Stuck

Exodus 6:9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

Moses brought amazing news of God's deliverance. After four hundred years they would finally be free! God was going to fulfill his promise to them that they had been told about for generations! Sadly, the Israelites had been so accustomed to slavery and being treated like scum that they could not imagine being set free. They were truly oppressed and they saw themselves as slaves, not free men. 

This is what can happen when you are stuck for a long time. You get used to defeat and failure to the point that you cannot accept the possibility that you can be set free! When you get stuck in a sin that you cannot seem to shake you eventually give up and accept the sin and walk in the oppression and shame of failure. 

The beauty of Christ is that he came to set you free from sin! Galatians 5:1 reads, 'For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.' 

Now may you walk in freedom. May you look at the sin and struggle that has been owning you and trust what Christ did for you on the cross. May you accept the freedom you have been given. Amen.

Why do we worship?

Exodus 3:4-5 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."

What is worship? Why do we sing to God and preach about God and pray to God? 

When we look from the outside-in it looks rather strange. People gathering together in a building or a house, singing about an all-powerful creataor, giving their money away because they love this invisible being. It must be rather strange looking to the ousdier.

But what we see here in Exodus 3 reveals to us the essense of true worship. The almighty creator of the universe revealed himself to Moses. Moses was not a powerful man, from whom God could strategically benefit. He had lost everything and was a shepherd in the wilderness, but God chose to come and meet wiith him and communicate with him. 

It is interesting how Moses responds to God's presence. He 'hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.' God's holy presence was so overwhelming that Moses could not even look at him. This is what we call, 'the fear of the Lord.' We also call the response, 'reverence.' When we are in God's presence we are amazed by his greatness so we submit ourselves to his will. 

May you and I recognize God's greatness and holiness like Moses did. May we fear the Lord and revere him. May we worship him for he is holy.

Suffering for What?

Genesis 50:19 But Joesph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."

Bad things happen to good people. Why? This passage in Genesis 50 shows us one reason people experience suffering; because God uses suffering to save people's lives! Joseph suffered so that his family could be saved from the famine many years later. Joseph's brothers had no idea that they were contributing to the eternal plan of God while they were selling him into slavery. any more than Jesus' executioners knew that they were  contributing to God's plan of salvation.

Obviously, this fact does not excuse sin. On the contrary, their sin was horrible and evil. But God has an amazing way of taking something terrible and using it for his plan of redemption.

Here is my hope for us: Let us endure suffering with the joy of knowing that God will not allow it to be wasted. Likewise, let us not waste our suffering, but instead use it as a witness of God's greatness. He is worth it!