Friday, October 29, 2021

Modern Day Moses

"So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle."
And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses,"
Exodus 12:1-2 (NKJV)

Sometimes we see someone who we believe has an unfair advantage over us, and we wish that we had what we see they have.  Sometimes, people do have something unique to them that we cannot have, but many other times, what someone else has is actually available to us, and it is just that we do not have that specific thing.  Very often, we can find a way to have those things the other person has, if we are willing to make the effort, and sometimes by making a change in our life.

Until Jesus came, no one could be born again and have a close, personal relationship with God.  Today everyone can have a relationship with God, and a better relationship than anyone in the Old Testament ever had.  In Exodus 12, we see how Moses had a special relationship with God.  Moses would go to meet with God, but all that the other people could do was just watch.  Today we are all a modern-day Moses, so to speak.  We can all talk to God whenever we want, and the Spirit of God even lives in us!

We don't have to wish we had a deep relationship with God like someone else has, because we do have that type of relationship with God, we may just need to develop it more than we have.  Today, we don't need to have someone go to God on our behalf or go to someone else to get what God wants us to have, we can go to our loving Heavenly Father ourselves, because of our relationship with Him through Jesus.  We have direct access to God, and even better than Moses had!

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Worth Remembering

"For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.
Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you,"
2 Peter 1:12-13 (NKJV)

There are some things that are worth remembering because they are vitally important for us, or because they are special to us in some way.  Other things are not worth remembering because they are unnecessary or unimportant.  It is worth remembering the PIN for our bank card, because without it we cannot access our finances.  It is worth remembering birthdays and anniversaries because they are dates of importance and significance to our family and friends.

In his second letter, Peter said he wanted to always remind the people of what was important.  Some people think that if you have heard something once, it is enough.  Peter understood that there are some things that are necessary for us to be reminded of, no matter how many times we have heard those things.  Peter acknowledged that what he was writing about was something that the people were already established in, but he said that as long as he was able, he was going to stir them up by reminding them of the things that were significant.

Peter understood the importance of repeating the truth again and again.  If something is true, and especially if it is something necessary for our life, then we need to keep on hearing that truth.  And, no matter how many times we have heard the truth of God's Word, there is always more depth to it than what we currently understand, there is always more to learn.  Keep hearing the truth and remind yourself of what God's Word has to say, because no matter how many times you have heard it, God's Word is worth remembering.

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Open The Book

"Your words were found, and I ate them, and your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts."
Jeremiah 15:16 (NKJV)

What if you needed some tool for your work or home and you did not know where to find it?  What if someone then told you where to find the tool and the address of the store it was sold in?  Then imagine you go to the store, but you never go inside, even though the store is open.  You might think the store looks nice, and even talk to other people about how much you need the tool, but if you never go inside the store to actually buy the tool, you will never have the thing that you need.

We live in such a wonderful time, with God's Word being so easily available to us.  Personally, I have numerous Bibles, in different translations, I have a Bible program in my computer, and I have Bible apps in my phone.  But, while all these things are wonderful, I still have to open the Bible itself, or the Bible program or app, to actually see what is inside of the Bible and to learn the things I need to live the kind of life that will please God, and that will help me fulfill God's will for my life. 

Over the years, as I have been teaching in Bible schools and churches in Europe and the USA, time and time again I meet believers who do not even know basic Bible truths.  Christians often do not really know what God did for them through Jesus, who they are in Christ, and they do not understand how to do what God wants them to do, and all the while they have a book that shows them these things.  We need to open the book, the Bible, spend time reading and studying it, and then apply it to our life, and it all starts with opening the book.

Thursday, October 7, 2021

Can You See That?

"For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins."
2 Peter 1:22-23 (NKJV)

One time, as I was driving through a part of the United States, I saw a sign that indicated I could turn off of the main road to go to an area where there was a "scenic overlook".  So, I did stop, but it was very hard to get a good view of the "scenic overlook" because some trees were blocking the view.  After I moved around a bit, I was able to see the sight, but at first my view was obstructed, and until I avoided the trees that blocked my view, I was unable to really see the intended sight.

The Bible tells us about many things that God has done for us through Jesus, and how we can live the life that God has planned for us.  In 2 Peter 1, Peter gives us a list of things we need in our life: faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.  Peter wrote that with these things we will never be unfruitful, and he also says that if we lack these things, we are short-sighted, even to the point of blindness, spiritually speaking.

Sometimes people have let things get into their life, and the view, the understanding, they should have of spiritual things has been obstructed.  Things like bitterness, focusing on past sin and mistakes, unforgiveness, and even wrong doctrine can cause us to miss seeing the truth that God's Word shows us.  We all need to make sure that we have an unobstructed view of the truth so that we can clearly see what God has done for us through Jesus, who we are in Christ, and how to do what God has called us to do.