Saturday, March 21, 2009

Today’s Passage: Exodus 12-13

The Old Testament is filled with many defining points in Israelite history. Today’s passage covers the happenings of the Lord’s provisioning of His people to escape the imprisonment of Pharaoh in Egypt. For those of us who grew up in Sunday school, you may recall this miraculous story. But, may I draw your attention to God’s imperative that the people REMEMBER their Lord’s “strong hand,” as He brought them out of Egypt. This phrase is repeated through the text.

Whenever I hear the word remember as a main point, I always think of the movie, “Remember the Titans.” Near the end of the movie, the coach emphatically tells the huddled team to make sure everyone REMEMBERS the Titans. That is what God is doing here in this major occurrence. A casual reading may have this story come off as a merely another “story of the Bible.” However, this was a defining point in Israelite history. They had been imprisoned for some 430 years. Then, after 9 previous plagues, God issues this final one. Today, Passover is still remembered by many people.

Since we are made in God’s image and have His Word, we can get to know and know God. In this historic event, God shows His sovereign hand and that He is not messing around (for lack of a better phrase). Chapter 12, verse 12 just got to me when reading this: “I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.” The next chapter (13) is commanding Moses and the people to institute a time for remembering what the LORD has done for them. They are to never forget the STRONG HAND of their LORD.

I am humbled and convicted when reading this today. The many times I struggle with remembering the Lord’s strong hand. Chapter 13, verse 21, says the LORD went before them. God does not come behind us or alongside us; He goes before us leading us along the way. Are you remembering the LORD’s strong hand?

Friday, March 20, 2009

Today's Passage: Exodus 11

This is a far different Moses than the one in my blog last Friday. That Moses was fearful and defiant, arguing with God over the task ahead. This Moses now speaks with confidence to the people and does not hesitate when God tells him what to do next.

What's the difference? Experience. Moses has been used by God, and every time, God has done exactly what He said He would do. Nine times God said He would send a plague, and nine times a plague came from heaven. Surely Moses grew stronger and more confident each time God fulfilled a promise, to the point that he was certain this last plague would happen as well.

Take the time today to stop and remember all the times God has been faithful to you. How many times has God done something amazing...something only He can do? How many times has the hand of God been present in your life? Shouldn't that inspire the confidence to trust Him no matter what He asks or where He leads?

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Today's Passage: Exodus 9-10

One of my favorite things to do is play poker. Texas Hold'em is my favorite game. In the game there is a term, “pot committed.” When someone is “pot committed” they have put in enough chips throughout the hand that they really should just stay in and continue the hand. The problem with deciding whether you are pot committed or not is that there is no exact science. It is all based on your decision making skills. So more often than not someone will either fold when they were actually pot committed and should have just taken their chances to see if they could win, or they will stay in and end up putting way too many chips into a losing hand. In Hold'em you have several chances to fold and still save your chips. A great player knows when they are committed and when they need to get out.

Pharaoh seems like he is trying to figure out if he is pot committed or if he thinks he can beat God in heads up poker. The livestock would have been enough for me I think. God sends a plague on the cattle so that all of the Egyptian cattle die, but the cattle belonging to the Israelites are fine. At that point I cut my losses and say ok God you win. Pharaoh does not quite think the same way I do. He keeps on being stubborn and will not let the people go. As you read today, Pharaoh had five chances to decide that he could not win, but every time he was faced with the decision he thought that he still had a chance to beat the God of the Israelites. I am not sure if it was that he actually thought he could beat God or that he thought that the worst had passed and he could just endure the hardships. Either way, Pharaoh needs a lesson on when to fold his hand.

There is a great country song by Kenny Rogers called The Gambler, and my favorite line in it is, “You got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away and know when to run.” I am not sure that Kenny thought about the Biblical implications of his song when he wrote it, but I think it is a great motto for us. I think we put ourselves in Pharaoh’s position more than we think. However, I do not think we are playing against God, but against temptation. If Pharaoh would have just folded against God in the first place maybe all that trouble would not have come to him and the Egyptians. For us, if we fold against temptation and say, “I cannot win this game on my own”, then maybe we will not have as much trouble either. We get on a streak of avoiding temptation and think we can keep on winning on our own, but unfortunately the house always wins. So in the words of Kenny Rogers, “Know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, but especially know when to run.”

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Today's Passage: Matthew 15

We begin with the Pharisees once again taking issue with Jesus and his reckless regard to the law. They have a fit over the fact that the disciples did not wash their hands before eating, which, hygiene aside, broke Jewish custom. Jesus' response to them not only quiets the Pharisees, but also captures the essence of our relationship with God: He knows our hearts.

Jesus teaches that what goes into a man's mouth is not what makes him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth because it's from the heart. Various places in Scripture challenge us to consider what comes out of our mouths. These passages always strike a nerve because of how careless we can be with our words. Growing up, I never really thought I had a problem with this...compared to other people anyway. I mean, I didn't cuss so I'm good, right? I came to learn, however, that Jesus meant everything that comes out of my mouth. Am I too sarcastic? Do I always have something to complain about? Do I treat everyone I come in contact with respectfully? Do I have a tendency to gossip (and disguise it as something else)? Do I take every opportunity to be encouraging or helpful? Once I realized what Jesus was talking about, I realized that He would probably have some things to say about what comes from my mouth and ultimately what is inside my heart. Join me in considering the things that we say, how what we say reflects the contents of our hearts, and what Jesus might say to us if he heard everything we say in a given day (because he does).

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Today's Passage: Exodus 7-8

I walk away from these passages usually with the same feeling every time: God is in control. Not only is God in control, but he also has a plan. In Exodus 7, God shows Moses how he will use Aaron, Pharaoh, and miracles. Then God begins the plagues to fulfill his plan. Every step of the way, God would guide Moses and often explain to Moses what to do in detail. Moses was not a particularly good speaker, so God gave him Aaron to be his mouthpiece. I'm just always amazed at the God we serve.

This passage reminds me of the discussion we had in Bible study on Sunday from Romans 12. We discussed how the Body of Christ works and how each one of us is gifted to serve God. This is seen here with Aaron and Moses, and how God gifted each one for a specific task. While there is much uncertainty in today's society due to economic problems, we can sit back and not worry because we serve the One who is in control. Our God who is in control has gifted each one of us to serve him. Each one of our gifts will build up the Body of Christ, and will be a witness to the world of how God designed the church. It is clear from the passage that God can use anything and anyone. If God can use plagues to fulfill his plan, then he can use anything!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Today's Passage: Exodus 6

Have you ever tried to help someone that had lost all hope? We are in a time right now where we are going to be reaching out to people who have sadly, just accepted the situation that they are in. Those people will be some of the most challenging people God has ever asked you and I to speak with, but they will also be the people who are most in need of God's hope.

We know that Moses saw the task that God had given him as a tall order. He had lots of excuses why God shouldn't use him. But the bottom line was God did choose Moses and He has also chosen us as believers to stand up for and spread the hope of Jesus Christ. Many of us are just like Moses, we don't feel comfortable "sharing our faith". We tell God that we don't know the right words or that we see no reason for anyone to listen to us.

I find it interesting that we often fail to compare our own weaknesses to those of the people in the Bible. Moses faced a harder challenge than any of us have ever faced, yet God promises all of us that He has prepared the way for everything He asks us to do. We must never forget that even though our physical action of sharing what God is doing in our lives is one of the parts needed to lead someone to Christ. The most important part is God's power and spirit. God's power and spirit can overcome any barrier there might be in both the way that we communicate and in the way that someone hears the message.

God challenged Moses to communicate a message of hope to a group of people who thought there was no other way to live. He faced a communication barrier on his own behalf as well as closed hearts and broken spirits in the Israelites. God has given this story to us so that we can learn from Moses' situation and be encouraged. If Moses can communicate God's story of freedom and hope to all of Egypt, then we can definitely have a couple tough conversations with those around us.

People need hope especially in these times, and we as the church should be sharing the unmatched hope that is in Jesus Christ.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Today's Passage: Exodus 4-5

So I'm reading along in chapter 4, then BAM!...there is verse 24. God was about to kill Moses now??? To say that I wasn't prepared for that would be a complete understatement. I needed to dig into this, there must be something I was missing...and there was! Here is an exert of a sermon that I recently read...'Before he could lead God's people, Moses needed to leave Midian behind him. He had left Midian physically and geographically, but his uncircumcised son bore witness to the fact that until verses 24-26, he and Zipporah had not yet left Midian behind spiritually. So for us: we need to leave our Midians behind us if we are to be a people wholly dedicated to the God who gave up his only begotten Son for us. We cannot be Christians . . . kind of, sort of, most of the time.'

Incredible! I must say it again...Incredible! This was a big 2x4 that just smacked me across the forehead. Most christians desire to do significant things for the kingdom, but get trapped by things that we don't want to let God control because it's not natural or easy. We give ourselves the easy way out by saying, 'well that's just the way I am.'

So here's the challenge, we must all leave our 'Midians' behind. Take time today and reflect on your relationship with God. Ask Him to open your eyes and your heart to see those 'Midians' that are in your life. Maybe it's a portion of scripture that you are struggling with, or it's a part of your past that keeps a grip on your heart. It could be a part of your job where it's easy to not have integrity or a part of your personality that won't be easy to change because it's been that way for your entire life. Whatever it may be, it has to go. Let us all keep pressing on for the goal of knowing God more intimately every single day of our lives.