Moses' Miracle of Organization

When we think about the greatest miracles in the Bible, one of the greatest has to be the dividing of the Red Sea, and the deliverance of the children of Israel, and destruction of the Egyptians. This massive miracle speaks of the greatness of God to do anything, and that nothing is too hard for Him. But I am also impressed with the miracle of Ex. 18 that enabled Moses and the children of Israel to be able to survive together in the desert. The chapter tells us how Jethro, Moses' father-in-law came to join Moses, and brought Moses' wife and 2 sons. It was the next day that Jethro observed Moses sitting all day, from morning till night, judging the children of Israel. I imagine Moses sitting there, and a very long lineup of people, waiting all day in the heat of the sun, for a chance to bring their need to Moses. Moses was very busy, and Jethro was not impressed. Jethro said, "What are you doing? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand before you from morning till night? The thing you are doing is not good. Both you and these people will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you. You are not able to perform it by yourself." So Jethro gave Moses a word of wisdom, and told him to appoint rulers over groups of people, over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens. These men would judge the people, and only the hard cases would be sent to Moses. This made it easier on Moses, and much better for the people, as they didn't have to wait in the sun all day. So Moses was able to endure, and the people were able to live in peace. The miracle of teamwork preserved the children of Israel from organizational disaster. God calls everyone of us into a team, to work together with other people on Kingdom business. We cannot do it without a team. We must build our teams, relate to our team members, and trust our team in areas of our weaknesses. We each have a part to play on the team. Find your team, find your place, and work with your team. It will bring great strength and peace, and you will be able to endure the many challenges and pressures that will come your way.

Unless The Lord Builds The House

Ps. 127:1,2 "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows, for so He gives His beloved sleep." This Psalm tells us that unless the Lord is working through us, giving us the vision, the plan, and is personally involved in the project, our work will be in vain. This is not to say that we cannot do anything without God. The tower of Babel is a great example of people working together in unity to accomplish a great goal. And God Himself said in Gen. 11:6, "Indeed the people all are one, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them." God has created people so ingeniously that we are capable of doing tremendous things together. But this Psalm tells us that all our work will not produce any Kingdom or eternal benefits. If we rise up early, and stay up late, eating the bread of sorrows, worrying about our life, and trying to solve our problems, all our worry and anxiety will not bring about the solutions we need. We will only lose sleep, and find no satisfactory answers. But God gives His beloved sleep. So what do we do when we toss and turn, and can't shut our mind off from worrying and fretting about things. We need to go back to the first verse, which tells us that unless the Lord builds the house, the workers labor in vain. We need to commit everything to God, and trust Him with all our concerns. When we have turned everything over to God, and we trust Him, we will be able to finally lay down and get a peaceful sleep. Sleep is a gift from God, which we desperately need, for a clear mind, a good attitude, and a healthy body. So may God give you a trusting heart, and peace in your heart and mind, and good sleep, to refresh you for the challenges of tomorrow.

The Faith of Moses

When we consider the life of Moses, we can see that God had a plan for him right from the beginning. The story unfolds as his parents hid him for 3 months, and then floated him down the river in a basket, there to be found by Pharoah's daughter, who decides to adopt him as her own son. The plan of God is revealed step by step from the beginning to the end of Moses' life. His first 40 years were spent in Pharoah's household, but at 40 years old, the true heart of Moses came out as he went to see his people and looked on their burdens. In 2 days Moses' life was changed forever, and he fled to Midian, where he lived for the next 40 years. When he arrived in Midian the 7 daughters of the priest of Midian came to draw water, but the shepherds came and drove them away. At that point Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. This simple gesture of standing up for these women and helping them, opened the door for the next 40 years of his life. Because he stood up for what was right, he stood out to the priest of Midian, who asked about him, and invited him to come eat at his house. Moses married Zipporah, a daughter of the priest, and Moses lived there 40 years. Because Moses stood up, he stood out, and stood in the place God had for him. It is always right to do the right thing, and doing the right thing does not go unnoticed. "Even a child is known by his deeds, whether what he does is pure and right" Pro. 20:11. So if a child is known by his deeds, how much more an adult is known by his deeds. When we faithfully stand up for the things God has put in our heart, we will stand out from among the rest, and this will open doors into the place God has for us to serve. "And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart" Gal. 6:9. It was Moses' faith that determined his life's direction: what he refused, what he choose, what he valued, what he looked for, what he forsook, what he kept, and what he left behind. The faith of Moses serves as an encouragement and a pattern for us to follow in living by faith today.

The Test of Offence

A leader will be tested to see if he/she can be offended. It seems that there are certain people that come into our lives that are there to test our character, and God is using them to test and grow our character. I think of the life of Joseph, and how he was tested. Ps. 105:17-19 says, "He sent a man before them - Joseph - who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him." Joseph went through a tremendous test. He was faithfully serving his master, not having done anything wrong, yet he was falsely accused, and was put in the prison. It would be so difficult to be put in prison for something you have not done. What about Joseph's feelings toward this woman who accused him? Did he not have reason to be angry? What did he think about this woman? She was the reason he was in the prison. Wouldn't he feel a sense of hurt, and betrayal, and a desire for justice? How could he not feel ill toward this lady? Yet there seems to be no ill feelings in Joseph. His spirt was pure, and without bitterness. Joseph saw that this situation was a test from God that would reveal his character. The test revealed Joseph to be of excellent character, and at the timing of God, Joseph was released out of the prison into leadership of Egypt. "The king sent and released him. The ruler of the people let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions. To bind his princes at his pleasure, and teach his elders wisdom." So the next time someone comes into your life that tests your character, realize that passing this test is crucial to your next promotion from God. The tests reveal our character, and show God how much He can trust us with more of His kingdom!
Ps. 119:165 "Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble."

Wrestling With God

"Then Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day," Gen. 32:24. Jacob was alone. God had brought him to this place to touch his life, and Jacob would never be the same again. God will bring us to a place in our lives where we are alone with Him, and He starts wrestling with our hearts. We can walk away and choose not to wrestle, but there is a great blessing awaiting those who will wrestle through to the blessing. Jacob had been a deceiver from the time he was born. At birth he had his tiny hand on the heel of his twin brother Esau. He would take advantage of Esau on two major occasions. He took Esau's birthright by trading it for a bowl of stew. Later, with the help of his mother, he stole Esau's blessing by pretending he was his brother, and having his father Isaac pronounce a blessing of prosperity and authority on him. But now Jacob is at a place in his life where he is broken, and is unwilling to go on without being changed. He will not let go of this Man until he receives a blessing. Jacob is facing Esau in the morning, not knowing whether Esau will kill him, or what will happen. "The Man asked him, What is your name? And (in shock of realization, whispering) he said, Jacob (supplanter, schemer, trickster, swindler)!" Gen. 32:27 Amp. It dawned on Jacob that even his name revealed his need for change in his life. His name was changed that day from Jacob to Israel, "for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." His name was changed, and his walk was changed. From that day he limped on his hip. He had seen God face to face, and he would never be the same. The old man Jacob was gone. The old lying, stealing, deceiver was gone, and he walked with a new nature for the rest of his life. We also must wrestle with God, and with men, and we must prevail. We must win this spiritual wrestling match for our hearts, and defeat the deceitfulness of the old man, through the touch of God upon our lives, that changes our walk for the rest of our lives.

A Fruitful Life

One of my favorite Bible characters is Joseph. His life story is found in Gen. 37-50, but there are two Bible passages where a summary of his life is given. One of these places is Gen. 49:22-24, "Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall. The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob '(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel)' ". Joseph was hated by his brothers, put into a pit to die, then sold as a slave. He had reasons to become a bitter person, but we never find Joseph complaining or feeling sorry for himself. He had a servant's heart, and served wherever he went. Even when falsely accused by Potipher's wife, he showed an attitude of servanthood, and was soon promoted in the prison. The other passage that speaks of Joseph is Ps. 105:17-22. This Scripture tells us how Joseph's feet were hurt with fetters, and he was laid in iron. But Joseph was faithful, until his word came to pass. The word that God gave him in dreams years before caused many trials in Joseph's life and tested him. But because Joseph stayed faithful, he was promoted from the prison to the palace in one day. He became a ruler over the people of Egypt, and was a lord in Pharoah's house. Joseph put James 1:2-4 into action in his life. He counted it joy when he encountered all kinds of trials in his life. The joy of the Lord was Joseph's strength, and he remained strong. He became fully developed in the character of God, and became a man who lacked nothing. He became a picture of Christ to us. He was hated by his brethren, he was put into a pit for his death, he was treated as a slave, he was falsely accused, but he was promoted to the right hand of the king, and finally he revealed himself to his brethren. This is a picture of Christ, being sold by His brethren, falsely accused, rejected and despised, but in the end He rose up triumphant over death, and now He reigns as King, and will one day soon reveal Himself to His brethren, Israel. "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him," Rev. 1:7. Jesus is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. As we follow the example of Joseph, we also may live a fruitful life, with our branches running over the walls of our lives to bring blessing to others.

Bearing Fruit Through Trials

James tells us, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." It is essential that we have an attitude of joy when we are going through trials. This may seem too difficult, but consider the alternative, an attitude of complaining, and anger, and bitterness. These things lead us on a downward spiral that steals and kills and destroys everything God wants to do in our lives. Through trials, God wants us to develop patience, which is the ability to persevere and endure through hardships. God wants us to not only have patience, but to have fully developed patience. That is the kind of patience that can go through any trial, and still be found lacking nothing. This person will not be lacking any faith, hope, joy, or strength, though they have endured great hardship. Perhaps patience is the character quality that we need the most in our lives. We must have faith, but faith without patience will not be able to endure. Patience is necessary in the life of the farmer, James 5:7,8. The seed brings forth fruit with patience, Luke 8:15. The runner must run with patience in order to win the race, Heb. 12:1-3. Through faith and patience the heroes of faith inherited promises, Heb. 6:12. In fact, even the gifts that God places in our lives can only be sustained with patience. A very gifted person, without any patience, can do great damage. The character of patience is what holds up the gifts. The gifts can not operate very long without the character to hold them up. The gifts are things we can see and watch with our eyes. Character is what we can't see, which is below the surface, holding up the gifts. It is our response through trials, that will determine what kind of people we become. Let us serve God, not only when things are going good, but especially when things are difficult. That is where we will develop the character of Christ in our lives.