Creation to Christ: Reading 24 - August 31, 2016 – Leviticus 22:17-23:44, True Worship (Offerings, Feasts)

Today’s Readings

Context 

God set up an extensive system of sacrifices, festivals, and feasts for Israel. Why? It was not to put them through some kind of religious rigamarole but to aid them in a right relationship with God. The sacrifices were to deal with the sin that built a wall of separation between man and God. The feasts and the festivals interrupted Israel's daily routine so that they would take time to be with God, to come away from their busy daily lives and rest, worship, and honor God. 

Devotional - Take Time to Be Holy

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in him always, and feed on his word.
Make friends of God's children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing his blessing to seek.

The old hymn makes a pretty good point, doesn't it? We live in the microwave age; a time when "instant" is too slow. We rush around from thing to thing, place to place, project to project. Have you known one of those taxi-driver moms who spends her life shuttling her children between sports and dance and other special projects? (Have you been one?) We are a go-go-go kind of people.

That leaves little time to seek and draw near to God. And, as the hymn above rightly points out, it takes time to be holy. It takes time to learn the Word of God. It takes time to pray. It takes time to build relationships and minister to the needy. It all takes time. And most of us are so rushed, so harried and harassed, that there is simply no time for the things of God. 

Evidently, while things may be more extreme in our day, it is not a new problem. In Leviticus 23, God established in the Law a series of special holy days and festivals that were meant to be observed by God's people. Of course, there was a Sabbath day every week of the year. There was the Passover on the 14th day of the first month (usually around our Easter time), followed by seven days of Unleavened Bread. Then there was what came to be known as the Feast of Pentecost 50 days later. The seventh month had a special day of rest on the 1st, followed by the Day of Atonement on the 10th and then the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles (or Feast of Booths) starting on the 15th. By the time that was over, most of the seventh month was taken up in Sabbaths, festivals, and feasts.

Think how many days that was. There were 52 Sabbaths. There was Passover, Pentecost, the Day of Atonement and the two 7-day Feasts (which both, of course, included a Sabbath). By my calculations, that is about 67 days of the year devoted to rest and worship. That's a lot of time, just less than 20% of the days of a year. 

But God knew that it takes time to be holy. It take time apart from life's normal pursuits, pleasures and passions to focus on the things of God. We must come apart and give ourselves to the pursuit of God's face. We do not have set feasts and festivals as Israel did. We live in the daily rest of Christ, granted us in grace. But we also need to be careful to take time to be holy every day. We ought to set aside days, even perhaps weeks of spiritual retreat and restoration. 

While we may not live under the strict festival structure of the Old Testament Law, we are foolish if we do not heed its purpose. We must regularly take time to be holy, to seek God, to repent of sin, to renew our zeal and to seek the power of God. 

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;Spend much time in secret with Jesus alone.By looking to Jesus, like him thou shalt be;Thy friends in thy conduct his likeness shall see.

In the words of that song lies the secret of life. Take time to be holy. 

Oh, Lord, today was so busy, with good things, with important things, and with mundane things. The phone rang and the computer hummed. Forgive me that I did not take the time to be holy that I needed. May I do that every day, coming apart from the world and its pursuits to seek the kingdom of God and your righteousness. 

Think and Pray

Do you take time out of your schedule to rest and to worship God, to honor him as he deserves?
Do you "take time to be holy?"

Creation to Christ: Reading 23 - August 30, 2016 – Leviticus 21:1-22:16, Priests Mediate

Today’s Readings

Context 

Living in an area with a high Catholic population, it is not unusual for me to be called, "Father Miller" or "Father Dave." I tell them that I am a pastor, not a priest. But in reality, I am a priest. The New Testament calls me one; but not just me, you too. All believers are priests, we are a kingdom of priests.

In the Old Testament, there were three kinds of leaders for the people of God. There were kings (or judges before the monarchy) who ruled over . There were prophets who delivered the word of God and called sinful Israel to repentance. And there were priests. They were intercessors - they stood between God and man. They made the sacrifices that atoned for man's sin and they taught God's word.

But OT priests are not NT pastors. Every believer in the NT is a priest. That which was true of the priest is true of every reborn follower of Christ.

Devotional 

You are a priest.

You probably don't think of yourself that way, do you? When I say the word priest, you think of someone in robes with a strange collar, but we are priests. 1 Peter 2:9 describes the church as a "royal priesthood" - a gathering of the children of God ordained to represent him and to mediate between God and man in this world.

Since you are a priest, it is good to remember what the requirements were for a priest in Old Testament days. There were higher standards for priests than for anyone else. Things everyone else could do the priest could not because he was holy to God. Holy. That's a word many don't like and even fewer understand. Holiness isn't about wearing certain clothes or following a long list of rules. It's about belonging to God. That which was holy was set apart from the world to belong to God and God alone.

The priest was holy. He could not live a normal life or be like everyone else because his life belonged to God and was set apart solely for God's glory and God's use. They could not live as everyone else, could not eat and drink like everyone else, could not marry like everyone else. Holiness demands a distinct life, a life lived for God's glory, devoted to God's work.

• It seems harsh, but the priest was not allowed to make himself "unclean" (to violate the ceremonial holiness rules) except for his closest family members, according to Leviticus 21:1-2.
• He was not allowed to tattoo his body or do certain things to his hair, likely for reasons of the appearance of idolatry (21:5)
• According to 21:7-8, there were special rules about who he could marry, rules that went beyond the rules for others in Israel. He was required to marry a virgin. (21:13)
• There were rules about how to wear his hair and about not touching dead bodies. (21:10-11)
• In a rule that seems harsh and unfair to our modern sensibilities, but serves as a picture both of Christ's perfection and our need for holiness, he was required not to deformed in any way. (21:18-21)

As you read chapters 21 and 22, you see a whole host of other rules, rules which seem arcane and strange to us. The symbolism is really the point here. The priest belonged to God and was called to higher standards of life and behavior.

We are holy to God, purchased by the Blood of the Lamb and called to lives devoted to God. "You are not your own," Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6. "You were bought with a price." We belong to him because of what Jesus did for us. Therefore, in every aspect of our lives, we must live for Christ and for the glory of God.

Being a priest does not free me to "do as I please" as some have strangely said. It does the opposite. It obligates me to live as Christ pleases. It places a higher obligation on me, a burden of holiness. But the holiness of Christ is not just a burden, it is a joy, a privilege to walk in the ways of the Savior, not in the ways of the sinful world.

Thank you, Lord, for not only saving my soul, but also for calling me as a priest to serve you and your kingdom in this world and for calling me to live by the standards of your kingdom. 

Think and Pray

Do you take your status as a priest seriously, living for God's glory and the interests of the kingdom?

Creation to Christ: Reading 22 - August 29, 2016 – Exodus 35:30-40:38, The Tabernacle (Read 35:30-36:7, 40:16-38 carefully)

Today’s Readings

Context 

Today's reading is long, but two passages, noted above, are the key. In the first, we see the importance of the Spirit's work in accomplishing the work of God. In the second, we see how obedience to all of God's commands were the key to the display of the glory of God.

We will never see God's glory and power displayed among us if we walk in disobedience. 

Devotional -The Glory Filled the Tabernacle!

Glory!

It was a startling and wonderful moment, as the glory of God came down and so filled the tabernacle that Moses had completed that he could not even enter the tent. Imagine that, will you? The presence of God was so strong, the power of God so real, so palpable, that God's servant could not even go into the designated place of worship.

Wouldn't that be something?

We hear a lot today about revival. At its root, revival is simply the restoration of the glory of God among the people of God. When the Scriptures speak of glory, they mean the manifest presence of God. God is always here, always everywhere. But sometimes he makes himself known in such a way that his presence is unmistakable. It may be a fiery sense of conviction, or an overwhelming sense of joy, or a burden for ministry, or a deep personal or corporate prayer time, or a moment when the Word of God just comes alive in an unusual way, or perhaps one of those blessed and all too rare moments in a worship service at church when there is an unusual sense of God's presence. Glory. The manifest presence of God.

There have been few times in history when the presence of God came down, when the glory of God was displayed in the same way as it was in Exodus 40:34-35.

 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

But this did not happen in a vacuum. Revival, a mighty moving of God's Spirit that restores a people and changes a culture is a sovereign work of God that has happened all too rarely in history. But there are things that God's people can do to cultivate the nearness of God, the presence of God in their lives. The key is found in the verses that precede the one we just read, six words that appear repeatedly in the two chapters we read today. Look at Exodus 39:1, 5, 7, 21 26, 29, 31, 43, 40:16, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, and verse 32. One more key is added in verse 33.

What are the six words that are repeated time and again in these verses? You've already figured it out, haven't you?

"...as the Lord had commanded Moses." 

Obedience. Moses did what God said. God gave him specific, detailed, and complete instructions on how to build the tabernacle, and Moses did things exactly, precisely and fully as God commanded. He didn't get creative or innovative. He didn't "do what he thought was best." He simply did what God told him to do. He obeyed God and the glory of God filled what he built.

That is the second key, the one mentioned in verse 33. "So Moses finished the work." He did what God told him to do and he left nothing undone. Obedience and perseverance in the work God gave are the keys to the blessing of God.

We may never experience the kind of dramatic glory that Moses and the Israelites did - perhaps we ought not even seek that. But we can seek the blessing of God on our lives daily and his active, powerful presence and we walk in obedience and as we persevere through hard times.

Father, help me to walk in obedience to you and to persevere in your ways even when things are tough. What I need, what we need at Southern Hills, what we all need, is your presence and power to rise up among us. Exalt yourself, O God! 

Think and Pray

Are you walking in careful and persistent obedience to God in all things, or are you expecting God to display his power and presence in spite of the careless disobedience in your life.

Creation to Christ: Reading 21 - August 28, 2016 – Exodus 32-34, Faithfulness and Idolatry

Today’s Readings

Context 

There are two overriding lessons we can learn from the history of Israel in the Old Testament. We see, first, the sad infidelity and idolatry of Israel. No matter how good God was, no matter how much love he showed, how much grace they received, how much of his power and presence they experienced, they were always quick to depart from loyalty, to break the law, to embrace other gods, and to be shaped by the peoples around them instead of by God. The bulk of the OT story covers a period around 1600 years (Abraham lives somewhere around 2000 BC and Malachi was written aroiund 400 BC). In that 1600 years, the number of years that the people of God were walking in obedience was far and away the majority. More than half the time? Undoubtedly. Three-fourths? Probably more than that.

Yet, in spite of Israel's continuing unfaithfulness, God's love and mercy never failed. God disciplined them, sometimes harshly, but he never abandoned them. As Romans 11 says, his "gifts and calling are irrevocable." When God chooses and calls he never changes his mind.

The incident in Exodus 32-34 foreshadows the story of the OT. Moses is on the mountain receiving the tablets from God and down below the people are already turning to idolatry. They have, with Aaron's help, gathered their gold and cast a golden calf to worship. God dealt strongly with them - he does not mess around when he people turn to idols - but he also restored them, renewed them, and gave them another chance. 

Devotional - Second Chances

There are ignorant people who claim that the God of the Old Testament was mean, harsh and cruel, and they contrast him to the God of love revealed in the New Testament. Such nonsense. Yes, the God of the OT is holy, giving his law and expecting his people to obey it. He punishes evildoers and protects his people from their enemies. All of that is true. But to overlook his love and kindness is willful folly. 

You need look no farther than Exodus 34 to settle the issue of God's love and mercy. Eight words in that passage tell us all we need to know. about the God's nature. 

It is crucial that we remember what was going on leading up to Exodus 34. Israel had insulted God in the worst way - by turning to the worship of an idol while Moses was on the mountain receiving God's law. As Moses came down from the mountain and saw the offensive worship, he broke the tablets signifying that Israel had broken God's Law. And God was upset by their sin, make no mistake about it. 

But look at verse 1 and see what God said to Moses. 

"Cut two stone tablets like the first ones."

God does not give up on people when they fail. He may discipline his children and that discipline might be harsh, but he never leaves and he never forsakes. His gifts and call are irrevocable. The One who begins the good work will carry it on to completion. 

When Israel failed, God did not give up on them. He did not throw them away. He did not run out on them. He did not find another people to love. He did not pour out his wrath on them to destroy them. No, he did not. He renewed his covenant and gave his people another chance to get it right. 

I can remember one time when I was repenting of the same sin for about the 3 millionth time, I thought, "God, you must be ready to give up on me." That is human thinking; stupid thinking! God does not give up on his children. Throughout Israel's history, they were consistently disobedient and unfaithful to him. But in spite of all that, God was consistently faithful and merciful to his chosen nation. 

Now, isn't that good news? You messed up yesterday and the day before. The day before that, too. Oh, our sin is nothing to take lightly. It is offensive and must be resisted, and it often carries consequences with it. Grace ought never be an excuse for careless, unholy living. NEVER! But we can be confident that God is faithful. He was in the Old Testament to Israel. He was in the New Testament to the church. And he is today in our lives. Confess. Repent. Seek renewal in Christ and walk in the power of the Spirit!

When you mess up, God's faithfulness overwhelms your sin. He wears you down with his grace as the process of sanctification continues, and he slowly transforms you to be like Christ. When you fail him, he says to you, 

Cut two stone tablets and let's try this again!

Father, I do not want to be unfaithful to you; not for a day, not for a minute. But I have been and you know that. And I will be, and you know that. I hate my sinful waywardness. But I rejoice that I am secure not in my own righteousness but in yours. I revel in your faithfulness and rely on your grace and mercy daily. 

Think and Pray

Reflect on the faithfulness of Christ in your own life and thank him that your relationship with God depends on him and his faithfulness not your merit.
Let that faithfulness motivate you to greater holiness and purity, not to careless living.

Creation to Christ: Reading 20 - August 27, 2016 – Exodus 20, The Law

Today’s Readings

Context 

The Law of God. The TenCommandments. The one part of the Bible actually written by the very hand of God. The rest of God's word came through a human agency - God's Spirit worked within a human being to produce the perfect word. Here, all Moses did was carry the tablets with the Commandments down the hill. God wrote them in his own hand. 

The Law comes in three levels. Jesus told us that there were really only two laws. Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. The TenCommandments expand on these two laws. The first four commandments speak of loving God - putting him first, avoiding idols, honoring his name, and giving him time (the Sabbath). The next six tell us how to love one another. I haven't counted, but there are something like 650 specific laws in the Old Testament - each of which expands on one of the Ten laws which expand on the Two. Two become Ten become Many.

The New Testament teaching on the law has been often confused but is simple. The law is good and reveals truth, especially the character of God. The problem with the law is that we cannot keep it - we break it in word, deed, and in spirit. So, Jesus came and did what we could not - he perfectly kept the law and fulfilled it. 100%. Sinless. And then he paid for our lawbreaking, accepting the punishment for our failure on himself, giving us both forgiveness and the power to begin to walk in obedience to the Law of the Spirit which God writes on our hearts.

That is an important key here. In our day our "law" is the Spirit of God who writes the law on our hearts, who works from the inside out to enforce the Lordship of Christ and to bring us into conformity to the will of God.

The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to do the Work of God in the People of God. 

Devotional - One Perfect Man

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

That's what Romans 3:23 says. We are all sinners who have missed the mark, fallen short, failed to meet the standard. But what is that standard? What does God want from me?

I have a very detailed job description on file at the church. I don't know if every member understands my job description and I'm sure I fail it often, but if I want to know if I am doing my job all I have to do is pull out the list of expectations and check my performance against them. The standards are clear. Does God have such a standard?

He does. Clear and absolute. The standard is called the Ten Commandments. It is God's path to life. God is holy and pure and only those who are holy and pure can enter his presence eternally. God sets out exactly what our lives are supposed to look like if we want to please God and earn his favor.

All I have to do to earn eternal life is life according to the law. Of course, I have to meet the standard God has set. I must be perfect in obedience all of my life. James tells us if we break the law in one point we are guilty in all points. So, if I want to earn my way to heaven I must keep the law perfectly, without a single slip-up every single day of my life.

Of course, that ship sailed a long time ago. I was born under the curse of Adam's sin, inheriting the sin nature that is born in all humans. As soon as I was able to make choices, I chose sin. I lied. I disrespected my parents. I fought. And I was only warming up.

GUILTY!

I stand before God without a single plea, without an excuse for my sin. He gave a perfect law and I didn't just break it, I shattered it to pieces. I fell short of the glory of God and Romans 6:23 adds that the wages of sin is death. Dave Miller is a "dead man walking."

But Jesus didn't leave it like that. He came into the world as the Son of God and the Son of man and lived the life I couldn't live. He kept every law not only in word and deed but in his heart and mind. He was perfect and sinless. No sin, no death. Jesus had no sin-debt to pay God for his life, for his sin.

So having no debt of his own he offered to pay mine. He died my death and yours, suffered my hell and yours, paid my debt and yours, and endured my hell and yours. Having paid for our sins, he was buried and rose again on the third day and he offers life eternal to all who believe.

Jesus kept the law I couldn't keep. Jesus died the death I didn't want to die and paid the price that would have cost me eternal hell. Jesus rose again and gave me the life I couldn't earn. Jesus died the death I deserved and now I have the life he earned!

It's a pretty amazing thing, isn't it?

Thank you, Father, that a guilty man like me can have forgiveness, life, and eternal hope because Jesus paid it all, because he kept the law I broke. Thank you for grace when I could not earn heaven by the law. 

Think and Pray

Remember who you are and what Christ did.
Thank him today for his grace and for the salvation he won for you by living a perfect life and dying in your place.

Creation to Christ: Reading 19 - August 26, 2016 – Exodus 15:22-17:16, God’s Power and Provision

Today’s Readings

Context 

The Sea parted and Israel walked through on dry ground and there they were. Free at last. And thirsty. And hungry. And scared. As soon as Israel crossed the Red Sea God showed his power and provision to them, his faithfulness.

And Israel showed that they would consistently gripe, complain, and grumble about everything.

They were thirsty, so they complained. God turned the bitter water sweet.
They were hungry, so they complained. God sent manna.
They were thirsty again, and they complained again. God brought water from a rock (a picture of Christ, struck once and bringing forth streams of living water).
They encountered an enemy they couldn't defeat and they complained. God gave them victory.

These early stories show how God faithfully provided all that his redeemed people needed - in spite of their constant whining. 

Devotional - Who Won the Victory? 

So, who was responsible for the victory Israel won against the Amalekites in Exodus 17:8-16?

The "Wilderness Gazette" the next day carried banner headlines trumpeting the military prowess Joshua displayed as he led the out-manned Hebrews against their superior foe. Joshua picked up a sword and went into battle and he prevailed.

But there is more to the story than that. We know from the Bible that Moses was up on the mountain with Aaron and Hur overlooking the battle taking place below. He raised his arms to heaven, seeking the power of God to be displayed. And as long as his arms were extended on the mountain, the Israelites were winning down below. Moses sought God and Israel prevailed.

But Moses could not do it alone. His arms grew tired as he reached out to heaven and gradually they began to fall. When his arms came down the tide of battle turned - suddenly the Amalekites were winning. But Moses had help. Aaron and Hur joined in and raised his arms back to heaven. Suddenly, the victory lost became a battle won.

Joshua went into battle and won. Moses sought God so that Joshua could go into battle and win. Aaron and Hur supported Moses so that he could seek God and Joshua could win.

So, who won the battle? Was it Joshua, or Moses or Moses' helpers Aaron and Hur? Yes. Yes to all. The battle would not have been won without Joshua, or Moses, or Aaron and Hur.

The battles we have to face require a three-pronged strategy. First, like Moses, we must seek God and depend on him. Whatever we are that is good comes as a result of the work of God in us, the work of Chrst for us. Victory comes from God. But none of us is a Lone Ranger. We need love and support, encouragement and edification. We need Aaron and Hur to hold up our arms as we seek God. Christianity is a group activity (it's called "church"). We must seek God and his power, and we need the help and support of other believers. God empowers us to engage the enemy (the world, the flesh and the devil), but we must take those weapons he provides and walk into the fray.

Just as Israel's victory over the Amalekites involved Joshua doing battle, Moses seeking God, and Moses' friends lifting him up when his strength lagged, our success in battle against the forces of darkness requires dependence on the power of God, it requires the support of the Body of Christ and it requires us to actually go out into battle and engage the foe.

Lord, I live in an evil world and my own flesh betrays me. I seek you and depend on you for the strength to soldier on. I thank you for the help of my friends and church family who encourage me in the battle. Thank you that in the fiercest battle, I will prevail when I depend on you.

Think and Pray

Do you complain when life is hard, or do you trust God and rely on him?
Which role do you most often play in the kingdom - the prayer-warrior, the supporter, or the front-lines battler?

Creation to Christ: Reading 18 - August 25, 2016 – Exodus 14, The Exodus

Today’s Readings

Context 

It is the most significant event of the Old Testament, the saving event which brought Israel out of Egypt, upon which all of God's commands to Israel are later based. "I am the God who brought you up out of Egypt, be holy..." "I am the God who brought you out of Egypt, worship me alone...." Praise, Obedience. Sacrifice. Worship. Devotion. Everything God demanded of Israel was rooted in the fact that he parted the Sea and brought them through on dry ground.

In the New Testament, it is God's saving act through Christ on the cross which parted the sea of sin and rescued us. As all of God's commands to Israel are rooted in the Exodus, all of God's work in us is rooted in the cross. We love because God loved us and demonstrated it at the cross. We worship at the foot of the cross and praise the Lamb who was slain. We walk in obedience to the Christ who gave himself for us at Calvary.

This was God's greatest Old Testament miracle because it was the most significant, the most saving, the one that changed the life of the nation Israel the most. It took them from slavery to freedom and destroyed the armies of Pharaoh. 

Devotional - Dangerous Faith

Israel was in quite a fix.

On one side was the Red Sea, deep and wide. There was no way they could go around it, build a bridge over it, or swim through it. The sea blocked their way completely so there was no way the people could go forward.

Behind them, things were even worse as the armies of Egypt bore down on them with ferocity, determined to avenge themselves for the death of their firstborn sons. It was an angry band of soldiers who rode against Israel, a band of former slaves who were unarmed, untrained, and defenseless. Yes, it was quite a fix. The fledgling nation of Israel was doomed before it even got started. Sudden death was coming on them from behind and their way was blocked before them.

So, what did they do? They grumbled. They complained. They blamed Moses and they whined about their troubles. For some reason, a lot of God's people think that whining and complaining are Fruits of God's Spirit that are essential for life in God's kingdom. But they have never accomplished anything.

Instead of reacting to the whining and complaining of the people, God did something strange. He gave them a command, in verse 15.

Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.

Uh...um...excuse me, Lord. But there's a small problem of a large sea in front of us. But that was God's command. Go forward. In spite of the problems and obstacles. Disregarding the opposition. God forward in faith.

Of course, God had a plan. He told Moses to take his staff that represented the power of God and stretch it out so that the power of God would be released and the sea would be parted. God already had a plan to part the sea but the people had to move forward before God would part the waters. The same thing would happen years later at the Jordan when God would tell the men carrying the Ark to step into the Jordan at flood stage and only then would God stop the river.

God calls us to obedient faith as a condition of the release of his power. We want God to display his power, open all the doors, knock down all the obstacles, and then we can walk through on dry ground. God tells us to move forward with only the promise of his power and then watch him work. They were to stand firm in their obedience and trust, move forward in faith, and then they would see the salvation of God.

At the root of all of God's great works is one thing we are almost never willing to do - risk everything in obedience to God. We want to play it safe. We like guarantees and safety. But God calls us to give it all up for him, to step into the water knowing that if he doesn't work we will be in deep (literally) trouble.

Could that be why we see so little of the power of God?

Father, Fill me with your grace, power, and strength. Help me to walk in faithful obedience, to go foward according to your call. 

Think and Pray

Do you play it safe, or do you follow Christ wherever he leads?
When have you done something in obedience to God that was so risky that if God did not act in power, you would utterly fail?

Creation to Christ: Reading 17 - August 24, 2016 – Exodus 11-12, The Passover

Today’s Readings

Context 

We do not have any pictures of Jesus Christ, but perhaps one of the best is in Exodus 11-12, the story of the Passover. There are so many lessons we can learn from the 10th Plague and the Passover celebration in Israel which point to the work of Christ and show us much about him. 

Devotional - Nothing But the Blood

There are few places where foreshadowings of the work of Christ are clearly seen than in the Passover in Exodus 11 and 12. There is so much in the story of the death angel passing over that directly prophecies Jesus' Passion - his death, burial and resurrection and their effect on us. Today, I am simply going to list some of those truths. 

1. 11:1 The last and the greatest of the plagues was death. The greatest enemy we face is death, both physical death and spiritual/eternal death. Not only does physical death destroy life, separate families and end hope, but it is symbolic of spiritual death with ends life and hope for all eternity. Death is the greatest plague on all humanity. 
2. 11:4-5 Death affects all people, high to low, rich and poor, regardless of wealth, talent or other human issues. It is appointed to each of us to die once. All of us are under the same sentence of death. No one can escape it. 
3. 11-12 God has made a way of salvation for us. The distinction between those who live and those who die is whether they follow the way of salvation God gives. 
4. 11:9 God displayed his wonders in Egypt through the salvation of Israel while he poured out judgment on Egypt. Nowhere is God's glory and power more fully displayed than in the salvation of the lost by his love and power. 
5. 12:1 Israel's calendar was to begin at the Passover. Life only really begins when Jesus Christ redeems us from our sins. Death is the last plague. The Passover is the beginning of life. 
6. 12:1-7 A blood sacrifice was required to shield the Israelites from death. Jesus died as our Passover Lamb, bearing our sins and dying in our place. There is no salvation, no forgiveness outside of the blood of Christ, our eternal sacrifice. 
7. 12:5 The sacrifice must be unblemished. Only the sinless Son of God was able to atone for our sins, since he had none of his own to die for. 
8. 12:7 The blood must be applied to the house to be effective. It was not enough that the sacrifice was made, the blood must be applied. Yes, Christ died for our sins, but that blood must be applied when, by repentance and faith, we come to Christ for salvation. It is not enough that Christ died for all. It is not even enough to believe that Christ died for you. I must repent and believe in Jesus that the blood might be applied to my "house." 
9. 12:10 The Israelites were to consume all of the sacrifice; no leftovers. We receive Christ as Lord of all. Jesus is not to be a part of our lives, but to be life itself! We cannot take a little of Christ, or a part of him. We receive all of him!
10. 12:13 The distinguishing mark between those who would die and those who would live is the blood on the doorposts. We are not better than others - self-righteousness has no place among the saved. We are different only because of the Blood applied to our lives!
11. 12:14-16 The Passover was to be continually and faithfully memorialized among God's people. We ought to continually celebrate what Jesus has done for us by his death, burial, and resurrection. Glory to God for his Son our Savior!
12. The blood WORKED. There is no record of a single death among Israel. Those who are covered by the blood live. We can rejoice that Jesus saves, he transforms and he never casts us away. Those of us covered by the Blood of Christ live!

There are so many points that could be made. These are just some highlights.

We praise you, our Father, that you were willing to give your Son as the sacrifice for our sins; that you were willing to apply his blood to us so that the death angel might pass over us and we might live; that you have given us a path of salvation to free us from what our sins deserve. You are worthy to receive all praise!

Think and Pray

Think through the work of Christ and the power of the Blood. Give glory to God and thanks to the Savior.

Creation to Christ: Reading 16 - August 23, 2016 – Exodus 3-4 God Reveals Himself

Today’s Readings

Context 

This is one of the most significant passages in the Old Testament because it reveals the name of God. God appears to Moses and reveals his plan to free Israel from its bondage in Egypt. Then, it gets real as God calls Moses to be the deliverer, sending him to Egypt to confront the Pharaoh - the most powerful man on earth with the most powerful army on earth. Once, in his self-confidence, Moses would have thought he could handle it. Now, he's scared to death, so he asks a series of 5 questions to God.

• Who am I? Moses realizes (3:11) that he is now a nobody and wonders how he's supposed to face down Pharaoh. God gives him one promise only, "I will be with you." 
• Who are you? It's a legitimate question. (3:13) If God is sending him on a mission like that and his only promise is "I am with you" then it is a fair question to ask who God is. God answers in 3:14 by revealing his name, "I Am who I Am" - the basis of the great Hebrew name YHWH. 
• What about them? Moses asks in 4:1 what he is supposed to do if the Israelites refuse to listen. God gives powerful signs and promises to show himself awesome to the people of Israel. 
• But I can't. Moses returns to his own inadequacies (4:10) and God responds by giving him help - his own brother. I've always thought this was ironic. :God called Moses as his spokesman, and Moses claims he doesn't speak well. A spokesman with a speech impediment? That is just like God. 
• Get someone else. This (4:13) makes God angry and finally Moses agrees to go!

The most significant aspect of this passage is God's self-revelation. He is the great I Am, the self-existent one. I exist because of him, dependent on him. But he exists dependent on no one. He exists in and of himself, the uncaused cause of all things. All things come from him and exist for him, but he needs nothing. He is Yahweh. 

That name is above every name and is given only to those who enter into covenant relationship with God. It represents not only his awesome power but also the fact that he reveals himself personally to those who come to him in faith. 

Of course, the rest of the Bible shows HOW we come to him in faith - the failure of the law and the revelation of grace in Christ, but this passage shows that we have a God who is both powerful and personal. 

Devotional - And Then It Got Real

In Exodus 3, Moses saw something that no one in the history of humanity has seen except him - a bush that was engulfed in fire but was not being consumed. It was the presence of God and Moses knew it, taking off his shoes as God demanded and hiding his face in a fearful awe. Then, God spoke to him out of the fire.

I have observed the misery of My people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I know about their sufferings. have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the territory of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. The Israelites’ cry for help has come to Me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. (Exodus 3:7-9) 

Moses could not have been happier as he heard the Lord himself reveal his purposes. He had heard the cries of suffering of his people Israel and was moved by them. The rescue of the people of God was imminent; they would be freed from slavery in Israel and taken the Promised Land that was God's gift to them. This was great news for Moses. He cared about his people, even if he had messed things up completely 40 years earlier as he had tried to do something about it. It is likely that during the forty years of shepherding in Midian he carried a great burden of failure and guilt over his botched attempt at being a deliverer. Now, God was telling him that the time had come and Israel would be delivered.

Moses was thrilled with God's purpose, but he was not so happy about God's personal call on his life. God's speech continued in verse 10.

Therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.

Suddenly, everything got real.

It was great that God was going to deliver Israel from its slavery, but the part God wanted him to play in the deliverance was most definitely not good. Moses spent the rest of chapter 3 and all of chapter 4 giving God one excuse after the other why he was not the right man for the job, why God should choose someone else. But God was undeterred and finally, Moses acquiesced and agreed to do the job that God had set before him.

The problem was simple. Moses was thrilled with what God was doing but was not thrilled that God wanted him to be an integral part of that plan.

Sound familiar? Are you happy that God saves sinners from their wickedness? Of course, you are. But are you thrilled that God has called you to be the one who shares that message with your family, friends, neighbors and others? Are you happy that there is great openness to the gospel around the world? I bet you are. But are you willing to give sacrificially to aid that process.? No, more than that, are you ready to go if God calls?

We are thrilled with the purposes of God, but often we want God to work those purposes through someone else as we remain at ease and in comfort.

 "Do your work, God, just do it through someone else." 

But God's great plan of redemption in this world involves a call to each and every one of us to die to self daily, to take up our cross and to follow Christ. We are not just saved to enjoy Christ, but to make him known in this world.

Father, I thank you for what you are doing in this world. Forgive me for those moments in which I have mimicked Moses, making excuses for my non-participation in your work. Use me, Lord, in your work, according to your purpose and plan. Wherever you want me to go. Whenever you need me. Whatever you call me to do. 

Think and Pray

Are you willing to take whatever part God chooses to give you in the great work he is doing in this world, or are looking for God to do great things...through someone else?
Do you know God personally and intimately? 

Creation to Christ: Reading 15 - August 22, 2016 – Exodus 2, God Sends a Deliverer

Today’s Readings

Context 

Once again, God comes to the rescue with a baby. This time, it is a baby born to the Israelite slaves, one who is the deliverer of the people - a common figure of Christ.

This baby was different than Christ, though, in that his initial attempt at deliverance failed, and failed miserably. It seems that Moses tried to accomplish his life's work in the power of the flesh and made a mess of it. He ended up fleeing to Midian where he spent the next forty years as a shepherd until he encountered a burning bush.

It was also here that Moses learned a lesson that he later taught to Israel in Numbers 32:23. "Be sure your sin will find you out." He thought he had hidden his sin in the desert sand, but his sin found a way to make itself known and he was forced to flee. When we sin, the consequences are unavoidable. 

Devotional - Lesson 101

There are few people more "special" in the Bible than is Moses, the prince of Egypt. Born of a Hebrew peasant woman he was adopted into the Pharaoh's family and he grew up in privilege. God arranged it though so that his mother could also be his caretaker and along the way, one assumes, she told him who he really was. Of course, he knew he didn't look like the Egyptians, but she explained the reasons for that.

And when he understood all that God had done he became filled with a sense that he was destined to do something great. God had put him in the world to accomplish a noble and wonderful task. Why else would he arrange it for a Hebrew boy to grow up as a grandson of Pharaoh? Over the years a sense of pride and destiny grew up and it led him into trouble.

One day he encountered an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew slave and he decided to take matters into his own hand. Surely, he must have thought, it was for a time like this that God had put the details of his life together. He struck the man dead and hid his body, but the deed was discovered and Moses ended up in the desert of Midian as a lowly shepherd - for 40 years.

He needed to learn a lesson that is fundamental to the great works of God. Moses had money, power, influence, but he was useless to God because he hadn't learned the lesson. Forty years later he had nothing left of his youthful advantages, but he had learned the lesson and was now able to do what he couldn't do as the Pharaoh's grandson - he delivered Israel from bondage. One lesson made all the difference.

What is that lesson?

We are totally dependent on God and his power and grace for everything. 

With God's power, you can accomplish great things in the kingdom, making an eternal impact in this world, but without him, you can do nothing of lasting worth or value. When Moses thought he could do great things for God he did nothing but mess everything up. When he thought his useful days were over and he was a no-good shepherd in Midian, then God was ready to use him. To be used by God we must come to realize that we are helpless, hopeless, and useless without him.

As long as we are self-confident and convinced of our own abilities, we are of no value to the kingdom. Our usefulness starts when we learn the lesson that we are 100%, totally, completely, and ultimately dependent on God for everything of spiritual and eternal value.

Father, I thank you for everything. Help me to remember that it is all of you and not of me. I am dependent on you for everything. Break me of any self-confidence and self-reliance  that I might depend fully on you.

Think and Pray

Do you depend fully on God for all things or do you depend on yourself?

Creation to Christ: Reading 14 - August 21, 2016 – Exodus 1, The Bondage of Sin

Today’s Readings

Context 

The Exodus is a clear picture of the salvation that God gives us in Christ - many NT scriptures use elements of the Exodus to illustrate our salvation and the parallels are unmistakable. Yes, this is the history of God's saving grace to Israel, taking them from slavery to freedom, but it also serves as a model for us of the work of Christ.

• Israel as a nation is born in Egypt - we are born in slavery to sin. 
• God sent a baby to deliver Israel - God sent Christ. 
• The plagues fall on Egypt - the wrath of God falls on sinners. 
• On Passover, the blood of the lamb prevented the death angel from visiting the house - through Christ, our Passover Lamb, death is finally defeated. 
• The Israelites were freed from Egypt by God's work - we are freed from the dominion of sin through Christ. 
• Israel passed through the Red Sea into freedom - we are baptized into a new life in Christ. 
• God provided food and water for Israel - Jesus is our Living Water and the Bread of Life. 

There are other pictures of Christ - the Tabernacle is rife with Christological images and there is barely a page of Exodus that is not.

Hrere in chapter 1, we see the birth of the nation Israel in slavery to Egypt. They went down into Eypt as a family protected by Joseph's political power. Now, 400 years later, they have become a true nation, but one enslaved by their former hosts.

Devotional - Hooked on Sin

There is nothing more welcoming and hospitable than sin. It rolls out the red carpet and offers you the royal treatment. "Be our guest." Sin presents itself as warm, friendly, and inviting. It is only when it has you that you realize the truth. You are trapped, enslaved, and you are helpless.

Have you ever considered fishing from the perspective of the fish? You offer him a nice, juicy worm, which to a fish is evidently inviting. But you hide the hook inside the tantalizing morsel. It is only after he bites that the fish has to face truth. He is caught and he will be cooked.

Israel went into Egypt for a short time, because there was going to be a seven-year famine and there was food and protection offered by Joseph. But no one meant to live there for 400 years. No one. It was to be a brief sojourn in the Pharaoh's land, a few years at most.

But once you accept Egypt's hospitality, getting out is harder than getting in. Sin welcomes you but it hides the hook. You accept its offer so that you can experience its pleasures and then suddenly you realize that you've bit the hook and you are trapped. I don't know who said it first, but it's been credited to different preachers - this piece of wisdom summarizes the power of sin.

Sin takes you farther than you want to go.
It cost you more than you want to pay,
And it holds you longer than you want to stay. 

Israel was in a helpless position - there was nothing they could do about it. Their bonds to their captor could not be broken and they were destined to continue in their bondage until death. But God had plans to free them and that was their only hope. None of us has hope of freedom from this power of sin until God acts to free us. Only his power can pull the hook and release us.

That's the good news. Exodus 1 looks so hopeless. A people in boats to a nation that oppresses them, but God was about to deliver them. God can do anything. Remember than. Never define reality simply by what the news says or what your eyes see. God is at work. Sin is strong but Jesus is stronger. The world is evil but the Light of the world shines brighter. What you see is not what you get. What God says is what we get. Israel's bondage looked permanent and impossible to change, but they had a God not bound by human possibilities.

Father, thank you for your power to free and to overcome the things of this world which bind me. My sin, though greater than my power to overcome, is defeated by your Son and in that I rejoice and in that I hope. 

Think and Pray

Are you living in bondage to sin? Jesus provides freedom to those who trust him. If you have never done that, repent of your sins and put your faithful in Christ.
If you have rusted Christ, remember that you have been freed from sin's dominion and have the power to walk in victory over temptation and sin through Jesus and the in dwelling Spirit.

Creation to Christ: Reading 13 - August 20, 2016 - Genesis 47, 50:15-21, God Preserves Israel

Today’s Readings

Context 

There is no legitimate reason that Israel should exist today. They should be like the Hittites and Amorites - tribes from the ancient past that were relegated to history's dustbin. They should have never been a nation in the first place, but God performed a miracle. Here, the tribes could have died in the famine, but God placed Joseph at the Pharaoh's right hand. Egypt. Assyria. Babylon. Rome. Muslims. Germany. Time and again the people of God have been threatened to their very existence. And every time God came through. 

It was not because of Israel's fidelity or merit.- they were seldom faithful to God in the OT years. But when God chooses, calls, and makes a people his own, he does not abandon them. He preserves, protects and defends them to the end of time. 

That is good news to a sinner like me. In my 52 years as a Christian I've been unfaithful to God more than I want to admit or ruminate on, but he has never given up on me, carrying on his work to completion until the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6). 

In today's reading, you see God using Joseph to preserve the nation during the 7 bad years. Yes, the brothers continued to scheme even after Jacob was dead, but Joseph was God's tool to preserve those he chose as his own. 

God's promises never fail. 

Devotional - Putting the Past in the Past

It was a time of grief as they buried their father, but for Joseph's brothers it was also a time of stress and fear. They carried with them the memory of a terrible wrong they had committed against their brother, imprisoning him and selling him into slavery in Egypt. And now their brother was the second most powerful man in the world. 

And dad was not around to protect them anymore!

They were afraid that now that Jacob was gone Joseph might use his power to exact vengeance against them for what they had done to him. Who could blame him, after all? To save themselves, they concocted a lie that Jacob had asked Joseph to show mercy to his brothers. Such a scheme was unnecessary, for Joseph had learned one of life's most important lessons. He told his brothers not to fear him and assured them that he had no intent to rob God's right of revenge. Then, he made an amazing statement of faith in God (in Genesis 50:20). 

You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result.

He believed in the goodness of the God who rules the world, and even though he knew that his brothers had willfully sought to harm him, the power of God changed man's evil into good. He was not holding a grudge or dwelling on the evil that had been done to him. He was dwelling on the goodness of God and the good that he had done in spite of it all. 

There is much in Joseph's response that is worthy of imitation. He dwelt on God's goodness instead of the real (or imagined) hurts from people. He trusted God's sovereign power to bring good out of evil. He refused to usurp God's right to respond to evil. 

But there is one more thing he did that I would like to point out. It is something that many of us do not do - to our own great spiritual harm. 

Joseph put the past in the past!

Too many Christians are living in the past. Some are stuck on mistakes they made in the past and cannot seem to receive the forgiveness God gives. Some are fixated on injuries and hurts, holding onto the bitterness and anger that saps spiritual joy and leaves people in bondage. Some may think that their spiritual successes in the past were enough to carry them through today. 

The past shapes us, gives us memories of both joy and pain. But the past must never control us. Jesus Christ died to free us from the sins of the past - both those we committed and those that were committed against us. Once we come to Christ, we are given the Spirit to renew us day by day, to give us joy, peace, power, victory and grace every day. We must live in God's grace today and not be enslaved by the past. 

Lord, I thank you for every blessing and every challenge of the past, but I thank you that I do not have to be a slave to it. You have broken the chains of sin, you have freed me! May I walk in your grace daily.  

Think and Pray

Do you hold on to hurts and injuries of the past or do you trust God for the future enough to forgive and release those hurts to him?
Do you trust God's power to preserve and protect you no matter what, or do you panic in fear?
Do you 

Creation to Christ: Reading 12 - August 19, 2016 - Genesis 37, 39-41 Blessing from Suffering

Today’s Readings

Context 

Genesis is a book of beginnings - the creation of the world, of humanity, the fall into sin, the choice of Israel as God's people. But it is much more than a book of historical facts; it also begins to unveil the character and ways of the God we serve. We have seen that God uses ordinary, flawed people and does his work through them. We've observed how God transforms people when they encounter him. We looked at how God sent a miracle baby, foreshadowing his redemptive plan.

In this first book, we see glimpses of the God who will be revealed in glory through the rest of the Bible. Today's reading shows more of God's character and ways. God took Joseph through years of suffering and unfair treatment before he revealed fully his plans. Not only do we see God's sustaining grace and the wonder of his sovereign plan, but we see that God prepares those he plans to use.

God had a powerful purpose for Joseph, to make him a ruler. But to be ready for the job God had for him, Joseph's character had to be developed. Character precedes usefulness. Before God can use a man greatly he must sometimes send him through painful situations that build faith, character, and humility.

When, in God's timing, Joseph was ready to do God's will, God elevated him and put him in the place of prominence - when he was ready.

One other key truth we have learned from this book. God works in such a way that it often seems as if his promises will fail. Abraham waited 25 years after God gave him an absurd promise. Joseph was told he would be a ruler and then he became a slave and a prisoner - for 13 years.

God will often allow circumstances to make it look like his promises will fail and that is where faith comes in. That's the God we serve. 

Devotional - When Circumstances Lie

Joseph’s story is both tragic and glorious.  He was Jacob’s favorite son, and that bred jealousy among his brothers.  They sold him into slavery in Egypt – a teenage boy betrayed by his family.  He became a slave to Potiphar, who grew to love him.  Unfortunately, Potiphar’s wife also had feelings for him – the wrong kind.  Joseph resisted her advances, but that did not stop Mrs. Potiphar of accusing him of assault.  Joseph ended up spending many years in an Egyptian dungeon.  When he interpreted the dream of Pharaoh’s cupbearer, he had a moment of hope, but that was snuffed as the cupbearer forgot about him for two whole years.

Then, it all changed in one day.  Joseph awoke one morning as a slave and went to bed that night as the second most powerful man in the world.  Pharaoh had a restless night, dreaming about cows and ears of grain.  The dreams troubled him.  As he discussed them, the cupbearer suddenly remembered Joseph, who interpreted his dream.  Joseph was summoned, interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, and advised Pharaoh about how to handle the lean years that were to come.  Pharaoh decided that because of Joseph’s wisdom, he would be the perfect man to be Egypt’s second-in-charge.  What a day for Joseph.

But to get to that wonderful day, Joseph had to go through thirteen years of struggle and hardship. it might have seemed to him that God was deaf to his prayers and had forgotten him, but he had not. Joseph continued to serve God faithfully until the answer came. 

I am often frustrated by how long struggles continue, how slow the victories are to come or my prayers are to be answered. It is easy to look in the mirror and despair, to give up hope, to lose enthusiasm for the battle.  But we must not do that.  We cannot.  God is in charge, and where he is at work there is never any justification to abandon hope. God may be slow but his timing is perfect. 

Remember this: every circumstance in Joseph's life screamed that God's promise was not going to come true; that the visions of his youth would fail. But God was at work even when Joseph couldn't see it or feel it. God was preparing Joseph for the work he had before him. When the time was right, God's plan was revealed.  

God is at work all around us. Often we fail and are uncooperative with that work, but God's work continues. Circumstances may tell you to despair of God's promises, but a man or woman of God learns to live by Gd's word and to serve him faithfully, regardless of what is happening in the world.

God, I trust you.  Sometimes I cannot see what you are doing and I struggle to understand. But like Joseph I want to keep serving you and wait for your timing to reveal your power. Help me to trust you and walk in confidence in what you can do in me!

Think and Pray

Are you looking for promotion and usefulness without allowing God to build your character and prepare you for the task?
Do  you trust the plan of God for your life, even when circumstances seem to say its not going to happen?

Creation to Christ: Reading 11 - August 18, 2016 - Genesis 28:10-22, 32:22-32, 35:9-15, Encountering God

Today’s Readings

Context 

What kind of "religion" do we have? Is it primarily a series of rules that are meant to be followed, a lifestyle to be lived? Is it a theology to be understood, a mental exercise? Is Christianity a set of rituals and liturgies that we perform? 

In one sense, it is all of these - there are guidelines for life, there is biblical theology that must be understood, and we worship and baptize and observe the Lord's Supper. But in another sense, our faith is none of these. It is about encountering the Living God and being transformed by that encounter. 

In today's readings, we see how Jacob, the deceiver and schemer, encountered God and was transformed to become a new person. That's the God we serve. That's the faith we practice. 

Devotional - Changed

One of the fundamental assertions of modern pop-psychology is that people don't really change. You are what you are and that is what you always will be. An alcoholic may be able to stop drinking, but he remains an alcoholic to the end of his days. It is assumed that people's sexual desires are hard-wired into them and to ask people to change is unfair, even cruel.  

There is a very different message in the pages of Scripture. When people come into contact with the living God, their lives are radically changed. Ever noticed how often someone who came to know God was renamed by the Father?  Abram became Abraham.  Saul became Paul.  And in Genesis 35:10, God gives a new name to Jacob.  It is a significant change.

Jacob was a troubled man with a troubled name.  His name meant "deceiver" and that is exactly what Jacob was.  He was a schemer, tricking his father and his brother. This was not a good man. 

But God does not look simply at what a man is; he looks at what he intends to make him. God got a hold on Jacob and he became a new man. Since a new man needs a new name, God gave him one. The new name was Israel. God was working out his new purpose in this man's life and the new name referred to the triumph of God's will that now prevailed in his life. Jacob was a new man and needed a new name. 

  

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we are told that in Christ we are “new creations” and that the old is gone, replaced by the new work that God in doing in our hearts.  In Christ, I do not have to be today what I was yesterday and I do not have to be tomorrow what I am today.  I can change in Christ.

God is in the business of giving new names to his children.  The drunk gets called by a new name – sober.  The pervert can become pure.  Those who live to indulge their sinful natures can walk in self-control. It can happen - not because of me but because of the God I serve, the One who makes all things new. 

Lord, I thank you for your life-changing and renewing power.  Because of you, I do not have to be tomorrow what I was yesterday. You are the name-changer, the life-transformer. I rely on your power and strength to become tomorrow what I am not today.

Think and Pray

What changes is God making in your life right now?
Is your faith a set of rules, a theology, or a set of rituals and liturgies alone, or it is, at it's heart, an encounter with the God of Heaven? 

Creation to Christ: Reading 10 - August 17, 2016 - Genesis 12:10-20, 20:1-18, 25:19-34, 27:1-46, God Uses Flawed Servants

Today’s Readings

Context 

We jump around today to what may seem like unrelated passages, but they all tell a similar story - the great heroes of the Bible had feet of clay. Well, all but one. The Bible really only has one true hero and the rest were flawed people who made a lot of mistakes and did a lot of things wrong, but found the grace and power of God to accomplish great things.

The key to accomplishing great things in Scripture is not the talent, wisdom, popularity, wealth, or Andy other human resource of the human being, but the ability of the God who uses that flawed person. Yes, God requires obedience and faith, confession and repentance, but never forget that the power is God's and not man's. 

Devotional 

I remember reading biographies of missionaries and great Christian leaders in my youth. They tended to present that person as if he walked on water, as some kind of superhero saint - a c
ut above the rest of us. We could never be that way.

The Bible never does that. 

Leaving Jesus out of it, who are the five greatest men of the Bible? How about Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, and Paul? Of course, you can argue to put Noah or Elijah or John in there, but who are you going to drop? Think about the five I mentioned? What do they have in common? Each of these great men of the Bible has a significant story (or stories) told about them that makes them look bad. The Bible never glosses over the weaknesses of its heroes. Our readings today carry Abraham's lies and cowardice. Pulse, he lost faith and fathered a child who has caused trouble for the Israelites for 4 millennia. Moses' failure kept him out of the Promised Land. David? That one is pretty famous. Peter denied Jesus and had to be dragged kicking and screaming into including the Gentiles in the Great Commission. Paul described himself as "the worst of sinners" - at the end of his life.

In the stories we read today, Abram lies and tries to pass off his wife as his sister (technically, she was - I know, it's gross, but that was a different world!) to save his own skin. It was a selfish act that demeaned his wife.

Then we read about all of the scheming and betrayal between Jacob and Esau. Frankly, though Jacob was chosen by God to be the one through whom the Messiah's line would be carried, he was a real stinker. He lied. He manipulated. He was a double-dealer. He name meant "deceiver" and it described his character.

And these were the PATRIARCHS of the Jewish nation - the forefathers from whom the people descended. If someone told stories like that about the founders of our nation we'd call them communists and revoke their citizenship.

Two lessons should be derived from this. First, the Bible is about the greatness of God, not the goodness of mankind. It's not about human potential but divine power. It's now about what we can do but what HE has done for us.

I love the statement I first heard at the Gospel Project launch years ago.

The Bible is ONE story and Jesus is the hero. 

So what does that mean for you and me? A lot! I remember a lady in my first pastorate who told me, "I don't have any talents." What she meant was, "There's nothing I can do to serve God."

Balderdash.

Where did we get the idea that God was a talent scout seeking to assemble the best and the brightest for his "cool kids" club? Never! In fact, in 1 Corinthians 1, Paul tells us that God chose the foolish instead of the wise, the weak instead of the strong, and the nothing's instead of the influential because he wanted the glory to go to human!

God has all the power, creativity, wisdom and innovative ideas the church needs. He is simply looking for average people with all their flaws to give themselves to God and say, "Lord, use me as you see fit." You've got no talents? Who cares? Your talents may just get in the way. God simply wants to use YOU!

God calls ordinary people with flaws (just like you) and infuses them with his amazing grace to accomplish extraordinary things through them.

Are you just an ordinary person? Glory! You are the kind of person God's kingdom specializes in!

Father, thank you for loving ordinary folks like us and using us in your extraordinary ways.

Think and Pray

Do you use being average as an excuse? 

Commit your primary, flawed life to God to be used by his power. Remember that it is about his power, not your potential!