Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – as Perfect Passover Lamb (4/11/24)

John 19:30    When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

What stood out to me this year as we studied Jesus’s death was that He chose exactly when to die when He “gave up his spirit.” He didn’t succumb to death and His life wasn’t taken from him. He died at the exact moment and time He and the Father planned. In fact, even the timing of what happened after His death continued to fulfill God’s plan.

John 19:31-37         ³¹ Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. ³² The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. ³⁵ The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. ³⁶ These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” ³⁷ and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

The Jewish leaders were so concerned about being outwardly clean in order to celebrate the Passover. Crucified before them, though, was the only truly clean and perfect Righteous One. All their previous Passover celebrations pointed to this final Passover sacrifice.

As God had commanded Moses and the Israelites not to break the bones of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:46), so God made sure His ultimate Passover Lamb’s bones weren’t broken.

As God had commanded Moses and the Israelites to spill the Passover lamb’s blood and take shelter under it (Exodus 12:6-7, & 13), so God made sure His ultimate Passover Lamb’s blood was spilt so you and I could take shelter under it.

Jesus was the perfect and final Passover Lamb. Have you accepted Him as your Passover Lamb who died in your place, taking the judgment you deserve? If so, you and I have shelter under His blood for forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and His robe of righteousness!  

Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – The Bread of Life (11/16/23)

The day after Jesus fed the 5000 and walked on water, the crowd came looking for Him and asked him for more signs!

John 6:30-35  ³⁰ So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? ³¹ Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

³² Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

The crowd seemed to selfishly want more free food! It’s like they were asking “How about something daily like manna in the wilderness, but better?”! The signs Jesus had given them weren’t enough.

Jesus, full of truth, appropriately declared He is the Bread of Life from God! He gives life eternal and complete satisfaction. He far exceeds daily manna provisions! He provides daily wisdom, comfort, peace, and security!

 

I was convicted this week as I studied this that I don’t always let Jesus, the Bread of Life, fully satisfy my hunger. Sometimes I look elsewhere for satisfaction (like kids being obedient or doing well in school). Also, sometimes I ask for more, instead of claiming and using the truths He’s already given me.

 

How about you? What area of your life do you need to give to Jesus? Where are you looking to another person, possession or position for satisfaction instead of to Jesus? Those people or things may bring temporary satisfaction, but they will regularly disappoint. Jesus, the Bread of Life, gives enduring satisfaction for daily contentment and eternal glory!   

Turn On The Switch

“And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’  For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’”  And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.  And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?”  Luke 18:3-7 

There was a book that I often refer to called Switch.  It focuses on how to create change when change is hard.  It speaks of the dynamic of three key elements.  There is the rider, the elephant, and the path.  The rider represents our rational side of things.  The elephant represents the emotional side, and the path speaks about the environmental factors.  The goal is to ‘instruct’ the rider, ‘motivate’ the elephant, and ‘shape’ the path.  I will put it into current relevant context.  When we look at what has been happening over the George Floyd incident, all three dynamics are in play.  First, there is the rider.  The rider sees the video, and thinks, “Who in their right mind lays on someone for over 8 minutes to arrest a person?  That is ridiculously wrong!”  Now, there is the elephant, who reacts, “They are killing him!  We have to do something!!!”  Notice the difference between the two?  The path becomes movement toward change.  As we have seen, there were many pathways chosen.  Some were lawless and destructive such as rioting and looting.  Others chose the lengthy processes of pushing for legislation and ideas such as police reform.  Then there were the marches and peaceful protests.  These have proven to be the most impactful because it not only caused less damage but placed great pressure on others to act because of the sheer momentum of people that joined the cause.  That has become the chosen ‘path.’  Having said all this, I began to wonder.  Why is all of this happening now, and where is God in all of this? 

God is a lever for change when the time suits His will.  Police brutality has been happening for decades, but no one acted on it.  Why?  It reminds me of the story of Moses in his talk with God, and God saying, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.” (Exodus 3:7)  Getting back to the ‘Switch’ model, there was no motivation to change policing in most people’s eyes (an elephant problem), and others had no vision for what changes were needed (a rider problem).  The sadness of this all is that it took something so heinous and obvious that people could neither ignore the vision (all are created equal – a rider solution) nor sit idle and accept it (need to right the wrong – an elephant solution).  This bring us to where God’s plan comes in.  What does God’s path look like?  To be able to understand it, we must first trust in God to guide us for as Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  Next, we are to pray continually for our journey and path to be taken. 1 Thessalonians 5:16:18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Finally, we must act with the love of God.  Today’s verses are about action.  Whether it be through marches, financial support, volunteering, or other way of supporting the cause, we are to be as persistent as the widow.  No man can withstand the will of God if He is with us.  This is how God’s will is done. 

God’s work requires many elements to make change for His Kingdom and our lives.  It requires wisdom to see His vision, the strength to love to move mountains, and submitting to guide us toward His will being done.  Many will disagree that God does not need us to make societal change.  However, if that were true why did He use Moses?  Wouldn’t Goliath have been slain without David?  Would we need Jesus to act on our behalf to free us from the bondage of sin?  Jesus understood the power of action stating: 

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?  Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” Matthew 25:37-40 

Let us move boldly and relentlessly to achieve that which God would want for all of us.  Where is your vision to change lacking?  What is your heart prompting you to change?  My prayer is we lean on God as listed earlier in Proverbs, and simply turn on the ‘Switch.’  Amen. 

Have A Heart

And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.  Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’”  Exodus 32:9-13

Loretta, my wife, is wonderful in so many ways.  She loves me despite my flaws, and is a great mother and grandmother.  One of those things that has driven me crazy all these years is how she advocates for our children when they have done something wrong.  She knows that I come from a family of disciplinarians (my Dad was in the military, and my mom should have been 😊), and as such, they had very little tolerance when I did anything wrong.  So, as my children failed to meet an expectation or did something clearly out of the guidelines of what they were supposed to do, I was ready to come down with an iron hand.  Then, here comes that artist known as my wife.  “Kent, you can’t be so hard on him all the time,” or, “You have to see things from her perspective,” she would say.  “Seriously?!?!?” I responded.  After a lengthy back and forth, I often relented to her sound advice.  It’s not that I did not have strong conviction.  Trust me.  She will tell you that.  Nonetheless, it is her heart for our children that has always won me over.  In fact, it is how she won me over for when people tell me how big of a heart I have, I humbly deflect their kind words saying, “If you think I have a heart, you should get to know my wife.”

God has a heart for us.  My focus today is on the relationship between Moses and God.  The Israelites had grown restless from Moses being in the mountains talking with God and assumed that he must be gone.  Thus, they needed a new god to worship.  Aaron built a Golden Calf from gold jewelry they had given him, and the people worshipped it as if it were God.  If you question how bad a sin this was, remember I wrote about how God set the stage telling Moses, “Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me.” (Exodus 20:23) (see https://trdailydevotional.blogspot.com/2020/03/you-dont-want-none-of-this.html).  It is a bit funny because one can see God having this ‘I told you so’ moment with Moses.  Now, God is ready to dare I say ‘go nuclear’ on the Israelites ((T)hat my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them).  But like Loretta strolling up to me when our son got suspended for fighting, Moses pleaded his case to spare the Israelites.  It is pretty amazing to hear as we have watched Moses grow from this soft spoken man who claimed to be a poor speaker and asking God, “Who am I,” to a man who actively petitioned God to spare the Israelites from His rightful wrath.  Moses knew God was right to be angry and righteous to punish His people with death.  But Moses’s heart for them and the journey they had gone pushed him to advocate for them and remind God of His promises to them.  There are a couple of things we can take from this.  First, remember the promises the Lord has made to us.  The appeal Moses made had a logic through the prior promises He made.  And second, love onto others.  We can’t go to God on behalf of others without loving them.  Many Christians will say the heart is bad noting Jeremiah 17:9 (The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?).  However, David was a man after God’s own heart (see 1 Samuel 13:14), and Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” This implies that if your heart seeks God, all good will flow from it.

God wants not only our minds but also our hearts.  Paul summarized this so well saying, “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3).  When James said, “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works,” (James 2:26) the ‘good works’ is defined as action through love for Christ.  This is what it means to have a heart for God, and Moses had a huge heart for God and His people.  Therefore, let us be inspired to have a heart for God to serve Him and others.  How can you keep your heart focused on Him?  What practice will you keep ensuring your heart is for God?  My prayer is when we look at others and their struggles, we put on a Godly lens and have a heart.  Amen.

The New Normal

As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt?  Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’”

But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again.  Exodus 13:10-13

I was listening to a sermon the other day, and the pastor said something that was so spot on.  He spoke of dealing with the seismic events that change things from what they have been to a new way of life.  We all have a clear understanding of what that looks like today, and no matter our belief system, we realize that what we viewed as normal a month or two ago will never be the same again.  He pointed out some of us will have this level of nostalgia longing for not only the good things of yesterday but also many of the things we used to complain about.

As I pondered those words he spoke, I asked myself about those things that I used to complain about that I somewhat miss now.  I miss seeing my team at work and how they interrupted me in the middle of a task that had a 5:00pm deadline.  But you see, the only difference is that my wife will do it now (giggles).  But I miss them.  All of them!  They matter to me.  We all remember things from our childhood that made us feel good like having the first Atari game system on the block (dating myself).  But we forget our parents had rules, and we could not always go to Kenny’s house because we did not finish our homework.  When we think of spiritual growth, we realize that we must look forward as Paul said, “When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child.  But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11) What I am getting at is that seismic change is another way of God saying you need to do something different.  But all because we need to do something different does not mean He has changed.  In fact, the thing that may need to change is our dependency on Him.

God driven change requires forward thinking.  Not backward.  Let’s circle back (with a forward lens 😊) to the Israelites crossing the Red Sea.  For those keeping score, I wrote about this back in February (see https://trdailydevotional.blogspot.com/2020/02/taking-care-of-itself.html).  As I was driven back to these verses, the thought was not on how we should trust God as I wrote back then.  That is a given.  Instead today’s focus is on why the Israelites did not trust God.  Here is where context is critical, and therefore the pastor’s message was outstanding to point this out.  The Israelites had been in bondage for over four centuries.  That means five generations of knowing nothing but building pyramids, being whipped, and having a little something to eat.  That is the only life they had known.  So now having the experience of freedom for the very first time, they are being chased down by Pharaoh’s army.  The God that led them out was their ‘new normal.’  It was unknown.  Of course, what they knew for generations was going to look better!  They did not yet understand God’s protection.  That’s why they said, “It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness.”  When threatened, don’t we run to what we know, too?  Might we too fail to recognize what God is doing?  I am not saying to not long for some of the things that are good in our lives.  A sibling’s hug.  Girls night out.  Men’s Bible Study just before Monday Night Football.  What I am saying is there is probably a lot God wants us to change, and now is that time.  More time with family and spouse.  Healing old wounds.  Getting rid of a bad habit or toxic relationship.  Finding new ways to connect with Him.

God has gifted you with an opportunity today!  In the prophecy of Isaiah speaking of the coming of Jesus, He said, “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)  We have a choice.  We can clamor for the way things used to be.  Or, we can take inventory in our lives, and look to God to break chains of bondage and make passage through our Red Sea of impossibility.  Let us move forward in this time of drastic change.  What can you do differently today to connect and reconnect with God?  With others?  What actions will you take going forward in your own spiritual growth?  My prayer is we take a moment and look enthusiastically forward to ‘The New Normal.’  Amen.

Setting the Stage

Then the Lord told Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. When he feels the force of my strong hand, he will let the people go. In fact, he will force them to leave his land!”

And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the Lord.’  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’—but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them.  And I reaffirmed my covenant with them. Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners.  You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant with them.  Exodus 7:1-5


When Grey’s Anatomy first came on, I was always fascinated by how each show would seemingly end flawlessly.  It did not always end with people being happy or everyone being safe.  The beauty was never in the ending.  It was always in how the stage was set for it.  The storyline would be told well, and you had a level of certainty where it would build to this final crescendo.  Then far too often, you found yourself saying, “Wow!  I did not see that coming!”  However, it wasn’t the kind of ‘that’s impossible’ type incredulity.  It was the ‘what an amazing finish’ type feel you had.  Sometimes you laughed, and other times you cried.  But you bought in every single week because the story was built up so well, it became entirely credible.


This brings me to the storyline God builds in our lives.  We often feel like we are fighting to just stay afloat.  We know God has a reason for us doing something, but we do not see the fruits of our labor right away.  If you are like me in my younger days, you might have given up saying, “God?  I’m just tired.  I can’t do it your way anymore.  I will do it my way now.”  Then, something changes.  God reveals Himself when you almost can’t bear to do what He asks of you anymore.  Or perhaps, you make that one final time saying to God, “Ok.  I will try one more time,” and then that makes the difference from a setback to a comeback.


When you are going through hardship, remember these are the moments God is setting you up for your greatest triumphs.  We have moved forward in the story of Moses where he and Joshua have given to Pharaoh the message to either free the Israelites or suffer from the wrath of God.  Pharaoh, with his heart hardened, chose to instead make the Israelites suffer more by making their building of bricks exponentially more difficult while expecting the same amount of work.  The beatings and agony were such that now the Israelites and even Moses were beginning to wonder if God would stay true to His word.  In the prior verses, Moses said, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me?  Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!” (Exodus 5:22b-23)  As we read further, we realize God had not forgotten His people at all.  Of course, He would never do that.  However, how often are we the Israelites getting beaten down mentally and physically and we speak with the frustration of Moses?  Don’t we sound a bit like he did?  But I digress.  God had set the stage for His greatest glory to be revealed to all so that not only His people would know who He is but also the Egyptians who had no reason to believe in Him.  This is who God has always been.  He will put us through hardship only to reveal Himself to us as the great and everlasting God.  King of kings, and Lord of lords.



There is no burden too great that our God cannot handle.  Peter once was fishing after Jesus’ resurrection.  Jesus simply told him to cast his net on a certain side, and he went from a no—luck fisherman to one who couldn’t even bring in the net (see John 21:4-6)  Just as Peter once couldn’t catch a fish, Moses couldn’t catch a break!  But God was setting the stage for Moses’ greatest triumphs to come, and perhaps, now is the time in your life where you need to keep believing in that which God placed on your heart, mind, and soul.  Let us continue to move forward trusting God is making the pathway to victory for us.  What doubts are on your mind today?  How can you fight a little more trusting God is still with you?  My prayer is that we look beyond our circumstance and realize that God is ‘setting the stage’ for us.  Amen.

Just Do It

But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”

Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord?  Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”  Exodus 4:10-12

When I was growing up, gym shoes were not the fashion statement they are today.  Back then, the most popular shoes were ‘Converse All-Stars.’  All the basketball players had them, and when the man they called ‘Dr J.’ Julius Erving was caught wearing them on the court, they were the craze of the neighborhood.  Then as I got into high school, some little off brand caught my eye.  They were called, Nike, and they had this swoosh emblem.  It looked kinda cool, but nothing really took off.  Then, they became the ‘in’ thing when Michael Jordan became their spokesman.  However, that only got the company part way. Then the thing that tipped the scales to make Nike a universal brand was neither an athlete nor a sport.  It was a saying.  It’s something anyone who ever questioned themselves or worried about failure could relate to.  It’s the thing that they tried to teach us in the story of ‘The Little Train That Could.’  It is the thing people heard when they faced undaunting odds and the voice I heard as a freshman in high school waking up to go to school while my mom was in the hospital. Three simple words; just do it.  They have them on many shirts they sell, and you can almost hear it being said every time you see the emblem.  It is also at times the words God whispers to us when an idea comes to mind or we are too cautious to move or act on His word.  Just Do It.

God wants you to walk with the firm belief that you can indeed achieve what you may perceive is impossible.  How often has God both looked at and given us what seemed to be an impossible task?  And then as we walked, how often did we look to God, and asked how can this happen?  This is where we find Moses today.  At this point in the story, God had now appeared to Moses, and confirmed that He is the God of Abraham.  God had also reaffirmed that He will be with Moses every step of the way.  With all this being said, Moses was still not convinced he can lead the Israelites from Egypt, and now he was trying to convince himself he was not the perfect messenger for God.  “I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled,” he said (Exodus 4:10b).  I really enjoyed reading this discussion between Moses and God because it shows how God can build anyone up to lead His people.  It also shows how we often want to shy away from the light of God and will use any possible reason to do so (I’m not a good speaker?  Really?).  God shushes (yes, I used that word) Moses once again, saying “Now go!  I will be with you as you speak, and instruct you in what to say.”  This was that Nike moment.  Just Do It, Moses!  Quit telling me who you are not because ‘I Am.’

God can make a way at times when we cannot see it.  This is not either to say that God will do everything you want to do because He will not or to start a surety test to confirm God is with you.  But if you want the one true living God to be with you, maybe now is the time to stop making the excuses on the things you know He asks of you.  Maybe God is tired of our excuses for not being able to do something.  If God is asking something of you today, yesterday, or maybe even months ago, don’t say, “I don’t know what to say.”  Instead, say, “Father, I trust you will give me the right guidance.”  What barriers are you putting up for yourself to stop you from achieving God’s glory?  Where has doubt stolen what God wants from you?  My prayer is that we acknowledge those things God wants from us, and simply, ‘Just Do It.’  Amen.

The Great I Am

But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

God replied to Moses, “I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.”  God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.

This is my eternal name,
    my name to remember for all generations.  Exodus 3:13-15

Many of you have probably heard of the poem called ‘Footprints in The Sand.’  To sum it up, a person has a dream where he was walking with God on a beach, and the beach represents that person’s life.  There are two sets of footprints as they look at his/her life, and as they look back, there were times where there is only one set of footprints.  Those times were the person’s lowest and saddest times.  They questioned God why He left them during those times.  God answered, “When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.” In my life, I looked at the times where I was successful amidst some daunting challenges, and I asked myself how exactly I made it through it.  The truth is I should know by now it was not by my own will.  It was by God’s.  He is indeed the all-powerful who can move mountains and carry us even when we ourselves have nothing left to give.

We must always remember that when we can’t do something, God always can.  As I continue my focus on the story of Moses, we left off talking about him asking the question we all ask God when facing insurmountable odds.  “Who am I?”  As much as I know how omnipotent God is, I, like Moses, will still question God’s ability to do things.  The reality is when that happens, I have chosen to be God.  I want to be the person who makes it happen.  I’m the one in control (see how one falls off the apple cart of ‘control’ so easy?).  But God in today’s verse reminded Moses of who was really in charge.  It brings me to a point my spiritual mentor made me aware of.  In verse 14, God answered “Who I am.”  Note what is at play are a couple words; am I and I am.  Let’s put these words into action.  Whenever we are answering, ‘I am,’ we are taking the place of God.  However, when we ask of God, ‘am I,’ we allow God to be the answer.  To be clear, this does NOT necessarily mean we leave it to God and move on.  As Moses did, we move forward with God doing His will and trusting Him to be the ‘I am’ when things are not moving as we would like them to.

God is in control.  Yes, we all say it, but what this means is we must be willing to submit to His authority before we even reach our barriers.  Moses is a great reminder of what is indeed possible when we take our need for control out of the equation and insert God’s authority in.  This is how we can achieve success against insurmountable odds.  Let us trust God not just when the mountain is too tall.  Let us trust Him to be with us the entire journey.  What journey are you needing to place in God’s hand today?  How can you ensure that your life is in God’s hands and not yours?  My prayer today is that give up control singing the song of God as ‘The Great I Am!’  Amen.

Thursday Devotional - The Entire Bible

Have you ever read the entire Bible? Maybe you have, but it’s been a while since you read through the entire Bible. I’ve been part of in-depth Bible studies for years, but it’s been a while since I’ve read certain parts of the Bible. Recently, as I was studying II Samuel, I felt God challenge me to re-read the Bible start to finish in a short amount of time. God re-iterated that challenge through re-reading Joshua and reading some articles on the Biblical illiteracy of professing Christians.

As we saw the last few weeks with Joshua and the Israelites, knowing and remembering God’s commands is vital. With the defeat at Ai (after Jericho) and Achan’s disobedience, Joshua stops to re-read and re-write God’s commands to Moses.

Joshua 8:30-32, 34-35      ³⁰ Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, ³¹ as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. ³² There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses…  ³⁴ Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. ³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.

If you haven’t ever read the entire Bible, I challenge you to consider listening to it to and from work. It will only take about half a year if you average a 20-minute commute. Or, there are great One Year Bibles (mine has an O.T./N.T./Psalm/Proverb each day).

We can’t truly love, honor and obey God without knowing Him and His Word!

Alice

Thurs Devo: The Bronze Snake

How do you think the Lord answered the Israelites’ request to take the venomous snakes away?

Numbers 21:7-9  The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. ⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

God didn’t take the snakes away, but instead provided a unique way for the people to survive a snake bite. Similarly for us, God doesn’t always remove the consequences for our sins. He does help us move forward through the consequences, though, when we turn back to Him and seek His help.

All sin deserves death. However, God is so merciful. He gave many of the Israelites an opportunity to live, even if they were bitten. The Israelites didn’t earn the right to live, but rather looked to and accepted God’s way of salvation.

Going even further, God has provided an opportunity for eternal life with Him in Heaven. Like the Israelites, we don’t earn it, but must choose to look to and accept God’s way of Salvation.  

John 3:14-16      ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Is Jesus your “bronze snake?” Have you accepted God’s unique way of salvation by looking to Jesus? He paid the ultimate sacrifice so you and I don’t have to experience the full consequence for our sins (Hell/eternal separation from God). Instead, you and I can live with Him for eternity!

Alice

Thurs Devo: Venomous Snakes

After mourning Aaron’s death and a victorious deliverance from the Canaanites in Arad (Numbers 21:1-3), the Israelites continued their travels. However, they still haven't learned their lesson about complaining.

Numbers 21:4-7  ⁴ They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; ⁵ they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

⁶ Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. ⁷ The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

The Israelites seem to always be focusing on the negative and not the positive. They didn’t have bread but they did have manna. They were traveling in the wilderness desert that didn’t have much water, but God always provided water for them in miraculous ways. And, I’m guessing God had been protecting them from all the wild desert animals, up until this point! 

Like the Israelites, we don’t see all the ways God provides for us and protects us. Plus, we tend to focus on what we think we lack. We even get upset with God and/or others when things don’t go our way. However, when tragedy strikes, we often do go to God, because we know He’s the only one that can do the impossible.

The Israelites did acknowledge their sin and did turn to God. You and I can do the same. And the next time you and I want to complain about a hardship or get upset with God over it, let’s stop and count 5 other blessings God has provided. As hard as our situation might be, it could always be worse (like venomous snakes)!

Alice

Thurs Devo: Death Planned

Most of us will not know ahead of time the exact time and place of our death, but Aaron did.

Numbers 20:22-29       ²² The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. ²³ At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁴ “Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor. ²⁶ Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will die there.”

²⁷ Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. ²⁸ Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, ²⁹ and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, all the Israelites mourned for him thirty days.

God blessed Aaron by telling him ahead of time when and where he would die. God also told Aaron how to prepare and who would take his place as high priest. Moses and Eleazer weren’t left to try to figure it out on their own.

A relative of a friend of mine died in a bicycle accident last year. As sad as it was, the whole family saw God’s hand preparing them ahead of time. The guy who died had recently told his wife that he thought something might happen soon, so he made sure she knew what all their passwords and accounts were, etc. That was just one of several ways God prepared them.

As sad as death is in this life, we can look to God for direction on how to prepare for and/or handle death, whether our own or someone else’s. God is Sovereign over life and death.   

Alice

Thurs Devo: Confidence in Self?

Most of us know we can trust God, but we don’t always live like we fully trust Him. Sometimes we even pray first about a situation before reacting. However, we don’t always listen for or wait for God’s answer. Or, we hear God’s answer, but decide to try to solve the problem the way we have in the past.

Last week we saw how Moses and Aaron demonstrated faith and confidence in God by going to Him first before addressing the Israelite questions, attacks and problems. They even listened to God’s answer and acted in obedience to the first part, but then pride got in the way.

Numbers 20:9-13                    ⁹ So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. ¹⁰ He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

¹³ These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.

Yes, Moses was told to speak to the rock this time and not strike it. However, I think the greater issue was his heart. God hates pride above anything else. By Moses’ words and actions, he was taking credit for himself and not giving all honor and glory to God, the real Provider of the water.

If I stop and analyze my thoughts, I have pride in myself each and every day. The more I get to know God, though, the less pride I will have. I won’t ever be rid of it until I get to Heaven, just as the most humble man on earth (Moses) had his prideful moments.

The encouraging thing about this whole situation is that God was still faithful. Despite the huge lack of faith on the part of the Israelites, God still provided water for them! God also still used Moses, in spite of his pride, to accomplish His purposes.

Alice