Speeches

O.T. #136  "Speeches
Exodus 4-Part 2
And Moses said unto the LORD, O Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. Exodus 4:10

LET IT GLOW

Imagine having an appointment to go speak with the President of our country. How would you react? I would be tongue-tied and stuttering because of the high position  that I respect. I would definitely prepare my speech and choose my words carefully to communicate my message.
Moses was questioning his abilities as God was preparing him to go talk to the king of Egypt.
Although, he wasn't jumping for joy at the opportunity. He still had excuses to God's call.

Excuse #4: I do not have all the ability.

Moses had been a powerful speaker in Egypt 40 years earlier. (Acts 7:22) However, his 40 years in the desert did not open up any speaking engagements, except to the sheep. Moses felt inadequate to carry out the task that God was calling him to do.

I am not gifted. Moses was looking at himself and his failures instead of God and his power. He argued that he was not a gifted speaker, but the same God who made his mouth could use it. Moses was willing to trust a weak man of flesh instead of the living God of heaven.

What were Moses' excuses this time?

• I am not eloquent, which means a man of words.
• I am slow of speech.
• I am of a slow, which means heavy, thick,  tongue.

I wonder if this excuse is used more often by God's folks when He wants them to speak to someone about spiritual matters, about salvation in Jesus, than any other excuse.


LET IT GROW

The Lord responded with questions:

• Who gave man his mouth?
• Who make him deaf or mute?
• Who gives him sight or makes him blind?
• Is it not I, the LORD?

God did not pause in order for Moses to answer His questions. He didn't intend for Moses to answer them, did He? God knew that Moses knew that the answers-God did it all.

Tongues are such a small thing to control.

NIV puts verse 12 this way: Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.

I wonder if God is beginning to get put out with Moses and his excuses. but then, God is patience.
Does He get impatient with me an my excuses?

LET IT GO

No time for excuses when God calls me to do a task.

Yes Sir! I'll get right on it.

Control my tongue.

What's in Your Hand?

O.T. #135  "What's in Your Hand?"
Sept. 26, 2013
Exodus 4-Part 1
And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? and he said, a rod.  Exodus 4:2

LET IT GLOW

Okay, when I get out in the field with the herd of cows, I carry a big stick. Those cows are taller than I am, weigh at least a thousand pounds more than I do, and can butt me down to the ground and horn me or stomp on me before I can blink an eye. (Not to mention the huge bull.) This 4'10" gal has to look big, sound confident, and be ready to defend herself if need arises. When I carry a big stick, I am confident and hold my position out there among the girls (cows). Of course, I ask Jesus to come be a cowboy beside me. (Especially when the cows are out of the fence and don't want to go back where they came from.) He is already my Shepherd. He owns a cattle on a thousand hills, so it's no big deal for Him. Jesus has been faithful all my 50 plus years. I have yet to have those fears come true. I believe that God is all-powerful, so He makes even my enemies, this case cows, be at peace with me when I am in His will.
Moses carried a shepherd's staff, stick, rod. However, he didn't feel as confident as I did when it came to leading God's people. Look with me at what excuse he gave.

Can't we all look back in our past and see areas where we failed the Lord? Then the devil wants to beat us up with guilt, try to convince us that our words are no good anymore. but God is the God of 2, 3, 5, 10, 50, 100, 1000, even a million chances. He forgives us and sets us up on the Rock.

Excuse #3: I may not receive all of their respect.

Moses displayed his fear of being ridiculed, and his lack of personal prestige. He showed himself to be a worrier. His excuse begins with the words what if, displaying that he was overly anxious about a purely hypothetical situation. (Swindoll)

The thing is, Moses voiced his concern after God had told him that the Hebrews would follow his leadership (3:18).

They will not believer me (verses 1-9). Moses' statement was nothing but open unbelief.
(Wiersbe)

I am not convincing. Moses had no confidence in flesh; but he now lacked confidence in God.

Do we feel that our past is the reason people will not listen nor believe us when we try to witness to them about our Lord?
That should not be our focus, friend. Jesus should be our focus; he wonderful works; His mercy and grace shown to us sinners.
How do you handle feelings raised by the fear of not having the respect of others?
What qualifies a person to be effectively used of God? Can't he use the stones, wind, sea to proclaim His power and majesty?

LET IT GROW

What was God's answer to Moses a third time?

• By performing two of three miraculous acts before Moses' very eyes, God demonstrated His power.
• Rod turned into a serpent, then back into a rod.
• Moses' clean hand became white with leprosy, back clean.
• Later, God turned water of the Nile River into blood.

The rod and hand of Moses would become his credentials before the people. God takes what we have in our hands and uses it, if we but trust Him. Of itself, the rod was nothing, but in God's hands it became power. Moses' hand had previously killed an Egyptian. God showed him that He could heal the weakness of the flesh and use Moses for His glory. (Wiersbe)

The Lord was promising Moses that he could count on His power to back up his words. (Swindoll)

God quickly gave Moses sign or miracle to perform as proof  that the Hebrew people would believe Moses's words. (Falwell)

How does this apply to us?

• God likes to use what is in our hand. He used not a scepter in Moses' royal hand, but a shepherd's staff.
• Learn to do what God tells us to do, even when it's uncomfortable. Moses grabbed the tail of a snake, which could have turned and bit him.
• Obey God and your enemies will be powerless.
• Obey God and your pollution can be made pure.
• Less than 10% of what we worry about actually happens.

Are we using this excuse today so we don't do what God wants us to do today?
What's in your hand/hands that God wants to use for His glory or to meet the needs of someone?

LET IT GO

Open my hands to God and let Him use what I have for His glory and to meet the needs of others.

Trust Him to multiply the gift.

Go, Go, Go

O.T.#134  "Go, Go, Go"
Exodus 3-Part 7
Sept. 25, 2013
I have promised to bring you out of your misery in Egypt...into a land flowing with milk and honey. Exodus 3:17

LET IT GLOW

Go, go, go. We hear that word at football games when our team is cheered on toward the goal, a touchdown. It seems we are always on the go in our busy days. Yet if we hear God tell us to go, how do we react? Hesitantly like Moses, stubbornly like Pharaoh, or obediently? I am ready to go into the Word. Won't you join me?

Why me, Lord?  Who am I, Lord? What good can I do, Lord? You want to do what in me, through me, with me? Really? Are You serious?
Aren't they questions we have all asked one time or another as God reveals His will for our life or gives us today His schedule and instructions for us, His child?
Moses had several questions for God, who was patient.
Moses first questioned God with excuse number 1:Who am I, that I should...? Some say it was an excuse, trying to copout. Maybe it was just plain humility. To think that the God of this universe, which He spoke into being, would, could, and wants to us little people for His purpose, in His plans, and for His glory, to have an influence on someone's eternity. Yes, it is humbling.

Excuse #2: I'm not a theologian. I will not have all the answers.


Somewhere between excuse 1 and 2, Moses had a heart change, I think. You know, at least Moses is conversing and discussing with God about His plan. It sounds like he has accepted the call, now ready for the details.

In the NIV,  verse 13 reads, Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?'" Then what shall I tell them?"

Asking what meant they sought for the relevancy of the name to their circumstances. Who? sought after title, name and identity; whereas What? inquired into the character, quality, or essence of a person. Israel might ask for the validation of God's name. (MacArthur)

God's identification is more important than who Moses is. When we know the God who is with us, we can step forth confidently to do His will.  (Guzik)

God's response to Moses' question reveals His nature: I AM THAT I AM. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible defines I AM THAT I AM as a name indicating rather the unsearchableness of God than his mere existence, as commonly supposed.


In Liberty Bible Commentary, Dr. Falwell explains:

I AM THAT I AM-God replied using the verb to be (hayah in Hebrew). It means I am the One who is. God expressed the unchanging, eternal, self-existence of His being. He is able to act at will, to keep promises, to redeem Israel. Yet, He is unsearchable. There is mystery to His existence that none can fathom.

In Moses, God's Man For a Crisis, Charles Swindoll tells us:

In the Hebrew language, the divine name I AM is only written with the consonants YHWH. It was probably pronounced Yahweh. However, no one is certain about its pronunciation, because the Jews came to revere it so highly that they stopped verbalizing it. In place of this word, they pronounced the term Adonai, which means Lord. God is pure being. Nothing has brought or could bring Him into existence. Nor could anything ever cause Him to cease to be. he has always existed and will always exist because He is existence.  There is no other attribute of God that better stands as the summation of His nature than this one. Moses apparently realized that, for he did not pursue his excuse any further. He understood that the living God was offering Himself in all of His fullness to him, an eighty-year-old shepherd.

God would be whatever Moses needed Him to be in order for him to carry out God's assignment.
Miraculous signs, interrupting of nature, provider of food and water, strength-God did in Moses' life.
God will be whatever we need Him to be as we carry out His assignment. What do you and I need Him to be for us today? Have you asked Him yet?

Do you know the Great I AM as your Lord? Who is He to you?  Do you believe that He is?

LET IT GROW

Moses received further instructions from God, giving him a plan, with God's "I will's."
Moses was to:

• Go, gather the elders of Israel together.
• Tell the elders that the LORD God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob appeared unto you (Moses).
• Tell the elders that God has watched over them and saw what was done to them in Egypt (slavery).
• God promised to bring them out of their misery in Egypt into a land flowing with milk and honey.
• The elders will listen to Moses.
• Moses and the elders are sent to the king of Egypt, Pharaoh.
• Tell Pharaoh, "The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God."
• The king will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him.
• God will stretch out His hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that He will perform among them. Afterwards, he will let you go.
• The Hebrews will find favor with the Egyptian people.
• The Hebrews will not go empty-handed.
• The Egyptian women will give their jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and clothing for your children.
• You shall plunder the Egyptians.

Is that a plan or what? Of course, if you have ever read the rest of the story, you know it all happens. Just think, Moses and the elders did not know how it would turn out, only that God said it and they believed it. The Hebrews believed that God could and would do what He said He would do.

Do you? If God sat down today with you, unrolled a detailed sketch, layed out His plan for your life, your church, your community, your nation, then asked you to do a certain thing, your part, in accomplishing that plan, how would you react?

Would you believe Him and follow willing, obeying, and giving him the glory?
Or would you question God a little further?
How big is your God?

LET IT GO

God uses the word go several times in chapter 3:

• He told Moses to go to Egypt,
•  the elders of Israel to go with Moses to Pharaoh,
• Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go worship in the desert.
• God warned that Pharaoh would not let them go until God's mighty hand was stretched out(plagues) then he would let them go.
• The Hebrews would not go empty handed out of Egypt.

Where is God telling you to go, friend?
Will you excitedly obey or be stubborn like Pharaoh?
What will God have to use so we are willing to go?
Do you need to let go of something so you are able to go?

Go and leave the results to God. Watch Him work. Give Him the glory.

Divine Mission

O.T.#133  "Divine Mission"
Exodus 3-Part 6
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?  Exodus 3:11

LET IT GLOW

What was God's plan for Moses? He was to return to Egypt as the Lord's appointed servant and act as His instrument of deliverance.
When Moses' commission for his divine mission was made by God, how did Moses respond?

• He argued with God's invitation, objecting to the divine summons.
• He didn't immediately agree with God's plan to send him back to Egypt. After all, he left with a murderer's reputation and the Hebrews knew it. However, by the next excuse in verse 13, his heart and mind were changed, it sounds like to me. Hesitation, it was.
• He didn't have the same self-sure confidence that he once had. He didn't jumped up, put sandals on, load the wagon, and got on the road. No, Moses had a "self-esteem" problem 40 years earlier, being confident in his ability to deliver Israel back then.
• He could have half-hearted obeyed, to do it his way instead of God's way. 
• He could have run away from God like Jonah did. (God is ever-present, though.)
• He could have gone home and sharpened his sword for another killing, the king this time.
• Too late, come again another day and we'll talk, immediate refusal, he'd think about it, talk it over with the wife and kids, are so many options for a response.

Bottom line, my friend-How do we respond to God's commission for us to join Him on His divine mission?
Whether it is a big move out of state or just a detour in the day, what's our attitude?
Do we argue, hesitate, half-hearted obeyed, run away, or agree immediately?

LET IT GROW

Moses was more like a stubborn mule rather than as obedient sheep. He tried to convince the Lord that he was not the right person for the job. After each excuse that Moses gave God, God responded with a direct and sufficient answer. We are going to look at each on, a day at a time.

Excuse #1: Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh?

• I am a nobody, just a shepherd.
• I will not have all the answers. He was a learned and mighty in words and in deeds (Acts 7:22).
• I don't want to look foolish, be embarrassed. in front of my family of Hebrews if I can't answer their questions.

God's Response to Excuse #1:

• He would be with Moses.
• He gave Moses token, a sign, that God had sent Moses.
• The sign would be that he and the Israelites would serve (worship) God on that very mountain. (Mt. Sinai, which is where Moses received the law and where the Israelites later walked 40 years in the wilderness.)
• But you have all of Me. God is all-powerful, Almighty God, El Shaddai.

The divine promise, one given also to the three patriarchs, should have been sufficient to calm Moses' fears and inadequacy for the task. (MacArthur)

How does this excuse apply to me today?

• We wonder how God could us, a simple, insignificant person-Who me, Lord?
• We require a sign from God before any step of faith is made.
• We don't know enough of the Bible, not a scholar.
• We don't want to look foolish when we don't know the answer to questions.
• W don't know enough of God's promises to sustain us.

No excuses, God wants our total obedience and faith in him.

LET IT GO

Let go of the past, live in the present, look to the future.

Don't offer any excuses, just do it, being His way.

Live by faith.

Blessings of Obedience, Step-by-Step

O.T. #132  "Blessings of Obedience, Step-by-Step"
Sept. 23, 2013
Exodus 3-Part 5
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who id invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.  Hebrews 11:24-28  NIV

LET IT GLOW

The blessings my family has received from God by obeying and following Him are too innumerable to mention. We have experienced His provision, His mercy, peace, love, strength, directions, salvation in the lost, working in churches and communities.
We surrender to God's call into the ministry back in 1980. Our journey of faith began with moving our two children and household furnishings six hours from both of our families and our home town and home church. We had never been that distance before. After four years of college, upon graduation, we moved to another city to serve as pastor and house parents of an emergency receiving home for abused and neglected children. Another move was to a rural area so my husband could attend seminary and pastor. Following that, we moved to various pastorates, each time the children changed schools and I changed jobs.
When the nest became empty, we were serving the Lord as pastor in another state. Finally, the last leg of our faith journey, so far, was back to our home area. We have been pastoring in our present church for sixteen years. We have experienced babies grow up and find Jesus as Savior. We are in the process of building a new sanctuary for our growing church. We marvel at God's provisions.
God has been faithful to us and we honor Him for all He has done through us. It was a step of faith, each move, step-by-step. I wouldn't trade it for the world! Such rewards have been experienced here and will be in heaven.
Moses had to walk by faith and not by sight, too. We read of his journey in God's Word. Take a peak with me, dear one.

Did you know that God identified Himself as God (Elohym in Hebrew),  to Moses in Exodus 3:6 and
as God Almighty, JEHOVAH, (El Shaddai in Hebrew), in Exodus 6:3?

Elohym or Elohim is specifically used to refer to the Supreme God; Yhovah or Jehovah means the self-Existent or Eternal; the Jewish national name of God is Jehovah, the Lord. (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance)

Do you suppose that God wanted no mistake made in Moses' mind as to Who was speaking to him? I am sure that Moses' mother taught him about the God of the Hebrews and all he had done for their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Also, Moses'  parents were of the priestly tribe of Levi. God made it very clear in verse 6. That is why shoeless Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

Do we ever stop and consider Who God is when we pray to Him? Do we recognize and respect Him as Supreme Elohim and Almighty Jehovah? He is the One who created everything with just a spoken word and sustains it all. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present. What an awesome God we serve! Why do I doubt His abilities to work in my life? I pray that our faith will grow as we study about the life of Moses and the mighty acts of Elohim and Jehovah, our God.

LET IT GROW

God announces to Moses that he is the Lord's chosen instrument to deliver Israel. We see it in the verses of 7-22. What a message of grace-God has seen their sufferings, heard their cry, He knows their sorrows, and He came down! (verse 7) God had been watching over His people throughout those 400 years. Let's not forget that God's love came down to earth in the form of Jesus Christ during a time of bondage, trial, and sorrow, to deliver His children from sin.
God had a definite plan, to bring the Hebrews out of Egypt and slavery into the Promised Land. He was fulfilling His promise to Abraham. Even though Moses was an exile in the desert, he was on God's schedule, in the fullness of God's timing, in the middle of God's will. God's will was to deliver the children of Israel, also called the Hebrews, for it was the name of their language.

What can we gleam from God's conversation with Moses? Let's us look at the 7 principles in knowing and doing God's will as Blackaby and King (Experiencing God) explained applying them to Moses:

1. God was already at work around Moses. (Ex. 2:23-25)

          2. God pursued a continuing love relationship with Moses that was real and personal. God
              took the initiative to come to Moses and initiate a love relationship with him at the burning  
              bush. Another example is God inviting Moses to come up to Him on the mountain (Sinai), of
              which he stayed 40 days and nights. (Ex. 24)
          3. God invited Moses to be involved with Him in His work. (verses 8 and 10) God's purpose
              was to deliver Israel from Egypt into the Promised Land using Moses to accomplish it.
              Amos 3:7 states, Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing His plan to His
              servants the prophets.
          4. God spoke to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways. God revealed Himself in
              visions and dreams to His prophets, but with Moses, God spoke face to face.
              (see Numbers 2:6-8)
          5. God's invitation for Moses to work with Him led to a crisis of belief that required
              faith and action. (Although Moses tried all sorts of excuses and objections, wondering if
              God could do such a great work through someone like him (verse 11), he eventually obeyed,
              believing God could do what He said He would do.) Read about his faith in Hebrews
              11:24-29.
          6. Moses had to make major adjustments in his life to join God in what He was doing.
              Moses' crisis called for faith and action. Moses took his wife and sons and started back to
              Egypt, leaving his job and in-laws (4:19-20). Moses was a moldable servant and remained at
              God's disposal to be used as God chose.
          7. Moses came to know God by experience as he obeyed God, and God accomplished His
              work through Moses. (Moses could not do those plagues, deliverance in the Passover, part
              the Red Sea, provide manna and water in the wilderness. Moses could not do it in his own
              strength. It was all God.) Every step of obedience brought Moses and (Israel) to a greater
              knowledge of God (Ex. 6:1-8).

Isn't Moses' life story such a blessing to us children of God, the church? His obedience is such an example for us to follow. When we obey  God, He will bless us. The question is, are you and I willing to do whatever and go wherever  He says. How much do we love God? Is our faith in His abilities strong enough to go and do His will?  

 

LET IT GO

Develop a love relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. Love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Make Him Lord of my life, number 1.

Look and see where God is working around me

Listen for my invitation to join Him in His work.

Surrender to do it, through faith and actions, believing God can do what He says He will do.

Make whatever adjustments are required in my life so I do God's will and purpose as I join in His working.

Obey God and watch Him work through me, giving Him the praise, glory, and credit.

When God Speaks

O.T.#131  "When God Speaks"
Exodus 3-Part 4
Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.  Exodus 3:10

LET IT GLOW

What a blessing and a privilege it is for God to want to use us in His kingdom work! Do you want God to speak to you? How can you know it is God who is speaking? Are you willing to do what He wants you do, before He tells you? Moses' life  is a good example to help us find these answers.

Eighty year old Moses is taking care of sheep around Mt. Horeb (Mt. Sinai) when he sees a bush on fire, but it doesn't burn up. He decided to check out this unusual sight. When he drew near, God called to Moses. God was in the form of an angel of the LORD, Jesus Christ.

What did God say to Moses?

• God called Moses by name. (verse 4)
• Do not come closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. (verse 5 NIV)
• God identifies Himself to Moses. He is the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. (verse 6)
• God explains to Moses what is going on back in Egypt. He saw the misery of His people in Egypt, he heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and He is concerned about their suffering. (verse 7)
• God came down to rescue the Hebrews from the hand of the Egyptians and bring them up out of the land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey. (verse 8)
• This land was the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.(verse 9)
• And now the cry of the Israelites has reached God, and He had seen the way the Egyptians were oppressing them.
• God told Moses, in NIV, "So now, go. I am sending you to Pharoah to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." (verse 10)

Let me back up-Moses answered when God called his name, "Here I am," (verse 4) and he hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God. (verse 6b)

God can choose which bush He desires to use whenever He wants. He wanted to use  the bush for Moses. He was about to set Moses on fire for His work of deliverance while protecting him from the trials that could destroy him. Was he available?
Even after we have failed God and think that we are useless, He will return to restore us and call us back into his service. When He does, there are 4 responses we can make:

1. We can run ahead before we are sent.
2. We can retreat after we have failed.
3. We can resist when we have been called.
4. We can remain available while we wait, and we can respond obediently when we are called.(Swindoll)

Has God chosen to speak to you today?
Is God trying to get your attention with a bush, figurative speaking.
Are you available to meet the need God wants to meet?
Will you heed the call of God?

LET IT GROW

What can we learn about Moses' call from God?
We should be ready for our call from God.

Oswald Chambers tells us in his devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest:

Readiness means a right relationship to God and a knowledge of where we are at present. Readiness for God means that we are ready to do the tiniest little thing or the great big thing, it makes no difference. Be ready for the sudden surprise visits of God. The burning bush is a symbol of everything that surrounds the ready soul, it is ablaze with the presence of God.

Henry & Richard Blackaby and Claude King wrote in Experiencing God, Knowing and doing the will of God:

A critical requirement for understanding and experiencing God is clearly knowing when He is speaking. God speaks through the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways. God speaks through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church or other believers. How God spoke in the Old Testament is not the most important factor.  That He spoke is the crucial point those He spoke to knew He was God, and they understood what He was saying.

The burning-bush experience of Moses in Exodus 3 illustrates 4 truths about when  God spoke:

1.  The experience was usually unique to that individual. Moses had no precedent for a burning-bush experience. There were no other times when God spoke this way. It is personal to us. The method or technique is not as important as our relationship with God.
2. The person was sure God was speaking. Moses had to be certain it was God speaking, so he asked His name. In verses 6 and 14, God answers, "I am the God of thy father, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob" and "I AM THAT I AM." 
3. The person knew what God said. Moses knew what god was telling him to do. He knew how God wanted to work through him. He understood exactly what God was expecting.
4. That was an encounter with God. When God reveals truth to you, by whatever means, that is a divine encounter. That is an experience of His presence in your life. He is the only One who can.

Are we ready for God to speak to us?

LET IT GO

Tune out the world and listen to what God has to say to me when He speaks.

Welcome God speaking to me.

When God speaks, don't run, retreat, or resist, but be available, then obey what He speaks.

Take Off My Sandals

O.T.# 130  "Take Off My Sandals"
Sept. 19, 2013
Exodus 3-Part 3
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and , behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. and Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. and he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy fee, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Exodus 3:2-5

LET IT GLOW

How do we approach a holy God? What do we do? I take off my sandals when I am praying privately. Moses' experience is an example to us.
Moses is in the desert for 40 years, minding his father in law's sheep and minding his own business, in obscurity as a result of failure, is now 80 years old. Suddenly he sees a burning bush. An angel of the LORD appeared to him in the midst of the flame of fire in the burning bush. (Moses is commissioned by God to return to Egypt and deliver the Hebrews, Israelites.)

Moses still did not know that the Lord was the One who was speaking to him. What he heard was an unfamiliar, authoritative-sounding voice. (Swindoll)

Moses saw that the bush did not burn up. He thought to himself, "I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does not burn up." (NIV)
When the LORD (Elohim) saw that Moses had gone over to take a closer look, God called to Moses from within the bush, "Moses, Moses!"

David Guzik explains to us:

• God didn't speak to Moses until He has Moses' attention. Often God's Word doesn't touch our heart the way that it might because we don't give it our attention.
• The burning bush was a spectacular phenomenon that captured Moses' attention; but it changed nothing until Moses received the Word of God there.
• God called out to Moses. This is an occasion where Jesus appeared before His incarnation in the Old Testament as the Angel of the LORD. [Gen. 16:7-13 Gen 18:1, Gen. 32:24-30, Judges 2:1-5, Judges 6:11-24, Judges 13:3-22) He appeared to Hagar, Abraham, Jacob, the Israelites, Gideon, and Samson's parents.]
• One of three preincarnate theophanies by the Lord Jesus Christ is in verse 2. This same divine messenger had earlier led Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 14:19). (MacArthur)
• God's first words to Moses was to call him by name. This shows that even though Moses was now an obscure, forgotten shepherd on the backside of the desert, God knew who he was, and Moses was important to God.

LET IT GROW

God told Moses to do two things:

• to keep a distance (stop coming closer) and
• to show reverence for God's presence. Moses was on his way to up-close examination of the burning bush. It was a holy place because God is holy. There will always be a distance between man and God. [Moses was to take off his shoes in God's presence because he was on holy ground. Jesus is the bridge that brings us to God; He shed blood cleanses us so we may enter the throne room of the Almighty, Holy God.]

Shoes, naalah (nah-al-aw' in Hebrew), in this verse means sandals, latchet, something valueless.

Removing sandals showed an appropriate humility, because the poorest and needy have no shoes, and servants usually went barefooted. Moses was in God's "house," a place of His immediate presence.

God revealed Himself to Moses more intimately than He had to any of the patriarchs; yet it begins with God reminding Moses of the bridge of covenant they meet on. God was at work 400 years preserving and multiplying the nation. (Guzik)

God speaks in different ways. Tomorrow, I will share those ways, according to Blackaby and King, authors of Experiencing God.

Has God ever spoken to you? What new thing has He revealed to you lately? Is God speaking to you through His Word?

LET IT GO

Take off my sandals when I come into the presence of Almighty God.

Listen for God to speak to me through His Holy Spirit.

Love, praise, honor, glorify, thank my God for who He is and what He has done for me.

Confess my sins.

Obey what He tells me to do. Look where God is working and join Him.

Daily read His Word.

Sept. 18, 2013

Friends, I am sorry about not posting today. I am sick in bed with asthma and walking pneumonia. Hopefully, I will be able to write off and on today so Thursday is posted.

Cheer up! Take courage if you are depending on the Lord. Ps. 31:24.

In His love,
Linda

A Burning Bush Experience

O.T. #129  "A Burning Bush Experience"
Sept. 17, 2013
Exodus 3-Part 2
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 
Exodus 3:2

LET IT GLOW

Have I had any burning bush experiences lately? An experience in which God spoke to me? Oh, yes, dear friends. It was an unusual way that it occurred. I will share it.
Although it is a sad thing that a church sold its building, the pastor left, and members scattered to other churches, we received a blessing from this unfortunate thing. Actually, it was several blessings. As I have mentioned before, our church is in the process of building a new sanctuary along with six classrooms. We have the shell up, debt free, and with volunteers working on Saturdays, the inside is slowly being furbished. We are only in the process of looking at furniture and furnishings, since we are months away from needing them. Then my husband, the pastor, got a call from our associational missionary. He had two storage buildings full of 220 chairs, a podium, a huge soundboard and sound system, tables and chairs and decorations for our church to have, free, if we wanted them. Of course, we are ecstatic, surprised, and in awe of such  gifts. God has opened up the windows of heaven and poured out His indescribable blessings. All I can do is praise Him and thank Him for His goodness and share His mighty works with others for His glory. Yes, I have had a burning bush experience lately. Have you? Let's take a closer look at another burning bush experience, one which Moses had.


Moses was having a usual day with the sheep when something unusual happened. He saw a burning bush that the fire did not consume. This was not a normal thing out in the desert countryside. What else unusual happened?
The angel (malakh in Hebrew) of the Lord that appeared to Moses was in a flame of fire from within a thorny shrub bush, which is here identified as God (Elohim in Hebrew). God actually appeared in human form to people in the Old Testament numerous times. This was one of the ways in which God chose to reveal Himself. (Falwell)

Normally, such a bush would have burned up quickly, but this one did not. What can we learn from this event?
In the midst of commonplace situations, God will often get our attention by causing an uncommon event to occur. These are not mere coincidences nor chance events. They are God's way of tapping us on the shoulder so that we will sit up and listen to what Hew has to say. So we don't miss the message that God has for us, let us be sensitive to this divine method. (Swindoll)

Have you had any "burning bush" experiences where you knew it was God was there in the midst of your circumstances? When you knew He was speaking to you? Are you watching and listening for God?


LET IT GROW

The bush not being consumed was a magnetic sight to Moses-it drew him in for a closer examination.
Some say the burning bush here is a picture of God's grace that draws us to Him. This is the first mention of the word bush, in Hebrew is cneh (sen-eh'), means from an unusual root; to prick, a bramble, bush.
The bush is a picture of the curse upon the earth when sin entered (Genesis 3:18). The "curse" is burned (a picture of judgment) without being consumed-therefore, a picture of God's mercy and grace.

Moses had a profound encounter with God while working as a shepherd; Elisha was plowing a field; Amos was but a sheep breeder and a tender of sycamore trees; Jesus was a carpenter; the disciples were fishermen, when God called them into His service. God had a purpose and a plan for each one's life. He used these ordinary men in extraordinary ways.
Are you ready for God to call you?

Henry and Richard Blackaby and Claude King wrote a study entitled Experiencing God, teaching these principles:

1. God is always at work around you.
2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with him that is real and personal.
3. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
5. God's invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
6. You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
7. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him, and He accomplishes His work through you.

Are you wanting to experience God in your own little world as I am, friends? We can learn from the life of Moses so many things. I hope you will stay with me through this study. There are so many golden nuggets awaiting us.

LET IT GO

My time is hat I need to let go of so I can study God's Word.

Stay in love with my God.

Watch for my burning bush so I can have an encounter with God.

Look where He is working and join Him in His work, yes Lord.

Listen as He speaks through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church.

Comin' 'Round the Mountain

O.T. #128  "Comin' 'Round the Mountain"
Sept. 16, 2013
Exodus 3-Part 1
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. Exodus 3:1

LET IT GLOW

When our children were young, we lived six hours away in the flat lands of our state. So goin' to grandmas was literally going around the mountains on a narrow winding highway. Often times we would sing the old song, "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain When She Comes." That's what Moses did in chapter 3 and later.

Moses was now married with two sons (Acts 7:21). His father in law was a priest with sheep. Moses became a shepherd for him.  this is the man with the finest education in Egypt, who left a life of luxury and political influence, living in a desert and wasteland. ( Horeb and Sinai are interchangeable terms.)

The land of Midian probably lay to the south of Canaan and included the northwestern portion of the Sinai Peninsula as well as Mount Sinai. I has certainly never been considered a desirable place to vacation or retire. (Swindoll)

He learned the land well, after wondering around the mountain for forty years feeding another man's flock.

Is there anyone wondering around in sin, away from God, doing their own thing? Have you strayed from God's will?  If you aren't there, do you know someone who needs your help getting out of their spiritual desert and come back to Jesus?


LET IT GROW

In his Bible study guide, Moses, God's Man For a Crisis, Charles Swindoll says this about Moses' further education:

Moses' course of study in the "School of self-discovery" included the instructions given by four professors. These teachers were commissioned by God to prepare Moses for the lasts forty years of his life as the human leader of Israel. Let's meet them.

1.  Dr. Obscurity. He taught Moses, who had been a somebody, how to cope with being a nobody in man's eyes. the man who had lived in the limelight as a national leader was reduced to living with and working for a relative in the middle of a desert.

2.  Dr. Time. He helped Moses learn how to wait. Before settling in Midian, Moses had become impatient with God's timetable for deliverance. so he tried to speed matters up by murdering an Egyptian. Apparently, his plan was that it would cause the Hebrews to rally around him so they could overpower the Egyptians and leave the country (Acts 7:23-25). so God gave him the opportunity to learn it by making him wait forty years before calling him to that task again (verse 30).

3.  Dr. Solitude. This instructor educated Moses in the profundity of silence and solitude. The desert is a quiet and lonely place that encourages thought and reflection. there Moses had the alone-time required to deepen his understanding of himself and the Lord.

4.  Dr. Discomfort. He used the harsh environment of the Midian desert to strengthen Moses physically and spiritually. Without this training, Moses may not have been able to lead the Hebrews through the trials they were to face in the wilderness for forty years.

Some deserts are not a geographical location. There can be a spiritual desert, emotional desert, or relational desert. No matters which one may be yours, God wants to use it to help you discover yourself and His all-sufficient resources.

Don't say that you do not need it nor that you are tire of it. Instead, accept it and receive your greatest learning degree. If you find yourself in the desert, then don't try to fight it, run away from it, or fall victim to it. Instead, turn your situation over to God.


LET IT GO

Learn the lessons while in the desert.

Trust God that He is in control.

Time Marches On

O.T. #127  "Time Marches On"
Sept. 13, 2013
Exodus 2-Part 6
And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.  Exodus 2:23

LET IT GLOW

As we look into the life of Moses, we can see it divided into three forty-year parts:
as prince in Egypt, as a shepherd in Midian, and as leader of Israel.
We left Moses at the well of reflection. It didn't stay quiet very long so he could think, though. It was a well where shepherds came to draw water for their flocks. Moses assisted the women as they tried to water their flocks. This kindness led to his meeting Jethro's daughter Zipporah. I found it interesting that the girls identified Moses as an Egyptian.

Actually, not much is said about the middle 40 years of Moses' life.
He learned how to be a faithful servant as God prepared him for the difficult tasks that lay ahead. Rejected by his nation, he took a Gentile bride, and is thus a picture of Christ who is today getting a bride for Himself from the nations. Moses delivered the women out of the hands of the shepherds and one day God would use him to deliver a nation out of the hands of Pharaoh.

Moses was taking care of a few sheep and would soon be shepherding a whole nation. The shepherd's crook would be exchanged for the rod of power, and he would be used of God to help created a mighty nation. Because he was faithful to do the humble job of shepherding, God used him to accomplish greater tasks as liberator, lawgiver, and leader.
(Reference: Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament)

Here is a man of Egyptian royalty, which no one knew in Midian probably,  that accepted the invitation of Jethro the priest and called Reul, to become a live-in member of his shepherding household. After marrying Zipporah, she gave birth to a son, which Moses named Gershom, meaning a stranger there, for Moses was sojourning in a foreign land. Here Moses lived 40 years in an obscure home in a barren desert.

To what extent are we willing to go with God so He can prepare us for what plans and purposes He has for our life? Are we available to be chosen as the right worker and the right time for it to be accomplished?

LET IT GROW

In the process of time-I like that phrase. Time marches on and stops for no man. Forty years ago, I was still a teenager and a newly married, no children nor grandchildren, no job, and no house, no special calling made known, and no further education. I was plain Jane to the max. It took some years and God's working on my husband and I before we surrendered to His will.

As time went on, the Pharaoh who sought to kill Moses died, then a new king arose to the throne. the children of Israel sighed, cried, and groaned because of their bondage in Egypt.
Guess who heard them. Their God and our God heard them.
He was sympathetic to the plight of His people and His timing is always perfect. God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was an unconditional covenant (Gen. 12:1-3 and in chapters 17, 26, 28). All the land of Canaan has been promised to Israel (Gen 15:18-21). Though they haven't inherited it all yet, God will give it to them after the Great Tribulation during the 1,000 -year reign of Christ (Micah 4:1-8, Jer. 23:1-8, Rev. 20:1-6). (Falwell)

NIV uses the term concern to describe how God felt about His people at that time. Since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we should be encouraged that He is also concerned for us as His child, right? So why do I worry? Isn't it sinful? Isn't it a lack of faith, trusting my God, who made heaven and earth, with everything? Yes, I'm speaking to me. If it applies to you, I hope you will benefit.

LET IT GO

Set aside my plans and purposes and seek God's for my life.

Trust His timing for everything.

Give Him control of today.

Cry out to God with my problems and prayers.

Be assured that God hears me and is working things out for my good and His glory.

Squirrel Huntin' by a Well of Reflection

O. T. #126  "Squirrel Huntin' by a Well of Reflection"
September 12, 2013
Exodus 2-Part 5
Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. but Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. Exodus 2:15

LET IT GLOW

When I was a girl growing up, I would go with my brother into the woods to hunt squirrel. Mom would fry it or fix squirrel and dumplin's for supper. Mmmm.  A favorite place for us to go for our hunt was located beside an old well. I don't know when it was dug, but today, it's still exists there after 50 years. He would spot some squirrels' nests in the trees and that was the spot. He taught me to sit still, not moving my feet in the dead leaves on the ground, to look up in all the surrounding trees for scampering squirrels tree hopping, and to listen for their chatter to one another. The solace paid off, and soon he would shoot the game.
Oh, it didn't end there with carrying the squirrel on his shoulder walking home. I helped him clean it. See, you skin a squirrel, so someone had to hold the two back legs. Well, you don't want the gory details, I'm sure. (Yes, I'm a country girl.) The point is, sitting by the well in the quiet woods, gave me a time to think. And so it was with Moses in our key verse.

We left Moses on the run. He stood up for a fellow Hebrew, killing an Egyptian in his defense. Pharaoh put out an APB, well, was looking for Moses to kill him, so he ran to the desert.

The place was called Midian, which was named after one of the 6 sons of Abraham and Keturah (his wife after Sarah died). Also, it was an area ranging from the head of the gulf of Aqaba to Moab, and even Gilead (Gen. 25:2). The land of the Midianites, who lived near Mount Sinai, were descendants of Abraham and intermarried with Ishmael's line (Gen. 37:25, 28). (Falwell)

Charles Swindoll, in his Bible study guide, Moses, God's Man for a Crisis, teaches us:

Feeling humiliated, ashamed, embarrassed, and worthless, he sat down by a well in the midst of a rocky, barren desert. He learned a great deal from his failure and so can we.

• Experiencing failure promotes an obedient life. When we come to the end of a road where we have been bruised, broken, and humiliated, we often sense a renewed drive to get back on track with God. We know that the path we took was a dead end. We then stand before our Lord humble in heart and willing to obey. (Ps. 119:67, 71)
• experiencing failure prompts a teachable spirit. A blow to our plans can help us lift up our voices to God and pay more attention to His answers. Once pride is gone, we can hear God more clearly and learn from Him more effectively.

Dear one, are you in this desert in your life right now? Perhaps you aren't now, but have gotten out of it recently. If not you, maybe you know someone who is and this can help, is my prayer.

LET IT GROW

Moses attempted to do God's will his way instead of God's way. What resulted? He murdered an Egyptian and the king had everyone looking for this man, the adopted son of his daughter, the one who grew up in the palace. Can you imagine? But that is what drove Moses away to a place where he could learn some of life's lessons. He ended up confused, tired, and shaken in the desert land of Midian. Do you think he had time for reflection? What did he learn from it all?

Swindoll explains that Moses learned at least 4 lessons that later helped him to become one of Israel's greatest leaders:

1. Spiritual ends are not achieved by carnal means. The execution of Moses' scheme led to sin instead of deliverance.
2. Timing is as important as action. God's plans must be enacted at the appropriate times. Rather waiting on the Lord to move him into leadership, he prematurely pushed his way into the position.
3. Hiding the wrong done does not erase it. (He tried to bury his sin.) The attempt to conceal sin only delayed its discovery and intensified the severity of the failure.
4. Spiritual leadership is God-appointed, not self-assumed. Moses had an incredible resume', but he was not ready for the reins of leadership. He apparently thought it was his job to take God's place rather than to obediently follow His lead.

Moses sat down by a well. Had time to reflect on the situation. We will see the changes as they occur in Moses' life as we continue. He stepped away from the well of reflection on wrong and moved toward a life of obedience to God.

Do we need some time to sit quietly by a well of reflection? Will we listen to what God has to say about your situation? Will we learn some lessons the hard way?

LET IT GO

When I have failed, take time to sit by a well of reflection.

Listen. Look. Learn.

Confess my sins and ask God's forgiveness.

Allow the blood of Jesus to wash them away.

Do God's will God's way.

Learn my lessons well so that they need not be repeated in the classroom of life.

Adoption

O.T. #125 "Adoption"
Sept. 11, 2013
Exodus 2-Part 4
And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens; and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.
Exodus 2:11

LET IT GLOW

I know a brother and sister who were adopted when they were elementary age. The couple already had three children of their own. Yet,they had enough love to go around. The two adopted children were given the best clothes, education, and family life just like the blood children.
I am adopted too. The King of the universe, King Jesus, adopted me into his family. I have all the rights and privileges as all my brothers and sisters in Christ. How about you?
Did you know that Moses was adopted, also?

In order to save his life, Moses' mother gave him away, yet she received him back for two, three, or even four years. Isn't that the way our loving God works? She kept her part of the agreement with the Egyptian princess. Don't you know it was a very difficult thing to do. I imagine this mother was extremely grateful to God for that time with him. I wonder if she taught him songs about God, their genealogy, heritage. Whatever she did was effective. I hope we are effective parents and grandparents in our teachings about our God.

Charles Swindoll, in his Bible study guide, Moses, God's Man For a Crisis, said:

Acts 7 tells us that Pharaoh's daughter took Moses and brought him up as her own son. He was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. (verses 21-22) New American Standard Version uses the word nurtured, which means to educate, rear. Moses was raised as any child in the royal family would be. He was given a majestic suite, tutored in court life and protocol, advised on cultural and traditional matters, and instructed in the finest arts of his day. In fact, many historians believe that he was being groomed for the throne of Egypt. Moses would have received instruction on Egyptian theology, astronomy, medicine, mathematics, and other subjects. Moses had become a man of power in words and deeds. 

 Hebrews 11:24-27 NIV says, By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as a greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

How strong is my faith and commitment to Christ? Am I willing to speak for my Savior?

LET IT GROW

We have some of Moses' background during the first 40 years of his life. Then what happened?
Acts 7:23 NIV states, When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. he saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian.

What happened the next day? Two Israelites (another name for Hebrews) were fighting and Moses tried to reconcile them. One of the men asked, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?"

Perhaps Moses thought he could help his people by his own power, prestige, and position. He was wrong. (Falwell)

Moses was trying to do God's will his way. He wasn't trying to do God's will God's way. Even though he may have had pure motives, his methods were not.
In fact, Moses tried to hide his deed of murder by burying the Egyptian in the sand. (verse 12b)

Moses thought that his brethren understood that God wanted to use him to deliver the Hebrews from slavery, but they didn't. He didn't become their wonderful leader, right then.
What did become of Moses? He ran to Midian and lived there for the next 40 years of his life.
Because he had acted apart from God's will in method and timing, he was forced to leave his surroundings of luxury for a desert of poverty.

Two spiritual principles that Swindoll gives us that are essential for our walk with God are:

1. When the self-life has run its course, we find ourselves settling in a desert. Fleshly actions will invariably lead to spiritual dryness. At that point, we usually stop and wonder if God will ever use us again.
2. When the self-life sits down, the well of a new life is near. When we finally come to our wits' end, we are ready to find cool refreshment in the abundant well of God. He is waiting to quench our spiritual thirst.

I feel challenged. How about you?

LET IT GO

Let go of my plans and look and listen for God's plans.

Wait for His timing and methods, then implement them.

Recognize that His ways are always best.

Your will,
Your way,
Today,
I pray.

A Muddy Basket

O.T. #124  "A Muddy Basket"
Sept. 10, 2013
Exodus 2-Part 3


LET IT GLOW

Oh the things we do. Did you ever make mud pies as a little girl? I did and had such fun. Often times there would be grass or twigs in them from the mud hole. Maybe it wasn't such a yucky thing, looking back. And then, there was the summer that I taught at children's camp how to make a basket. We soaked the reeds in water overnight to soften them so they were bendable. Today's Bible story is about a mother who made a basket of tar and pitch. What a craft mom!

Moses was a Hebrew born into a Levite family, priestly tribe, with a three year old brother Aaron and a sister Miriam, age 7-12. The family lived in Egypt for 400 years and were slaves to the Egyptians. yet they continued to believe in God. There were hard times and harsh treatments for believers in God. These were dark days.
The Hebrews grew in numbers and strength. Pharaoh was afraid they would unite with his enemies and overthrow his kingdom. He tried to get the midwives to kill all Hebrew baby boys, but they refused. He made a law that all Hebrew baby boys would be killed.
Moses was hid three months and then...

• Mother Jochebed devised a plan.
• She put Moses into a basket made of papyrus and tar and pitch, made watertight.
• It was the time and place that the Pharaoh's daughter took a bath, that Moses in the basket was put in the river.
• He was put in the Nile River in the shallow part, where the bulrushes(cattails) grew.
• Sister Miriam closely watched  Moses, keeping an eye on him.
• After a while, the baby cried. The Princess had him drawn out of the water. She saw that Moses was a Hebrew baby.
• Miriam offered to get a  Hebrew woman to nurse him. She agreed.
• As it turned out, Jochebed was hired by the Princess to take care of Moses, her own child. She was reunited with her son and paid wages to raise him. (Can it get any better?)

The story of baby Moses is one we heard in Sunday School growing up. Did you see the hand of God over the circumstances? Is that how it is with your life? Is he directing the details and timing?


LET IT GROW

I want you to put yourself in his mother's shoes today.

1. If your son is heard crying, and found out, he could be immediately taken from you and thrown into the Nile River to die. What a horrible way to live! Is it a joyful time to have a baby boy,  living in fear for the life of your precious son?
2. Devising a well thought out plan to save this sweet baby must have been inspired by God. Have you ever heard of such a thing since then?
3. Convincing Moses' father to go along with the plan would have been a challenge.
4. Mother let go of her plans for the child and let God direct him.
5. Continuing to exercise great faith and inner courage to hide and set the baby in the Nile while doubt could wash him away any second surrounded her.
6. Putting her trust in God involved thinking, planning, and applying on her part.
7. Jochebed got going with God. Her's was an active faith, not a passive one. It incorporated foresight and wisdom in its application, not simply hindsight and wishful thinking.

We knew how the story would turn out before reading it. Just think, this mother was living it and didn't have that privileged information.

Do I ask God to help me devise a plan for my life or am I on my own?
Am I willing to give up something that is so precious to me, giving it to God?
(He own everything anyway.)
Can I trust God to work things out for my good and His glory?

LET IT GO

of that precious thing God wants; that we may be loving more than Him.

Give and it shall be given unto us.

Keep praying.

A Cutie Pie

O.T. #123  "A Cutie Pie"
Sept. 9, 2013
Exodus 2-Part 2
...and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.  Exodus 2:2

LET IT GLOW


This morning I watched a short video of our youngest grandchild. He is only 3 months old. So what's the big deal? I have yet to hold the sweet baby and smother him with grandma kisses. Although he looks like his brothers did at that age, I can see a peek of his individualism. I saw this cutie pie cooing, laughing, fussing, you name it. How could anyone resist not picking him up? He looks like a goodly child, as Moses did, I must say.

I missed something. Verse 2 says that Moses was a goodly child, which can refer to men or women. The Hebrew word is towb, which can mean beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, fair,etc.

Moses' appearance from birth as a goodly child indicates a healthy, vigorous condition which his parents took as a sign of his future importance. (Falwell)

He was comely to God, or divinely beautiful. this very circumstance was wisely ordained by the kind providence of God to be one means or his preservation. In all likelihood the Egyptian princess would not have saved him had he been only an ordinary child. (Matthew Henry)

When people look at us, do they see a child of the King that is goodly?

LET IT GROW

Moses was beautiful in the sight of God. His parents gave him to God by faith. Parents never know what God sees in each child that is born, and it is important that parents raise their children in the fear of God. It took real faith to put the child in the river, the very place where young boys were being destroyed. (Wiersbe)

Have we given our children and grandchildren into the hands of God?
What about us, have we given our lives into the Potter's Hands to shape and mold and use for His glory?

LET IT GO

See children as goodly in the sight of God. Oh, how He loves you and me.

Surrender to our Heavenly Father.

Be divinely beautiful.

Friends, I am sorry for not posting, but I have been sick. I expect to be back Monday. Thank you for your faithfulness.
Have a good weekend, God bless.

Linda

Quiet Children

O.T. #122  "Quiet Children"
Sept. 5, 2013
Exodus 2-Part 1
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.  Exodus 2:1

LET IT GLOW

Last Sunday in church three girls sat in front of me. They were quiet as a church mouse, not a word came from their mouths. How that happened, I still can't figure it out. However, they were not still. They wiggled, squirmed, braided hair, switched places, got up and went to the restroom. Their quietness did not mean they were not active at the moment. So it is with our heavenly Father. He may be quiet in our lives, but He is actively working.
Have you been experiencing the silence of God in your life lately? Does it seem as though God is doing nothing?
Maybe you are doing His will and there are no instructions needed for you at the moment. Could be that it isn't time yet for His moving. Is it a test of your faith? Those could be possible answers to your question of "Why?"

Yes, I have asked that question. Friend, just remember, God is still in control, working His plan in your life. He hears our prayers and continues to love us with an everlasting love. His timing is always perfect. Continue to pray and cry out to God. That is what the children of Israel did (Ex.2:23-24). Four hundred years passed while they were in bondage, slaves in Egypt. Several generations have passed.
Actually, there were 10 complete generations between Jacob and Joshua, which are listed in   1 Chronicles 7:22-27. (Falwell)
There was a new king, a new Pharaoh in Egypt that didn't know Joseph (a Hebrew second in command).

LET IT GROW

Moses' parents were both of the house of Levi. This was the tribe who was later chosen to be the priests. Amram and Jochebed were both godly parents. Later, from this religious couple came the high priest, Aaron, and the law giver, Moses. Let's not forget their older sister Miriam, who played an important role in saving her baby brother from death. Children are important to the Lord. Are we loving them as His children?
Do we take every opportunity to teach our children and grandchildren about Jesus?

 LET IT GO

Wait on the Lord.

Trust His silence to reveal His working.

Be the parent and grandparent that honors God.

A New Pharaoh

O.T. #120  "A New Pharaoh"
Sept. 3, 2013
Exodus 1-Part 2
Now there arose up a new king, over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.  Exodus 1:8

LET IT GLOW

When you have a new boss take over at work, changes are usually made. Some people adjust to them and others don't. There was a new Pharaoh, king in Egypt at this time. Thus, changes came; unpleasant changes.

Here's a little history that I didn't know: Jacob and his family entered Egypt under the Twelfth dynasty. The Egyptian government grew weaker and more unstable and was ruled by foreigners called the Hyksos, from about 1725-1546 B.C. When they were expelled, there was a strong reaction against foreigners, including the rapidly growing Israelites. Moses was born about 20 years after this changeover, and in the midst of the new "get-tough-with-the-slave" policy.
Liberty Bible Commentary

The presence of so many Jews was a threat to any king's rule. The new king was an outsider. the luxury of living in the best of the land later was turned into a trial and suffering. Did you notice that this new king did not know about Joseph? This was a new generation.
What will happen to our churches when we are gone and the next generation takes over? Will they be led by the Holy Spirit? Will they know how to live by faith and not by sight? Will God's Word be the text book?

How like the path of the lost sinner today; sin promises pleasure and freedom, but it brings sorrow and bondage. (Wiersbe)

LET IT GROW

Between verses 12 and 13, a major change in Egyptian history took place-the Hyksos were driven out. (MacArthur)

So the new king was concerned about the children of Israel being more in number and mightier in strength than they were. He feared that the Israelites might side with their invaders in war and he would loose his country.
Here's what happened:

• Pharaoh set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. Israel was under forced labor.
• They built store cities for the king. (I wonder if the Pyramids were built by them.)
• The more the Israelites were afflicted, oppressed, the more they multiplied and grew or spread out.
• They were made to sere with rigour, which means to break apart; fracture; severity, cruelty.
• Israel was ruthlessly oppressed with a bitter and hard bondage. God was preparing them to look to Him, because they had no other choice. (Falwell)
• Their lives were bitter with hard labor with brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields.

Have you heard the saying, "Hard work ain't never killed nobody." (Excuse my improper English.)
Well, God saw to it that the Israelites didn't die, but were strengthened for the journey that lay ahead of them.

I have been fortunate in that my type of work did not require physical, hard labor. Only a few times, mostly by choice, did I work in the hot field picking tomatoes, walk the dirty chicken houses gathering eggs, cleaning house, for money. Before our industrial age spread to the farm, work was not done by machinery as it is now. People did back-breaking work in the hot summer sun. My husband picked cotton, beans, and apples when he grew up.

LET IT GO

Accept changes.

Work for Jesus.

Don't complain about work; do it joyfully.

Obey God or Man?

O.T. #121  "Obey God or Man?"
Sept. 4, 2013
Exodus 1-Part 3
And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. Exodus 1:21

LET IT GLOW

The children of Israel were growing in numbers. the king of Egypt feared they would try to take over his kingdom. He was desperate. The king spoke to the Hebrew midwives, telling them to kill all male newborns. They chose to disobey the king by letting the baby boys live. they even lied to the king, saying the Hebrew women were fast at delivering before they got there.
The midwives were blessed for not killing the Hebrews' male babies born. (Hebrews were another name for the Israelites.)

God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. and because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own. NIV verses 20-21)

Infanticide, the killing of infants, is not a new practice. Shiphrah and Puah, probably Jewish ladies in charge of a host of other midwives, were commanded to kill all male babies of the Hebrews; but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. Males were a threat as possible warriors, but women would make acceptable slaves.  (Falwell)

What would we have done when faced with that choice? Are we trying to prevent abortions today?
I am glad that we have no such law in our country because I have 4 grandsons. Is America like the Pharaoh back then? Why are we killing babies? Is it because the mothers do not want to take responsibility for their actions nor be responsible for a child to raise? Each child is precious in God's sight. Why aren't they precious in people's sight?

LET IT GROW

Well, the king was still upset and fearful. He commanded his people to kill all male babies of the Hebrews (verse 22). God's providence prevented this from being universally carried out. He promised to bless them that blessed Israel and curse anyone who cursed Israel (Gen. 12:3).

The king's strategy was born of Satan, the murderer. This was but another attempt on Satan's part to destroy the Jews and keep the Messiah from being born.  (Wiersbe)

Do you recall another king who tried to slay the baby Jesus? It was King Herod. Were the women right in defying the orders of the king? Yes. In Acts 5:29, Peter and the apostles said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Who do we obey, God or man? Obeying God's instructions overrides man's laws when there is a conflict.

LET IT GO

Obey God.

Introduction to Exodus

O.T. #119  "Introduction to Exodus"
September 2, 2013
Exodus 1-Part 1
And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. Exodus 1:7

LET IT GLOW


Due to the famine, Joseph brought all of his father's family, including his 11 brothers and their families to live in a section of Egypt called the land of Goshen. There they spent the next 400 years, during which time these Hebrew speaking ones of Israel, became slaves to the Egyptians. Jacob and his 12 sons were long gone by this time frame. It would be like comparing our nation and families of the 1600's to our present-day family.

BACKGROUND:

When Greek-speaking Jews translated this book form Hebrew into Greek, they titled it Exodus, meaning literally a way out. this describes the primary movement of chapters 1-14, which culminate in Israel crossing the Red Sea and thus escaping Egyptian bondage. the common designation since that time has been Exodus in Latin and later in English as well. (Liberty Bible Commentary)

In God's timing, the Exodus marked the end of a period of oppression for Abraham's descendants and constituted the beginning of the fulfillment of the covenant promise to Abraham that his descendants would not only reside in the Promised Land, but would also multiply and become a great nation (Gen.12:1-3, 7).  The MacArthur Bible Commentary

Who wrote the book of Exodus? Moses was led by the Holy Spirit to write the Pentateuch, first five books of the Bible. In the New Testament our Lord clearly stated that Moses wrote Exodus. (John 5:46-47; Mark 7:10, 12:26)

It remains to be concluded that Exodus was written by Moses during the wilderness wanderings between the Exodus from Egypt itself and the conquest of Canaan forty years later. Solomon began to construct the temple 480 years after Israel had exited Egypt (1 Kings 6:1). Liberty Bible Commentary

What is the theme of this book? I found a variety of ideas concerning the theme: to record God's dealings with His people Israel (Falwell), to establish the theocratic nation in their Promised Land (MacArthur), redemption (Wiersbe).

LET IT GROW

Our book starts out identifying the sons of Jacob, renamed Israel by God. How many were in his family when they went into Egypt? There were 70, with Joseph's family already there. Keep in mind that Jacob, Joseph and his brothers had died by this time.

What does Moses tell us about the new generation of the children of Israel in verse 7?

• They were fruitful,
• they increased abundantly,
• they multiplied,
• they waxed exceeding mighty,
• and the land was filled with them.

By this verse, we can see God's providential blessing upon Israel's increase. (Falwell)

The seed of Abraham was no longer an extended family, but a nation. The growth of the nation was phenomenal. It grew from 70 men to 603,550 males, 20 years and older, thus allowing for a total population of about 2 million departing from Egypt. (Num. 1:46) (MacArthur)

Am I spiritually fruitful? Does the Holy Spirit have fruit of the Spirit produced in me?
Is my faith increasing abundantly?
Is my witness multiplying?
How strong am I standing for my faith?
Can I say that the land is filled with converts due to my witnessing?

LET IT GO

Encourage Christians to increase in faith in the Lord Jesus.

Walk by faith and not by sight.

Surrender to the Holy Spirit's producing fruit in me.