Matthew 20:29-21:22

God knows the pain in his people's lives, whether he gives us the strength to endure pain or quite often heals us in response to persistent prayer. It is not because mastered formulas of prayer, but it is because He cares for us intimately, they were humble in prayer casting themselves upon & referring cheerfully to the mediator's Mercy. They showed Faith in prayer, they persevered in prayer. The word believing is the key to any difficulty in accepting this declaration, we cannot believe whatever we please it is only the spirit of God who can enable s man to believe that God will answer His prayer. Then Jesus will grant the petition. These miracles are our call to Jesus, may we hear it & make it our daily prayer to grow in Grace and in the knowledge of the Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ Amen 🙏

January 30th blog post

As I read todays Old Testament reading, as well as the past few days, regarding Pharaoh and the plagues a verse kept coming to mind:

 

"For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it."  Matthew 16:25

 

When I read of Pharaoh's continued stubbornness and his constant pleading for the plagues to end and then reneging on his promise to let the Israelites go I see a man desperate to hold onto the empire, the power, the life he lavishes in and loves.  He likes to be in control, in power.  He likes having a nation of slaves at his mercy.  He likes the comforts of his life.  When God shows up, through Aaron and Moses, Pharaoh is being told that it is time for a change and he is not a very happy man or willing one at that.  He tightens his grip of control on the life he knows.  God sends plagues and when they become unbearable Pharaoh tells Moses to pray for them to go away and he will surrender to the Lord's will.  But as soon as the discomfort is gone so is the need in his mind to give up control of the life he wants and he digs his heels in deep unwilling to surrender.  We see this same scenario play out over and over and over again through all different kinds of plagues.  Then we get to today.  The telling of the final plague, the greatest cost: life will be lost, not Pharaoh's physical life but close enough.  Every first-born male of every household and cattle will die.  Like it or not Pharaoh's life as he knows it is about to be completely lost.

 

It is very easy for me to sit in my kitchen with my cup of tea and read this story and say to myself, "What a fool Pharaoh is.  After the first plague I would have packed the bags for the Israelites myself."  But the truth of the matter is I too have a tendency toward a stubborn heart.  I like to live in the comfort and control of my life (or what I perceive as control).  When the storms and trials (plagues) of my life hit I am shaken and uncomfortable.  I don't want to go through the difficulties and pains and I pray for the Lord to take them away, to get me out of them quickly.  What happens when he does?  I can be quick to raise my hands, praise God, and say Thank you.  Then I go back to quickly pick up the pieces of control from my life and reassemble them, my surrender was temporary when the need was beyond my control.  I can often times be just like Pharaoh and let fear and control prevent me from giving God the complete surrender he calls me to.  From letting him work in my life according to his perfect will.

 

What if Pharaoh had said, "Ok LORD.  I know this is going to greatly change not just my way of life but the way of life for my people.  I'm scared and I don't like the thought of change and uncertainty but I am going to trust you.  I ask you to help me through this process and learn and grow and love the life you have waiting for me."  I firmly believe that God would have been there for him through the adjustment and blessed his new life in ways he had never dreamed.

 

God is constantly calling us to surrender our lives to him, in both the good times and the bad.  We need to prayerful ask the Lord to help us trust him in all circumstances with our lives.  It isn't always a quick transition but it is always trustworthy when we let God lead our surrendered hearts into new territory.

Blog Post Sunday January 29

By Emma Cassell

Matthew 19:13-15

Priority of Children 

The words of Jesus challenged the attitude of many of His contemporaries towards children. Jesus placed His hands on the little children and prayed for them. The disciples felt that Jesus should not be distracted by them. Jesus replied, let the little children come to  me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such  as these. He demonstrated the high priority children should have in our lives. As parents, it is  very important to prioritize our children and not see them as distracting us from our work  or ministry. As a church, we need to see  that our children and youth have priority in terms of  resources and facilities because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them as much as anyone else.

19:16-30

With God  nothing  is  impossible 

In our attempt to rationalize the  words of Jesus,  we miss the  point. The point  is that, it is totally unthinkable for a camel to go through the eye of a  needle. But what is impossible in human terms, is possible with God. 

In context to Jesus words, and in answer to the disciples question - then who has any chance at all? Jesus response.... "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. 

Yes..... every chance in the world if you trust God to  do it. " 

Jesus rarely asked people  to give away everything. But in this case, He did. For everyone, there is a cost to following Jesus. There may be a cost of giving up things that we know  to be  wrong but do not want to give up. Whatever the cost, it is nothing compared to what it cost Jesus. The rich young man missed out on so much. 

With you Father God, all things are possible. Help us to be willing to give up everything for the sake of your kingdom. 

In our own personal  lives, and as a church, Lord Jesus, encourage us to stay on our tracks for children.

Blog Post Sunday January 29

Matthew 19:13-15

Priority of Children 

The words of Jesus challenged the attitude of many of His contemporaries towards children. Jesus placed His hands on the little children and prayed for them. The disciples felt that Jesus should not be distracted by them. Jesus replied, let the little children come to  me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such  as these. He demonstrated the high priority children should have in our lives. As parents, it is  very important to prioritize our children and not see them as distracting us from our work  or ministry. As a church, we need to see  that our children and youth have priority in terms of  resources and facilities because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them as much as anyone else.

19:16-30

With God  nothing  is  impossible 

In our attempt to rationalize the  words of Jesus,  we miss the  point. The point  is that, it is totally unthinkable for a camel to go through the eye of a  needle. But what is impossible in human terms, is possible with God. 

In context to Jesus words, and in answer to the disciples question - then who has any chance at all? Jesus response.... "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. 

Yes..... every chance in the world if you trust God to  do it. " 

Jesus rarely asked people  to give away everything. But in this case, He did. For everyone, there is a cost to following Jesus. There may be a cost of giving up things that we know  to be  wrong but do not want to give up. Whatever the cost, it is nothing compared to what it cost Jesus. The rich young man missed out on so much. 

With you Father God, all things are possible. Help us to be willing to give up everything for the sake of your kingdom. 

In our own personal  lives, and as a church, Lord Jesus, encourage us to stay on our tracks for children.

January 28: Of what Psalm 23 DOESN'T say...

Exodus 5:22-7:24

Matthew 18:21-19:12

Psalm 23

Proverbs 5:22-23

I've always read Psalm 23 for what it said I would have; I've always seen it as a psalm of promise and abundance.  "I shall not want" - how much more direct can God get?  Consider the sheep - they don't lie down when they feel threatened; they don't lie down when they are hungry.  I love the promise that not only will God give us an abundance so great the pastures remain green after we've eaten, He gives us security so we can take our full bellies and lie down and rest, without fear, out in the open where predators roam. 

I read the psalm again today, and was surprised to realize what it DOESN'T say - it doesn't say that if we follow the Good Shepherd, we are promised an easy life, a life free from hardship and challenge.  Consider: 

- It doesn't say we won't have to walk through the darkest valley.

- It doesn't say we won't face evil.

- It doesn't say we won't have enemies.

The OT reading illustrates this.  God called Moses, Moses was obeying God...but Pharaoh wasn't cooperating and the Israelites were grumbling.  Not easy.  Even the NT reading shows this - Jesus talks about how divorce wasn't a conveniently available exit when marriage got difficult.  Again, not easy.  

If you're like me, you don't like difficult.  Not just because it's difficult, but because you're afraid you aren't going to measure up.  The response I found to that worry was in the last verse of the psalm, an unconditional promise that starts with "surely".  Not "maybe", or "if you behave yourself", or "don't screw up and you might get to...".  No - it starts with "surely".  And it promises us goodness and love will follow us all the days of our lives.  

What a blessed reassurance.  May we all find comfort in His promise.

Jan 27

Exodus 3,4

We live in a world of excuses. Insurance companies require forms to be filled out when an accident occurs. I have a few quotes taken from these forms:

-In my attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a telephone pole.

-The indirect cause of this accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.

-An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my vehicle, and vanished.

-The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.

-I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law and headed over the embankment.

These are not the first excuses used. Three millenniums ago Moses came up with some good ones for not following God's will. The mission given to Moses was clear.

Exodus 3:10   So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.

The mission is not complicated. It was spoken in a language Moses could understand. The problem was Moses thought this mission was crazy and he had no intention of doing it. So he came up with three common excuses.  Perhaps they will be familiar to you.

1. I am afraid. Moses had been on the FBI most wanted list in Egypt for the past 40 years. Going back to the scene of the crime would be crazy. Fear always starts with the hypothetical, "what if."

2. I'm not qualified. Moses says he isn't a good speaker. He might be asked to do public speaking and what if people ask him a question that he might not be able to answer?

3. Someone else can do it. There are other people who can do that job much better than me. Why not send Bob Daniel to do the work?

In the end Moses must have felt pretty good about his excuses and the chances of being taken off the hook. But God is not looking for qualified people; He is looking for available people.

Exodus 4:11-12  The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

I want to pause and say something that needs to be said. God might be asking you to step out in faith today and do something that seems impossible. It is easy to come up with excuses and fears can cripple us. But excuses don't work with an all-powerful God. God is looking for people who are willing. He doesn't expect us to have all the answers, all the ability and all the power. He is asking us to be available for his power and wisdom to flow through us. Faith and fear cannot exist in the heart at the same time. Today is a great day to step out in faith and trust God for the impossible.

 

--

"Multiplying leaders to change the world"

Thursday, January 26

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016

“During that long period, the king of Egypt died.  The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.  God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.  So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.” (‭Exodus‬ ‭2:23-25‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

Even though many years had passed with the Israelites living in Egypt, God had not forgotten or abandoned them.  Pharaoh's government had long since dismissed Joseph's contributions, and the Israelites had come to live in forced servitude.  This change likely created fear among the people, and this fear had separated and divided them.  Powerful governments and other forces have employed this overpower-divide-and-conquer technique with minority populations well after ancient Egypt.

Yet, we read in these verses above about God's amazing compassion for His people.  We see that the people's cries reached God's heart and that He "remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob."  His compassion translated to concern and then to action through Moses.

As we have reflected in this blog in previous entries, Moses's status as a murdered and Egyptian refugee would seemingly have made him unqualified for the role that God had planned.  Nonetheless, we may see great preparation in the 80 years of Moses's life to this point.  Having grown up in Pharaoh's household, he had a firm grasp on Egyptian culture and politics; he likely knew the present Pharaoh personally.  His 40 years of exile, taking care of sheep in desert climates, had prepared him for another 40 years (to come) with the Israelites.  And his previous shortcomings had created a humility in Moses that would allow God to channel His power without having Moses's ego take over.

How may we apply this reading to our present-day life?  I believe that we may be encouraged in knowing that God hears the cries of His people and will not abandon His love to them.  For those who have received Christ, God has sent His Holy Spirit to guide and direct us.  How much confidence may we have in His compassion?  He knows the depths of our hearts!

Secondly, like Moses, God may call us to step into respond to those cries.  If we see a need and cry out to God about it, will we trust Him for the courage and strength to respond?  We may be very much like Moses in the beginning, claiming that we don't hold the right credentials.  But, with God, nothing is impossible (cf. Mary's response to the announcement of Jesus's coming birth).

Praise God that He never forsakes or abandons His children!  What a mighty and loving God we serve!

Lord God, thank You for Your intervention in the lives of Your people.  We thank You for the story of the Exodus -- the demonstrations of Your power and faithfulness.  Give us similar hearts of compassion when we see oppression, and strengthen us with the courage and trust to become involved, even at personal cost.  Help us to avoid small thinking when we consider Your compassion.  In Jesus's Name, amen.