Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.” – Exodus 19:18

Take a moment to picture this…. This is the visible presence of God on Earth! It’s absolutely overwhelming – an entire mountain enveloped in smoke and fire. This isn’t how God actually is, it’s simply the limit of what a frail, sin-wracked human can handle. Anything more than that and the holiness of God would prove fatal to creatures of dust like ourselves. The actual presence of God is infinitely more overwhelming than this! The people of Israel were absolutely terrified, and right to be, because when God’s presence is manifest, our unholiness becomes very apparent to us.

Now, realize a precious truth about this… If Jesus is your Lord and if you’ve entrusted your life to Him, then this very same God has lovingly adopted you as His child! This frighteningly holy God loves you! He welcomes you to come into His presence in prayer and praise anytime you want, day or night. You have a relationship with this fearsome, holy Creator of the Universe! And it’s a relationship of love, not fear or dread. You don’t need to be afraid or ashamed, because you are restored and transformed. Isn’t that marvelous?!?

Take time to nurture that relationship. Enjoy it. Delight in it. Spend time each day talking to God. Spend time quietly sitting in His presence and enjoying yourself. Read His Word and delight in it. Sing praises to God. Tell the stories of God. Brag about Him to people who don’t yet know Him. #FollowJesus

“‘Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.’ And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.” – Exodus 17:6

If God is calling you to do something, trust that He’ll make the way for it to happen! It may not be easy. It may not be comfortable. It may not be on your schedule. But God will make the way!!! He literally made water come out of a rock in a desert to sustain His people! If He can carry them through the most brutal conditions imaginable, then He can certainly carry you through whatever He’s called you to do.

That last part is essential – whatever He’s called you to do. God has to have actually called you into whatever adventure you’re on for this promise to be certain. If you’re in a difficult spot because of something you chose to do, you should certainly pray but you can’t presume upon the Lord. However, if He’s called you to that mission trip, witnessing opportunity, new ministry, new place, new job, or new situation, He will certainly make the way for Him to be glorified in it.

God will never leave His people hanging. He may stretch us a bit, testing and refining our faith, but He’s promised He’ll never leave or forsake us. So trust in Him. Whatever He’s calling you to do, do it eagerly. When you’re in God’s will, be at peace. Take financial and logistical concerns seriously, but don’t fret. Don’t worry. Don’t be anxious. Take all reasonable measures and lift every concern to God in prayer. #FollowJesus

“‘Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.’ On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.”

– Exodus 16:26-27

What is it about us that compels us to “check on” God and try to get around His clear rules?!? Out in the desert, God told His people that there would be a double-portion of manna available on the sixth day and absolutely none on the Sabbath. There would be no point in going out to gather on the Sabbath. Then He provided the double-portion on the sixth day which they could clearly see. And yet…. People still went out to check on the Sabbath and see if they could “get ahead” by gathering up some extra manna!

If we’re honest, we can see ourselves in this story. We feel compelled to verify whether God is actually serious and truthful. Something compels us to try and find ways around His rules, “just in case” His provision isn’t enough. Why do we do these things? Why do we struggle to believe God when He’s always been completely trustworthy? Why do we look for reasons to believe His rules don’t apply to us? Why are we seldom satisfied in His perfect provision?

Is there something in your life that tempts you to “check on God”? Is there something that tempts you to try and bypass His design for life? If there isn’t, that’s wonderful. If there is, ask yourself what keeps you from fully trusting God’s Word, promise, and provision? Is it something in your past? Some fear, failure, or lack?

What makes you think you need more than God permits? If your faith is in Jesus, you are in union with the eternal Son of God. You’ve been forgiven, freed from sin’s power, adopted into God’s family, and sealed by God’s Spirit. Discipline your mind to be satisfied with that! Learn to walk by faith rather than by your own sight. Resist any temptation to try and get ahead in a way that is displeasing to God. Instead, take all your requests to God in prayer and simply #FollowJesus

“Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” – Exodus 14:12

The Israelites were in the midst of the most dramatic move of God since Creation and they were utterly terrified! They’d seen God work powerful miracles to set them free from slavery in Egypt. Nonetheless, as Egypt’s terrifying army was closing in on them, they doubted everything. Despite everything they’d experienced, they desperately wanted to go back to their old situation. They wanted the safety of slavery, an evil they knew, rather than the intense and unknown danger of living in God’s will.

This can happen to any of us! When God calls us to follow Him into a new spiritual adventure, we are likely to reach a point of tremendous fear and doubt. Jesus invites His followers to take up their cross each day and follow Him wherever He leads. That will lead us into radical personal transformation. It will lead us into places we never imagined going. It may lead to new homes, new jobs, new passions, and new pursuits. It can lead to the mission field far away or the mission field in your office. And it can absolutely be frightening because we have no sense of control.

Whenever God is doing a mighty work in your life, expect a time of fear and doubt. Will this career change work out? Are you strong enough to minister to the desperate need of those to whom God has called you? Will greater boldness for Jesus get you in trouble? Has it already gotten you in trouble? Will your family reject your deeper enthusiasm for the Lord? Will the Lord provide the funds you need to keep a roof over your family’s head? The questions and doubts can be endless. Going back to the way you were (less obedient, less committed, less mature, less dependent on God) can become quite attractive.

This is very likely to happen when you commit to follow Jesus wherever He leads. The question is, when the fear rises within you, what will you do? Will you be like the Israelites and desperately want to go back to the old way? That’s both impossible and a terrible idea. Don’t long to go backward. Don’t long for a place of less dependence on Jesus. Cry out to God and move forward! Trust that He is with you and let Him strengthen and sustain you. When you’re in the spiritual desert, don’t waste time looking backward. Take up your cross and continue to #FollowJesus forward into the great adventure He has prepared for you!

“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.” – Matthew 27:42

What a perfect illustration of how little the chief priests and scribes understood about Jesus and His purpose. In their mockery, they imagined that the ultimate demonstration that Jesus was the Christ would be for Him to simply hop off the cross and save His own life. That was never going to happen, because Jesus still had work to do and the cross was where that work had to be done!

On that cross, Jesus was bearing all the sins of the world, including yours. He was canceling our record of sin debt by paying for it Himself. Jesus was receiving all of God’s righteous wrath for our sins. He was writing a new covenant of grace and sealing it with His innocent blood. He was satisfying the demands of justice on that cross. Jesus couldn’t complete His ultimate purpose if He merely acted to save His own earthly life. Those religious leaders could think of no higher purpose in life than self-preservation. They couldn’t understand the sacrifice and love that held God’s Son on that cross more tightly than nails ever could!

Thankfully, Jesus understood perfectly. There was no real temptation here for Him that day. He’d already battled this particular temptation in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before. In this moment, He knew His mission and nothing could distract Him from it. He was there for love. He was there for grace. He was there for reconciliation. Thank you, Jesus for staying on that cross for us! #FollowJesus