Category Archives: Christianity

Exodus 21-23; Play Nice

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Wouldn’t life be amazing if everybody lived according to the principles God laid down for His children here in these chapters? Murder demands a death sentence, you pay your debts, you are honest, if you are guilty of careless behavior you fess up and pay up, and you don’t mistreat people. It’s the Golden Rule broken down into specific behaviors.

We live in a day where so many people trample over others in order to get ahead. One person’s rights trumps another’s rights, sometimes violently. We live in a society with a sue your neighbor mentality, and we are witnessing the consequences for such selfish and self-centered behavior.

But there are many who aren’t caught up in “self.” I see examples of that almost every day. And I hope you do, too.

I was talking to some friends of mine the other day, and they said they’d received a check from their granddaughter who was almost done paying for her car. They had loaned her the money and she’d been faithful to pay it back. Oh, that’s not unusual, they said. They’ve loaned money to most of their kids and many of their grandkids at one time or another. They never charge interest, and they’ve never been stuck.

In fact, the husband said they let the kids determine how much they can pay a month, AND he lets them keep track of the debt themselves. When the kids tell their parents they are paid in full, the parents trust them that they have indeed met their obligation. Debt paid.

Some of you might say that loaning money without charging interest is not good financially. That money would be gaining interest if it sat in the bank. So, while they are loaning money to their children, they are really losing money.

So?

These two are not in any way wealthy. She is a retired nurse, he a retired county worker. But when I read Exodus 22:25 I thought of them. They are living what God instructed the early Jews to do with their own families.

I know others who are financially generous. My sisters and their husbands are. I know many people who are generous with their time, their talents and abilities. I know honest and thoughtful people who live the Golden Rule every day. And life is better because they do.

Now let’s be clear. None of these good people are earning brownie points with God in order to earn heaven. We saw that in the chapters we read in my former post. But God would love for us to enjoy this life while we’re here. He’d like us to be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, generous, thoughtful. He’d like us to treat one another in a way that we’d like to be treated ourselves.

We’re stuck here on this planet until God takes us home. So while we’re here, let’s play nice.

 

Exodus 17-18; Tap The Rock

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Someone said there is no thirst quite as painful as thirst in a desert. The pounding heat from the sun, the hot sand on your feet, the dry air burning your lungs with every breath can drive a person mad if they have no water. And it doesn’t take long before a person feels the overwhelming thirst in that situation.

Water. Water. Water is the only focus at times like these. And that is what the Jews were experiencing in the desert, when God instructed Moses to take his staff, tap the rock, and watch the refreshing salvation pour out.

Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, says that rock we see in Exodus is a picture of Jesus. If you know Him as your Savior, you most likely have experienced the refreshing that comes when the Holy Spirit is poured out in you, your sins are washed away, and you stand before a Holy God, absolutely clean.

Have you tapped into the Rock? I pray that is so.

Exodus 16; Give Us This Day

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Manna intrigues me. It was something no one had ever seen before, or has seen since. It came straight from God in a very visible way. It was good, refreshing, and nourishing. The Israelites could bake it or boil it. And God gave exactly what everyone needed every day.

One commentator I read suggested I put myself in a Jewish sandal for a moment. Their food supply was spent. They went to bed hungry every night, and parents knew their children were starving. Is it any wonder they complained to their leader?

And is it any wonder that, when that first manna came down from heaven, some hoarded a bunch? They had learned to go to bed each night with no food in the fridge, and it was pretty understandable they wanted a backup plan in case the manna didn’t come again in the morning.

But the manna came. And their hoarded food spoiled. Lesson: Trust God even when things look  hopeless. The Israelites learned they could go to bed at night without any food in the house and no means of supplying food on their own, and trust that God would provide. Every. Day.

Sometimes I can lie awake in bed at night and worry over a situation, or plot a plan of action just in case. I need to learn from the Jews and trust God to supply exactly what I need. When will I learn to pray believing in every situation?

Scripture has been likened to manna. Jesus told us He is the Bread of Life. And Jesus taught us to pray “… give us this day our daily bread…”

Jill Briscoe, in her book “Here Am I… Send Aaron,” points out an important lesson from this account in Exodus 16. If God’s Word is manna, and Jesus is the Bread of Life, how’s my diet?

Most of us have probably been “hangry” a time or two in our lives. You know that irritable feeling that comes from being hungry. Isn’t it Snickers that has the commercial that tells us, “You’re not yourself when you’re hungry”? Been there. Done that.

But how many angry Christians do you know? Christians who complain about the pastor, who divide the fellowship with malicious gossip, who find fault in every decision, and who blame God when they don’t get their way. Jill suggests those kinds of Christians aren’t collecting manna.

We are all created with a hunger to know God. And God has supplied the manna in the pages of the Bible. But if we don’t read it, think on it, pray over it every day, we are starving ourselves. Too many people expect the pastor to feed them a week’s worth of manna on Sunday. They have reason to be “hangry” if that’s the case. They are starving!

Jesus prayed, “give us this day…”  God does. We just need to collect it this day, and every day. If we feed our souls, feast on God Word, ingest our Bread of Life daily, we will be healthy, productive children of God.

If we don’t, well… it’s not God’s fault.

Exodus 14&15; A Lesson From The Bottom

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We’ve all heard about the Israelites and the parting of the Red Sea. They escaped their enemy on dry ground when God parted the waters. They had but to step down, and walk through on the sea’s floor.

John Wesley said something in his Bible Commentary that has me thinking. He suggests it was no accident God provided salvation for His people in such a way. We don’t read that God fashioned a boardwalk so the people could walk over the water. We know Jesus walked on water, so He could have given the same ability to the Jews. And we don’t read that God picked up the whole gang and placed them on the other side, like Philip’s experience after meeting with the eunuch.

Salvation occurred when God’s people stepped down into the bottom of the sea. Wesley says it’s a picture of our own requirement for salvation. A stepping down from control, a humbling, a total submission to the will of God.

We might want to be elevated, or go to God on His level. In fact, there are some churches that preach that you can. But salvation comes when we humble ourselves and allow God to rescue us from the depths of our souls, from the bottom of the sea.

Exodus 13; No Short Cuts

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Another thing jumped out at me concerning God’s hand in the events of our lives. Verse 17 says God led the people by the desert toward the Red Sea, a longer route, because He knew if they took the short cut and had to go to war, they would want to give up and go back to Egypt.

It speaks to me of choice. God didn’t make them go into the desert. He led them, yes. But they chose to follow His lead. He led them that way for their own good, because He knew they could choose to go back to Egypt, and He gave them the chance to keep moving ahead toward the Promised Land.

It seems to me God directs our steps, but whether or not we follow His lead is up to us. Following where He leads helps us avoid hardships, even though the road might be longer. It might not be the road that makes sense to us, or looks to be the easier route.

God is directing our path. And if we follow Him, it’s always going to work out for our good, and His glory.

Exodus 7-12 Why Isn’t Anyone Mad At Pharaoh?

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One of my dad’s favorite movies was “The African Queen.” There is a scene in it where Charlie and Rose, heading down the river in his boat to get away from the Germans, drop anchor near the shore for the night. They aren’t there long when gnats start to swarm around them. Charlie immediately pulls up the anchor and heads toward mid-river to get away from the pesky insects. Rose bats her arms, then tries to cover her head, she pulls a tarp over her but the gnats are relentless. She shivers, and cries, and pleads for Charlie to do something. Eventually, they get far enough away from shore where there are no more gnats.

Rose is embarrassed. She apologizes for going “mad.” But Charlie assures her it’s a natural response to the swarming insects. He tells her whole herds of cattle have been known to drown in an attempt to escape the little buggers.

I can kind of relate. My nephews and their families are visiting me on the island this week. The sprawling live oak trees and hanging moss are charming, but they are also a haven for noseeums, tiny, biting gnats that can drive you mad. We’ve made a couple attempts at playing at the playground, but it doesn’t take long before the gnats drive us home.

So it’s no surprise I think about this as I read about the plagues in these chapters in Exodus. That plague alone would have been enough to get my attention, I think.

There are so many things God would have us know about Him in the account of the plagues that seem to culminate in the devasting deaths of thousands of men and boys. I’ve read these chapters several times over the past couple of days, I’ve pulled out my commentaries, and talked to some people whose insight I appreciate. I’ve prayed, and meditated. And I’d like to share my thoughts.

It’s hard to reconcile a loving God with the seeming murder of innocents. But we can’t look at the last plague without starting at the beginning. I’m going to address the first hard lesson, found in 7:3. God is going to harden Pharaoh’s heart. That just doesn’t seem fair, if it means Pharaoh is a puppet in God’s hand.

But God is not a puppeteer. What he said about Pharaoh is a warning to us. The truth of the matter is, God will harden your heart, too, if you reject Him. That’s how we are created. God woos, and draws, and loves us to Himself. In the account of the plagues we see a God who stops at nothing to get our attention. But He takes rejection very seriously. And with each rejection, He wants us to know we are in danger of becoming used to rejecting Him.

Did God harden Pharaoh’s heart? Yes. But He hardened Pharaoh’s heart because Pharaoh rejected Him. And He’d like us to learn from Pharaoh’s example.

Now let’s look at the attempts God made to get Pharaoh to listen to Him. First, He had Moses throw down the staff that turned into a snake. Harmless enough. But impressive. Pharaoh was not impressed. Rejection #1. A corner of a heart hardened.

Next, the Nile turned to a river of blood. Gross. Inconvenient. But again, Pharaoh didn’t budge. Rejection #2. A heart a bit more hardened.

A week goes by, then Moses tells Pharaoh if he doesn’t obey God, frogs will come out of the Nile and fill their houses. Yuck. Rejection #3. But there’s more. After Pharaoh pleaded with Moses to get rid of the frogs, Moses said “Ok, Pharaoh. You pick the time so that you know for certain this is from God.” Pharaoh picked the time. Moses prayed. The frogs left when Pharaoh said. This had to be from God. Rejection #4. It was getting easier to reject God. A harder heart still.

Then came the gnats. I’m sorry, but the story would have ended there if I’d been in Pharaoh’s shoes. I hate those gnats so much! But Pharaoh? Rejection #5, and a heart a bit more hard.

I hope you read these chapters. The plagues continue. Flies, then dead livestock, then boils, hail and fire, locusts. Each plague got a bit more difficult, a bit more severe. And with every plague, God is revealed as powerful, almighty, worthy of worship, and serious about obedience. Pharaoh’s response? Rejections # 6,7,8,9,10,11… And with each rejection a heart that is so hard, it has no trouble rejecting any attempt of God to bring Pharaoh to his knees.

But here is the other thing. It wasn’t just Pharaoh who was ignoring God’s attempts to get him to obey Him. The Egyptian citizens were experiencing the same plagues in their own homes. Why didn’t any of them step up and turn to God? They were not as innocent as some have painted them to be. They would have been saved, according to everything I know about the God of the Bible, had they acknowledged Him as the One True God to be worshiped, if they had obeyed Him instead of rejecting him.

The story of the plagues is actually a story about a patient and, yes, a loving God. God could have wiped out the Egyptians BEFORE Moses ever threw down that staff. He could have given them no warning at all. But God is not, and never has been, willing that anybody perish without Him. And this account tells me He is the God of second chances, and third, and fourth…

It’s easy to shake a fist at God if the only thing we consider is the death of those Egyptians. But why isn’t anyone mad at Pharaoh? Why don’t we shake a fist at him for his arrogance, his repeated denial of God’s supremacy, His rejection of God’s way?

Today, some will tell you a loving God wouldn’t send anyone to hell. But the same God who was that serious about obedience in the book of Exodus is still serious about obedience in 2017. Disobedience equals a death sentence. It’s been that way from the beginning. It’s that way today. And it will be that way tomorrow.

But just like God will provide a way of salvation for Moses and the Jewish believers, He provides a way of salvation for each of us. God HIMSELF, in human form paid the death sentence for each of us. He died so that any who accepts Him on His terms will be saved. Anyone.

Today, and every day, He will try to get your attention. He’ll give you repeated opportunities to accept Him. And He will be faithful to forgive when you ask Him to. If Pharaoh had accepted God, I believe we’d be reading a different account of how the Israelites gained the Promised Land.

Holy God, I pray that we will not allow Satan to stall us on that final plague. Help us to consider the whole picture and see You for Who You are, a patient and loving God who is not willing that any should perish. But also help us recognize that there will come a time when disobedience will be judged. You will be obeyed. Or else. Thank You for Jesus who took on Himself my death penalty for the sins I’ve committed. I pray that all who read this post will know the joy of sins forgiven through the blood of Your Precious Son. Thank you for working in our lives to bring us to the Savior. And thank you for second chances.

Exodus 4-6 Deal With It

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Even though Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s house, he knew he was a Jew. He’d heard that Jewish boys were commanded by God to be circumcised. But when he grew up and married a non-Jew, he didn’t circumcise his son.

So now God is calling Moses into service. In fact, God has conversations with Moses like two friends over coffee. So why, when Moses is heading to speak to Pharaoh like God told him to do, did God attack him on the road and would have killed him?

God demands obedience, and He blesses us so much when we obey. But obedience does not cancel out a sin. Being obedient doesn’t balance the scale. Yes, Moses was being obedient. But God wasn’t about to let that sin slide. And in order to be the leader God wanted Moses to be, it required dealing with the sin issue.

It’s no different with you and me. Yes, God wants us to do what He says, but first we need to deal with our own sin, confess, repent, accept Jesus’ righteousness through His precious blood. Never think that God overlooks your sin because you teach a Sunday School class. Every sin comes with a death sentence.

Deal with it.

Exodus 3 Heaven Came Down

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God spoke to Moses from a bush that looked like it was on fire. Amazingly, it didn’t burn up. But what I saw in my study of this passage today has my heart soaring. It wasn’t just God’s voice in that thorny burning bush. It was God Himself!

vs 8: So I have come down to rescue… (emphasis mine)

It was the same fire that led the Israelites out of Egypt. God’s Presence was right there in a visible way.

Like Jesus.

Jesus wasn’t just born. God came down! John 1 tells us the Creator God “came to His own…” And we have seen Him, “who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (vs 14 emphasis mine)

God Himself came down from heaven and called Moses by name. He was that personal. He called Samuel by name, Zaccheus, Mary, Saul (Paul) by name. He called me by name. And He’s calling you.

I have the wonderful hymn by John W. Peterson running through my head this morning. To think that God, Creator, Almighty, the Great I AM, left His throne above to live and die for love of me. I am overcome.

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul,
When at the cross my Savior made me whole;
My sins were washed away and my night was turned to day.
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul.

 

Genesis 46-47 There Is Work To Do

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Pharaoh asked Joseph’s brothers, “What is your occupation?” They weren’t coming to Egypt for vacation. They were expected to work. Yes, they were Joseph’s family. But that didn’t entitle them to a free ride.

When Joseph was responsible for feeding the Egyptians during the seven year famine, he never once gave away any grain. If the people wanted to eat, they had to buy it, until they ended up selling everything, including their freedom. But I don’t read where any of them felt entitled to the grain Joseph held. They paid the going rate, and seemed glad for the food they bought

Now I could get political here in light of our welfare system, or our dear millennials and socialism. But I’m thinking God would have us Christians take a closer look at our churches instead.

How many people attend church for a worship experience, then leave unchanged, unchallenged, and unproductive? Oh, they feel good about going to church, and enjoy the message and praise team. But the only contribution they make to the ministry is an occasional check in the plate, a hearty “Amen,” and applause after the worship leader tells them to “clap for Jesus.”

That’s not what being a child of God is about. And that’s not what God intends for His Church.

What is your occupation? What are your gifts? What is your role in your church fellowship? If you aren’t pulling your weight, you have no claim on the blessings. If you aren’t busy serving the Lord, you are a drain on the church, and your church can’t be healthy. And neither can The Church.

Just like the early Jews in Egypt, we are expected to contribute, to use our gifts, to make disciples of every nation. There is work to do. There is work for YOU to do.

Genesis 44-45 Let Me Pay For That

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Judah’s heartfelt plea for Benjamin’s life sealed the deal. Joseph could hide his identity no longer. Jacob’s family would be restored, and saved. Judah’s love for his father resulted in his voluntary sacrifice of himself to pay for the sins of his much-loved brother.

Sound like anyone you know?

There are so many parallels between Judah and Jesus. Although it’s not a perfect comparison, it reminds me that Jesus willingly gave His life to pay for my sins. His life revealed the Father, His death marks my debt paid. And it’s because of Jesus that my relationship with God, once separated by sin, is restored. I am saved.

Footnote: Jesus’ earthly lineage includes Judah. That’s why I love reading the Bible. It’s not just a series of nice stories. God’s Word is the complete picture. And it all points to Jesus!