Red Sea Rules – Part 10

Exodus 15:1-2 1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD :
"I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.

This was the first recorded song in Scripture. When it’s over, don’t forget to praise Him. I’ve heard grandparents say that eventually they stopped sending money gifts to their grandchildren who don’t say thank you. My mom has even said, “I’d like to at least know if they got the gift!”

How can we better thank God? How can we live more praise-oriented lives?

You can start by noticing things more. Slow down and be aware of the good stuff and offer up thanks to God. For small things and large. You can listen to Christian music, sing hymns of praise. You can start your prayer by thanking God. Be faithful in attending church and concentrate on the worship while you’re there. Practice thanksgiving. Practice praise and practice His presence!

Red Sea Rules – Part 9

Exodus 14:30 -31 30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

The author says that from this verse we learn that we should view our current crises as a faith builder for the future. We may not always know why God allows problems, but we do know He intends for them to deepen our faith, make us more mature and more like Christ. They make us stronger after we’ve come through them.

The Israelites benefited from the trial. It says they “feared the Lord and believed Him.” Their faith was beefed up for the challenges ahead. Faith grows. It gets stronger during different seasons of our life.

One definition of faith is found in Luke 1:45 and it’s what Elizabeth said about Mary: Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!

In Romans 4:20 – 21 Paul wrote about Abraham: 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

And of course the most well known definition of faith in the Bible is Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

For Christians, faith is making reasonable assumptions about God’s care and control over our lives, based on His scriptural promises whether we understand or appreciate what’s going on.

God is like a teacher. After teaching awhile we get quizzes and tests to see how much we’ve learned.

In this Bible story, God gave them instructions through Moses and then brought them to the edge of the Red Sea and there was the test. Would they apply His promises to their problem?

In another Bible story Jesus taught the disciples on the mountainside, then loaded them into a boat and sent them into a huge storm.

Same with us. At church we hear the Word of God, at home we do our devotions and study scripture. And then the trials come to see how much we’ve learned. They give us the opportunity to put His teachings into practice. As we trust Him and pass each test we are strengthened for the future.

So here’s the principle: our faith grows when we choose to apply God’s promises to today’s problems and use the experiences to mature us for tomorrow’s challenges.

That’s why the Bible is so full of promises. We never encounter any situation for which God has not provided a promise to bear us through it. There is no condition we can be in that we don't have a promise for. The way to strengthen your faith is to focus it upon particular promises that speak to what you’re going through. Find and claim a promise of God for your situation.

Red Sea Rules – Part 8

Exodus 14:21-22 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

Trust God to act in a unique way. He did a lot of miracles in the Bible. He helped a lot of people in trouble. Does He still? Does He help people when they have money problems? Marital problems? Health problems?

Yes! But we must have God’s perspective on deliverance. He doesn’t always view things the way we do.

Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

We can’t view His deliverance by emotional reflex, human standards or even common sense. Only by Biblical truth.

Even though there are a lot of miracles recorded in the Bible (and actually not as many as some folks may think.) helping people in ordinary ways was what He did most often. That’s why we need to pay attention to accidents and what we call coincidences.

No such things in a Christian life.

So what about the Christians who are murdered or don’t get well? The author says that they are snatched from a place of pain, tears, stress and sickness and taken to a place where Satan can no longer harass them. A place that is far better.

Vance Havner, an evangelist, wrote that when we finally stand before the throne, all the puzzle pieces will fall into place and all the question marks will straighten out to exclamation marks!

Christians can latch on to this verse:

John 13:7 7Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

When we don’t understand why something is happening remember this verse because it was Jesus who said those words!

Red Sea Rules – Part 7

Exodus 14:19-20 19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

The Lord went with them. The Angel of God appears several times in the Old Testament and it is Jesus who manifests the Father’s presence.

To the Egyptians He was in the form of a cloud and darkness and to the Israelites He was light. Jesus gives light to those who trust Him, but to those who reject Him – darkness.

For His children He is both guard and guide. He goes before, leading the way and behind, gathering up our debris, our failure and our poor attempts at ministry. He is with us. He is all around us.

At the Red Sea, God put His people in a position where His presence had never been so real to them. Using difficulty He cultivated within them a greater appreciation for Himself. One commentator even wrote that, “God’s presence in a trial is much better than escaping from the trial.” Difficult times can sensitize us to God’s presence.

“I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” And Psalm 46:1 says He’s a very present help in trouble.

The author told how his mom really struggled for a while with loneliness after his dad died. And it took awhile but finally she told him that she had adjusted to living alone very nicely because it gave her time to feel God’s presence. She said she talked to Him all day. Her son said that while she had been a Christian her whole life, her later years were marked with a renewed love for Scripture, busy ministry to others, a deepened prayer life and accelerated growth in praise and worship.

So how can we master the practice of His presence?

1. Affirm His nearness in your heart. We see people doing this in the Bible all the time. These verses are Promises of God:

Genesis 28:15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Hebrews 13:5 5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Philippians 4:5-6 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

2. Visualize God’s presence in your mind. Picture Him in the room with you and talk to Him! Visualizing His presence not only bestows comfort, but it restrains sinful tendencies.

3. Access God’s presence through prayer. James 4:8 tells us to draw near to God. How do we do that? We pray! Dwight Moody said there wasn’t any problem or uncertainty in life that he didn’t turn and speak to God as naturally as someone in the same room.

4. Reflect His presence in your demeanor. No matter what we are doing, even cleaning the house, working in the yard, writing a letter or an email, we can do it for His glory: by doing it well, by being happy about it, by being positive, by sharing Him with others… Lots of ways!!

Red Sea Rules – Part 6

Exodus 14:15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.

When it was time and the Israelites had stopped and cried out to God, He gave them a simple plan. Move forward. That’s Rule 6.

There are many stories in the Bible where God acted after someone’s taken a single step in faith. Jesus had the man with the withered hand reach it out. He had the crippled man get up. A Christian walk is step by step, day by day.

Psalm 42:8 says, “Day by day the Lord also pours out His steadfast love upon me.” Or how about the prayer Jesus taught us, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

When you don’t know what to do, stay close to God and then do the next logical step in faith. A big problem you have may be overwhelming; so you don’t do anything. But try doing just the next thing toward its solution. It might be a phone call, or rearranging your schedule, or paying 1 bill, or cutting up 1 credit card or whatever. But start with the smallest step that’s right in front of you. The next step often becomes more or less obvious.

Thomas Carlyle wrote, “Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.”

Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount not to be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of our tomorrows. We need to live one day at a time. And of course this means living with His teachings and will in mind.

When you don’t know what to do – ask God to get rid of your fear and just show you the next step.

There’s a hymn called “Moment by Moment” that says, “Never a trial that He is not there, Never a burden that He does not bear, Never a sorrow that He does not share. Moment by moment, we’re under His care.”

God grows us little by little. He leads us one step at a time.

Red Sea Rules – Part 5

Exodus 14:13-14 13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Rule #5 - Stay calm and confidant. Give God time to work.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

God delights in doing the impossible. I was thinking about this and a thought struck me that we need to be willing to share what He’s done. His great acts need to be talked about. Why would God move in mighty ways for someone who doesn’t notice or if they notice doesn’t thank Him or give Him credit?

When you have a problem and ask God in prayer to move and you wait on Him while He works and your problem is fixed – give God the credit.

But that’s moving ahead. This section is the wait on the Lord part!

Psalm 37:7-8 says, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret, it only causes harm.”

We’ve said before how often God tells us in the Bible not to fear. 365 times. It’s important to Him. We all have strong emotions and depending on circumstances they can be all over the place! But a sign of maturity is controlling those emotions. A mature Christian walks by faith not feeling. The author of this book says that sometimes we must choose an attitude that’s contrary to the way we feel.

The Israelites had every reason to be afraid. They were cornered! There was no human escape. But they had an Ally who had sent locusts and plagues on the Egyptians, who had showed up as a pillar of fire and a cloud. And He was telling them through Moses not to be afraid. To stop and see what God would do. To trust Him and that He was going to fight for them.

No matter what’s going on in our lives. OR IN THE WORLD! We need to trust God and leave room for Him to work! Everything happening in our world today is predicted in the Bible. Wars, earthquakes, bad economy, disease, the enormous increase in knowledge and information, that people would love themselves more than Him, etc. etc. It’s all moving along just like God said it would. We are moving in a direction that He is in control of. And for Christians it will end fine. In the end. But for now, we need to trust and let Him continue His work.

Deuteronomy 1:29-31 29 Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."

Deuteronomy 3:22 “Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you."

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Romans 8:31, 37 31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? And 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

The battle is not ours. It’s God’s. Commit every situation, one by one into the hands of God. And trust His timing. Kneel in prayer and then stand to see what He does. We gain nothing by our restless and anxious efforts.

But that doesn’t mean we do nothing. We move with the logical next step in our lives. A step at a time, moving in what we know is God’s will and He will reveal a little more at each faithful move.

The Red Sea Rules – Part 4

Exodus 14:10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD.

Pray! That’s Rule #4. Matthew Henry a well known Bible commentator wrote, “God brings us into straits that He may bring us to our knees.” We can panic, but prayer is the means by which we can if we choose, stay even-tempered, self- possessed and strong spirited even in a crisis.

In a time of uncertainty, Jacob said:
Genesis 35:3 “Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone."

Referring to his days as a fugitive, David wrote
2 Samuel 22:7 “In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.”

In this chapter the author is talking about crisis time prayers. Not our daily talks with God, but prayers during life-threatening or soul-shattering events. The Israelites prayer was urgent and united! They cried out! There are many prayers recorded in scripture which are cries.

This is storming heaven. Or praying through. Sometimes there’s little you can do, but plead with God. And in James 5:16 it says, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results."

And it’s even more powerful when two or more pray. The author wrote that God won’t always say yes to all our requests, just like we don’t always say yes to everything our children ask us, but He listens with unusual attentiveness when two or more unite in prayer and responds in His own way and time with power and wisdom.

Also, the Israelites weren’t reciting some prayer from a book or church bulletin. They were panicked and their prayer was real and from the heart.

Here are some of the prayers like that in the Bible:

Job 8:5-6 But if you will look to God and plead with the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place.

Mark 5:22-23 "Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live."

Luke 7:44 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this,

Luke 22:44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

James 5:17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

Back to the Israelites – even praying to God like that, they didn’t really expect Him to answer. Look what happened. “The children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses “Because there are no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?”

We often pray all our fears. Just listing our problems, instead of claiming God’s promises as we should. Pray in faith!

Red Sea Rules - Part 3

Rule #3 Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord.

Exodus 14:5-9 5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen [a] and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.

The Exodus story is also a story of what Jesus did for us. He brought us out of captivity. He freed us from our sins. But, like Pharaoh, Satan has not forgotten us and wants to capture and re-enslave us. In Ephesians 6:11 Paul warns us against the “wiles” of the devil. Pharaoh lost a lot of people that were working for him for free! And he was angry!

Satan is also angry. Pharaoh gathered up all his soldiers and pursued them. If you’ve ever felt like Satan was after you – what we learn from this passage is –“Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord.”

Neither Pharaoh nor Satan realize how defeated they already are.

The Bible likens Satan to 5 different animals. In Genesis 3, he’s a serpent trying to deceive God’s people; in Matthew 13, a bird trying to spoil God’s harvest. In John 10 Jesus calls him a wolf, attacking God’s flock. In 1 Peter 5 he’s a lion trying to devour God’s children and in Revelation 12 he’s a dragon wanting to destroy God’s Son.

But Jesus said in John 8:36 “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

The blood of Jesus Christ forgives our sins and resolves our guilt. His resurrection frees us from the fear of death and it satisfies our need for eternal significance. The presence of the Lord surrounds us and the promises of the Bible sustain us.

But Satan’s still going to try to get us back. He’s going to try to discourage us. He may use old friends. He may show us a hypocrite in the church; send us a temptation right to our weak spot. He may trap us in a difficulty or corner us in impossible situations. The author says, “Acknowledge his activity, but don’t be intimidated by him. You can resist him in the power of God and by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Latch on to one of these verses:

Daniel 11:32 "With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him."

James 4:7-8 "7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

1 Peter 5:9 "Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

Ephesians 6:13 "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

We can rebuff the enemy in the name of Jesus. We can claim the victory of faith when we shake off discouragement in the name of our Lord. When we do that, the author says that Satan falls from heaven faster then lightening and is drowned in the Red Sea of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Every time we resist the slightest temptation we honor God!!!

Every time we overcome even the slightest problem by trusting and obeying Jesus, God is glorified!

When we choose character over convenience, faithfulness over ease, honesty over deceit, we bring honor to the Lord.

Satan’s work against God and His church is mentioned often in the Bible:

Acts 13:10/Acts 26:18/ 2 Timothy 2:26/ Ephesians 4:26-27/ Colossians 1:13-14/2 Corinthians 12:7/1 Thessalonians 2:18 to name just a few!

Paul warns us in Ephesians 6:12 that, “Our fight is not against any physical enemy. It is against organizations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen powers that control the dark world and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil.” How do we respond?

We draw near to Christ and keep ourselves under His protection of grace.

Pharaoh could chase and threaten and terrify, but he was powerless to actually harm the Israelites as long as they remained under the protective cloud of God’s glory and grace.

If you’ve ever been walking and had a dog come out of nowhere barking and angry at you, only to have him be stopped by an electric fence – the author says that’s what Satan is like to a Christian. He can bark and growl, lunge and threaten, but when we are enclosed by the grace of Jesus we’ll see in tomorrow’s post what we need to do!

The Red Sea Rules – Part 2

Exodus 14:3-4 3 Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.' 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this.

The author says this is Rule #2 - Be more concerned for God’s glory than for your relief. Sometimes we can’t find the answers to our dilemmas because we’re asking the wrong questions. Say we’ve been diagnosed with a terminal illness or have a child in crisis or lost all our money. Our natural instinct is to ask: “How did I get into this mess? And how can I get out of it?” Or, “why me?”

These may be natural questions, but they are the wrong ones. The right question results in an entirely new way of looking at our difficulty. The right question is “How can God be glorified in this situation?”

And it changes everything.

In these verses in Exodus we see God deliberately orchestrated these events to demonstrate the power He wields over both His enemies and the elements. He parted the seas and it was written about in the Bible so generations later we know that our God can do anything!

Remember the story in John 7 when Jesus’ disciples met a man blind from birth and they asked, “How did this man get into this situation? Why did it happen? Who sinned, the man or his parents, that he was born this way?” And Jesus told them they were asking the wrong question. That “this man was born blind so that the power of God could be displayed in his life.” Jesus healed him so we would know who Jesus is!

God doesn’t waste suffering. If He leads us into impossible spots, He will deliver us in His own time, in His own way and for His name’s sake. Our job is to say, as Jesus did during the week before he was crucified:

John 12:27-28 27"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!"

That is, after all, what our lives are all about. To Him be the glory!

God will deliver His people from every trial and trouble. It may not be my way or your way, but in His own way, He will deliver for His name’s sake. In this Exodus story the Lord intended from the beginning to gain glory for Himself by saving His people at the last minute. If you think about it God often saves us in the nick of time. Just when we think we can’t hang on anymore, He’ll provide an escape route. And His way is the best way. And it leads to worship.

Psalm 50:15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.

Psalm 34:19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

I think when He gets us through something we need to give Him the credit. To thank Him and tell others what He did.

EXODUS

The book of Exodus tells the story of the forming of the children of Israel into a church and a nation. We can learn much from this book.

Many Jews, Christians and Muslims believe there is only one God and that He is the source of everything that exists in the universe. We believe that God cares for people, that He helps them, that He calls them to know, serve and worship Him. Many of the roots from which our faith has grown can be found in the book of Exodus.

Whenever one group of people or a tribe or race is hated or oppressed or exploited by another, they can find in Exodus a challenge and a message of hope. The message of hope is for those who suffer. The African slaves remembered Moses in many of their songs. They knew that God wants people to be free.

The challenge and a warning are first of all for those who oppress them, but as we read this book we will find there are also warnings for those who wish to be liberated. God also wants us to trust Him wherever He has put us at that time.

This book is about going forward. About hoping what you are going to is better then what you left behind. It’s also a book about learning that the only way to be truly free is to put God first in your life and to treat other people justly.

When the book of Exodus was written there were many people who thought there were a large number of gods and goddesses. Others thought there might be one creator-god, but that he was too far away to be concerned with the everyday affairs of people’s lives. The writer of Exodus makes it clear he believes there is one God and that He is a God who comes near to people. He makes Himself known. He has a purpose for men’s lives and He makes it known to them. There are people even today who pray to saints because they think God is unapproachable.

When we read Exodus we should look for what it tells us about God and we should use what it tells us so that we trust Him and do His will.

Lord make me a vessel that serves only You, and my life a reflection of what You can do.