Exodus 14:15-16 9/25/2018*

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.”

God had just finished unleashing plagues on Egypt in order to free His people from 400 years of captivity.

The Lord Himself had triumphantly led them out, providing shade by day, and fire by night.  At long last, His people were following God toward the promised land and freedom.

But after they left, Pharaoh changed his mind and the Egyptian army came after them. The Israelites saw the army, panicked, and cried out to God.  

In an instant, things changed from a celebratory parade, to a chaotic assembly paralyzed with fear - questioning Moses as to why he had brought them out to the desert to die.

But when they froze in their fear and protested…God asked why are you crying out to me?... my plan has not changed…. keep walking.

So, the question today is… has your fear caused you to hesitate?... are you crying out to God when He has already told you what to do?

In the middle of your deliverance have you stopped to complain because you are ignoring the miracles He has already done to secure your freedom?

God’s advice to the Israelites is to “move on”.  His advice to you is the same….

Don’t stop in the middle of the exodus to complain about possible obstacles…those obstacles are not your problem.

Your job is to follow Him out.

Pursue God knowing He will lead you to the promised land. Knowing any difficulty is just another opportunity for God to demonstrate His power.  Not only will you not perish in the Red Sea… you won’t even get your shoes wet…God has promised you will cross on dry ground.  

The Lord will deliver you.  But the water doesn’t part until you get to it.  Manna is only supplied one day at a time. Your needs will be met as they become needs… Keep walking.

Do not fear. He is not sending you out. He is leading you out. You are not alone.

Trust Him completely…. take the next step. He knows your destination, and He is going with you.

“You can’t expect God to guide your steps if you’re not willing to move your feet.” – Unknown

Genesis 3:9 9/18/2018*

“Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?”

The first recorded question God ask of mankind is “where are you?” …and it is not because He didn’t know.

He already knows where and why we are hiding. We have been doing it since the first failure. It seems to always be our response to sin.

Our first instinct is to run and conceal ourselves from God because we are sure He will be disappointed, or angry, or both, so we hide.

But God’s response to our sin is to pay for it …in the garden He spilled blood to make clothes to cover their nakedness. On the Cross He spilled blood to cover our depravity.

Sin should make us run… but to God, not away from Him.

He is the only shelter we have… and to hide from Him is the equivalent of the sick hiding from a doctor.  It is counter-intuitive.

Determine instead to run to God with your sin. Decide to come clean with God and leave nothing hidden in your heart. The enemy would have you conceal yourself in darkness, but God would have you run into the light. There is freedom in transparency.

He has made you clean.

God has paid for what you are hiding. He as removed the burden you are carrying.  He has defeated the enemy you are fighting against.

The Cross not only covered your sin, it re-opened the Garden. 

It allows you to walk with your Father in the beauty of His creation and never hide form His presence again.  There is no need to hide when you are holy...and your holiness is permanent.

 …the war is over, you can come out now.

“Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.”
- Zora Neale Hurston

Daniel 2:22 9/11/2018*

“He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.”

Hiding is exhausting, yet we make it our full-time job.

We carefully put on our disguise at home, at the office, and on social media.  Our perfectly crafted image can have no cracks or blemishes as the world must think we are flawless.

But inside we are a mess.  Lost children full of fear and doubt. Completely alone and isolated, believing we are the only person in our circle that is tarnished…and that no one would love us if they knew the truth.

That is a lie.

You are not alone. We are all broken.

The glorious truth is we do not confess our sin to God, so He will know about it….  We confess, to remind us that God is already aware of it and loves us anyway.

He knows the filth. He knows your darkness and yet He cherishes you….

Like fungus…sin grows in the dark. Drag your depravity in front of God because in Him is light…and light kills sin.  Drop the charade. Stop hiding your flaws. Your scars are made beautiful by His scars.

Be who He made you to be... No one loves a work of art like the artist and your heavenly Father could not be more in love with you. That fact allows you to break the chains of pretending and become the masterpiece God intended you to be…The holy light that dwells with God will pierce your night and drive the darkness away.

He knows about everything you have hidden from the world … it is paid for, you are redeemed, and He adores you.

"Don’t measure God’s love by your feeling. The sun shines as clearly in the darkest day as it does in the brightest. The difference is not in the sun, but in some clouds, which hinder the manifestation of its light."  - Richard Sibbes

Habakkuk 1:5 9/4/2018*

“Look at the nations and watch — and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.”

Never mistake God’s patience for weakness.

We tend to believe that God is incapable or uninterested if He doesn’t act according to our timeline.  But God says if we wait He will do more than we can imagine.

God is more powerful than we are able to comprehend and His answer to the prophet Habakkuk’s complaint about evil in the world is simply “hide and watch”. 

At times we focus so much on the love and compassion of God, that we forget His breathtaking power, and tremendous righteousness… We begin to view God as a sweet, feeble old grandfather, and nothing could be further from the truth.

Confidence begins when stand in awe of the majesty and authority of The Great “I Am”, and ask the question, who am I that you even acknowledge me? (Psalms 8:4). When you get a glimpse of God’s magnificence, you stop worrying about Him being ignored, and start worrying about those who ignore Him.

If you find yourself irritated by the grace He shows to those who do evil, you have missed the point. Instead, like Christ on the cross, you should be asking God to forgive them because they have no idea who they are dealing with… they ignore Him at their peril… not His.

God has this…

He is not pacing the floor and His plan is in motion. Stand back and let God be God. You be His child and tell others the good news of the cross while there is still time.

“A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.” -  C.S. Lewis