates the greatest joys and deepest sorrows in us all.
…When you say, “If only I had _______,” how do you fill in the blank?

What are you willing to make sacrifices for, and what in your life just doesn’t seem worth the effort? Look at your highest joys and deepest sorrows, and you will find where you reach for awe. Take anger, for example. Think of how little of your anger in the last couple months had anything at all to do with the kingdom of God. You’re not generally angry because things are in the way of God and his kingdom purposes. You’re angry because something or someone has gotten in the way of something you crave, something you think will inspire contentment, satisfaction, or happiness in you. Your heart is desperate to be inspired, and you get mad when your pursuits are blocked. Where you look for awe will fundamentally control the thoughts and emotions of your heart in ways you normally don’t even realize.

Therefore, we need to stop looking for awe in the created things, and allow the wonder of the created things to lead us to look for awe in Him.

What are some things that create a sense of awe in you that point you toward the Creator?

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Categories
Church

Unchangeable People. Is There Any Hope?

People are unchangeable.
People just can’t change.
Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever said it? Something along the lines of: “Don’t even try. He’ll never change.”

This is one statement that the leadership at our church knows not to say around me. It’s a statement that gets me riled up pretty quickly. My statement to the person who says it is usually along the lines of:

“The reason I know your statement is not true is that God changed me and God changed you, and everyone knows how rotten we both were. So if God could change you and me, then He can change anyone!”

an alarm clock with the words "time for change" to symbolize the idea of something being unchangeable
Centuries ago, Moses told God, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’ Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?”

When this immense group of people asked for meat to eat, God said he would supply it to them for a whole month until they all were sick of meat. Moses told God it was an impossible task. And God said to Moses: “Is the Lord’s power limited?”

I figure that God has has a better understanding of the situation than Moses. And the Bible indicates He did. “Now there went forth a wind from the LORD and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp.” The people then gathered enough quail to fill up ten 50-gallon tubs per person.

Back to today:
I hear people implying that, “Our nation cannot change for the better.”
I hear people indicating that, “Our community cannot change for the better.”
And I hear people state, “That person cannot change for the better.”

All of these are false. God says that people, communities, and nations can change. If we say that they can’t, then we are saying to God that He isn’t big enough. Something Moses learned was not true.

My God is big enough to change the people I know. My God is big enough to change my community, my state, and our nation. I know this is true, because He was big enough to change me and He was big enough to change so many of the people in my church.

If we will act on God’s word with faith – living out what He has called us to do – then He can dramatically change us, our church, and our community. None of these are unchangeable. So is there a responsibility of a church family to attempt to make a change in the community in which they worship?
What is the role of your church to make a change in your community?
What could individual church members do to begin making some of these changes?
     Develop a friendship with a person different from me?
     Engage with the local school?
     Participate in Mentoring / Big Brother programs?
     Pray with people different from me?
     This is just a short list to begin with. What else?

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