Month: April 2022

Categories
Christian Living

Waiting on the Lord can be Scary. You need the Faith of Moses.

Yes, waiting on the Lord to come through can be a time of anxiety and fear. But do not worry – He always answers. (Though His answer and timing will not always be just what we were expecting.)a photo of an old clock reminding us of waiting

In Exodus, we find that Moses led the people out of Egypt. But Pharaoh determined that He would not allow his slave labor to slip out of his hands so easily. So he gathered up his army and pursued the people.

It is not clear whether God had shared with Moses how He would rescue the people, but even before it occurred, Moses trusted that God would keep His word.

Here is part of the story from Exodus 14:

The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army—chased after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea.

The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Even though the people had recently seen ten amazing miracles of God’s remarkable power, they are now unwilling to trust that God could keep His promise of rescue. They had hoped that God would come through, but they are now doubting that He will.photo of lifesaving float that is used for rescuing those in trouble

Moses spoke up showing his faith, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you….”

And in the next moments, God parts the Red Sea, lets the Israelites escape, and destroys Pharaoh and his army.

But that’s how God took care of the Israelites more than 3000 years ago. What about my waiting on God today? Can I trust Him to come through for me with my problems and worries?

God has promised that He is with me. And therefore He tells me that I do not have to fear. So why is it that I still doubt? Why am I so similar to the fearful Israelites, when God has been faithful to take care of me through so many difficult situations in the past?

A Prayer for us today: “God, forgive me when I worry. Give me the faith of Moses, so that even before You show Your might and power, that I trust in You and in Your amazing ability to take care of my every need. Help me to be faithful, even while I am waiting on Your answer. Amen.”

What has helped you maintain faith (and eliminate worry) while you were waiting on God’s answer to come?

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Categories
Christian Living

Being a Light-Bearer for Jesus – Creating Holes in the Darkness

In preparing for a message on God’s light, I ran across this illustration of what it means to be a light-bearer for Christ:

Years ago, a traveler arrived at a village in France on Sunday evening, and found people hurrying through the streets, each carrying a similar looking lamp. As they walked through the streets with these lamps, little pockets of light were poking holes in the darkness.

The traveler stopped someone to ask where they were all going with these lamps and was told, “We have no other way of lighting our church. When the church was built, it was decided that each member should bring his own lamp. Everyone goes there to make it brighter, for he knows that if he stays away, the church will be darker and the service sadder.”

So the traveler followed the people and entered the church, and he saw that on every pew there was a place to hang a lamp; and as the church began filling, what began as individual little pockets of light, slightly piercing the darkness, became a building filled with light by the many lamps brought together to overcome the darkness.

a lantern - reminding you to be a light-bearer for ChristWe are called to do the same today. Jesus calls us the “light of the world,” and as a light-bearer, you carry the light of Christ within you. As a light-bearer, you poke a hole in the darkness individually when you are out in the world. But each of us are also called to bring our individual lights together as the church to make an even larger impact on the world around us as we bring glory to God and overcome the darkness with His Light.

God tells us that people love darkness rather than light. Without Jesus, our hearts are black, bound to sin, with no light within us. But Jesus wants you to receive His light and be transformed. What have you done with His light?

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Jesus’s light helps us navigate through this dark world – His light helps you find a way through the treacherous paths that Satan and this sin-filled world have placed in front of you.a photo of lampposts in fog reminding us to be a light-bearer for Christ

Have you allowed God’s light to help you on your life journey? Are you sharing His light with others to help light their way? Or have you walked into danger and difficulty, because you were unwilling to accept His light?

Jesus – the Light of men – want to share His light with you today – the light that pierces the darkness, the light that will show you the path to His righteousness and allow you to be a light-bearer for Him. Let His Word and the Holy Spirit be your light, and then bring your light together with other light-bearers – to be even more effective at poking holes in the darkness and pointing people back to Jesus.photo of many lamps together - reminding us to come together as light-bearers for Christ

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Categories
Jesus

Easter: The Hope of an Empty Tomb

I was recently asked by our local newspaper, The Meridian Star, to write a brief article about Jesus’ empty tomb. And as we are entering Spring and approaching Easter, I thought I would share it with you. Here it is:

It is hard to believe that we are now two years into the COVID experience. We’ve been discussing hopes of a “new normal” this entire time, and yet, we continue to find ourselves in a season of uncertainty, looking forward to a more stable future.artwork of a girl losing her balloon

But when we stop to think about it, even without COVID our lives are filled with unknowns and uncertainties every day. Unexpected difficulties, illnesses, tragedies, accidents – each day we hear about another friend, co-worker, neighbor, or family member who encounters unexpected tough news. The loss of jobs, the loss of relationships, the loss of health, the loss of loved ones. In the face of these difficulties, added to our two-year ongoing pandemic, we wonder where we can possibly turn to find the hope that we desperately need?

Where is the hope? This is a question that never seems to go away. Fortunately, we are reminded of the answer to this question every Spring. Every year, new buds emerge on the tips of what looked like dead branches, and brown, empty flowerbeds begin to come alive with new growth and new blooms, and the silence of winter is overtaken by the sights, sounds, and songs of new birds and butterflies and other animals arriving on the scene. By all of these signs, we are reminded through His creation that God has power over death. The message of new life in spring is a message of hope!

And the empty tomb of Jesus is the ultimate message of hope that all these other signs of Spring point us toward.photo of blooming tulips and daffodils - springtime equals hope

Jesus walked on this earth for around thirty years, and His ministry from His baptism to His death lasted about three years. As Jesus approached Jerusalem knowing that He was about to die to pay the price of all the sins of the world, He knew His disciples were going to struggle with His death. He also knew that in the future they would struggle with the suffering they would endure in this life. And so Jesus told His disciples before He went to the cross – “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. But be courageous! Because I have overcome the world.”

Jesus did not promise us a “rosy” life. He did not tell us that if we trust in Him we won’t have any more problems. Instead, He told us that this life will be filled with trials and difficulties. He said that we would suffer in this world. And we know this He spoke truth, because these past two years have definitely been a time of trial and difficulty and suffering for all of us.

But the story of Jesus promises us a magnificent ending – that after He died on the cross promising to pay the penalty for all of our sinful thoughts, words, and actions, Jesus rose from the dead to prove that He is the Savior and Messiah of this world. The disciples came to the tomb on Easter morning, and they were told by an angel – “He is not here. He is risen!”

And so, when we get discouraged and wonder where hope can possibly be found, whether we are asking the question in the midst of this 2-year pandemic, or if we are asking it in the midst of some other crisis in our lives, we can look to the Empty Tomb of Jesus. Remember that God has the power to make all things new. He even raises the dead to life. And Jesus rose from the dead to prove that He is the Promised Savior. Jesus rose from the dead to bring you hope.

Look to the Empty Tomb of Jesus this year and be changed!photo of an empty tomb in Israel

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Categories
Bible

God Is A Great Story-Teller

We all love stories. And God is great at providing amazing stories. And He has even written you into the story!photo of old books - reminding us that we love a good story

By calling God a story-teller, I’m not indicating the Bible is fiction. Too often, we’ve said something like “that person is telling stories” to indicate that they are lying. But a good story-teller is able to make a true account into a great story – not by embellishing it with fiction, but with tying the story together in a masterful way. Some are better at this than others. And God is simply the best!

As we read the true accounts of history in the Bible, we become amazed with how God unfolds His story of love and redemption and rescue. For example, we can see masterful story-telling in the story of Moses. In the story of the birth of Moses, we see that God is in control. And this should teach us that our great God is sovereign, and we can trust Him completely.

In the opening chapters of Exodus we find that the reigning Pharaoh has commanded that every Hebrew boy that is born is to be thrown into the Nile River and drowned. But Moses’s family places him in a basket in the river. The command of Pharaoh caused the family to try to hide Moses, and the best place they could come up with is the very river that was supposed to be the place of his death.a picture of the story of Moses in a basket in the Nile River

When Pharaoh’s daughter comes down to the river to bathe, she catches a glimpse of the basket, and she pulls the baby out of the river to raise him in the luxury of the palace. The family that had ordered the death of all the baby boys in the river pulls a baby boy out of the river and saves him from death. In a sense, Moses is resurrected to life. And this baby boy will be the one God will use to rescue His people from their bondage and slavery in Egypt.

How ironic that the ruler who says “drown all the infant boys in the river,” has his own daughter rescue God’s chosen spokesperson from the very same river! And on top of that, she then gives Moses back to his mother to wean him before bringing him to the palace to be raised. This shows how God is sovereign and is actively at work in so many ways.

Later on, God will tell us the story of another baby boy born (in Bethlehem) who a new king (Herod) orders to be killed. But instead of dying in infancy, God rescues this infant too, and He is the one God uses to rescue His people from their bondage and slavery to sin.a picture of the story of the birth of Jesus in the manger

This rescuing of His people occurs through Jesus’s death on the cross. And then Jesus is resurrected to life, proving to us all that He is the Savior of the world.

God’s story of love for us is remarkable. So why don’t we trust Him more completely?

Whatever you are worrying about today, turn it over to the sovereign control of God. If we trust the heart of God, then we can leave every worry behind. He is the master story-teller, and you have been written into this beautiful story!

Thank Him for rescuing you today and including you in His story of love and grace and redemption!

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Categories
Christian Living

Hypocrisy is dangerous. Instead let’s help each other with compassion.

Hypocrisy is a common theme in the Bible. Jesus makes several statements about hypocrisy against the Pharisees. But one of the most well-known statements He gives is from the Sermon on the Mount. And it is for all of us:

How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

photo of finger pointing at you, symbolizing hypocrisy

We are operating out of hypocritical judgment when we condemn others who make the same mistake that we struggle with. And this is what Jesus is calling us to avoid. It is not a new struggle. We find hypocrisy readily available in the first book of the Bible.

I’m always amazed at the hypocrisy in the story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38. In that passage we are clearly shown how easily we can become unrighteously angry over another person’s sin even though we are in the midst of our own similar sin. Judah is incredulous over the sin of Tamar when he finds out that she has slept with someone to whom she is not married. He is infuriated at her unfaithfulness.

But just like Judah, we can become so good at judging others for their sin, while finding plenty of reasons to justify our own. Instead of having compassion for another person who has fallen into the trap of sin, we cover up our own sin and bluster on about how bad theirs is.

 

statue of lady justice - reminding us to not judge with hypocrisy

We also see king David do this when the prophet Nathan confronted him with the story of the man whose precious lamb was killed unfairly. David was outraged that a person in his kingdom would treat another person so terribly to gain something that wasn’t his. And yet David had just done the very thing by taking the life of Uriah to cover up his sin with Bathsheba. Hypocrisy.

Now back to Judah. Judah was infuriated to hear that his widowed daughter-in-law Tamar had become pregnant. Little did he know that he was the one that had gotten her pregnant. While on a business trip, he had met and slept with a woman he thought was a prostitute. But it was actually Tamar in disguise. When he got ready to have her killed for her unfaithfulness, she showed him the articles that he had left with her, thus pointing out to him his own unfaithfulness. His outrage turned to shame. Due to his own hypocrisy.

Before we get too incredulous at these extreme examples, let’s realize that we also struggle with engaging in hypocrisy. We do this when we struggle with our own impure thoughts, but condemn others for their sexual sin when their sin is made public. We do this when we struggle with our own covetousness and greed, but condemn others when their sin of greed is made public. We so often complain loudly about the splinter in others’ eyes when we have a log in ours.

Certainly we who follow Christ have the right and a responsibility to hold each other accountable for sin, but let’s be sure that we are also examining ourselves and that we are avoiding harsh judgment toward others. We are called to be compassionate in our accountability, realizing that we are all sinners saved by grace.image of one person helping another up a mountain - no hypocrisy, only help

Do you need to remove any judgmental thoughts or any unrighteous condemnation from your life? We all still struggle with sin. Instead of condemning each other for it, let’s work to lovingly help each other out of it.

I’ll help you. I hope you will also help me.

Father God,

Thank you for Christian brothers and sisters who love one another so much that instead of condemning each other for sin, we are trying to find ways to help each other out. When the battle gets too strong for each of us on our own, give us hearts of compassion to run to the aid of each other without judgment and condemnation.

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