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Exodus 4:18 (NIV)  Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me go back to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.”  Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”   Moses would exercise authority over others, but first he had to submit himself to the authority of others (i.e., Jethro).  “Midian served as a graduate school for turning an outlawed son into the leader of a slave…

Exodus 4:15 (NIV)  “You shall speak to (Aaron) and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.”    “God deliberately chose a less gifted instrument (Moses) in preference to a more gifted one (Aaron), lest the instrument rely on its ability rather than on God.”*  There is a spiritual principle in play here.  God deliberately chooses men and women that the culture overlooks (I Cor. 1:27).  Jesus prayed:  “I…

Exodus 4:13-16 (NIV) (focus verse 13)  But Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”   Has the Lord ever led you to do something, and you resisted because you saw only obstacles and personal inability?  Maybe it was a call to go on a missions trip, or to care for a sick neighbor, or to have a small group in your home.  I remember when the Lord challenged me to go on a construction trip to…

Exodus 4:2-4 (focus verse 4) (NIV)  Then the LORD said to (Moses),” Reach out you hand and take (the snake) by the tail.”  So, Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.  “God trained Moses in instantaneous, unquestioning obedience to the divine command which obedience he rendered without paralyzing human rationalization and consequently causing modification or even elimination of response.”  How often do we hear the Lord’s instruction and…

Exodus 4:1-9 (focus verse 8a) (NIV)  Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second…” “Moses’  credentials were the manifestation of the supernatural as the seal of his commission and the attestation of his divine accreditation.”*  Fast forward to Acts and see how God credentialed the early church through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (and continues to do so today).  Signs and wonders when God…

Exodus 4:11-12 (NIV)  The Lord said to (Moses), “Who gave man his mouth?  Who makes him deaf or mute?  Who gives him sight or makes him blind?  Is it not I, the LORD?  Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”  When Moses objected to God’s call by pointing to his lack of eloquence and his inability to express himself adequately and fluently (“I am not eloquent” vs. 10), God responded by saying He…

Exodus 4:2 (NIV)  Then the LORD said to (Moses),  “What is that in your hand?” …   When Moses objected to God’s call by pointing to his lack of credentials (“they will not believe me” vs. 1) and his inability to convince others of his divine appointment, God responded by pointing to what Moses DID have (the staff).  God did not expect from Moses any more than he possessed, however ordinary and insignificant.  What about you and me?  There is…

Exodus 3:14-15  God said to Moses, “I Am who I Am.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites:  ‘I AM has sent me to you.”  God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’  This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”    When…

Exodus 3:12 (NIV)  And God said,  “I will be with you…”   When Moses objected to God’s call by stating his lack of qualifications (“Who am I?” vs. 11), God responded by assuring Moses of divine enablement through God’s Divine Presence.  The Presence of God was sufficient compensation for Moses’  inability.  When God presents you and me with an opportunity, do we wither and draw back?  Do we resist risk?  If so, we develop a heart stunted by lack of…

Exodus 3:11 (NIV) But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”   Acts 7:30 tells us that forty years in the desert had changed Moses from a  “somebody”  into a  “nobody”—unworthy of the honor and unequal to the task!  What a different perspective Moses now had—one that qualified Him to be full of God and empty of self as he stood before Pharoah to lead the people…

Exodus 3:1–4  (NIV) (focus verse 4)  When the Lord saw that he (Moses) had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”   Moses was busy  “with mundane matters when God met him unexpectedly and in absolute sovereignty.”  Moses’  response to this supernatural phenomenon was  “of critical importance, for had he failed to respond, God would have kept silent, gone His way, and left Moses alone.”  I wonder how many opportunities we miss because…

Exodus 3:5  “Do not come any closer,” God said.  “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”   God begins to reveal Himself to Moses.  He reveals His presence irrespective of the environment.  He reveals His holy nature, which keeps sinful man at a respectful distance.  He reveals His identity, the same God as that of the patriarchs with whom He was in a covenant relationship (2:24).  He reveals His compassion in that He…

Exodus 3:1 (NIV)  Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.   What a different place, far from the bustle and activity of Egypt!  It was the place where God prepared Moses in two ways.  First, by a revelation of Himself (3:1-10) and then in a revelation of His ways (3:11-4:17).  Why would we…

Exodus 2:15  When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.   God had to take Moses into the desert of Midian for several reasons.  First, to save him from Pharaoh’s wrath.  Second, to drain Moses of his self-sufficiency and teach him dependency upon the sufficiency of God.  How many of us need to learn that truth?  Third, God wanted to…

Acts 7:25 (NIV) Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.   Moses failed in his attempt to deliver God’s people, (when he went to the defense of the Israelite and avenged him by killing the Egyptian -vs. 24), because he acted in self-effort and the impetuosity of the flesh and not in reliance upon God.  God’s work must be done God’s way.  “All the knowledge and wisdom…

Hebrews 11:24-26 (focus verse 26)He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt…  “Moses chose to repudiate his identification with Pharaoh’s daughter in spite of the fact that he was obliged to her by gratitude and self-interest.  He chose to share in the afflictions of his people in preference to the sinful pleasures of Egypt.  He chose the reproach of Christ in preference to the honors of Pharaoh’s court.  He…

Exodus 2:22  (NIV)  Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying,  “I have become an alien in a foreign land.”   Exodus 23:9  (NIV)  “Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.”   Rev. Walter Beutler comments on these passages:  “Moses, in the school of divine providence as a stranger in a strange land, is taught understanding and compassion for the heart of a…

Exodus 2:15b  Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to Midian, where he sat down by a well.  In the middle of a dismal failure, in a state of extreme distress and perplexity, after having killed a man and fleeing to Midian for his life, Moses sat down at a well.  Ever made a serious, life-threatening, bad decision that took you far away from life as you knew it?  Moses did not know that God was watching and that divine providence…

Exodus 2:24a (NIV)  God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant…   God has a plan and a purpose.  He cares deeply about those who are under-resourced, under-valued, under-served, lost, and forgotten.  Do we care that much?  Do we notice them?  Do we have an emotional response to them?  Does our heart lead us to do something about it?  When have you been moved during your day to interrupt your busy agenda in order to respond to a need…

Exodus 2:10  Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son.  The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.”  The whole book of Exodus is a story of God miraculous work of  “lifting people out”  of places of death.  It is a book about redemption.  And redemption, we learn, is a bloody thing.  Our salvation was not easily gained.  Christ suffered…

Exodus 1:7 (NLT)  But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren.  In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.   In the middle of Israel’s bondage, God revealed Himself and His power as He multiplied and prospered Israel.  While the new king was intimidated by the fruitfulness of the Israelites and strategized ways to minimize and oppress them, God was at work multiplying them.  Isn’t that just like God!  Consider how…

[Mark 3:13]  Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to Him those He wanted, and they came to Him.  Before we go for Christ, we must come to Him (“Come now therefore, and I will send you” Ex. 3:10).  Fellowship with Christ takes precedence over service for Him.  Therefore, association comes before representation.  “Those who want to keep going in effectiveness must keep coming in devotedness; good speakers for God must be good hearers from God, therefore they must…

[Ephesians 4:16]  (NLT) He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.  As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.  (KJV – …the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth…)  What thing do you  “supply”?  What  “special work”  do you contribute that makes WEAG the remarkable church that it is?  What is your contribution?  Are you…

[I Corinthians 12:27]  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  Paul’s teaching on the importance of all the parts of the human body was a metaphor to help us understand the Body of Christ and the important role that each one of us has within it.  We tend to be a bit myopic when it comes to evaluating various roles in the Church.  Somehow people have come to believe that…

[Romans 1:1]  Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God…   Paul faced controversy over his apostleship since he did not walk with Jesus and learn from Him like the others.  Yet, He met the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus and had a definite call from the Lord to be a minister of the Gospel.  We all have our different experiences as followers of Jesus.  Some of…

[Luke 10:1]  After this the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He was about to go.   The literal meaning of the term  “apostle”  is  “one sent forth.”  Think of it:  Jesus’  strategy was to send out 72 forerunners into the towns He was planning to visit to let the folks know He was coming so they would be prepared for His arrival and ready to hear…

[John 15:16]  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit…   Jesus chooses us.  What a remarkable truth!  He wants us and values us and knows our unique giftedness; and He wants to use us for purposes larger than ourselves.  He wants to use us to make an eternal difference in the lives of the people in our realms of influence.  He wants us to be successful in it.  Who do…

[Isaiah 50:4]  The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.  The Lord wants to use you and me to speak words to weary souls that will sustain them.  He will give you those words early in the morning as He  “wakens my ear to listen like one being taught” (4b).  Have you experienced the still small voice of the Holy Spirit in the dawn’s early light as you sit before God…

[John 12:50b]  So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say. Even as Jesus spoke exactly what the Father told Him to say, the Holy Spirit wants to lead us in our conversations so we know what and how to speak about the Kingdom of God to the people around us: our spouse, children, friends, co-workers.  Our words should refresh, reassure, speak truth, restore, and mend.  How good are you at letting others speak?  Do…

[I John 2:27]  But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true.  For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true—it is not a lie.  This verse is NOT teaching us that we should not study God’s Word or listen to Bible teachers.  Reading this verse in context, we realize it is referring to the false teachers of that…

[Mark 1:22]  The people were amazed at His teaching, because He taught them as one who had authority…   The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to speak in Jesus’ name. Our “Power of Attorney” to act in His name has validity in Heaven. When we are living in sync with Holy Spirit leadership, remarkable things can happen: healings, miracles, divine discernment, wisdom, special faith, and more. The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead can be at…

[Mark 3:14-15]  (Jesus) appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.   The Holy Spirit equips us.  He gives us the necessary means to carry out our God-assigned tasks.  There is a great difference between God’s ways and thoughts and ours.  His are infinitely higher and superior to ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).  So living a Spirit-led life requires attention to the Kingdom of…

[Acts 1:4-5]  Once when (Jesus) was eating with (the disciples), He commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift He promised, as I told you before…in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.   It was on the 50th day after Easter that the apostles were praying together in the Upper Room and the Holy Spirit descended on them, just as Jesus predicted.  (This year Pentecost Sunday is being celebrated…

[Ephesians 6:10-11]  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  Satan’s goal is to wear you out. We get faint from the continual onslaught and begin craving for peace and rest and become tempted to make a truce with the world, the flesh, and the devil—but that only leads to abject surrender and total defeat. We have to willfully…

[Philippians 4:7]  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  You’ll know when you’ve been brought under a lie of Satan when:  1) you are restless (filled with negative and anxiety-inducing thoughts that he inspires);  or 2) you feel continuously unworthy and inadequate (that accusing voice in your ear constantly);  or 3) you feel exhausted and overwhelmed all the time and unable to find a place of peace and…

[John 8:44]  He (Satan) was a murdered from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.   Satan traps us in cycles of distraction, distortion and pain.  His lies prevent us from recognizing the truth.  As we incubate his lies, they grow into strongholds in our minds.  They build walls that prevent truth from saturating or…

[Matthew 6:27 NIV]  Which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?    Researchers say that 70% of our thoughts are negative: stress over work; stress over finances;  “Am I good enough?”;  thoughts of rejection; fears over not having enough money or food.  Sometimes we dwell on negative things that will never happen.  God wants us to find the True North of peace and confidence in our relationship with Him.   He is the true source…

[Romans 12:2]  Be not conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.  What we think is what we become.  Whatever we ponder upon and meditate upon shapes how we live, how we spend our money, and what we pursue.  We have old carnal ways of thinking about life—they are patterns of thinking that prevent us from thriving.  We get stuck…

[II Cor. 10:5b]  …and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.   By the end of this day, 300,000 thoughts will have passed through your mind!  Recent scientific studies reveal that 90% of them will be redundant.  How many will be unhealthy?  How many of them will be toxic?  How many will be rooted in false beliefs that are contrary to the Word of God?  Do we know how to sort through our thoughts, take them…

I Samuel 20:16 So Jonathan made a solemn pact with David saying, “May the Lord destroy all your enemies!”  And Jonathan made David reaffirm his vow of friendship again, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.   David and Jonathan were the best of friends; and their covenant commitment to care for one another’s families (whoever survived) signaled the deepest kind of friendship.  Jonathan saw David as a hero worthy of respect, and David saw Jonathan as trustworthy and…