God Invisible but Real!

Exodus 32:1–5 (HCSB)

When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!"

Then Aaron replied to them, "Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring ‹them› to me."

So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought ‹them› to Aaron. He took ‹the gold› from their hands, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf.

Then they said, "Israel, this is your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!"

When Aaron saw ‹this›, he built an altar before it; then he made an announcement: "There will be a festival to the LORD tomorrow."

I may be completely wrong about this, but I believe Aaron’s intent was not to make a new God. I believe his intent was to make an image of Jehovah. As long as the people could see Moses, he was like God to them. When Moses disappeared and did not return they were without a god. They had a journey ahead of them and they could not make it without the LORD. So they demanded that Aaron make an image of God.

The tendency of man is always to slide back to worshipping what he can see. Even as Christians we do this. We have our statues of Jesus on the cross and our paintings of Jesus on our walls. Now we even movies of Jesus!

We have to remind ourselves that the images we have are NOT Jesus!

Have you ever wondered why we have no descriptions of Jesus in the Bible? I think it is for just this reason. We are so visually oriented. If we had a description we would paint it and worship that!

The God we worship is real, but He is not a God we can see—leastways, not with these eyes. That is a big hang up, I think, with the atheists and agnostics. They won’t believe in God until they can see Him with their eyes and feel Him with their hands. They will not believe in the God of the Bible, but they will fall head over heels for a golden calf!

God reveals Himself to us personally, but He is not a person like we think. He does not have flesh and bones. He is totally other than anything we have ever seen, felt, or even imagined. This is part of what we mean when we say He is “transcendent.” He transcends our imaginations. We can know Him intimately, but just not visually. Please don’t think this makes Him less real. I cannot see the air I breathe, but it is altogether real. I cannot see the dust that makes me sneeze, but it is real. I cannot see the love I have for my wife and children, but it is real. I actually think this makes Him more real because this God, this invisible God, can come and live in my heart. Oh yes, dear friend, He is real!

Giving to Build

Exodus 25:1–2 (HCSB)

The LORD spoke to Moses: "Tell the Israelites to take an offering for Me. You are to take My offering from everyone whose heart stirs him ‹to give›.

The most sensitive nerve in the human body is the one attached to the billfold. We have no problem spending. Our problem is giving. We can hardly wait to spend our hard-earned money on that which will give us a momentary feeling of pleasure, but we agonize over giving for that from which we get no immediate (although fleeting) satisfaction.

God’s plan was to build a house. He threatened no judgment to those who refused to give. He promised no special blessing to those who gave. But He did give them the opportunity to participate in building a place where He would dwell among them.

Structures are important. Structures are symbols of our values. Look at our Whitehouse and our Capitol building. These are symbols or our democratic values. Look at our schools and universities. These represent the value we place on education. Our houses of worship are the same. Churches that dot our landscape are symbols of the value we place on worship, and our belief in our Creator. These are reminders to us of that which we believe.

Who pays? This is our responsibility. This has always been so. Those nations where the government pays to build churches are spiritually dead. But where the people give to build there is spiritual vitality. This is what God knows. This is what wise people understand. This is why God gives us the opportunity to participate in the building of His house. And this is why we should be glad to do it.

Controlled Growth

Exodus 23:29-30

²⁹I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animals would multiply against you. ³⁰I will drive them out little by little ahead of you until you have become numerous and take possession of the land.

We want everything instantly. We even want our spiritual growth to be instant. There is a law, I think, that this cannot be. We must grow little by little. Spiritual development must be gradual. This is actually for our good. Too much too soon can be detrimental.

I have experienced this personally. We do not grow that fast… but we think we do. This is especially true of new Christians. There has been no growth. Now, suddenly, we begin grasping spiritual truth. To go from a dead stand still to forward progress can be a bit… may I use a word… intoxicating? We become impressed with our own development. We become intoxicated with our own knowledge. We experience what I would describe as an “I know more than all my teachers” syndrome. I went through this as a new Christian, especially when I started attending a Christian college. I was sure I knew more than all my Sunday School teachers. I knew the Greek alphabet!

I supposed I was full of knowledge. I was full… full of myself! I was too full of pride to learn anything. God had to bring me back down to earth… and show me how ignorant and empty I was. The most humble Believer who walks with God and loves their Bible knows more than I do. This is because we all learn the same way: little by little.

We do not grow “ by leaps and bounds” as we suppose. We progress by small, incremental steps. Maybe our minds can handle more, but our egos cannot.

God and Justice

Exodus 21:23–25 (HCSB)

If there is an injury, then you must give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.

This may seem like strange words for a devotion. These verses are found in a section giving instructions for civil society. The revelation here is this: God is just. He reveals His justice in His laws. Our behavior as individuals and collectively as a community must reflect of God’s just character. God is a God of Justice. We must be a people of Justice.

We do not subscribe to this very well. Our problem is our sin. We call it our “civility.” We believe we are being just by showing compassion and tolerance. The truth be told we live by the black rule: “Do to me as I do to others.” It goes like this: “Since I have demonstrated tolerance and compassion when others mess us, show the same tolerance and compassion to me when I mess up—‘cause I’m going to!”

Well, we all mess up. But when the rules bend we tend take things further than they should go. We flirt with the boundary, and the further we extend the boundary the further we will go. The fear of judgment and punishment helps to keep us in line. Rules also help to remind us of the ideals of our society—the sanctity of life, the right to private property, the sanctity of marriage and family, the right to a reasonable expectation of personal safety, etc.

God is just and He expects His creatures to behave justly.

Moses On Leadership

Exodus 18:17–24 (HCSB)

"What you’re doing is not good," Moses’ father-in-law said to him. "You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone. Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to Him. Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do. But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating bribes. Place ‹them› over the people as officials of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every important case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load, and they will bear ‹it› with you. If you do this, and God ‹so› directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied."

Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.

I might write a book one day “Moses On Leadership.” We learn some great lessons from Moses on how to be a leader. Yesterday the lesson was: “You cannot please all of the people all of the time.” Leaders are constantly walking the tightrope between “God’s anointed” and being stoned.

Notice some lessons in these verses:

“You cannot do it alone.” In the first place, you can’t do it. Only a self-deceived person thinks he/she can. In the second place, you’ll die trying. In the third place, it’s not fair to the people you lead. There is not enough of you to go around. Someone or something will be neglected. You need help. Some you choose to help you will let you down. Some will disappoint you. Some will even be a problem to you. But you still cannot do it without help.

“Listen to good advice.” You’ll get tons of it! Everyone thinks they are an expert at what you do! But there is some wisdom out there and you owe it to yourself and those you lead to heed it.

“How advice is presented has a lot to do with how it is received.” Criticism is easier to shallow when it comes from someone you know loves you and genuinely cares about you.

No leader has arrived yet. He/she is a person in process. We learn the ropes as we go along. But if we continue to learn, and remain open to instruction, we will continue to progress.

The Leader Saved from Stoning

Exodus 17:4 (HCSB)

Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What should I do with these people? In a little while they will stone me!"

The people were complaining because they had no water. It seems they were always grumbling and complaining. Moses felt at any moment the situation would erupt and they would rise up and stone him.

This gives me comfort. As a leader I have felt the same way. It is impossible to please all of the people all of the time. If one group likes the music another group is going to hate it. If one group likes the current sermon series another group is going to hate it. Some will like the decision and others are going to hate it. There is always a group of grumblers who want your hide. But it’s not just you and me. It was Moses too! The guy who led them out of Egyptian slavery and through the Red Sea—yeah, that guy too! So, none of us is immune. It goes with the territory. If you are a leader you will always be on trial. You will always be making someone unhappy.

I have a pastor friend who said it well. He had recently accepted the position as pastor of another church. He stood up the Sunday he resigned and said: “Today I am going to do what they say cannot be done. They say ‘You can’t please everyone.’ Well, today I will have accomplished pleasing everyone. I pleased some of you when I came to be your pastor. I pleased some of you while I was here. Now I am going to please the rest of you… I resign.”

How many times did Moses write his resignation? I think lots of times. But he hung in there and he saw the job through. I have more appreciation for this man than ever.

Leaders are always dependent on one more miracle from God to pull them through. Maybe that’s not a bad way to live.

Manna In the Morning

This morning I read that every morning God provided the Israelites with bread in the wilderness (Genesis 16). God gave it fresh everyday, except the Sabbath, but the people had to go out and pick it up. What they collected each day was sufficient for that day, but it did not carry over to the next. If they gathered more than they needed it spoiled or was ruined the following day. In the manna was all the nourishment they needed for that day’s journey. It sustained them for forty years.

Jesus taught us to pray, “… and give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Jesus also said, “Man must not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Today God has given us manna, supernatural bread. This bread is His Word. He has provided it. We find it lying on the surface pages of His Word. But it will not supernaturally fly from the pages into the tent of our mind. We must go out every morning and gather it up. We must gather it in the morning because it gives us the nourishment we need for this day’s journey. What we glean today will not suffice us for tomorrow. God gives us each day what we will need for that day only.

Can you imagine those Israelites who neglected to gather in the morning? By mid-morning they were hungry. By early afternoon they were slumping along like snails. By evening they were famished, grumpy and weak.

Now picture modern day Christians who do the same thing. Each morning they neglect to gather nourishment from God’s Word. They fast until their evening quail-time. But they struggle through the day. Why? Does it make sense not to collect the strength that God has provided? I know I would rather go through the day with a full soul.

Have you had your manna this morning?

Sweet To God

Exodus 15 records the song of triumph the Israelites sang after passing through the Red Sea. But three days later they were they were complaining again. They were out of water. They came to a place called Marah. There was water there, but it was undrinkable. But God showed Moses a tree, and when Moses threw into the water it became drinkable.

We were bitter to God! Our sins made us a stinking cesspool. But there was a tree that cleansed us and made us acceptable to God. That tree is the cross of Christ!

The Bible says that God “tested them there.” The cross, when presented, is still a test today. It tests the honesty of the human heart. Are we honest enough with ourselves to admit we are hopelessly lost on our own, we cannot save ourselves, and we need a Savior? If we will admit that, and put our faith in Christ alone to make us acceptable to God, He will heal us. Just like He healed that poisonous spring and made it palpable, Jesus makes us sweet to God. Think on that: you are sweet to God!

Have a blessed day, “Sweetie”!

Pharaoh lives!

I have been reading in the early chapters of Exodus. In chapters 7 through 14 you read these verses:

“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart… he will not listen to you…” (7:3-4).

“…Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he did not listen…” (7:13).

“So Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he would not listen…” (7:22).

“But… Pharaoh… hardened his heart and would not listen to them…” (8:15).

“But Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he would not listen to them…” (8:19).

“But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go” (8:32).

“But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go” (9:7).

“But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not listen to them…” (9:12).

“…Pharaoh… sinned again and hardened his heart…” (9:34 & 35).

“But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the Israelites go” (10:20).

“But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go” (10:27).

“…but the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his land” (11:10).

“The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out triumphantly” (14:8).

The pattern is glaringly obvious. The question comes up: “Did Pharaoh harden his heart, or did God harden Pharaoh’s heart?” The answer is “Yes.”

But the lesson we need to learn is this: There is a Pharaoh who resides in every one of our hearts. He will not listen to God. He will stubbornly resist the Lord’s will until the waters of the Nile roll over his silent face. He lives in you and he lives in me. In fact, the longer I am a Christian the more I lament his presence in my life. Paul knew him too—read Romans chapter 7.

There is only one answer for this old man—death! I do not mean you need to shallow poison. There is a spiritual sentence. When Jesus our Savior died on the cross He not only died for our sins but also for our sin—for our old man. We died with Him. That old Pharaoh died, and every day of my life I have to claim that truth and remind myself of it. Every day I must bow my heart and my will and say, “Lord Jesus, You are my Lord and I choose to obey You and do Your will today.”

God Demands the Details

On the trip, at an overnight campsite, it happened that the LORD confronted him and sought to put him to death. So Zipporah took a flint, cut off her son’s foreskin, and threw it at Moses’ feet. Then she said, "You are a bridegroom of blood to me!" So He let him alone. At that time she said, "You are a bridegroom of blood," referring to the circumcision (Exodus 4:24–26 HCSB).

Moses had his historic meeting with God at the burning bush. Now he is on the way back to Egypt to fulfill his commission. And God tried to kill him! God called him and then tried to kill him. What?

Why not? Any old Moses will do. God called Moses and He could call someone else. In fact, He had Aaron in waiting. Moses was expendable. Just as we all are. But why?

Moses was living as a pagan in the desert. He had two sons, neither of which had been circumcised. How could Moses be the leader of the Hebrew nation if he himself was not living as a Hebrew? He could not. This was a small thing, but it’s the little foxes that spoil the vineyard.

There is a simple principle of leadership: you cannot lead others where you are not willing to go. He had to get this straight. Moses had to live as a Hebrew and lead his family as a Hebrew if he was to lead the Hebrew nation. If he did not comply in this God would get someone else. Just this close and we could be talking about the “Law of Aaron.”

Are we complying in our private life? God does not have to use us. He can raise up someone else.

Everyday Miracles

Exodus 3:12 (HCSB)

He answered, "I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain."

Moses did not ask for a sign. He was looking at a bush burning with fire but not burning up. He was listening to the voice of God speak to him from the bush. It would not occur to him to request a sign while he was transfixed by a sign. But God offered Him verification anyway. But the sign seemed so mundane in comparison to everything else. He would watch his staff turn into a snake. He would see the Nile turn to blood. He would witness the death of Egypt’s firstborn. Coming back to a mountain to worship seemed like such a little thing.

But was it?

Bringing all the people out of Egypt was certainly a miracle. He did not leave any behind. I relocated a church and I did not bring everyone with me. It’s not that easy to pull such a thing off. People are fickle things. Convincing all the Hebrews to follow Moses out of Egypt was probably the greatest miracle of the entire exodus.

We wonder why God does not perform miracles today… or why He does not perform more. But God probably does more miracles than we are aware of! There are a lot of things that we pass off as mundane, just everyday experiences that may be some of the greatest miracles. We just can’t see because we are blinded by a burning bush. We think we have to see something unexplainable. How do we know what is explainable? How do we know what is miraculous? We don’t know everything. We certainly cannot see behind the spiritual curtain. We just go on about our humdrum lives and never realize all the stupendous things that God is doing for us every day. Just showing up at the same mountain was a sign. Maybe just showing up at the same church this Sunday for worship is a miracle we cannot explain.