Tag: moses

Lottery Odds Or Eternal Assets

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What kind of dreams are you pursuing? How sure are you of your chances of finding the joy for which you are looking?

Some people strive desperately to “get rich quick.” They will spend valuable income on a lottery that has incredible mathematical odds against a win. The miniscule chance of monetary gain is slim beyond understanding. But in an attempt to grasp at a fantasy, people do what is imprudent.

Perhaps lottery players feel that the small amount of money they put into the game of chance is negligible. They decide it is “no big deal” to pay small amounts for such a gamble. But isn’t every penny we have a blessing from God? And does not a whole bunch of little amounts spent regularly add up to a large amount? This principle of caring for each asset provided to us applies not only to gambling, but to all the ways we spend our money – and our time.

What if we moved from slim chances to eternal surety? What if we quit being obsessed with the temporal and truly sought to see the everlasting, as far-fetched as it might at first seem to a mind pulled from God? What if we actually believed what Jesus Christ stood and on a mountain one day and said to real human beings one day, “…Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20, ESV)? Could it be true that we can accumulate (lay up) assets in another world (heaven)?

Many people focus on Matthew 6:19 to the neglect of the verse I just mentioned. We tend to focus on the “don’t” instead of the “do.” We somehow get turned off by the “Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth…” (Matthew 6:19, ESV) – forgetting that the next words out of our Savior’s mouth assure us that we can currently be building a mass of heavenly wealth that cannot be lost!

I like, too, how Jesus connects the building of heavenly possessions with scientific truth. My treasure in the next world cannot be destroyed by living creatures, corroded by chemical reactions, or stolen by evil intentions. The assets accumulating in Heaven are one hundred percent safe. There is no gamble, because Jesus is protecting that wealth. You talk about a secure bank and secure investment! My treasure does not need to be kept under lock and key or safeguarded by high level passwords; your true wealth is “kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4, ESV).

In other words, the treasure I am building by investing in God’s work is not stored in this world. It is somewhere else – where God abides. It is safe! And better yet, I am safe, too, until I get there! The Bible says we have been born again “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed…” (1 Peter 1:4-5). No one can steal my true wealth, and no one can prevent me from getting go the place where God and it resides! Amen!

I have been traveling for a number of weeks, each Monday afternoon, to a Christian school in the area. I pack up my laptop, projector, my Bible, and head to the gymnasium/cafeteria to speak to nearly one hundred students in grades six through twelve about Christian apologetics (a reasonable, intelligent defense of biblical Christianity).

Each week, I speak my heart out, using every ounce of God-given passion to help these teens recognize the validity of the Bible and Jesus Christ. Counting on the Holy Spirit, I press forward, despite a few disgruntled and uninterested faces. Nonetheless, I watch many students suck in truth that they have never before heard. I sense God’s Spirit working, and I give it all I’ve got.

Yet there are times when I wonder what I am doing. The enemy tries to discourage me, saying, “What are you doing in a little gymnasium/cafeteria each week speaking to a group of teens in a small Western Pennsylvania school?” And I begin to ponder in my selfishness, “What prestige is there in this?” and “Who else would do this?”

Then God gets hold of me. He whispers that someone does this who is willing to be obedient in the smallest of things and invest in eternal treasure. Those who play the lottery gamble away little bits of money here and there, but I invest eternally little bits of time and effort every Monday afternoon. It may not seem like much. It is not glamorous. It does not bring me fame. But it is eternal investing, and I got to see a glimpse of that treasure just a few days ago.

A sixth grade girl in a pink hoodie approached me after one of my lessons about the reliability of the Old and New Testaments. I was packing up my projector when she stopped me with tears in her eyes and said, ‘Hi.” I responded, and she proceeded to say, “I gave my life to God on December 14 (a Monday afternoon!) because of your talks here, Mrs. Prindle.” My exclamation as my eyes lit up was, “That’s wonderful!” and “That makes everything I’ve done here worthwhile!” Then I gave this young girl a big hug.

The truly amazing part is that this sixth grade student had been a professed atheist. Her fellow students and teachers were aware of her lost condition. And yet, Jesus got hold of her one Monday afternoon! Now she is telling those same people about her new relationship with God.

There will be another person in the eternal New Heavens and New Earth because of a regular Monday afternoon investment. I refuse to gamble away my time and resources in this fading world. I will invest in eternal assets. I will hug precious people in Heaven who are somehow connected to me by the true investments Jesus has enabled me to make.

Let’s live like Moses did: “He thought is was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.” (Hebrews 11:26, NLT)

Believing God is Greater than the Obstacle

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Sometimes what you see can really get in your way. And I mean it can slow you down and discourage you to the point of near destruction.

There comes a time to determine to look past what is visible, obvious, and looming. God works in an unseen realm that is infinitely more powerful than the immediately evident.

Take for our example, Moses. Though standing clearly in his way was both the anger of the most mighty earthly ruler and the obvious temptation to stay in Egypt and enjoy tangible riches beyond measure, Moses left Egypt. If circumstances dictate defeat, but God has promised victory, it becomes critical to fix your eyes on the invisible One and refuse to be tripped up by the noticeable. Hear it in God’s own words, “By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27, ESV, emphasis added).

Let the words resonate in the core of your soul, “He endured as seeing him who is invisible.” Another version declares, “He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27b, NLT).

Will you “keep on going” despite the major obstacles and foreboding details of your life? You can … If your eyes are focused on the unseen. Undetected by the physical eye is the awesome capacity of God who created the universe out of nothing and supports its foundations with His own hand. God is calling you to pray and believe that His invisible power is far greater than both what you can see that is trying to hold you back and what is stretched out before you as an obstruction.

It all goes back to the beginning. Hebrews 11:3 (ESV) proclaims, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” EVERYTHING came from the UNSEEN. By FAITH, we grasp that fact. By the SAME FAITH, we endure NOW. The invisible God who made it all in the beginning is the One making your life what is should be today. The Creator is the Sustainer. Your belief in Him as your Keeper should be as strong as your belief in Him as your Maker. The dynamism that enabled Him to form galaxies out of nothing but His Word is the power that enables Him to accomplish His purpose through your life.

Endure. Do not focus on the challenge. Do not gaze at the hardship. Do not look back at what has been. Determine to see nothing but Him who is invisible and is greater than what seems obvious.

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (I Timothy 1:17, ESV, emphasis added)

Mark of Distinction

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No room for bragging exists when it comes to people of God. There is no place for self-righteousness and no room for human credit when it comes to genuine Christianity. Nothing marks a follower of God as distinct from anyone else except for one thing: God is with him.

Our clever actions, seemingly selfless sacrifices, moral position relative to others, or regular church attendance do not truly separate us from the masses of people. One thing makes a Christian unique – and one thing only – God is with us.

Let no Christian be deceived into thinking that she is special because of her own performance. Let no man of God rest in his own talents, personality, or possessions. We have only one hope for being set apart from all others, and that hope does not originate with us. We are only and marvelously distinct because God is going with us wherever we go. Hear the words of Moses as he prays on behalf of the Israelites he is leading, “For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:16, ESV)

God’s people were not chosen because they were particularly great or better than others; they were chosen and, therefore, made great. It is God’s abiding with a man or woman that makes that person a work of wonder. What we need is God with us. We desperately require His presence at every turn and in every moment. If He is with us, for us there shall be no demise. He conquers all.

No wonder the Gospel of Matthew proclaims of Jesus, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:23, ESV) Jesus is the grand fulfillment of God’s plan to be with His people. Because of Jesus Christ, we both see God in the flesh and are able to be reconciled to God. That reconciliation provides the means for God to take up residence in my body, His temple (I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19). Because of dear Jesus, I am assured that God is always with me, for my sins have been covered with the blood of Christ; and they are no longer able to separate me from my Creator.

“Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct?” asked Moses. The resounding answer is, “Yes!” We are marked for hope and eternal life – made different from the world – because God has willingly chosen to be with us. It is not our doing; it is His doing . . . and it is wonderful beyond words.

Question for Reflection: What stands out to people about you? Is it some quality of yours? Or do people remark that you are special because they sense God’s nearness when they are near you?

Enduring and Moving

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At times it is necessary to move. When the status quo is against God’s plan, the status quo must be left behind. Of course, it feels comfortable to stay with what is familiar, for – as disappointing as the familiar can be – at least we know we are surviving there. Exiting a place or circumstance with which we are accustomed can potentially be scary. Only one thing is to be feared more – God’s displeasure.

When Moses left Egypt, he had worldly reason to fear the king. The powerful pharaoh would not be pleased with this Hebrew’s renunciation of Egypt. Even though Moses was a Hebrew by blood, he had grown up in and been educated by this mighty nation. Though he had benefitted greatly from Egypt’s riches, he now felt called by His God to leave. Yes, it had been God’s will for Moses to be in the heart of Egypt, for we know he was found by the pharaoh’s daughter on the Nile River in that basket of reeds his mother had so prayerfully prepared and sent. And now, it was also God’s will for Moses to exit – in preparation for the furthering of God’s kingdom. God may put us places, and then carefully draw us away . . . all for the best of His kingdom.

The Hebrews were enslaved to the Egyptians, and Moses could no longer stand idly by and watch God’s people be wrongly mistreated. He felt God tug on His heart to become part of God’s next move on behalf of His beloved Hebrews. However, becoming part of God’s plan would require Moses to now “endure ill-treatment with the people of God [rather] than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25, NASB). On the one side stands ill treatment, and on the other stands sin’s temporary pleasure and ease. To leave Egypt now will mean Moses’ life will become difficult. He will be persecuted by the enemy. He will give up riches and ease and familiarity. Wisely, Moses takes the long-term view. He understands that ill treatment now is infinitely better than temporary pleasure coupled with eternal regret.

Moses determines to persevere by moving. The Bible records, “By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen” (Hebrews 11:27, NASB). Do you observe that word “endured”? The root of the word is “steadfast,” and here is the only place this particular Greek word is used in the Bible. Moses stayed faithful to God by doing two things: 1) not fearing the power he was leaving behind, and 2) enduring by keeping his heart fixed on an invisible God.

Our Lord who is now invisible is greater than any power we might be inclined to fear when we press forward in God’s will. Though we cannot yet see our God, He is the “King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God” (I Timothy 1:17, NASB). Moses did not fear the wrath of the king of Egypt because He revered the true King who – while now invisible – is eternally the Boss of everything!

We, too, can endure as we keep the eyes of our heart fixed on the unseen Ruler of the universe. We need not look behind, or over our shoulder, fearfully wondering how the enemy might pursue us. Not only is the pleasure of sin temporary, so is the terror of sinners and Satan.

Soon after Moses’ obedience, he and the Hebrews passed through the Red Sea on dry land. But, “the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned” (Hebrews 11:29, NASB). My friends, we need to move when God says to move, no matter how difficult the road ahead appears. To stay would be sin when God says to go. The ill treatment we suffer will not last forever, and our future deliverance is a sure thing. God will make the way for us no matter how ominous the sea in front. All who stand in opposition to the Lord will eventually drown in despair.

“We shall endure.” What an all-encompassing phrase! We shall endure because we have our sights fixed on the invisible, eternal God who has His perfect plan. We shall endure . . . as we move.

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.” – Hebrews 11:24-27 (NASB)

Truly, Where Is Your Trust?

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Just some weeks into the Israelites’ adventure in the wilderness following their miraculous exodus from Egypt, God’s people began grumbling against Moses and Aaron because they were hungry. Recall that these people had watched God send massive plagues (including the plague of death) to ensure their freedom from Pharaoh, they had seen the application of blood over their doorposts stop the death angel cold in his tracks, and they had watched with mouths agape as God divided the sea in half for their safe pilgrimage. And still, the Israelites make the wrong assumption that God has brought them all this way to kill them (Exodus 16:3).

As they continue complaining about their hunger, I can only imagine God’s thoughts. If I were God (and – wow – are we thankful I am not), I would have looked at the lot of them and said, “You ungrateful brats! Don’t you see what I have done? Do you really believe I have rescued you to kill you?” Thankfully, this is not what God says. I, myself, am particularly grateful for this fact; for I am one of the ungrateful, unbelieving brats.

God answers their complaining doubt by saying, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you” (Exodus 16:4). God is truly “something else,” isn’t He? It truly is all about Him. Even after I have trusted Him for salvation, I still fail. But God is faithful!

The detail we should highlight here is God’s prescription for the manna. He told the Israelites to collect enough for each day one day at a time. (Exodus 16:4) Throughout the week, they were to collect only enough for the day at hand and not stockpile it for the next day. Moses reiterated, “Let no man leave any of it until morning” (Exodus 16:19).

As we can imagine (because we know ourselves well), some of the people left manna from one day until the following morning. The results were very repulsive. The manna left over for the next day “bred worms and became foul” (Exodus 16:20). Smelly manna teeming with maggots is not what the Israelites had in mind! Yet, this was the result for those who tried to carry one day’s portion into the next day.

The question becomes, “Why?” Why did God do this? The answer is clear and confirmed in many other portions of the Bible. God wants us to trust Him and not ourselves and all our efforts.

People who hoarded the bread for the next day either did not believe God would rain down manna in the morning as He promised, or they did not believe God would give them strength the next day to go collect it. Either way, they did not trust the Living Lord. My friends, He wants us to know that He will be there tomorrow morning with all the provision of food, strength, and sanity that we need. We are not to work by our own efforts to devise a way to survive; relationship with and trust in God are our only ways to survive.

Jesus confirms this emphasis in the Gospel of John, Chapter 6. When large crowds cross a body of water to be with Him, He does not employ “seeker-friendly” techniques. He chastises the crowd by informing them that they have followed Him for the wrong reasons; they have only come because their hungry stomachs had been filled when He had performed the miracle with the fish and bread. Jesus proceeds to tell the crowd, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven” (John 6:51a).

The crowd was into following Jesus because of His miracles that satisfied their fleshly desires. The people even brought up the miracle of manna in the wilderness of which we have been speaking (John 6:31). But Jesus was sure to emphasize that though the recipients of this manna had eaten it, they still died an earthly death. The physical manna was not the key. The key is trust in the God who gives the manna.

Jesus told the crowd He is the Living Bread. He is letting us know that we should trust the one who never sleeps, never gets ill, never gives up, and never dies. God is alive. God will be there in the morning when we awake to give to us everything we need to live the next day. Do not mistrust Him by trying on your own to make things work and trying to ensure your own destiny. Jesus is alive. If we trust Him, He will provide – one moment at a time.

Be sure of this, any plans or efforts employed outside of pure trust in Him will produce repulsive results, similar to the manna teeming with maggots. However, the person who trusts in the Living God – and follows His instructions by faith – will see provision at all times.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day. . .'” – Exodus 16:4 (NASB)

Sweet Waters, Sweet Life

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Following the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, God’s people travelled into the wilderness. After three long days, they had still found no water. The only refreshment discovered had been the waters of Marah, which were bitter – too bitter to drink. As thirsty people would, the Israelites complained and asked their leader, Moses, how their thirst might now possibly be quenched. Moses knew exactly what to do; he cried out to God. After all, the Savior who divided the sea that his people might cross on dry ground could surely now lead them to water.

And God did provide. However, the Lord did not take them to a new place for sustenance. Rather, he transformed the old place. God showed Moses a tree. Moses threw that tree into the bitter waters of Marah. Suddenly, the formerly unpalatable water became sweet. Thirst was quenched, and life could be lived.

The peculiar fashion in which our timeless God worked for His thirsty people thousands of years ago indicates the way in which He now works for us. When we find life bitter and intolerable, God points to a tree to make life sweet and livable.

Who of us can swallow the distress of a guilty conscience? Who of us can live vigorously while dying of thirst for peace with a holy God? Who of us can tolerate the difficulty and disaster of life without assurance that we will someday know joy unhindered? Who of us can find the sweetness of life while the bitterness of guilt gnaws at our core? None can. Not one.

God points to the tree, the tree of Calvary. He bids us throw that tree into the mess and anguish of our sin. When that tree touches my soul, the dilemma is solved because the anguish of my sin is placed square on Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 9:14 (NASB) proclaims, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” The blood of Jesus shed on the tree of Calvary is placed into my life to make all things well. With a clean conscience is the only way to live a sweet life.

Our lives can be transformed so that we may live in peace, just as the water of Marah could be made right to drink. God transformed the water by throwing a tree into the mix. He transforms our lives by presenting the tree of Calvary to the horror of our sin, thereby neutralizing sin’s effect with the sacrifice of His Son. What formerly seemed intolerable – our guilt-ridden life – is now a true delight.

“When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” Then he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.” – Exodus 15:23-25a

Take the Long View

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The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He. – Deuteronomy 32:4 (NASB)

What bold words Moses speaks forth in his declaration of the supreme goodness of God. The leader of renown assesses God after many years of living and serving, and Moses concludes that God’s work is perfect. As we ponder the leader’s reflection, let me remind you of a few elements of Moses’ life: He was hidden in a basket on the Nile River because of Pharoah’s edict that he and other Hebrew boys be murdered, he was raised in a foreign home, he bore the realization that he was separated from his people, he risked his life and comfort to identify with the people of God, he grappled with his murder of an Egyptian, he lived in obscurity for forty years in Midian, he was asked to help deliver the Israelites despite personal weaknesses, he endured the increased misery of the Israelites when he first approached Pharoah with God’s commands, he believed God through the plagues and death of the firstborn, he faced the dilemma of standing between the Red Sea and the approaching Egyptians, he led a complaining people through the wilderness forty years, and – most of all – he sustained personal devastation when denied entry to the Promised Land because of his own disobedience when he struck a rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded.

The bottom line is that Moses withstood grave disappointment at many instances of his life, and he suffered under baffling circumstances at many points. Were the “snapshot” view of things the final answer, Moses may not have declared his unwavering confidence in God’s inability to ever do wrong.

Despite the seemingly intolerable hardship at many turns along the road of life, Moses proclaimed, “His work is perfect.” Perfect here in the Hebrew means “complete, whole, healthful, having integrity.” Moses learned a vital key with God: take the long view. We may not apprehend the purpose of any particular difficulty or heartbreak, but we realize that God completes the picture of every righteous person’s life. He commands that all of life – even the grueling parts – function to fulfill a work in us that results in what is best, what is sound, what is fit.

Speaking of a long view, I stand amazed that Moses declares the complete justice of God even though he knew that he had been denied entrance to the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 3:23-27 makes clear that Moses sought God’s restoration and begged for entrance to Canaan. God denied him. And yet – with valor that inspires – Moses pronounces the faithfulness of God and the perfection of His work.

How does Moses’ broken heart exude such a hope? He has worked for God all his days and now is stopped at the threshold of a life dream. Or was he? All of Moses’ contemporaries who crossed over into the Promised Land died. Despite their entrance to Canaan; they faced enemies, difficulties, illnesses, and every other plight of humanity. The earthly Promised Land is not the Promised Land; it is not the ultimate dream.

Hebrews 11:13-16 says that great men and women of God have died in faith, without receiving the promises. They welcomed the promises from a distance. They believed and confessed that their true home is a heavenly home. Moses is in this category of unbelievable believers who stood on a hill overlooking the earthly Promised Land and knew for a fact that he would enter the Promised Land – the heavenly one!

Some will accuse people like me of using Heaven as a crutch. They might say that Heaven is not an answer to the turmoil we face in this world. I believe God has an infinite future to correct all wrongs and fill all dreams to an infinite depth. In Hebrews 11:16, we are informed that God is not ashamed to be called our God when and if we desire a heavenly city. For God, the heavenly Promised Land is not “pie in the sky” stuff. To the Maker of all reality, Heaven is the most real and the most desired. He prides Himself in those of us who, like Moses, truly believe that our deepest answers await us.

Let us announce, as Moses did, that God’s work is perfect. Despite anything we face, He does no wrong. Moreover, He has prepared a city for us!

Not a Hoof Left Behind

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“Therefore, our livestock too shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we shall take some of them to serve the LORD our God. And until we arrive there, we ourselves do not know with what we shall serve the LORD.” – Exodus 10:26 (NASB)

There exists nothing that is off limits to God. I do not mean just the general stuff of the universe; I mean the very things of our own lives. Everything – absolutely everything – must be yielded to the Lord if we hope to walk in His freedom.

Who knows what God will require of us? The one thing that is certain is that He expects our willingness to give to Him anything. Therefore, at all times we must stand ready to hand over some particular component of our lives.

When exasperated by the plague of darkness over the land of Egypt, Pharaoh angrily told Moses to leave Egypt with all the people, including the Israelite children. However, Pharaoh stipulated that the Israelite flocks and herds be left behind. One can only imagine how tempting it might have been for Moses to take the offer and run, given the horror suffered by the enslaved Hebrew nation to that point. But Moses remembered God’s clear directive to leave the Egyptian land in order to worship the Lord. An exit at this point would be disobedient; a departure under these circumstances would prohibit Moses and the Hebrews from offering whatever sacrifice God would require.

Moses stands wholeheartedly before the God He trusts and proclaims to the powerful Egyptian ruler that he and his people will not leave without every last Israelite animal. Moses explains that God will require some of those animals as sacrifices; and because it is not currently known which ones, all must go with them.

How accurate a portrayal of the stance each Christian must have when it comes to the proper entrance to freedom! We do not yet know what God will require of us, so we will take everything with us to Him in anticipation of our sacrifice!

The final plague – the death of the firstborn – will bring the ultimate deliverance of the Israelite people. Ironically, that plague is brought on by Moses’ refusal to leave Egypt without every last animal. Had Moses given in and left without all of God’s requirements, what would have happened? In God’s scheme of things, the willingness to give it all precipitates the genuine freedom we gain because of the death – and resurrection – of Jesus.

Do not hold back. Know that God requires everything. Do not allow the difficulty of yielding any and all of your life to stop the Lord’s plan of deliverance for you. Let the words of trusting Moses resonate in your mind, “Not a hoof shall be left behind.”