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How has your week been? Mine? Up and down. Tina's grandmother passed away Sunday morning and hours later I was at church leading the congregation in the song "I Will Celebrate." Does that seem contradictory? I don't think so. I was not celebrating her death, or her life for that matter, at that moment. I was celebrating the new song that God has placed in my heart. That is a celebration I try to remember daily! The church prayed for the family in this time of loss, and this was very comforting to Tina and me, and I'm sure the family felt a peace from God based on my observations of them for the rest of the week.
Tuesday, the furnace went out in our home. I don't know why that couldn't have happened the week before, when the mercury was in the 40's, but I guess that's how it goes. The funny thing is, just a day or two before that, there was an accounting mix-up that had looked unfavorable for us, but that issue made sure that we would have enough money in the bank to fix it. I learned that day that God works in mysterious ways on a firsthand basis! Blessings are all around us if we will just open our eyes!
That night, we went to the funeral home and had a nice social time with family and friends. There was sadness, but not grief. I don't know how else to describe the evening. Once again, I attribute this to the peace that passes all understanding! And the flowers donated by people and the people outside the family that visited were blessings to us all. Do you want to know who your true friends are? Wait until there's a tough situation and then step back. They will approach you in the coming days.
So here I am. Life seems to be returning to normal, the house is heated and we are all missing Grandma in our own ways. The world can begin turning again for us because it's a new day! This is the day the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it! I may not have a car for the moment, but I have family that will take me to the bus stop.
On the bus, I like to read. And I just finished (for the fourth time) Gettin' There by Steve Farrar. This book has so many wonderful lessons about how our lives are a trail, marked by God throughout the Bible and especially within the Psalms. It has been a blessing to me, and I'd love to see each of you read it as well. If your church/local library doesn't carry it, I'll vouch for it as a worthwhile book to purchase. It won't collect any dust on your bookshelf, that's for sure! And once you've studied it a few times, you may want to donate it to that same library that didn't have it before!
God can use absolutely any event to His glory!
One of Job's friends (Elihu) says that nothing we do affects God, for he is too powerful to be influenced by our words or deeds. Good point, Elihu, but your logic is off base. Yes he is more powerful than we could imagine, but he is saddened by our wrongs and proud when we follow his path. One way we may not be following as close as we believe, and perhaps Job is guilty of this, is by a sense of self-righteousness. I hadn't thought of this until now. Perhaps Job wasn't as Godlike as I thought. Like I said before, I have no theological training and am learning from this reading right beside you.
I guess this is a matter of just how you define the word "affect." We cannot sway the will of God and good works will net us absolutely nothing when it all matters. Pride in ourselves is a sin, but so is the act of mocking someone when they are down. Only God could diffuse this powder keg.
Finally we hear a response from the Lord. He begins by reminding them that he is wiser and more powerful than all of them. This is done to remind Job, and all of us, that He is in control of everything. Nothing happens without his knowledge and permission. And who are we to question him, much less wish to argue with him? This silences Job. Frankly, I didn't think anyone could do that!
The theme for today must be found in the underlying challenge within what God says. He created the mightiest of the animals and all of them are subservient to Him. When Job thinks of this, his perspective is changed. He repents for his complaining and waits for God's judgment. God chastises Job's friends, tells them to offer sacrifices and has Job pray on their behalf, which God accepts. The rest of Job's life, he is blessed twice as much as he was before he was stricken. All because he was willing to accept God's plan and submit to his will.
On a side note: Scientists claim that the earth is billions of years old, but humans have been around for 100-200 thousand years and this was eons after the dinosaurs died out. Hmm. This doesn't match up with what my Bible reads. Consider the Leviathan that was mentioned in this reading. Scientists often say that this creature was a crocodile, nothing more. If you read the description, it mentions fire coming from it's mouth. When it rises, the mighty are afraid. Crocodiles don't have far to rise up, do they? Could this be the description of a dinosaur? Or dare I say a dragon of some sort? Remember, God said this so a human could be counseled, so that human had to have some knowledge of such a beast.
We now return to Exodus, approximately 300-400 years after the death of Joseph. In that time, the children of Israel had multiplied and filled the land of Goshen in Egypt. The new Pharaoh began to feel threatened by their numbers, so they were enslaved. To stem the growth of the slaves, Pharaoh decreed that all newborn slave boys were to be killed. This leads us to one of the most famous rescue stories of all time.
Moses grew up living a charmed life indeed, until he killed an Egyptian and fled for his life. This story could end here with Moses as a shepherd, but God's plans are much grander than that. Naturally, Moses felt unfit for the task given him by God, but God promised to be with him through it. The greatest success stories begin with insurmountable odds and end with God's intervention. This is true today as well.
Moses pleaded again that he was unfit for the task. God reminded him that He makes people able to speak and to hear. When Moses complained yet again, God told him to take Aaron, his brother, as his spokesperson. Truth be known, we are all unfit for the task, but our taskmaster is fit to guide us to victory. Don't ever forget that!
Moses and Aaron convinced the Israelites easily enough that they were to be rescued, but Pharaoh refused to let them go. In fact, he made their labors more difficult. in fact, the Egyptians were unhappy with their Israelite guests. This fact will make sense when you realize that after 300 years, the Israelites had broken spirits and lacked the fortitude to leave on their own. If they weren't meant to be eventually forced out of Egypt, they may still be there today!
Did you catch that bit about Aaron's staff eating up the staffs of Egypt's wise men and magicians? Note the symbolism that God is greater than any magic found in the world. Does anybody want to put a hex on me? I dare you! ;-)
The plagues begin. The Nile River has always been important to Egypt and that was taken from them for a week as it turned to a channel of blood. Next was a plague of frogs that covered the land of Egypt. This was enough to get Pharaoh to the bargaining table. He agreed to let the Israelites go once the frogs were gone and they all died the following day. What a mess! And just imagine the stench! Pharaoh's heart hardened, though, and the Israelites were forced to stay. And why did God harden his heart? If the feats of God were easy, how could His power be demonstrated?
Next came a plague of gnats and a plague of flies. Pharaoh was ready to allow the Israelites to worship in Egypt, but that wouldn't do. Eventually, he made them stay. A plague killing Egyptian livestock wasn't enough to do it, neither was a plague of boils. The hail, though. That got Pharaoh's attention. But when the plague was ended, he once again refused to release the Israelite slaves he held in Goshen. Obviously Egypt was not governed by a democracy, otherwise there would have been some impeaching going on! This is, however, a testament to the political power of Pharaoh. The very fact that he remained in power as his people suffered suggests the true influence the Pharaohs had over Egypt.
So bring on the locusts! This was a much worse plague than I once realized. With the crops ravaged by hail, there was very little food in the fields remaining, and the locusts would quickly devour what was left. Then at night, they would settle to the ground in layers several inches thick. So why not kill them by rolling stones in a steamroller fashion? The smell of doing this would be unbearable! The suggestion of this plague was enough to cause the court officials to beg Pharaoh to relent and let the Israelites go.
Darkness was also a bigger showing of power than I knew before. If you recall the Egypt section in high school world history, their chief god was Ra, the sun god. The Israelites enjoyed normal light, but the Ra-worshipping Egyptians were shaken with the darkness of their god's crushing. This was a twofold curse to them.
Passover is the most important of the Jewish holidays today and this is where it began. God passed over the homes of His people and killed the firstborn of the Egyptians with impunity. This event has been historically documented, by the way. Inscriptions have been found indicating that Thothmes IV, successor of Amenhotep II, was not his first-born nor heir-apparent. Also that Mernaptah’s first-born met death in peculiar circumstances, and his successor was not his first-born nor heir-apparent. So, whichever the Pharaoh, the Biblical statement is confirmed.
Weekly LinkJust how does a Christian grow in his or her walk with God? My short answer is to find Him in His Word, but there are other resources out there that can supplement this. Daily devotions are another great tool to this end. These are available on this site, and so are other great resources that take the devotions a step farther. Here's their nutshell-description: Deeper Devotion Student Ministries was started on September 1, 2002 with the purpose of encouraging students to know God more intimately. We believe that Deeper Devotion belongs to the Lord and are honored that He would entrust this ministry to us. Our desire is that the Lord would use this ministry to develop a deeper relationship with his children, specifically youth and young adults. Currently we are dedicated to developing meaningful daily devotions and an atmosphere that would encourage prayer and supplication among God's children. In the near future we hope to develop further resources for both youth and youth workers alike. |
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