Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Please listen...
I have walked a thousand miles
through all my tests and all my trials
and yet you still love me for me!
Praise You, Lord Jesus for Your mercy and grace that covers me. There is NONE like You, My Savior. I worship YOU!!!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Burning Bush
Moses' first encounter with God in his adult life was at the burning bush.
The book of Exodus opens with God's people, the children of Israel, being mistreated in Egypt. They put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor (1:11). Moses is born in chapter 2 and is miraculously saved from death as an infant. Verse 11 of chapter 2 says, Moses had grown up and he saw an Egyptian beating one of his own (a Hebrew), so he killed him (and hid him). The next day he tries to make peace between two Hebrews fighting and one of them said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" So Moses was afraid. He'd been caught. Then the Pharaoh tried to kill him, but he ran.
Fast forward we don't know how many years (verse 23 of chapter 2 says it was a long period) and Moses is married to a priest's daughter, has a son of his own and he's living in a foreign land.
Chapter 3.
Moses is tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law and he ends up on the far side of the desert in Horeb (or Sinai), the mountain of God. "There" it says in verse 2, "the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush." Something that's never happened before is about to happen to Moses. Something monumental! Something mind boggling. Something HUGE!
Moses sees a "strange sight." He sees this bush that's on fire but it's not burning up. Hmmm...he thinks. I have to go see why this bush that's in flames doesn't burn up. Then it says, "When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush." He calls Moses by name and Moses says, "Here I am."
"Do not come any closer." God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then God begins to reveal Himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob (then later in the chapter as the I AM) and he also reveals His call on Moses' life (to deliver His people from bondage-a picture of Christ).
The burning bush is you and me! Look at it again. Something caught Moses' eye. He saw a “strange sight.” It was a burning bush that didn't burn up. Oh, please hear this, on this earth we will go through fiery trials, but Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 8 and following, we are pressed but not crushed, persecuted not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed! The Old Testament burning bush is a shadow (picture) of the New Testament “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:2).
When people see us going through something extremely painful but we are not bitter, we're not angry, we're not “burnt up” by the flames or feeling sorry for ourself, rather, like the three Hebrew children in the book of Daniel we are walking through the flames with Jesus in our midst, they will have to stop like Moses and say, “what is this strange sight!” Why are they on fire but they're not burnt up? And God will speak from within the bush to reveal Himself to us in ways that we've never experienced before. Oh, Lord Jesus. What is man that You are mindful of us? How Great is the love the Father has for us! Could we live like that?
When God said to Moses, “Do not come any closer...take off your sandals for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” First of all, the ground was holy because God was present. And I think He was saying to Moses, I want you to recognize I AM God (don't come any closer), and you are my child (take your shoes off, humble yourself like a barefoot child). Then, we can talk! Then, we will have sweet fellowship and I will show MORE of who I AM!
Will we come to Him? Will we bow before Him and ask Him to speak to us and through us to a world of people who don't really know Him? “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house (or the presence) of the LORD all the days of my life, (why?) to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
Nobody wants or asks to go through difficult things, but when we are called to do so may we burn with the Consuming Fire (God Himself) and trust Him and allow Him to speak His powerful Truth to us and to others through our lives and circumstances!
We give You praise, LORD!
The book of Exodus opens with God's people, the children of Israel, being mistreated in Egypt. They put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor (1:11). Moses is born in chapter 2 and is miraculously saved from death as an infant. Verse 11 of chapter 2 says, Moses had grown up and he saw an Egyptian beating one of his own (a Hebrew), so he killed him (and hid him). The next day he tries to make peace between two Hebrews fighting and one of them said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" So Moses was afraid. He'd been caught. Then the Pharaoh tried to kill him, but he ran.
Fast forward we don't know how many years (verse 23 of chapter 2 says it was a long period) and Moses is married to a priest's daughter, has a son of his own and he's living in a foreign land.
Chapter 3.
Moses is tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law and he ends up on the far side of the desert in Horeb (or Sinai), the mountain of God. "There" it says in verse 2, "the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush." Something that's never happened before is about to happen to Moses. Something monumental! Something mind boggling. Something HUGE!
Moses sees a "strange sight." He sees this bush that's on fire but it's not burning up. Hmmm...he thinks. I have to go see why this bush that's in flames doesn't burn up. Then it says, "When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush." He calls Moses by name and Moses says, "Here I am."
"Do not come any closer." God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then God begins to reveal Himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob (then later in the chapter as the I AM) and he also reveals His call on Moses' life (to deliver His people from bondage-a picture of Christ).
There are so many amazing lessons in this one chapter, but the Lord shared something new with me this week. And if you're visiting this post today it is not by accident. I have prayed that God would bring you here. The Lord has a word for you. A “now” word. A rhema (specific) word for your life. Just like He does for me. And just “as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that is yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to Me empty (says the Lord), but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)
The burning bush is you and me! Look at it again. Something caught Moses' eye. He saw a “strange sight.” It was a burning bush that didn't burn up. Oh, please hear this, on this earth we will go through fiery trials, but Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 8 and following, we are pressed but not crushed, persecuted not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed! The Old Testament burning bush is a shadow (picture) of the New Testament “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:2).
When people see us going through something extremely painful but we are not bitter, we're not angry, we're not “burnt up” by the flames or feeling sorry for ourself, rather, like the three Hebrew children in the book of Daniel we are walking through the flames with Jesus in our midst, they will have to stop like Moses and say, “what is this strange sight!” Why are they on fire but they're not burnt up? And God will speak from within the bush to reveal Himself to us in ways that we've never experienced before. Oh, Lord Jesus. What is man that You are mindful of us? How Great is the love the Father has for us! Could we live like that?
When God said to Moses, “Do not come any closer...take off your sandals for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” First of all, the ground was holy because God was present. And I think He was saying to Moses, I want you to recognize I AM God (don't come any closer), and you are my child (take your shoes off, humble yourself like a barefoot child). Then, we can talk! Then, we will have sweet fellowship and I will show MORE of who I AM!
Will we come to Him? Will we bow before Him and ask Him to speak to us and through us to a world of people who don't really know Him? “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house (or the presence) of the LORD all the days of my life, (why?) to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
Nobody wants or asks to go through difficult things, but when we are called to do so may we burn with the Consuming Fire (God Himself) and trust Him and allow Him to speak His powerful Truth to us and to others through our lives and circumstances!
We give You praise, LORD!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Why is Everything so Hard?
God gave man dominion. We are creatures of destiny and purpose. In Psalm 8 we read,
"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!"
If man was created to have dominion over the works of God's hands (also see Genesis 1:28-30 & 2:19-20), why is everything so hard? The Word of God always has the answer!
Before Genesis 3, man was living in perfection, having everything he could possibly ever need and even want. But, when opportunity presented itself to reach for the one thing God said no to...we couldn't handle it. We had to have it! Paradise wasn't enough. We thought we were missing out because human flesh always wants what is forbidden.
So, when mankind rebelled against God what happened? There was an automatic consequence that God had already communicated long before it happened. Genesis 2:17 says, "...you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." And because man had dominion over the earth, when he rebelled...all that was under him rebelled too (see 3:14-19).
The whole earth is in rebellion against God. When man rebelled, the whole earth rebelled (see Romans 8:19-23). That's why it's hard to raise a child; that's why it's hard to have a profitable business; that's why it's difficult to have a growing, fibrant ministry; that's why it's hard to even train a dog. The whole earth is messed up. Everything is in rebellion. So, in reality, we shouldn't be surprised when thing's go wrong. We should really prepare ourselves for trouble (John 16:33). It's the natural consequence of sin.
BUT...Jesus came to make all things new!!! And He calls us to partner with Him to restore what has been broken; to take back what was stolen; to bring hope to the hurting and light to the darkness. Paul said in Romans 5:20 that as people sin more and more, God's wonderful kindness (His g-r-a-c-e) becomes more abundant! Yes, it may be hard...but it is worth it! We can kneel before Him every day and find forgiveness and hope. His Spirit will fill us and empower us to do more than our eyes have seen and our ears have heard and our mind can conceive through Christ who strengthens us.
This messed up earth is not what God originally intended. Everything He made "God saw that it was good." So we have to share the goodness of God! He wants us back, but He wants us by choice. And when we say "Yes" to Him girlfriends and boyfriends - - it is a whole new life!!! A life with purpose. A life worth living! The best is yet to come...
"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!"
If man was created to have dominion over the works of God's hands (also see Genesis 1:28-30 & 2:19-20), why is everything so hard? The Word of God always has the answer!
Before Genesis 3, man was living in perfection, having everything he could possibly ever need and even want. But, when opportunity presented itself to reach for the one thing God said no to...we couldn't handle it. We had to have it! Paradise wasn't enough. We thought we were missing out because human flesh always wants what is forbidden.
So, when mankind rebelled against God what happened? There was an automatic consequence that God had already communicated long before it happened. Genesis 2:17 says, "...you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." And because man had dominion over the earth, when he rebelled...all that was under him rebelled too (see 3:14-19).
The whole earth is in rebellion against God. When man rebelled, the whole earth rebelled (see Romans 8:19-23). That's why it's hard to raise a child; that's why it's hard to have a profitable business; that's why it's difficult to have a growing, fibrant ministry; that's why it's hard to even train a dog. The whole earth is messed up. Everything is in rebellion. So, in reality, we shouldn't be surprised when thing's go wrong. We should really prepare ourselves for trouble (John 16:33). It's the natural consequence of sin.
BUT...Jesus came to make all things new!!! And He calls us to partner with Him to restore what has been broken; to take back what was stolen; to bring hope to the hurting and light to the darkness. Paul said in Romans 5:20 that as people sin more and more, God's wonderful kindness (His g-r-a-c-e) becomes more abundant! Yes, it may be hard...but it is worth it! We can kneel before Him every day and find forgiveness and hope. His Spirit will fill us and empower us to do more than our eyes have seen and our ears have heard and our mind can conceive through Christ who strengthens us.
This messed up earth is not what God originally intended. Everything He made "God saw that it was good." So we have to share the goodness of God! He wants us back, but He wants us by choice. And when we say "Yes" to Him girlfriends and boyfriends - - it is a whole new life!!! A life with purpose. A life worth living! The best is yet to come...
Monday, June 1, 2009
Choose Not to be Offended
"Blessed is he who is not offended in Me." Matthew 11:6
John the Baptist while in prison (remember that) sent word to Jesus asking if He was really the Messiah or should he look for another.
Jesus doesn't rebuke him, intimidate him or return any hint of disgust. He simply sends his disciples back with confirmation that all he's been hearing and the miracles He's performed as evidence of His power are real and true. Then He speaks an interesting blessing over John, and all of us like John who are human flesh and find ourselves in a place of doubt about what's going on in our lives or where God has us at certain times. Jesus says, blessed are you if you are not offended in Me, or in My will for you or My plan as it's being fulfilled on this earth.
John, the very forerunner of Christ who had seen and heard SO much, whom God had called from birth to prepare the way for the Lord, who pointed Jesus out in the crowd and said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" and stood with Him in the baptismal river and watched the Holy Spirit like a dove fall on Him as the very voice of God spoke, "this is my Son in whom I am very pleased." Yes, this same John, now finds himself in a place of suffering, confusion and doubt.
Suffering will come. It's okay to be confused. It's okay to doubt. Just don't stay there. And don't ever let it keep you away from the Throne Room. Pour your heart out to God. He is close to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), He hears our cries (Psalm 34:15) and He sees each tear that falls (2 Kings 20:5). The answers will come. The doubt will vanish. And God will sing over you His song of deliverance (Psalm 32:7) if you open up your ears to hear and wait until He answers.
Then...look at what happens. If you read my last post, it was about being the light of the world and how God sets His candles on a stand not under a bowl so that their good deeds will be seen by men and they will glorify the Father (Matthew 5:14-16). In Matthew 11, verse 7 it says, "As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John...drop down to verse 11. "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist." WHAT??? This guy that just questioned if Jesus was even the Messiah??? Yep! There's Jesus...lifting up His brother; His candle. Speaking words of life that reach even to you and me...for He continues, "yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Now that's a whole nother lesson!
John the Baptist while in prison (remember that) sent word to Jesus asking if He was really the Messiah or should he look for another.
Jesus doesn't rebuke him, intimidate him or return any hint of disgust. He simply sends his disciples back with confirmation that all he's been hearing and the miracles He's performed as evidence of His power are real and true. Then He speaks an interesting blessing over John, and all of us like John who are human flesh and find ourselves in a place of doubt about what's going on in our lives or where God has us at certain times. Jesus says, blessed are you if you are not offended in Me, or in My will for you or My plan as it's being fulfilled on this earth.
John, the very forerunner of Christ who had seen and heard SO much, whom God had called from birth to prepare the way for the Lord, who pointed Jesus out in the crowd and said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" and stood with Him in the baptismal river and watched the Holy Spirit like a dove fall on Him as the very voice of God spoke, "this is my Son in whom I am very pleased." Yes, this same John, now finds himself in a place of suffering, confusion and doubt.
Suffering will come. It's okay to be confused. It's okay to doubt. Just don't stay there. And don't ever let it keep you away from the Throne Room. Pour your heart out to God. He is close to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), He hears our cries (Psalm 34:15) and He sees each tear that falls (2 Kings 20:5). The answers will come. The doubt will vanish. And God will sing over you His song of deliverance (Psalm 32:7) if you open up your ears to hear and wait until He answers.
Then...look at what happens. If you read my last post, it was about being the light of the world and how God sets His candles on a stand not under a bowl so that their good deeds will be seen by men and they will glorify the Father (Matthew 5:14-16). In Matthew 11, verse 7 it says, "As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John...drop down to verse 11. "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist." WHAT??? This guy that just questioned if Jesus was even the Messiah??? Yep! There's Jesus...lifting up His brother; His candle. Speaking words of life that reach even to you and me...for He continues, "yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Now that's a whole nother lesson!
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