"But the Lord said to Moses, 'Because you did not trust Me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!" (Numbers 20:12 NLT)
Ever wish you could do a day over? If Moses could have done anything over in his life, I wonder if it would have been this day. The great hero of our faith had seen the burning bush and stood on holy ground. He had witnessed the ten unprecedented plagues and walked on dry soil through the Red Sea. The glory of God radiated before him when God's laws were entrusted into his hands. There are few in Scripture we esteem more than Moses himself. Yet on this day, those awesome acts of power didn't make a difference when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it. Disobedience stemming from distrust changed everything.
There are days I wish I could hit the rewind button. One moment in particular stands out. As I drove my car to band practice one night, God spoke to me in a vision, which transformed my life, but with that vision came the command to be silent. I disobeyed. Circumstances and feelings dictated my behavior instead of God's instructions. I speculated far too much and shared things with people that only brought confusion and division. As a result, the ramifications were devastating. Friendships ended, and the ministry my husband and I were leading changed. My heart was broken. If only I had trusted and obeyed, things would have been different. I knew God forgave me, but it took a long time to forgive myself.
It's been years since those difficult days, and God's grace has enabled my heart to taste and see His goodness. As I sat in my chair this morning and reflected on Moses's disobedience, I remembered the time I too distrusted. The dark valley that followed was great, yet God's grace was greater and His love permitted me to climb heights I didn't even know existed. If Moses could do it all over again, I don't think he would. For it's in weakness we become strong. Moses had seen God's power shake the mountains, but it was His love and grace that transformed his life, equipping Him to be God's vessel.
When all seems lost and you long for a do-over, look to Jesus and abide in His love. He makes all things new!
Abba, Your grace amazes me. Thank you for forgiving me. I don't like the fact that I disobeyed You. It grieves my heart to think about it, but I'm learning that where sin abounds, Your grace abounds even more. Help me to abide in You, Lord, and empower me to trust and obey.
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Guardrails
Reading through the law can be grueling. There's so many do's and dont's, it makes my head spin. Why in the world would God the Father put such expectations on His people? Because He loved them! There just can't be any other explanation, for God is love. Paul writes in Galatians 3:19 (TM), "The purpose of the law was to keep a sinful people in the way of salvation until Christ came." To keep a sinful people in the way of salvation! From the beginning of time, God intended to send His Son to save His people, but until that day came God graciously provided some guidelines to help His children stay on the way.
As a parent, this is helpful to read. In a world where darkness abounds, it is our responsibility to come alongside our kids and help them stay on the way. I recently heard a speaker refer to house rules being like guardrails on a highway. Those guardrails are there to keep a car from going over the edge of a road. We all know what a mess it would be if a car actually flew over the edge. It would be devastating! What an ugly mess there'd be to clean up, not to mention probable death to all those in the car. So as parents, we too must establish guardrails. Love must be the motivation though. Not control, not pride, not anger . . . only love.
I did chuckle when I read the Israelites response, "We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey." (Exodus 24:7 NLT) I get this mental picture of the little blue and green aliens in Toy Story 2 that kept following Mr. Potato Head around saying, "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful." The Israelites wanted to obey. The Red Sea had just been parted and the bonds of slavery shattered. I'm sure they were extremely grateful. However, obedience wasn't easy and time after time their flesh would prevail. Yet God's grace would abound and those guardrails remained to help them.
I want love to motivate all that I do as a parent and grace to be abundant in our home. It is a daily prayer of mine right now. Love is tough sometimes. I used to balk at the concept of "tough love". Naively I thought, if I train my kids in the right way, their response will be like those aliens, "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful." That would be music to my ears at first, yet like Mr. Potato Head I'd eventually get tired of that heartless robotic reply. My children have a body, a soul, and a spirit that is unique to themselves. Growing up involves discovering who they are and who they want to be. Inevitably, there's going to be a lot of bumps and bruises along the way. The guardrails are there because they are loved, and grace abounds to help them get back up when they do fall down. Every parent I've talked to wants their kids to go through life unscathed, so we do our best to help them. Ultimately though, there comes a time when our children must stand on their own two feet. Injuries can become the tools our Father uses to shape them. Parents need to be arrows that point to Jesus, for He is our sure foundation. Just as the guardrails must stem from a heart of love, so should obedience. It's a shift in all of our hearts that needs to take place. We obey not because we want to be loved but because we ARE! That's freeing for me as a child of God and it gives me hope as a parent.
As a parent, this is helpful to read. In a world where darkness abounds, it is our responsibility to come alongside our kids and help them stay on the way. I recently heard a speaker refer to house rules being like guardrails on a highway. Those guardrails are there to keep a car from going over the edge of a road. We all know what a mess it would be if a car actually flew over the edge. It would be devastating! What an ugly mess there'd be to clean up, not to mention probable death to all those in the car. So as parents, we too must establish guardrails. Love must be the motivation though. Not control, not pride, not anger . . . only love.
I did chuckle when I read the Israelites response, "We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey." (Exodus 24:7 NLT) I get this mental picture of the little blue and green aliens in Toy Story 2 that kept following Mr. Potato Head around saying, "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful." The Israelites wanted to obey. The Red Sea had just been parted and the bonds of slavery shattered. I'm sure they were extremely grateful. However, obedience wasn't easy and time after time their flesh would prevail. Yet God's grace would abound and those guardrails remained to help them.
I want love to motivate all that I do as a parent and grace to be abundant in our home. It is a daily prayer of mine right now. Love is tough sometimes. I used to balk at the concept of "tough love". Naively I thought, if I train my kids in the right way, their response will be like those aliens, "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful." That would be music to my ears at first, yet like Mr. Potato Head I'd eventually get tired of that heartless robotic reply. My children have a body, a soul, and a spirit that is unique to themselves. Growing up involves discovering who they are and who they want to be. Inevitably, there's going to be a lot of bumps and bruises along the way. The guardrails are there because they are loved, and grace abounds to help them get back up when they do fall down. Every parent I've talked to wants their kids to go through life unscathed, so we do our best to help them. Ultimately though, there comes a time when our children must stand on their own two feet. Injuries can become the tools our Father uses to shape them. Parents need to be arrows that point to Jesus, for He is our sure foundation. Just as the guardrails must stem from a heart of love, so should obedience. It's a shift in all of our hearts that needs to take place. We obey not because we want to be loved but because we ARE! That's freeing for me as a child of God and it gives me hope as a parent.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Who am I?
"And the Lord said to Moses, "So now, GO. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:10-11)
"Moses said to the LORD, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now GO; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” (Exodus 4:10-13)
Sound familiar? I can easily put my name in the place of Moses and hear this discourse taking place between the Lord and I. "Who am I, Lord? Please send someone else." Just yesterday morning, I was disagreeing with Richard over leading a certain song at chapel, yet in truth in the back of my head I was arguing with God. It's not the first time I've argued with God. My thoughts often go in this direction: "I'm a nobody, Lord. My talents are few. My education is lacking. I don't have any huge accomplishments or successes to make note of. Someone else can surely do this better." Thankfully, God always steps in to remind me that I am His. Remembering who I am in Christ enables me to stand tall. Next, I'm usually plagued with fearful thoughts. Sometimes I try to mask it as humility, but in truth it's just plain fear. "Oh Lord, not me. I'm not good with words. What if I mess things up. Use someone else, please!" Yet, this is wrong too. Fear is crippling. God didn't give us a spirit of fear, and when I can remember that He is in me, I am empowered to do what He has asked me to because I know I'm not doing it in my own strength. Hudson Taylor says, "God does not call the equipped. He equips the called!" Knowing who I am in Christ Jesus, and who He is in me equips me to step out in obedience and say . . . Yes, Lord, Yes to Your will and to Your way. Yes, Lord, Yes. I will trust You and obey. When Your Spirit speaks to me, with my whole heart I'll agree, and my answer will be Yes, Lord, Yes! (Gotta love those old camp choruses!!!)
He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it. (1 Thess. 5:24 ESV)
"Moses said to the LORD, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now GO; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” (Exodus 4:10-13)
Sound familiar? I can easily put my name in the place of Moses and hear this discourse taking place between the Lord and I. "Who am I, Lord? Please send someone else." Just yesterday morning, I was disagreeing with Richard over leading a certain song at chapel, yet in truth in the back of my head I was arguing with God. It's not the first time I've argued with God. My thoughts often go in this direction: "I'm a nobody, Lord. My talents are few. My education is lacking. I don't have any huge accomplishments or successes to make note of. Someone else can surely do this better." Thankfully, God always steps in to remind me that I am His. Remembering who I am in Christ enables me to stand tall. Next, I'm usually plagued with fearful thoughts. Sometimes I try to mask it as humility, but in truth it's just plain fear. "Oh Lord, not me. I'm not good with words. What if I mess things up. Use someone else, please!" Yet, this is wrong too. Fear is crippling. God didn't give us a spirit of fear, and when I can remember that He is in me, I am empowered to do what He has asked me to because I know I'm not doing it in my own strength. Hudson Taylor says, "God does not call the equipped. He equips the called!" Knowing who I am in Christ Jesus, and who He is in me equips me to step out in obedience and say . . . Yes, Lord, Yes to Your will and to Your way. Yes, Lord, Yes. I will trust You and obey. When Your Spirit speaks to me, with my whole heart I'll agree, and my answer will be Yes, Lord, Yes! (Gotta love those old camp choruses!!!)
He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it. (1 Thess. 5:24 ESV)
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Sons of God, Beautiful Women and Giants, OH MY!
So I'm reading through the Chronological Bible this year, and already I am having to scratch my head at some of the stories. "When the human population began to grow rapidly on the earth the sons of God saw the beautiful women of the human race and took any they wanted for their wives . . . in those days, and even afterwards, giants lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with human women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes mentioned in legends of old." (Genesis 6:1-2, 4) WHAT! Who in the world are these sons of God that produced giants with women of the human race? This definitely sounds like a sci-fi story if you ask me. And people say the Bible is boring. I've never heard a preacher preach on this passage, and I'm not sure I want to. Maybe it's best this one is left a mystery. Yet, I know that all the stories are not to remain mysterious to us. The stories of the saints of old reveal something very important for us today. God is great and following Him is nothing short of adventurous.
After reading Noah and Abraham's story, I also recognize that following the Lord isn't easy. As a child I distinctly remember the beauty of rainbows and promises in these stories, but as an adult I see the significance and difficulty of obedience. So much of the story is untold. What was Noah thinking when the Lord said to him, "I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Yes, I will wipe them all from the face of the earth!" (Gen. 6:13) Noah had friends and family that he was close to. There were siblings, parents, fellow companions and neighbors that he cared about. No doubt, this was heartbreaking news! If that wasn't difficult enough, next God asks him to build this gigantic boat so that he could take care of the entire animal kingdom! Imagine what Noah must have been feeling. The world as he knew it was going to be destroyed. How painful and lonely it must have been to build that boat knowing what he knew. Yet Noah's thoughts aren't what we read. His actions spoke louder than words, "So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him." (Gen. 6:22)
Abraham's story is no different. The Lord tells him, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land I will show you." Just think about it. Abraham was asked to leave his home, the place he was most comfortable, and go. He wasn't told where he was going. He simply was told to go. Imagine packing your bags, not knowing where you're going, yet getting in your car and driving until the Lord says stop. People must have thought he was crazy. Abraham probably had a moment or two when he thought he was crazy himself. Yet once again actions speak louder than words, "So Abraham departed as the Lord had instructed him." (Gen. 12:4)
These stories really stand out to me. How could these guys do it? What enabled them to lay it all down and obey? Belief! Both Noah and Abraham were said to be righteous: men who believed God. Because they believed they could do nothing else but obey, even though it was difficult and costly. They weren't thinking about what they were giving up because they had their eyes set on the prize. I want to be like them. The rainbows and promises found in these stories remain very special to me, but I am even more thankful for this heritage of faith that's been passed down through the ages. My prayer is that Abba finds me faith-full and willing to obey no matter what.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith." (Heb. 12:1-2)
After reading Noah and Abraham's story, I also recognize that following the Lord isn't easy. As a child I distinctly remember the beauty of rainbows and promises in these stories, but as an adult I see the significance and difficulty of obedience. So much of the story is untold. What was Noah thinking when the Lord said to him, "I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Yes, I will wipe them all from the face of the earth!" (Gen. 6:13) Noah had friends and family that he was close to. There were siblings, parents, fellow companions and neighbors that he cared about. No doubt, this was heartbreaking news! If that wasn't difficult enough, next God asks him to build this gigantic boat so that he could take care of the entire animal kingdom! Imagine what Noah must have been feeling. The world as he knew it was going to be destroyed. How painful and lonely it must have been to build that boat knowing what he knew. Yet Noah's thoughts aren't what we read. His actions spoke louder than words, "So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him." (Gen. 6:22)
Abraham's story is no different. The Lord tells him, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land I will show you." Just think about it. Abraham was asked to leave his home, the place he was most comfortable, and go. He wasn't told where he was going. He simply was told to go. Imagine packing your bags, not knowing where you're going, yet getting in your car and driving until the Lord says stop. People must have thought he was crazy. Abraham probably had a moment or two when he thought he was crazy himself. Yet once again actions speak louder than words, "So Abraham departed as the Lord had instructed him." (Gen. 12:4)
These stories really stand out to me. How could these guys do it? What enabled them to lay it all down and obey? Belief! Both Noah and Abraham were said to be righteous: men who believed God. Because they believed they could do nothing else but obey, even though it was difficult and costly. They weren't thinking about what they were giving up because they had their eyes set on the prize. I want to be like them. The rainbows and promises found in these stories remain very special to me, but I am even more thankful for this heritage of faith that's been passed down through the ages. My prayer is that Abba finds me faith-full and willing to obey no matter what.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith." (Heb. 12:1-2)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)