Tag: Lord

When prayer is the wrong thing

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 14:1-4, 10-31; 15:1-2, 20-21 (day one)

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward!”—14:15.

I sympathize with Moses.  He leads and before things get better they almost always get worse.  Three days into the “great escape”, the Egyptian army catches up with them. The people panic and blame Moses.  Even Moses seems off-balanced.  But, as he cries out to God (usually a good thing) He hears an unexpected answer and learns an important lesson.  When the way is clear, when the will of God is known, further prayer is just delay.  When we know what we should do, doing it is the only godly thing.  And calling others to do God’s will is the leader’s job.  “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.”—James 4:17.  Hmmm. . .should I pray about this, or do what I know He wants?

The “What” and the “Why”

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 12:1-14, 24-27, 13:8-9 (day five)

Exodus 12:26   “And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’”

Exodus 13:8  “You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’”

It is a great privilege for parents and grandparents to shape the faith of the next generation. Current research continues to affirm what the Lord knew thousands of years ago- that spiritual practices and patterns by parents and grandparents would indeed lead to questions and conversations with kids and teens.  Through these relationships, children will see and sense the urgency and priority of a vibrant and dynamic relationship with God.  So, what do our kids sense and see about our faith?  Does it cause them to ask “What” and “Why”?  Do we have meaningful answers from our own experiences and understanding?  Maybe an honest look at our practices and patterns as they relate to spiritual growth and strength would be helpful today.

A Jealous God

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 12:1-14, 24-27, 13:8-9 (day four)  Verse 12 says, “…and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord.”  Egypt had many false gods.  In the midst of delivering His own people from bondage, God was delivering a message to Egypt as well.  Each of the plagues they faced dealt with one of their false gods.  For Israel, they were being introduced to God and learning who He was.  Through the plagues, they learned that God was a jealous God.  Later, in Exodus and Deuteronomy, the Israelites will know God even better.  Exodus 20:5 – “for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,”  Deuteronomy 4:24 – “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”  Deuteronomy 5:9 – “for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,”  Deuteronomy 6:15 – “for the Lord your God in the midst of you is a jealous God,”  It is a characteristic of our holy God…He will not share His glory with a false god.  Guard against the false gods in our culture…Our God is a jealous God!

Pillar

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 12:1-14, 24-27, 13:8-9 (day three)

“This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead…”  You can lead a people out of 430 years of forced servitude, but they forget in the morning.  You can stumble through words of wisdom you didn’t know you had in you to guide a foolish child, but you won’t remember that saving grace next week.  God knows that we’re prone to such lapses in our thinking and in our living.  “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,” says one of the most honest hymns ever written.  When we forget God’s provision, we get in trouble.  God says to remind one another: Set up a pillar, make a feast, commemorate a day so you will not forget.  How are you marking God’s saving activity in your life?

This is Something Special

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 12:1-14, 24-27, 13:8-9 (day two)
“Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.” vs. 14

The details are incredible. What to sacrifice, and how to account for everyone even if they didn’t have a lamb. How to prepare the meat, what to wear, and how to eat (in haste). Have you ever been in a moment or at an event when you turn to someone and say “This is really special, people are going to talk about this for a long time.”? You know what I mean, we all have those special moments in our own lives like weddings, births, deaths, but what about those moments that shape history? God had told Moses that this event (Passover) would be remembered for generations. It was the time of Passover when Jesus was crucified and the true atonement for all. Jesus has now paid the price for all, but the work is not done. Can we pray that our kingdom work will be the foundation that will change this city? Can we act in a way that we can tell our children that we were a part of something special? God still moves among us, and is still leading us home.

Promises

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 5:1-2; 6:1-8; 7:1-5, 14-18; 8:1-3, 16, 20-21; 9:1-4, 8-9, 13-18, 25-26; 10:3-11, 21-22, 28-29; 11:1-5 (day five)

In the selected verses of Exodus 6, God makes several promises to His people through Moses.  (Hint:  look for “I Will” statements)  I will:  bring you out, deliver you, redeem you, take you for My people, be your God, bring you to the land, give it to you for a possession.

These promises indicate the great care, concern, strength, and power of the Lord.  Can you imagine someone in whom you completely trust and depend making those kinds of promises to you?  Maybe as a child or parent we have experienced or made promises that were not kept.  Sometimes we can become “promise calloused”.  Can you name any promises God has broken?  Will you praise God today for specific promises He has kept?

What are promises God has made that shape courage and hope in your heart?  (Look for “I Will” statements whenever you read the Scripture)

“True faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God’s fidelity to His Promises.”   – Francis Chan

Identity

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 5:1-2; 6:1-8; 7:1-5, 14-18; 8:1-3, 16, 20-21; 9:1-4, 8-9, 13-18, 25-26; 10:3-11, 21-22, 28-29; 11:1-5 (day three)

“I am the LORD.”  This little phrase of self-identification frames much of what God says to Moses at the outset of the confrontation with Pharaoh.  The question of identity was an important one to Pharaoh.  When Moses demanded freedom, Pharaoh wanted to know the identity of the one behind the demand.  Pharaoh placed no credence in the name of the LORD, but God’s repetition of his identity to Moses was more about shaping a people called by his name than introducing himself to Pharaoh.  Israel’s Egyptian masters resisted the LORD’s identity, and they would die by that name.  The LORD made short work of that.  The longer question was this: Would the children of Israel live by that name?  And so the question comes to us.

Stubbornness

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 5:1-2; 6:1-8; 7:1-5, 14-18; 8:1-3, 16, 20-21; 9:1-4, 8-9, 13-18, 25-26; 10:3-11, 21-22, 28-29; 11:1-5 (day two) 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go.” 7:14

Several weeks ago I came across an internet meme which pictured a billboard which stated  “This year thousands of men will die of stubbornness.” Then, spray-painted just below this was a defiant response…“No we won’t.” The Pharaoh of the Exodus story could certainly relate to the graffiti on that billboard. Defiant and unyielding, he was willing to watch his people, the land, and the livestock suffer greatly rather than relent and show compassion, humility, or even a trace of humanity towards the Israelites. We can be instruments of God’s glory of objects of his wrath. What is he sending your way to get your attention? Do not let your own pride and stubbornness put you in the same category as the Pharaoh. Take off your sandals, find Holy Ground and yield to God’s great plan.

Small/huge step

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 5:1-2; 6:1-8; 7:1-5, 14-18; 8:1-3, 16, 20-21; 9:1-4, 8-9, 13-18, 25-26; 10:3-11, 21-22, 28-29; 11:1-5 (day one) 

“Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, . . . ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.’ “–5:1.

It was a HUGE mistake that surely seemed small to Pharaoh.  Just a SMALL matter compared to his normal pressures. But, it had a huge impact.  At first, Moses asked only permission for the Jews to go out in the desert to hold a religious festival.  Just a beginning. No great loss for Egypt.  Had Pharaoh, at this point, recognized their right to religious freedom, had he bent just slightly the Jews would still have left eventually, but without such cost to himself and his people.  Still true.  No step of obedience is small.  It will lead to more.  More obedience, more blessing.  No resistance to God’s will is small, either.  It hardens the heart and leads to judgment. Obedience may seem small, but it never is.

 

Still looking

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 3:1-14; 4:1-15 (day one)
“When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from the [burning] bush.”–v 4.

It is a common and crushing condition of the human heart.  We get so defeated, we stop looking for God, for answers.  We grow cynical, negative.  Past disappointments seem larger than future hope.  We aren’t even curious anymore.  In Exodus 3, Moses is man who has experienced significant disappointment.  Some of it self-inflicted.  Even so, he retains a hope that God is alive and active in the world.  When he sees a burning-but-not-consumed bush, he goes to investigate.  God honors this resilient hope, this curiosity and speaks to him.  What about you, friend?  Are you still looking for answers for yourself and your family and your nation?  Or, has your heart grown calloused and unbelieving?  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for”—Hebrews 11:1.  Did you wake today with hope?  Are you still looking for God?