EmmDev 2021-05-28 [God's help in Tough Times] Strength in weakness

Strength in weakness

So do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah41:10)

"I am with you"

Even when it does not feel that way and even when we feel like we have failed.

Even when we have wondered away and fallen down.

Paul says: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 8:38f)

"Do not be dismayed for I am your God."

Have you ever experienced an eclipse? Sometimes our circumstances are so "in our faces" and so intimidating that they get between us and God like the moon gets between the earth and the sun. But He is always God. We should never allow our circumstances become a god. His light will always shine, and even when we feel like we're in the shadow, the Light is always there! Put another way: There can only be a shadow if there is a light behind it! God is always greater than our trouble.

"I will strengthen you and help you"

Elsewhere Isaiah says: "Those that hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint." (Isa40:31) Paul reminds us that the power of the Holy Spirit who is at work in us is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

"I will uphold you with my righteous right hand"

God's hand reminds us that His care is personal and intimate. He is with us and involved in our circumstances. And some 2000 years ago the One who sits at the right hand of God - His only Son - suffered and died to give us life.

We are dearly loved - so do not be afraid! 

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EmmDev 2021-05-27 [God's help in Tough Times] When everything is being SHAKEN

Hi Everyone,
In view of the third Covid wave which is reaching our shores here in South Africa and in view of the tiredness and discouragement that many are experiencing, I'm interrupting the Exodus series for a little while to spend some time on a bunch of passages that just put things in perspective for us in these crazy times.
Hope it's meaningful and grounding!
Blessings and Love,
Theo

When everything is being SHAKEN

Some people throw their hands in the air whenever trouble comes their way and complain "Where is God!???" Unfortunately their theology is too shallow: their picture of God is that His job in life is to make our lives easy and keep trouble at bay.

Not the Psalmist! He has experienced trouble:
Foundation-shaking,
mountain-sinking
and wave-swamping trouble.
He has experienced the dark night of the soul, the panic of nations in uproar and the horrors of war and yet he is completely convinced that God will see him through.

This trouble has not overwhelmed him. His faith is in God. His strength comes from above. If we read the whole psalm we find the psalmist recognising the following Divine Attributes:
- God is a Refuge and Fortress: When the storms rage, we can find peace.
- God is our Strength: We don't have to face the troubles on our own.
- God has a plan and a promise: In the Psalm this is Jerusalem, maybe in our context it is the Church.
- God is at work, He will ultimately judge and balance the scales. He will ultimately be glorified.

But how can we know and experience this?
The psalm gives us a clue in verse 10: "Be Still and Know that I am God."

The trouble with trouble is that it troubles us! 😂 Experiencing God as our Refuge and Fortress takes courageous trust on our parts. We cannot allow our circumstances to dominate our thoughts and faith. We must quieten our hearts, put things in perspective and remember God.        

God is our refuge and strength,     an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear,  though the earth give way   and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,    though its waters roar and foam     and the mountains quake with their surging.     Selah. (Psalms46:1-3 )

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EmmDev 2021-05-26 [Exultant Exalting Exodus] Expressiveness Expedited

Expressiveness Expedited

Moses was unsure of his ability to express himself well before Pharaoh and the Israelites. (Maybe the ba-aa-aaah-ing of the sheep taught him to st-u-tter... ;-) )

But even when God tells Moses that He can give him the ability to speak perfectly - Moses continues to protest and so God provides another solution in the form of Aaron, Moses' brother.

The question we are left with is this:

Did God "cave in" to Moses' sense of inadequacy?
Did God, who could make a donkey speak, simply allow Moses to get away with a stubborn lack of trust?

I don't think so...

Although Moses' reticence angered Him, God, with great love, saw a deeper need than Moses' lack of verbal expressiveness. I think that Moses was afraid of facing such a daunting task alone. And so God gives Moses a companion and sidekick and, for Moses, who better than his big brother?

If we follow Moses' journey, there are almost always companions who share his journey with him: His siblings Aaron and Miriam are a core part of his leadership team even when their ambitions get in the way. Young Joshua is his protege. Aaron and Hur hold up his arms in the battle against the Amelikites. He even allows his father-in-law Jethro to give him leadership advice. The only times Moses is alone is when he is with God. Moses is a team-orientated.

I think it is wonderful that God cares about Moses so intimately that He looks beyond the surface issue (a stutter) and sees a soul in need of companionship.

So God cuts through (expedites) the speech issue to address the real need: Moses was lonely.

Let's exult in the knowledge that God knows us intimately and even when our stubbornness might anger Him, He always patiently meets our deepest needs and so we exalt Him for His love.

Moses said to the LORD, "O 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 man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. (Exodus4:10-16)

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EmmDev 2021-05-25 [Exultant Exalting Exodus] X-Factor

X-Factor

We're looking at a different "Ex" word today. (And it's not a televised singing talent competition) 

The Hebrew verb "hayah" means to "be", "become", "happen" or "occur". God uses this verb to introduce himself using this simple yet powerful construct. "I AM who I AM." He uses the imperfect tense in Hebrew which implies actions that that are not completed or actions that occur in the present or future.

And so we get: 

"I AM and will always BE!"
"I AM the constant one!"

"I AM and not I WAS: You can't contain me or pin me down or put me in a box."  

In uncertain times He is the the One whose "constancy in the present"
makes all the difference. He is not "rock" or "mountain" He is always more. And although the Psalmist will say "God is my Rock" he expands it with other descriptions like "refuge" and "strong tower" simply indicating that there is never one single phrase that can contain God. 

He calls Himself "I AM." No matter where
you are or what trouble you are in: "I AM!"

It is this same verb that forms the root of the Old Testament's
favourite unique name for God: Yahweh (translated by some as Jehovah)
which is the 3rd person form of "hayah" and means "He IS."

People asked the Israelites "Who's your God?"

They would answer "Yahweh! - He, the One who IS!"

When I was a teen, there was a Swedish Gospel Band "Edin Adahl" who sang a song entitled "X-Factor." In the chorus they sang:
You are the X-Factor, eternal life reactor, You are the X-Factor.
You put my heart in motion, activate my inner section,
You are the X-Factor!

I like the idea behind the song. God is much more than a constant
and He is more than simply a variable (small "x") He is the "(capital) X
factor" - He is the "Constant-Variable" that brings life, change and
transformation. Introduce the "X" into any equation and the equation
becomes dependent on X.

God IS.

And when He is in the room, things will change!        

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " (Exodus3:13-14)

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EmmDev 2021-05-20 [Exultant Exalting Exodus] Excuses...

Excuses...

RECAP: This exchange takes place at the burning bush. The previous chapter describes how Moses acted impulsively, killing an Egyptian slavemaster, and fleeing to Midian. In Midian he names his son "Gershom" which means "alien" and describes the depression that Moses has fallen into.

Now here at the burning bush, God gives Moses a chance to start over, but there's an issue that needs to be cleared out of the way first...

Moses' question appears humble and self-deprecating. ""Who am I, that I should go to Pharoah and bring
the Israelites out of Egypt?" If Moses was really being humble then God's answer would have been different. If we put the "I's" in bold then we get a better sense of what this is all about.

As it stands Moses acts as if it all depends on him. He will go to Pharoah and he will bring the the Israelites out - All by himself. I can just picture him get ready to put on a long face because God has given him this impossible task to fulfill.

God's answer makes short work of the objection:
1.I will be with you.
2.When you have brought the people out you and the people will worship me on this mountain.

When the job was done it would be obvious that God had done all the hard work!

Later on Moses will offer other excuses:
- Who exactly shall I say is sending me?

- Why will they believe me?

- I don't speak too well... (The sh sh sh sheep taught me to st st stutter...)

Each time God deals with his objections, but each time the issues were the same:

Moses thought it was all about him - WORSHIP says it's all about God.
Moses thought he had to do it all alone - God says "I will be with you."

But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharoah and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be a sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you (plural) will worship God on this mountain." (Exodus3:11-12)

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EmmDev 2021-05-19 [Exultant Exalting Exodus] Exceedingly Extensive Examination

Exceedingly Extensive Examination

Moses has been in the wilderness for forty years (according to Acts 7:30) During this time he has had plenty of opportunity to reflect on the plight of his people: from his own narrow escape from death to the contrast of the opulence of Pharaoh's palace and the enslavement of his people. He has pondered the injustice and his own powerlessness.

Was he searching for God? We don't know. But God was about to find Moses!

Here's how God introduces Himself:

- I am holy: Take off your shoes. My presence makes even the ground holy. I am not mired down by the pettiness of human governments and regimes.

- I am the God of history: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But this genealogy includes the children and future of these patriarchs. Not only the God of history past, but history present and history future. I am the history maker.

- I am the God who cares: I have SEEN their misery. I have HEARD their cries. I am CONCERNED about their suffering. He is the God who sees, hears and cares about our day-to-day "stuff." When we suffer He is concerned. (He exceedingly and extensively examines our situation)

- I am the God who rescues: "I have come down to rescue them." Israel's salvation did not begin when Moses went to Pharoah. It began when God lit the bush and called Moses. He "came down."

This is how God introduces Himself to Moses and, over a thousand years later, these same truths would be true when Jesus came as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, dividing history into BC and AD because He had seen our pain, heard our cries and was so concerned about us that He "came down".         

"Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians...  (Exodus3:5-8)

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EmmDev 2021-05-14 [Exultant Exalting Exodus] Exceedingly Excellent

Exceedingly Excellent

"Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus3:5-6)

For those of us who have grown up with "gentle Jesus meek and mild" there is often a sense of disconnect when we contemplate passages like this that express God's holiness, purity and majesty.

Our "ex" words for today, "Exceedingly Excellent", are actually very helpful: They express the concept of God's Holiness in positive terms whereas I think we sometimes experience it more negatively...

If I think about it, I would never want a God who is anything less than holy. If He were 75% good and 75% pure then there is a chance that I could bring my needs to Him on a "bad day" and I would not be sure that I will receive justice and that He might show favouritism or even behave in a way that is dishonest or even evil. We need a God who is 100% pure  by His standards, and that makes Him 1000% pure by our standards!

The gods of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome were gods made in human likeness - full of foibles and weaknesses.

The problem is that when we come to a holy, pure and exceedingly excellent God, we have to face the reality that we are not like Him. So one of the ways of expressing "Holy" is "other" - God is not like us. Another Hebrew word "kabod", which describes God's glory, also means "heavy."

We are "lightweights" coming into the presence of a "heavyweight" God. God is not "in our league" and, on the one hand, thank God (said with respect) for that! On the other hand, although we couldn't come to God, He came to us in Jesus. Jesus bridges the gap, wipes away our sin and makes it possible to enter God's presence with confidence.

Moses, barefoot in front of an un-expiring exothermic bush, reminds us that God is Exceedingly Excellent!

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ASCENSION DAY Devotion

Ascension: The Crown of the Priest-King

I want to look at a passage that pulls together the importance of the the Incarnation, the Cross, the Resurrection and the Ascension. It portrays Jesus as our King and Great High Priest.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (Hebrews1:1-3)

We're going to focus on Jesus' priesthood...

A priest has two important functions: to represent and to sacrifice.

As a representative Jesus represents God to us and us to God. In the incarnation He reveals the fullness of God to us and in His humanity He stands in our place before God.

The writer to the Hebrews makes it clear - Jesus is fully God:

1. He is heir of all things;
2. the universe was made through Him;
3. He radiates God's glory
4. He is the exact representation of God's being ("If you've seen me you've seen the Father" Jn14:9)
5. He sustains all things by His Word ("The Word was with God and was God" Jn1:1)

But He also represents our humanity fully: "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." (Jn1:14)

He represents God to us and us to God.

But He also made a sacrifice. In the Old Testament the High Priest made the sacrifice of a lamb in the Holy of Holies on the day of Atonement for the sins of the people. This sacrifice was imperfect and had to be repeated year after year. BUT Jesus' sacrifice of Himself as the Lamb of God was sufficient. He has provided ultimate purification.

In the ascension Jesus does not discard His human body, but takes it to the right hand of God. The work is complete.
As death-overcoming-King and successfully-sacrificing-Priest He sits at the right hand of God because the sacrifice was sufficient.
The job is well done.
He is our sacrifice and our representative forever.

HALLELUJAH!

EmmDev 2021-05-07 [Exultant Exalting Exodus] Exothermic without Expiry

Exothermic without Expiry

I couldn't resist that title! ;-)

It burned but was not consumed!

Moses is in the wilderness working on his stutter when God calls him.

The bush, burning, but not burning up, grabs his attention.

And as he gets there, he discovers that he is meeting with the living God.

This burning bush is symbolic of God's Spirit and of God's Calling. To mention just a few instances of the Spirit as fire: 

Zechariah depicts the Holy Spirit as a lampstand where the lamps are constantly fed by channels of oil. 

In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit appears as "tongues of fire" on the heads of the believers.

In Thessalonians Paul urges them not to quench the Spirit's fire.

But fire is also the symbol of God's Presence and Power. Think of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal. (In that case the fire did consume.)

I think this is a powerful image of what God would do within us: that we will burn brightly, blazing with the light and glory of God, bringing the warmth of God and the protection of God and yet we will not be consumed. 

I think this has two dimensions:

Firstly, we are not consumed by His glory and majesty, as with Moses and because of Jesus, God puts us in the cleft of the rock and shelters us with his hand that we may "see Him and live". My brain can barely grasp the immensity of the Being who created the universe, and yet I may call on Him as my Father.

Secondly, I believe that as we serve Him, He will renew our strength so that we are not overwhelmed and exhausted. We will be given grace and peace. We'll take His yoke and learn from Him because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. (Mt.11:28-30)

It was Wesley who said: "Every morning I set myself on fire and invite people to come and watch me burn!!!"

Thank You Spirit that you are all the might and power I need and then, when I walk in Your ways, I can burn and not be consumed. 

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.  So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up." When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!"     And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." (Exodus3:1-5)

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EmmDev 2021-05-06 [Exultant Exalting Exodus] God Excruciated

God Excruciated

One of the human expectations of the "gods" is that "the gods do not bleed." In other words, our human expectation is that any god should not be affected by anything.

The God we believe in and that is portrayed here in Exodus is not a god like that. He is concerned for His creation. Our suffering is excruciating to Him.

Our reading for today depicts God as hearing, remembering and being concerned. Later, at the burning bush, our loving God states it even more clearly: "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.  So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians."

God takes our pain very very seriously.
He is not unmoved or aloof from our pain.

He is profoundly attentive to the extent of our pain and very determined to act on it.

The only "ex" word that I could come up with this morning was "excruciate" which means to torture or be tortured. As it turns out, this word includes the idea of crucifixion and it completes the picture for us. Our brokenness and pain is what took Jesus to the cross where was crucified ("cruciated"). He experienced and carried the full extent of human brokenness so that we will never be alone.

Do I hear a "Hallelujah"?

During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.    (Exodus2:23-25)

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