Be Still

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iving in a house in close proximity to the members of your family can sometimes be a challenge.  This is especially true as little children grow older and begin to test the limits of mom and dad’s authority.  While they are encouraged to be independent, as they grow older, obedience remains part and parcel of belonging to a family.  Coming under mom and dad’s authority goes hand-in-hand with living under their roof.

Like any other kid, I too tested the limits of the boundaries established by my mom and dad.  Sometimes I would just stick my big toe into the forbidden waters of disobedience and at other times I jumped in whole hog.  I figured getting wet was half the fun and staying to swim for a while was the other half. It was usually about this time that my interests and my parents’ conflicted.  Guess who won?

I can remember so many times when I crossed the line.  My dad would then discipline me and I would just stew, believing I had been unjustly treated.  The more I thought about it the madder I got until I was just ready to explode.  That’s when daddy usually came to talk to me about what had transpired, to tell me why I had been disciplined.     

He would pick me up and hold me, repeating these two words, “Be still!”  That was the last thing I wanted I assure you!  I didn’t feel like being held, I didn’t feel like talking, and I didn’t feel like being calm.  I wanted to run!  Daddy just held me, softly saying, “Be still, Blake. Be still!”

As I look back on it now, I am amazed at the patience and wisdom of my dad.  He knew I was hurting, he knew I wasn’t happy, he knew I didn’t like the discipline, and he knew I didn’t want to be still.  But he held me anyway, rocking me and telling me just to be still.  I can still hear his voice in my ear, reminding me to calm down and be quiet. No matter what my feelings at the time, two things were true: 1) daddy loved me enough to discipline me and 2) he loved me enough to hold on to me even when I was being stubborn.

Is it any different with our Heavenly Father?  How many times do we exert our own independence, putting our agenda ahead of God’s? We never put our big toe into the water just to test it; we always jump in only to find the water is way over our heads.  Not content to admit we were wrong, however, we decide to stay awhile and get the most out of our stubbornness.

 

This is when God steps in to intervene on our behalf, even though we don’t believe it at the time.  God knows that our disobedience, if left unchecked, will only serve to alienate us from Him.  This is something he neither wants nor allows.

The process of bringing us back into a right relationship is sometimes painful but always necessary.  Afterward, we may not feel as if God loves us.  We may not understand why things turn out the way they do nor why God places us in very difficult situations.  We may be angry, confused, and more than a little dismayed.  But that is all right because we serve a God who loves us more than we can even imagine.

Even in the most difficult times, God picks us up, holds us on his lap, wraps his arms around us, and whispers, “Be still.”  This is the message of Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”  The purpose of our stillness is to learn that the Lord is God.  He knows what is best for us.  He alone loves us as no other can.  He loves us enough to discipline us and he loves us enough to hold us when life’s way grows hard, even when it is due to our own stubborn disobedience.

I learned so much during the times when my dad held me.  I learned that he loved me, that he wanted to hold me, that he hurt when I hurt, and that he was so much smarter and wiser than I was.  How much more, then, does our Heavenly Father love us?  How much more does He long to hold us and comfort us during the difficult times of life—even when they are the result of our disobedience?  Are you being still today?

Stay Where You Are

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t all started one winter afternoon!  The weather forecasters had said that inclement winter weather was a distinct possibility and this time, at least, their predictions were right on target.  Around 2:30 in the afternoon, the skies opened up and rained down sleet.  As the ice pebbles hit against the building, all of us in the office pressed our noses against the windows, staring in amazement, mouths agape, just like thousands of school children who were no doubt doing the same thing.

The excitement from the sleet, however, soon gave way to concern about the drive home and the impending problems the ice would cause as literally thousands of people jammed the highways in order to arrive safely home before the brunt of the storm hit.  Classes were cancelled; schools and offices closed early, and people began making their way home.  My trip home from the university was uneventful and I arrived at my apartment safe and sound.

Later in the afternoon and all throughout the evening, the sleet continued to fall.  Sometimes it came down very hard, almost in sheets, and at other times it was barely noticeable. But all the while, the amount of accumulating ice continued to grow and the ground was soon covered in a blanket of white.  The next morning, I looked out and noticed that a significant amount of ice had accumulated during the night hours.  It was a beautiful view but one that was also fraught with danger.

The television news channels and the radio stations were all promoting the same warning: Stay where you are!  All of the anchormen and women repeated that message over and over, stressing the importance of remaining indoors and not braving the elements or the icy road conditions.  Although it appeared harmless, the ice was indeed deadly, causing cars, trucks, buses, etc. to lose traction and veer off the highway.  Unless absolutely necessary, everyone was urged to stay home where it was safe, dry, and warm until the icy conditions were gone.

The weather here provides a deeper understanding of a passage of scripture from the book of Isaiah.  The prophet gives us a warning which we should consider as we walk with God.  Isaiah 50:11 reads, “But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.”

There is a solemn and sober truth in this passage of scripture.  Israel was awaiting the coming of the Messiah and had in her mind the manner in which he would appear.  They believed the Messiah would overthrow Israel’s oppression and set up God’s kingdom in its place.  But the kingdom of God did not come by way of the sword but by way of the cross.  It did not come with an overthrow of a political government but with the overthrow of sin and death.  It did not come in the manner in which they thought it should so they walked by their own understanding and completely missed God’s plan for man’s salvation.

The same is true for us in our daily walk with the Lord.  When we lean on our own understanding, when we believe we know how we are to proceed, and when we fail to stay where we are when God tells us to rest, we place ourselves in great peril.  The conditions all around us tell us to stay where we are, but instead we venture forth, losing our footing, sliding off the chosen road, landing in the side ditches where we get into trouble and difficulty.  Just as God said through the prophet Isaiah, when we do things our own way instead of obeying God we always bear the consequences of our actions.

Wherever you are today in your walk with God, pay close attention to his commands.  It may be that the road ahead is covered with ice, impassable, and treacherous.  If God, who knows the way much better than you, has commanded you to stay where you are, don’t take a flashlight and strike out on your own.  Remain where you are in the safety of God’s presence until he sees fit to move you forward.  You will never be disappointed and you will never be in danger as long as you walk with him.  Are you walking with God or ahead of him today?

No Questions Asked

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everal years ago, I was given the privilege of performing my first wedding.  Months of planning, hundreds of decisions, and countless hours of worrying over the details, all came to fruition as the bride and groom said their vows, exchanged rings, and became man and wife.  The untold hours leading up to the event were summed up in a ceremony lasting only a few minutes.  However, without those hours of preparation, those few minutes would have been impossible.

At the rehearsal, we told the bride and groom to do what we told them to do, no questions asked!!  That may seem a little bold, but we had a different perspective than they did.  They were so worried about making it through the actual ceremony that every decision seemed overwhelming and impossible to make.  But the wedding director and the parents did a wonderful job making sure all the little details were covered so that the couple had little to worry about. They did exactly as they were told, no questions asked, and the wedding was a beautiful and worshipful event, just as it should have been.

Jesus understood about weddings and all the stressful decisions that accompany it.  His first miracle was performed at a wedding in Cana and it is there we find the topic for today’s Tidbit.  Next to the wedding itself, the reception is the most important part of the celebrated day.  The food must be just right, the location must be carefully selected, and there must be music and an atmosphere of goodwill.  All these things are important and essential; leave one of them out and instead of a reception, you’ll probably get the cold shoulder!

This was the situation in Cana.  There was no more wine, the guests had consumed it all.  This was the most embarrassing and humiliating moment for the host and the risk of humiliation was all but certain.  So, Jesus’ mother, Mary, asked him to do something about it, to help this family in a desperate time of need. 

After explaining to Mary that his time had not yet come, meaning the time to begin his actual work, Mary gave the house servants one command.  Her statement can be found in John 2:5, “His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."  In this brief statement, we find two wonderful lessons to use in our daily walk with the Lord: 

1. God is ready to meet us in our hour of need.  The wine was gone, the situation was desperate, and Jesus was the only one who could help.  He had the servants fill several large stone jars with water which he turned into wine, not just run-of-the-mill wine but the best wine served!  When we are in dire circumstances and are powerless to do anything, that is when God will act!  There will be no doubt that it was he who helped us because we couldn’t help ourselves. 
2. When we ask for God’s help, we must get out of the way and do what he says, no questions asked.  This does not mean we don’t wonder what God is doing and it doesn’t mean we don’t ask questions.  God understands our desire to know and our reluctance to walk by faith.  The essence of this statement is that we are to move forward in faith, never doubting, questioning the situation perhaps, but not the ability of our God to remedy it.  When we trust God without doubting, when we come to him and obey him in faith, when we get out of the way and walk by faith, then God’s power is always demonstrated in a miraculous way.

Wherever you are today in your walk with God, know that he is ready to help you in your situation.  The same power that turned water into wine stands ready to supply all your needs today.  He is the God who provides, the God who protects, the God who saves, and the God who hears our prayers.  If you are wondering today if God loves you or if he cares about your circumstances, look at the cross.  God provided for our salvation and he provides for our daily needs.  Whatever you need today, if you are a Christian, God stands ready to help, no questions asked!

Grab Whatever You Can!

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t was the middle of the night and young Benjamin was sleepy.  He could hardly hold his eyes open.  He tried to concentrate on all the activities of the day but it was no use; his eyes simply would not cooperate.  His parents, however, refused to let him go to bed, refused to let him even lie down for a brief nap.  His mother had told him to remain dressed and to keep his shoes on because at some point during the evening, they would start on a long trip.

Benjamin had never been on a vacation, but if being deprived of sleep was the way they started, he wanted no part of one.  Suddenly, he heard footsteps rapidly approaching his front door.  Everyone in the house grew quiet, all conversation ceased, and the air became very tense and heavy.  The door flew open with a crash that sent his little stomach straight up into his throat.  Outside, his neighbors were frantically packing their belongings, placing them wherever they could find room.  It appeared that the time for the vacation to start had arrived, but Benjamin hadn't pictured it like this and he had no idea so many others were going with him.

The person responsible for knocking down his door was a soldier.  He angrily ordered everyone to get out within 10 minutes because they were leaving.  Now Benjamin was certain that the time to leave had come.  His mother looked at him with wide eyes and said, "Grab whatever you can, and hurry!"  Benjamin obeyed, grabbing a sack full of raisins, his favorite snack, and a stuffed toy he liked to sleep with.  They joined the others in the street and the throng began moving quickly towards the outskirts of the settlement.  His mother held his hand tightly so they wouldn't be separated in the crowd.  She hadn't had time to grab some of the most important things in the household.  All she had taken was a few clothes and a large mixing bowl of bread dough.  "What an odd combination," Benjamin thought, "but at least she will look nice and we can eat!"

Although Benjamin and his family are not real people, the event portrayed here is!  The Hebrew Exodus from Egypt stands as one of the most miraculous events in Jewish history.  After 430 years, God brought forth his people in a mighty way, using miraculous signs and wonders to display his power and his love for them.  On the night before their departure, the children of Israel had been told to be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.  They were to eat their final meal fully dressed, ready to leave as soon as the word was given (Exodus 12:10).

Our scripture verse today speaks about God's provision for his children.  Exodus 12:39 says, "And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves."  When God was ready to move his children out of Egypt, he did so with haste.  Although they knew they were leaving, they didn't know exactly when.  At the last minute, they had to grab whatever was available and leave Egypt.

Sometimes as Christians, this is exactly how we feel.  God calls us suddenly to change directions, to change locations, or to change our area of service.  The call comes so quickly, or an event happens so suddenly, we barely have time to get our thoughts or any provisions together.  We feel hurried, bustled, and the unfolding events are not as we envisioned them to be.  Like Benjamin who didn't like vacations because they deprived him of sleep, we are hesitant to follow God because we are unsure of the immediate circumstances.  But dear Christian, grab what you can, pack your bags, and go!!  The destination God has chosen for you is flowing with milk and honey. 

In the desert, God was their provision.  It was he who gave manna and quail daily and provided water for them to drink.  It was God who kept them from being sick and who didn't let the soles of their sandals wear thin, even when they insisted on wandering in the desert for 40 years.  It was never God's design for his children to provide for themselves; instead, he wanted to do it for them all along.

So, if God is pushing you into a new area of service and you are concerned about having shelter, food, clothing, employment, etc.  Remember the children of Israel on the desert floor.  Each morning they walked out and picked up bread, and each evening they ate quail.  They had water to drink, and they had shelter.  Jesus himself said that the birds of the air don't work or store provisions but God still feeds them.  How much more will he provide for us!  Take Benjamin's mother's advice when God begins to move you and "Grab whatever you can!"  It's time to move on!!

I Was Just Trying To Help!

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 don’t discuss politics; in fact, I hate them.  Now don’t get me wrong, I do keep up with who’s doing what and I do cast my ballot when election time rolls around.  But I avoid like the plague any political debate or discussion.  I’ve often wondered from where this distaste for all things political stems and I’ve come to the conclusion that it all started way back in my childhood when the political process left me with a rather sour taste in my mouth.

My grandfather was running for sheriff of our county.  Pawpaw loved politics and would discuss them at length at and will.  Many a night I’ve sat in his den and listened to stories about his favorite political leaders from the past.  In an effort to be fair to both sides of the political spectrum, he also had many things to say about the candidates in the opposite camp.  Let’s just say that neither time nor space will allow me to elaborate his viewpoint.  Suffice it to say that he had his own ideas about politics and no one was going to change them. Lucky for us, no one tried.

In any event, pawpaw was running for sheriff and he asked if I would distribute cards for him and ask people to cast their ballots for him in the upcoming election.  I was very please and proud that he asked me to help and I decided to devote one afternoon to visiting neighborhoods and spreading the good word about my grandfather.   

So, one day after school I came home, did my homework, took a huge stack of his campaign cards, enlisted the help of one of my cousins, and began knocking on doors.  I rode through our immediate neighborhood enlisting everyone in my grandfather’s cause.  I expanded my territory to include neighborhoods I had visited in my parents’ car but never by myself. 

My dad didn’t mind me helping pawpaw but he had been specific.  I was to be very careful and I was to be home before supper.  When I left, I fully intended to abide by his wishes.  But as the afternoon wore on, I found myself further and further from home with the sun sinking lower and lower in the sky.  Finally, I wound up in a nice neighborhood but didn’t recognize any of the houses.  I sallied up to a rather large house, knocked on the door, and was pleased to find one of my schoolmates on the other side of the door.  When she answered, I realized I was a good bit farther from home than my father intended.  I gave my pitch about my granddad, left a few cards with her mother, and headed home.

Not far from our house, my uncle pulled us over on the side of the street. It seems an entire search party was out scouring the town looking for us.  My uncle informed me my dad was looking for me and that I’d better head home.  I grudgingly headed that way.  When I arrived home, my mom told me to go to my room and wait for daddy.  It wasn’t long before he came home.  I knew I was in trouble.  All I could say was, “I was just trying to help.”  Daddy, though, didn’t see it that way.  He simply said, “I know, but you disobeyed my instructions.”

I learned a valuable lesson that evening, one that I still remember to this day.  I thought that because I was helping my grandfather that gave me free reign to go where I shouldn’t and disobey my dad’s instructions.  I had put my own interests above his and that was something he simply could not allow.  My actions, no matter how well intended, simply did not justify my disobeying my dad.

1 Samuel 15:22 is an exact illustration of what I experienced only King Saul’s punishment was much more severe than mine was.  In this passage we read, "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”  Samuel had just returned from fighting the Amalekites but he had not obeyed Samuel the prophet’s instructions.

Samuel had told Saul he was to spare nothing.  No one and no thing was to remain alive, not even an animal because the Amalekites refused to help Israel when they left Egypt under Moses’ direction.  Saul, however, spared the lives of the King and some of the nobles as well as animals.  When Samuel arrived to see him, Saul insisted he had obeyed the Lord’s wishes and had only spared the animals to sacrifice them to the Lord.

That’s when Samuel set King Saul straight in his understanding of God’s priorities.  God desires and wants obedience, not sacrifice.  He wants us to obey him, not try to help him.  God does not need our help nor does he expect it.  He does demand our obedience to his commands, however.

When my dad corrected me for helping my grandfather, he was teaching me the importance of listening and obeying his instructions.  He knew that if I failed to learn this lesson early on, the road ahead of me would be a long one to travel.  If there is one lesson that God wants us to learn, it is the lesson of obedience.  We simply need to listen to God’s word and obey it so that we can be all he wants us to be.  So, the question we must ask ourselves to day is this:  Are we obeying God or are we just trying to help him out?  How well are we listening to his voice today?

Course Correction Needed

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unday afternoons are made for relaxation and rest and sometimes there is no better way to rest than to be among friends while watching a good comedy. A few Sundays ago I had the good fortune of doing both of these.

The movie was a parody on the space program and a manned mission to mars.  At every turn something went amiss and our hero, a computer nerd, always exclaimed that he had nothing whatsoever to do with whatever went haywire.  And believe me, just about everything went haywire!

Very early in the movie, NASA encountered its first problem when one of the lead astronauts kept crashing his landing module into the Martian surface.  He complained that the programming was faulty and the machine was feeding him incorrect information.  So, the powers-that-be took the problem to the programmer, none other than our hero.

During a brief simulation, the programmer discovered that the pilot had replaced the original programming with his own calculations.  This resulted in disaster.  Each time the simulator encountered the faulty programming it displayed a warning, course correction needed.  The pilot chose not to heed the warning but to use his own programming and each time the result was the same, a crash landing with no survivors.

Although presented in the guise of a comedy, this is a very sobering lesson for us as Christians and one addressed in the Old Testament book of Isaiah.  No, Isaiah was not a computer nerd and he certainly had no idea that traveling to another planet would some day be a possibility.  But he did know that relying on our own ideas and instincts always spells disaster.

He penned these words in Isaiah 50:11 and we would do well to heed their warning and take them to heart, “But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is that you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.”

Isaiah’s message could not be any clearer.  When we insist on having our own way, when we refuse to heed God’s warnings or follow his leading, and when we step out on our own along a path we have chosen without consulting him, we run the great risk of crash landing.  God has promised to lead us in the right paths and to be with us all along the way.  But we must listen to him and adjust our lives when a course correction is needed.  Are you following His flight plan or are you maneuvering by your own program today?

God's Crosswalk

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ast Elementary School was about a 10-minute walk from our house on Main Street.  Every morning, unless it was bad weather, I grabbed my book satchel, opened the heavy front door, and stepped out to meet the day.  I followed the sidewalk to the corner of Main and Cone Streets.  The latter street was named after my grandfather and proved to be my first great hurdle.  I had to cross Cone Street in order to gain the sidewalk that would take me to school.

I made sure to look both ways for oncoming traffic, just like my mom and dad had taught me, and then I crossed over to the other side.  I made a left turn and began the last leg of my daily jaunt to school.  I passed the Cornwell home, my uncle’s house, the Clarks, the Dellingers, and I walked past the Medical Center Pharmacy and the trees my dad had planted as a young boy.

When I arrived at the corner of Cone and Academy Streets I came to a full stop.  Academy Street was very wide and there was a large crosswalk which led directly to East Elementary’s main sidewalk.  There was a crossing guard who stopped traffic so I could safely cross over.  His name was Richard and he always spoke to me and told me to have a good day.

Above our school flew the American and North Carolina flags and a green pennant that reminded us of safety. One day Richard visited our class to remind us to always look both ways before crossing the street and to always stay within the crosswalk.  As long as we did that, we would be safe and as long as we were safe and there were no accidents, the green pennant would remain fluttering in the breeze above our school.

That very afternoon, something terrible happened.  On the way home, at the corner of Cone and Main Streets, a huge crowd had gathered.  An ambulance and a police car were also there and a policeman was directing the ever increasing traffic on Main Street.  Richard was there and he and the ambulance men were working with a small boy who had not remembered to look both ways or to remain in the crosswalk when crossing the street.  That young boy was injured and did not recover.

I never come to that intersection but I think about that day.  Although it has been 47 years since that accident, the scene is indelibly etched in my mind.  The lesson of the crosswalk has stayed with me all these years and as I read God’s word I see the lesson of the crosswalk within its pages.

In John 5:24, Jesus makes the following statement, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”  Do you see the crosswalk in the words of Jesus?  Every crosswalk has two boundaries between which we can safely walk.  Jesus, in this passage, says that we must hear his words and believe in God who sent him.  As long as we listen and believe, we walk safely and cross over.  Inside the crosswalk is life; outside the crosswalk is danger, pain, and death.  Jesus reminds us in the closing words of this passage that those who hear the word and believe in God have “crossed over from death to life.”

The road of life is fraught with many intersections.  Intersections are a necessary part of the Christian life and how we choose to cross them demonstrates our faith and our trust in Jesus Christ.  Are you at an intersection?  Are you at the corner of Main and Cone Streets today?  Are you looking for a way to cross over and continue in the path God has for you?  If so, open God’s word, listen to His voice, and believe in Him and in His son, Jesus Christ, and you will safely cross over.   Are you walking in God’s crosswalk today?

God At The Ballpark

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 ballpark is not exactly the place where you would expect to learn a good Sunday school lesson.  Amid all the noise, the chaos, the flashing lights, and the booming announcements, finding a moment for solitude and reflection simply isn’t in the cards.  Yet, one Saturday evening, during all of this raucous confusion, I saw one of the best examples of a biblical principal played out by a young father and his 5-year-old son.

We were sitting in the nose-bleed sections, almost high enough to touch the undersides of the airplanes as they prepared for landing at the airport. The view was great, the breeze was even better, and the fact that we didn’t’ have to climb over a bunch of folks to get to our seats indicated this would be a most promising evening.  The fact that we won the game 10 to 1 was also another check in the plus column.

Not long after my friend and I settled in, we were joined by a young father and his small son.  The father had a playbook with him and proceeded to make all the necessary entries as the names of the players were called.  Now playbooks are beyond my comprehension, but I am always fascinated by the acute care avid fans take in recording every minute detail of the game.

As the game progressed, the father explained everything to his son.  The little boy was full of questions, as the father of any 5 year-old will tell you, and the young man patiently and carefully answered them all.  He told his son about hits, runs, errors, strikeouts, bunts, double plays, etc.  He made sure his son saw him mark everything in the playbook and explained to him why each mark was important.

As I sat there watching the game but listening to this father, the words from Deuteronomy 6:4-7 came to mind, “4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

These words from the Lord are an admonition and a command to the Children of Israel to spend time instructing their children in the ways of the Lord.  Our first teachers are our parents.  From them we learn all the important lessons of life, all the things necessary to grow and become responsible adults.  But God’s words go beyond that.  We are to teach our children about God and we are to do that all the time.  Notice that this is to be done when we are sitting, walking, lying down, and getting up.  In other words we are to do this 24/7.

That Saturday evening at the ballpark, that little boy learned a far greater lesson than completing a playbook. He learned the importance of his father’s presence.  He learned the importance of spending “alone time” with dad.  And he learned that during those precious moments he was the most important thing to his father.

Isn’t it interesting that these are the very lessons God wants us to learn about Him.  Are we learning them?  Are we spending alone time with Him, drinking in everything He teaches us?  If not, how can we expect to teach these things to others?  We can only teach what we know.  How much do you know about God today?  What lesson are you teaching today?

Stand Still or Get Moving?

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ne of the most difficult challenges in the Christian life is deciding to stand still or to get moving.  At times it seems God places us into situations where He requires us to “be still and know that He is God” and at other times He would have us hit the road at full march.

We are usually reticent to move forward where the path is uncertain and we are most unwilling to stand still when we believe we know what is around the next bend.  We have our perspective and God has His.  The key is for us to make sure we are seeing things as best we can from God’s perspective and when we can’t see we must simply trust and obey.

This was the situation facing the Children of Israel as they left Egypt and approached the Red Sea.  All was going well. Pharaoh had freed them, they were on their way to the land God promised Abraham and everything seemed to be going according to plan.  That’s when they heard a rumble behind them, not the rumble of the sea in front of them but the rumble of Pharaoh’s chariots behind them.  What had been a steady walk to the Promised Land now seemed like more of a death march.

They were trapped.  Pharaoh behind, the sea in front and they had nowhere to go.  They raised their voices in protest to Moses, demanding to know why he had brought them into the desert to die instead of leaving them in Egypt. It should be noted, however, that no one “volunteered” to stay behind and tend the brick pits.  No, everyone lined up for the long march to freedom.

In Exodus 14, we get a brief look at two perspectives on the same situation.  Moses bids the people stand still while God tells them to get going.  Let’s look at this brief passage and see what it holds for us today.

Exodus 14:13-15 reads, “Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”

After seeing God miraculously move through the 10 plagues on Egypt, Moses wanted the people to know that God would fight for them once again.  He had not brought them out into the desert to abandon them and He had not resigned from leadership.  Moses knew that whenever we take things into our own hands we frustrate and thwart God’s efforts.  So Moses, fully trusting the Lord, told the people to stand still and see God’s salvation.

God, however, did not intend for His people to remain on the shore of the Red Sea.  He had called them to enter and take possession of the land He promised to Abraham.  God’s agenda called for them to move forward and although the sea lay before them, although they did not know what was about to happen, God was testing their faith. Moving forward into a body of water with no way to cross it save through God’s intervention is a total walk of faith.  And this is exactly what God wants from us—total faith!

There are times when God asks us to remain still, to rest, and to wait on Him.  There are other times when He simply asks us to “get moving.”  Our challenge is to move when He says move or to stay when He says stay.  We are not to rely on our understanding nor refuse to change our perspective on our situation.  God sees far beyond our capabilities and bids us move forward when there seems to be no clear path to tread.


So, where are you today?  Are you standing at the water’s edge, reluctant to take the step?  Are you more comfortable on the sea shore even though you hear the thunder of approaching chariots?  If you listen very carefully you can hear God whispering in your ear, “Trust me.  It’s time to get moving.”

Please Wait To Be Seated

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he sign clearly read, “Please wait to be seated.”  The restaurant wasn’t particularly crowded but the hostess was methodically seating guests in an orderly fashion, making sure all the waiters and waitresses had an equal opportunity to serve the patrons coming into the restaurant. 

Since there was only one couple in front of me, I knew the wait wouldn’t be very long. I began looking over the daily specials, formulating in my head what I wanted to eat.  The meatloaf sounded good but then again, so did the chicken and dumplings.  Suddenly, I noticed some movement to my right and the couple in front of me began moving toward an empty table close by.

Now, the sign clearly told them to wait before being seated and they were reading it when I entered the restaurant so I knew they understood the procedure.  Nevertheless, they moved ahead without waiting for the hostess and they chose their own table.  The hostess came to me, welcomed me to the restaurant, picked up a menu and some silverware and escorted me to a nice table in front of the window.  She took my drink order and asked if she could bring me some bread.  The couple, who chose their own table, had no menus, no silverware, no drinks, and no bread.  They chose a table which was not in the immediate view of the hostess.

The waitress came, took my order, and before long, my food arrived.  The couple now became a little perturbed and called attention to the fact they had received no service.  The hostess and the waitress both apologized even though they had done nothing wrong.  This couple hadn’t received the service they thought they deserved simply because they refused to follow the rules.  They had no one to blame but themselves but they wanted to place the responsibility squarely on someone else’s shoulders.

The prophet, Isaiah, could well have been describing this scene from a local restaurant.  He understood that when we choose to make our own decisions without listening to God or considering what his word has to say, we always run the risk of disappointment, heartache, and grief.  Isaiah 50:11 addresses this idea with the following words, “But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.”           

  

God’s words here are clear and leave no room for misunderstanding.  If we refuse to listen to his commands, if we insist on having and doing things our own way, then we are responsible for the consequences of our actions.  And consequences there will be!  In John’s gospel, Jesus says that he is the light of the world and that if we follow him we will not walk in darkness.  Yet, we choose to ignore his perfect light and walk by the light of the torches we light for ourselves. 

Our meager torches do not cast enough light to illuminate the path ahead and when we walk without enough light, we stumble, fall, and get injured. When this happens, our first reaction is to blame God for the circumstances in which we find ourselves.  We want to pin the responsibility on him; but we have no one to blame for our predicament but ourselves.

My prayer for all of us today is that we would continually wait on the Lord and walk in his perfect light.  He knows we are waiting for him, he knows we are there, but he also knows exactly where to place us so that we receive his best and can serve others according to the gifts he has given us.  Take courage, stand still, and wait on the Lord.  If not, it might be sometime before the meatloaf arrives!!!

Be Still

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iving in a house in close proximity to the members of your family can sometimes be a challenge.  This is especially true as little children grow older and begin to test the limits of mom and dad’s authority.  While they are encouraged to be independent, as they grow older, obedience remains part and parcel of belonging to a family.  Coming under mom and dad’s authority goes hand-in-hand with living under their roof.

Like any other kid, I too tested the limits of the boundaries established by my mom and dad.  Sometimes I would just stick my big toe into the forbidden waters of disobedience and at other times I jumped in whole hog.  I figured getting wet was half the fun and staying to swim for a while was the other half. It was usually about this time that my interests and my parents’ conflicted.  Guess who won?

I can remember so many times when I crossed the line.  My dad would then discipline me and I would just stew, believing I had been unjustly treated.  The more I thought about it the madder I got until I was just ready to explode.  That’s when daddy usually came to talk to me about what had transpired, to tell me why I had been disciplined.     

He would pick me up and hold me, repeating these two words, “Be still!”  That was the last thing I wanted I assure you!  I didn’t feel like being held, I didn’t feel like talking, and I didn’t feel like being calm.  I wanted to run!  Daddy just held me, softly saying, “Be still, Blake. Be still!”

As I look back on it now, I am amazed at the patience and wisdom of my dad.  He knew I was hurting, he knew I wasn’t happy, he knew I didn’t like the discipline, and he knew I didn’t want to be still.  But he held me anyway, rocking me and telling me just to be still.  I can still hear his voice in my ear, reminding me to calm down and be quiet. No matter what my feelings at the time, two things were true: 1) daddy loved me enough to discipline me and 2) he loved me enough to hold on to me even when I was being stubborn.

Is it any different with our Heavenly Father?  How many times do we exert our own independence, putting our agenda ahead of God’s? We never put our big toe into the water just to test it; we always jump in only to find the water is way over our heads.  Not content to admit we were wrong, however, we decide to stay awhile and get the most out of our stubbornness.

 

This is when God steps in to intervene on our behalf, even though we don’t believe it at the time.  God knows that our disobedience, if left unchecked, will only serve to alienate us from Him.  This is something He neither wants nor will allow.

The process of bringing us back into a right relationship is sometimes painful but always necessary.  Afterward, we may not feel as if God loves us.  We may not understand why things turn out the way they do nor why God places us in very difficult situations.  We may be angry, confused, and more than a little dismayed.  But that is all right because we serve a God who loves us more than we can even imagine.

Even in the most difficult times, God picks us up, holds us on His lap, wraps His arms around us, and whispers, “Be still.”  This is the message of Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”  The purpose of our stillness is to learn that the Lord is God.  He knows what is best for us.  He alone loves us as no other can.  He loves us enough to discipline us and he loves us enough to hold us when life’s way grows hard, even when it is due to our own stubborn disobedience.

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 learned so much during the times when my dad held me.  I learned that he loved me, that he wanted to hold me, that he hurt when I hurt, and that he was so much smarter and wiser than I was.  How much more, then, does our Heavenly Father love us?  How much more does He long to hold us and comfort us during the difficult times of life—even when they are the result of our disobedience?  Are you being still today?

To Make A Better Life

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ecently, while flipping through the channels trying to find something entertaining and informative to watch on TV, I stopped to watch a short infomercial.  This particular show advertised computer classes to help you get ahead in the job market and to help you make a wonderful salary.  One of the interviews was with a young man who talked on and on about how great the program was and how his increased salary had helped him afford things he never had before.  When the interviewer asked him what his motivation for taking the classes was, he didn’t hesitate one instant but answered straightforwardly, “To make a better life for my family and myself!”

I sat there and let that statement sink in for just a few minutes.  From what I could observe from the infomercial, this man had increased his salary, purchased a nice home, owned two cars, and wore beautiful clothes.   For all intents and purposes, society would say that he had definitely arrived and was in a position to improve his lifestyle as well as that of his family.  But had he really made a better life for himself?  That was the question.

When I was growing up, I remember my dad telling me that all parents wished a better life for their children.  While I knew he wanted me to avail myself of opportunities he didn’t have, I could never figure out what about my life needed improving.  I had my own bed, I had my own clothes, I had a wonderful family, I had plenty to eat, and I was warm and dry. 

As I grew older, however, I began to understand that the choices I made could determine just how good my life would be.  If I made wise selections, I would be able to enjoy life more fully than if I squandered my choices and acted foolishly.  Still, I learned that the quality of life is not based on the things we can afford to keep but on the things we can’t afford to lose!

The children of Israel had a similar choice during their Exodus from Egypt.  They had an opportunity to make a better life for themselves and for their children.  However, their success would depend on the choices they made and Moses wanted to make sure they understood how to choose wisely.

In Deuteronomy 30:18-20, Moses gives the people explicit instructions about securing and making a better life for themselves:  “I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”    

After wandering in the wilderness for forty years, the people are ready to cross over into the land God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Notice the choice Moses gives the people.  It is a choice between life and death, between curses and blessings.  His advice to the people is to choose life.  It would seem that this choice was evident but given the track record of the people coming out of Egypt, Moses wanted to make sure they understood the consequences of choosing poorly.  He tells the people to choose life and continues by saying that the Lord is their life.  In other words, we choose a better life when we choose God.  This choice would not only bring life to the people but to their children as well.

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he same choice is ours today.  We are free to choose so we must choose wisely.   The only choice we have, the only choice that leads to life, is God.  We come to Him through the knowledge of Jesus Christ who promised life to all who believed in Him.  Do you want to make and have a better life?  God is waiting for you to make your decision for Him.  What choice will you make today?

Fire Starters

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chool children, it seems, are always selling something.  No sooner does the school year begin than students are out in droves, peddling their wares from home to home like door-to-door salesman.   The merchandise varies from fruit, to doughnuts, to cookies, to flags, to popcorn, to wrapping paper for the holidays.  I remember selling, candy, spices, and magazines to help fund various projects for the different schools I attended at home.

While most of the merchandise is designed to grab the buyer’s attention, very few of these products are created with long-term usefulness in mind.  The candy is meant to be consumed, the wrapping paper can only be used during a particular season, and knick knacks for the home soon find their way onto back shelves in closets or are boxed up in the attic until a “place” can be found to display them later.

But every once in a while a useful product comes along that is both practical and designed to make life just a little bit easier.  This small miracle occurred at my sister’s school.  Each year her school, like all the other schools in all the other counties, sold items to raise money for certain needs not addressed by the school’s allotted budget.  Instead of going door-to-door, however, the school held a bazaar where people visited and purchased items, most of them made by the students themselves.

One of the biggest hits at the bazaar was fire starters.  These were simple and useful little gadgets that made building a fire during the winter months much easer.  The students simply took a small milk carton, cut off the top, filled it with paraffin wax, and inserted a small piece of twine in the center.  When the wax cooled, it conformed to the shape of the milk carton and provided enough fuel to last until the wood in the fireplace grew into a warm, glowing blaze.  All you had to do was arrange the wood and the kindling, place the fire starter underneath, light it, and voila!  Instant fire!  As the fire starter burned and used its fuel, it ignited the wood in the grate which grew from a small, single flame into a roaring, blazing fire that gave light and warmth to everyone in the room.

Do you realize that Christians are to the world what the fire starter is to the wood and kindling in the fireplace?  Did you know that Jesus commissioned us to be spiritual pyromaniacs with the sole purpose of intentionally setting the world on fire for him?  It’s true; and we need look no further than one of the last commands Jesus gave his disciples before ascending into heaven.

Matthew 28:19-20 is generally referred to as The Great Commission because it is in this passage of scripture that Jesus instructs his followers to go out into the world and conquer it for him. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Not only did Jesus command his followers—and that includes us today—to go out and set fires; he gave them the necessary tools with which to do it.  Notice the distinct similarities between believers and those fire starters my sister’s school sold.  First, they were small compared to the task.  Second, they had a distinct shape and were filled with fuel and a wick.  Third, once they were lit, they gave of themselves totally until a roaring fire was set ablaze.  Fourth, they received their fire from another source. Fifth, had it not been for them, there would have been no fire.

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t doesn’t take much to understand the comparison, does it?  The world is a big place filled with billions of people.  By ourselves we are not match for the challenge, we are very small when placed side-by-side with Christ’s command.  The scriptures tell us that we are to be conformed to the image of Christ, taking on his shape, and we are to be filled with the Spirit which produces in us the means of sharing the gospel message with the world.  However, unless we give of ourselves totally and unselfishly, we are of no use to God.  The fire starter is no good without a flame and it will not achieve its purpose if it goes out before the task is completed.  But when we allow God to work through us so that we share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world, we can truly ignite a flame in those around us.  How many fires have you started lately?  

A Hot Potato

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aked potatoes may be one of man’s greatest inventions.  Now I know I’m treading on thin ice here.  First of all, man didn’t invent the potato; he did, however, figure out what to do with it.  Bake it in an oven, add butter, chives, cheese, salt, pepper, and of course sour cream, and you have a culinary masterpiece no matter what else is on the plate! 

I was reminded of this fact one evening when a friend of mine from the seminary joined me for dinner.  We decided to eat steak and when it came time to choose between steamed vegetables and a baked potato, well let’s just say the choice wasn’t very difficult to make.  In fact, it was a no-brainer!  When the waiter asked me if I wanted the potato with everything on it, I stared at him in disbelief.  Is there any other way to eat one?  Not in my book!

A few minutes and a dinner salad later, our steaks finally arrived.  The potato was wonderful, baked to perfection and scrumptious to the taste.  I marveled at how tender the potato was, given the fact that when these things are pulled from the ground, they are anything but soft and tender. Instead, potatoes are rock hard, dirty, and anything but appealing to the taste.  I have heard of some people who like to eat them raw but this was never an option for me.  Baked, fried, or mashed, these are the only ways for me to eat a potato.

I want us to think about that baked potato for just a few seconds—not as something to eat but as a lesson from God’s word.  In order for the potato to become soft, it must be placed into heat.  Once it exits from the flame the potato is forever changed.  It is no longer hard but rather is soft and very appealing. The potato cannot do this on its own; it must enter into the fire in order to be changed into a form that is suitable for enjoyment.

The book of Hebrews is a wonderful reminder of just how much Jesus Christ did for us on Calvary’s cross.  The writer goes to great lengths to point out that Jesus is superior to the angels and to Moses.  Christ’s sacrifice was also superior to all the sacrifices required by the law.  The giving of his life resulted in the removal of sins, not the covering of them.  Jesus died once for all whereas under the law, the high priest had to sacrifice once a year to cover the people’s sin.

Now back to the example of that potato.  In Hebrews 3:7-8, we read the following warning against unbelief, “So, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.”

The writer warns us against hardening our hearts to God’s forgiveness and mercy.  He reminds his readers that their forefathers tested God by refusing to enter the land promised to Abraham.  They hardened their hearts and refused to let God work in their lives to give them all the blessings He had in store for them.  Because of this hardness, because they refused to believe God’s promise, they could not enter into His blessings, mercy, and grace. They wondered in the desert for forty years until all those who left Egypt died in the wilderness.

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hat are our hearts like today?  Are they hard?  Are they closed to God’s message and His love?  Do we hear Him calling us to service and are we refusing to follow Him?  If this is the case, our hearts will always be like that potato pulled from the ground, hard, cold, dirty, and unsavory.  However, if we hear God’s voice and obey it, if we accept His free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, then our hearts will be changed.  They will become soft, tender, and a source of nourishment, providing an inviting aroma for all those we meet on a daily basis.  So, could you be considered a hot potato today?

Two Cups of Sugar

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weet tea doesn’t just happen; you have to add sugar!  In fact, if you’re going to make sweet tea the way we drink it in North Carolina you have to add a lot of sugar.  The ingredients for acceptable sweet tea are very simple, tea, water, and sugar.  Three family-sized tea bags, one gallon of water, and two cups of sugar render a concoction I love to refer to as nourishing refreshment.

There is simply nothing better on a hot summer’s day than a tall glass of sweet ice tea.  Say what you will, wrinkle your noses at it if you must, but there are people in my hometown who will fight you tooth and nail concerning the prospects of whether you should drink your tea sweetened or unsweetened.  As a matter of fact, if you want unsweetened tea in North Carolina you’d better request it or the tea will be sweet every time.  There simply is no other way to drink it!

I take great pleasure in knowing there is a biblical basis for sweetened beverages!  What?  I know you’re thinking I’ve lost my mind or that I am walking a line that teeters on blasphemy, but honestly, the Scriptures do demonstrate that God sweetened the water in the desert as the Israelites made their way to the Promised Land.  Let’s take a quick peek into the book of Exodus as we find the people not far outside the land of Egypt, asking Moses for something to drink.

In Exodus 15:24-26 we find the following account: “So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?" Then Moses cried out to the LORD , and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them.  He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD , who heals you."

There are a few interesting things we must notice in this passage today.  First, the people were grumbling.  Not far out of Egypt they started complaining and they continued this trend all the way to the Promised Land.  Isn’t it funny that we spend more time complaining instead of praising and thanking God?  Isn’t it amazing how we focus on the negative things in life and totally discount the positive sign of God’s working in our lives?  The Children of Israel were no different.  God had not delivered them from Pharaoh only to let them die of thirst in the desert.

So God answered their cry by having Moses throw a piece of wood into water that was bitter and undrinkable.  Moses could not make the water sweet, that is drinkable, for the people but he could throw in a stick of wood.  Let us glean one of the greatest truths about God from this passage.  God will never do for us what we can do for ourselves but He will always undertake what we are incapable of doing.  As we stated above, Moses could throw the wood in but he could not make the water sweet; only God could do that.

Please find the words, “and there he tested them” in the passage.  Here is the great crux of this verse of scripture. God’s provision in our lives always brings with it a greater responsibility on our part.  After receiving drinkable water from God’s hand, the people were to be put to the test. This does not make God out to be some cruel taskmaster.  On the contrary, God wanted the people to learn that He was their provision, that He was their protection, and that He was all they needed.  The only way for them to learn this was to go through testing.

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lease notice that the people’s test was to listen to God’s voice, to do what was right in His eyes (not their own), and they were to obey His commands and decrees.  Guess what? God expects the same of us today.  We are to listen to His voice, to do what is right in His eyes (not our own), and to obey His commands and decrees.  When we do this, we find that the bitter waters of life become sweet, no matter where we are, by a flowing stream, near a desert oasis, or standing by a stagnant pond.  When we give heed to our Lord, He always makes the waters sweet, cool, and refreshing.  When was the last time God added two cups of sugar to the water you are drinking?