Imagine with me for a moment a young man-
Far from his place of birth.
Exiled from his family.
Tending his flock of sheep in the wilderness.
Suddenly- a great flame appeared and the angel of the Lord spoke to him.
Through a bush.
Ah, Moses.
I have always loved spending time in Exodus.
The call of Moses to go.
The way that the Lord used this man to free the children of Israel and plunder the Egyptians.
However this week- in my current heart state- I read this particular portion of scripture with sensitivity to the great call the Lord had placed on Moses.
(Have you ever felt that the Lord was calling you to do something unbelievable? inconceivable? )
Let us work our way through this together...
God is speaking to Moses and the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
The Lord makes clear to Moses that he is near and is standing on Holy ground.
He has the attention of brother Moses-
Then comes the call...
Exodus 3:10-12
"Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.
But Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?'
He said 'But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."
Would you have asked the same question that Moses did?
...Who am I that I should go?
We see then that the Lord does not answer Moses' question in the way that he asks but says... "I will be with you"
The Lord has shown Moses that His presence is essential to the call.
It will be God himself and His nearness to enable Moses to carry out this calling.
The Lord then goes on to share with Moses what to say to the elders, the people of Israel and to the Pharaoh.
I cannot imagine what Moses must have been thinking.
...really, Lord? You want me to go and plunder the Pharaoh...
But the Lord tells Moses in verse 18 something unbelievable
"And they will listen to your voice...
and then in verse 22(b) the Lord tells Moses
"..so you shall plunder the Egyptians."
To Moses- this must have been impossible in His mind.
No, Lord- you have the wrong man.
I am exiled.
I am weak.
I am unworthy.
In Exodus chapter 4 verse 10 Moses says
"Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and tongue.
Then the Lord said these words to Moses.
(I imagine these words must be read with authority. The Lord is commanding Moses to go. Guiding with his rod- telling Moses to obey.)
"Who has made man's mouth?
Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing or blind?
Is it not I, the Lord?
Now therefore go, and
I will be your mouth and I will teach you what you shall speak."
I am in tears reading and reflecting on this portion of scripture.
How many times, Oh Lord, have I doubted your ability to work through me?
The Lord does not call the equipped.
He equips the called.
What area of your life right now are you ignoring the Lord's call?
Is He calling you to go?
Is He calling you to give?
Is He calling you to speak?
You see- Moses tried all that he could to get out of this call-
and I would have done the same thing.
I do the same thing.
But see the truth that the Lord speaks over him--
I will be with you.
I have sent you.
I will be your mouth.
I will teach you what you should speak.
I think of the many things that the Lord has placed on my heart to accomplish-
tasks or calls that I avoid or bury deep because they are too daunting, too overwhelming and I do not feel equipped.
But the Lord is not calling me to go alone.
He is calling me to GO with him.
And be a vessel for Him.
A vessel equipped by Him to fulfill His purposes.
WHO ARE WE THAT WE SHOULD GO?
We are sinners who have been offered redemption through the sacrifice of God's only son. We are sons and daughters of the Most High whose purpose is to bring glory to Christ- and this purpose comes with a cost.
There will be cost in the call.
For Moses this cost was great- but obedience to Christ was His call.
What is the Lord calling you to do?
He will equip you to go to the Pharaohs gates.
He will equip you to speak with authority and might.
He will send you with the promise that you do not go alone.
Let us hold fast to our faith in King Jesus-
who reveals Himself, His promises and His purposes to use in our lives through the tasks that He calls us to accomplish- all for His name's sake.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
In All That I Have Found
Autumn in my favorite time of year.
Brilliant Weather.
Flannel.
Family gatherings.
Festive Foods.
Something about this season is cozy and perfectly familiar.
This week I celebrated Thanksgiving early.
There was no turkey.
No cornucopia of plastic fruits.
But many thanks.
What?
YES.
I had my own week of thanksgiving with the Lord.
To say that I felt wrapped in the warmth of my Jesus is a start.
I felt His goodness in the chilly mornings.
His beauty was a gift with changing leaves.
His joy in the laughter of people around me.
His nearness to my heart was intoxicating.
Christ in Me- Teaching and loving me.
Unbelievable.
I found myself incredibly excited about things that I often overlook and hardly recognize.
At one point I stopped and said to myself...
This is too good to be true.
It was uncomfortable.
God is, in a way, too close.
He is in my business.
He presence effecting me personally. consistently.
And I LOVE it.
I have been praying for a heart that savors Jesus.
A heart that is stilled at the foot of the cross and focused on Christ.
(How often do we sit down and say "Thank you")
All of my life-I grew up in church singing..
"Thank you for loving and setting me free. Thank you for giving your life just for me. Yes, I thank you. Jesus, I thank you"
But did I sing these words as a redeemed Child of God?
Do I live with this heart of Thanksgiving?
This week I could not help thanking Christ for loving me.
For setting me free.
For giving up His life so that I may live.
He died so that I may live.
....Let's get personal.....
How often do we cry watching movies or reading books and sobbing over a character who has given their life for the sake of another?
All the time.
Sobbing. Heart Broken. Genuinely sad.
YET- we go days- weeks- years
without giving praise and expressing thanksgiving to Christ-
who made Himself nothing so that we may have life.
That is a hard fact to admit.
My pride tries to convince me otherwise.
But the truth is that I do not say thank you enough.
I know this sounds simple-
and perhaps it is just that.
But there is no doubt that many of us, especially myself,
could benefit from adding an intentional time of thanksgiving in our daily routine.
The Lord is doing a number on my heart-
and last week I found myself sobbing in my bed from all of the horrors that are in this world- and the Lord has chosen to spare me from suffering them.
Why not me?
Why them?
I do not know.
But-thanks be to God.
He deserves my affection.
He deserves my adoration.
He deserves "Thank you"
In all that I have found- God is faithful, good and worthy to be praised.
Will you join me in celebrating Thanksgiving early?
And all the time?
Our hearts shall be overjoyed with thanks-
to the point where this thanks becomes a part of our lives-
our lifestyle of worship.
"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!"
Psalm 30:11-12
He is worthy.
-Many Blessings
Some ideas to make it real....
Ways to express Thanksgiving personally:
*Journal of Thanks
There is nothing sweeter than flipping page after page of documented answers to prayer and testimonies of God's faithfulness. I cherish my journals. My heart is on the lines of the pages.
*Verbal Praise
My favorite time to talk with the Lord is in my car.
There are few moments that are sweeter than my verbally communicating to the Lord
"Thank you, Jesus for reconciliation. Thank you, Jesus for forgiveness"
Ways to express Thanksgiving together:
*Thanks Board
I know many families who have a board of "prayers" and "lessons" in their homes.
How about a public board of thanks?
*Writing Thanks
Personally- The Lord has used so many people to reveal Himself to me. What a joy it would be to let these people know that they were a part of God's work in my heart
Brilliant Weather.
Flannel.
Family gatherings.
Festive Foods.
Something about this season is cozy and perfectly familiar.
This week I celebrated Thanksgiving early.
There was no turkey.
No cornucopia of plastic fruits.
But many thanks.
What?
YES.
I had my own week of thanksgiving with the Lord.
To say that I felt wrapped in the warmth of my Jesus is a start.
I felt His goodness in the chilly mornings.
His beauty was a gift with changing leaves.
His joy in the laughter of people around me.
His nearness to my heart was intoxicating.
Christ in Me- Teaching and loving me.
Unbelievable.
I found myself incredibly excited about things that I often overlook and hardly recognize.
At one point I stopped and said to myself...
This is too good to be true.
It was uncomfortable.
God is, in a way, too close.
He is in my business.
He presence effecting me personally. consistently.
And I LOVE it.
I have been praying for a heart that savors Jesus.
A heart that is stilled at the foot of the cross and focused on Christ.
(How often do we sit down and say "Thank you")
All of my life-I grew up in church singing..
"Thank you for loving and setting me free. Thank you for giving your life just for me. Yes, I thank you. Jesus, I thank you"
But did I sing these words as a redeemed Child of God?
Do I live with this heart of Thanksgiving?
This week I could not help thanking Christ for loving me.
For setting me free.
For giving up His life so that I may live.
He died so that I may live.
....Let's get personal.....
How often do we cry watching movies or reading books and sobbing over a character who has given their life for the sake of another?
All the time.
Sobbing. Heart Broken. Genuinely sad.
YET- we go days- weeks- years
without giving praise and expressing thanksgiving to Christ-
who made Himself nothing so that we may have life.
That is a hard fact to admit.
My pride tries to convince me otherwise.
But the truth is that I do not say thank you enough.
I know this sounds simple-
and perhaps it is just that.
But there is no doubt that many of us, especially myself,
could benefit from adding an intentional time of thanksgiving in our daily routine.
The Lord is doing a number on my heart-
and last week I found myself sobbing in my bed from all of the horrors that are in this world- and the Lord has chosen to spare me from suffering them.
Why not me?
Why them?
I do not know.
But-thanks be to God.
He deserves my affection.
He deserves my adoration.
He deserves "Thank you"
In all that I have found- God is faithful, good and worthy to be praised.
Will you join me in celebrating Thanksgiving early?
And all the time?
Our hearts shall be overjoyed with thanks-
to the point where this thanks becomes a part of our lives-
our lifestyle of worship.
"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!"
Psalm 30:11-12
He is worthy.
-Many Blessings
Some ideas to make it real....
Ways to express Thanksgiving personally:
*Journal of Thanks
There is nothing sweeter than flipping page after page of documented answers to prayer and testimonies of God's faithfulness. I cherish my journals. My heart is on the lines of the pages.
*Verbal Praise
My favorite time to talk with the Lord is in my car.
There are few moments that are sweeter than my verbally communicating to the Lord
"Thank you, Jesus for reconciliation. Thank you, Jesus for forgiveness"
Ways to express Thanksgiving together:
*Thanks Board
I know many families who have a board of "prayers" and "lessons" in their homes.
How about a public board of thanks?
*Writing Thanks
Personally- The Lord has used so many people to reveal Himself to me. What a joy it would be to let these people know that they were a part of God's work in my heart
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