The Simple Life

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.”  Exodus 14:26   (ESV) Once again, Moses was put in a difficult position but only asked to do something he could do to solve the problem. The miraculous opening of the Red Sea gave the greatest army in the world an opportunity to chase down and defeat their victims.   I wonder what Moses and the people thought when they saw this mighty force on their heels.  I wonder what the pursuing soldiers thought as they rallied through the Red Sea or when Moses stood at the other end and began to stretch out his hand over the sea. Through acts of obedience to the Almighty, Moses defeated the greatest army of his day. In the end, the children of Israel knew God was their God and were convinced, at least for the moment, that He was trustworthy. The soldiers also knew God was God and unexpectedly met Hi...

Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.  Exodus 14:16 (ESV) God is asking Moses to do something he can do. God never asks us to do something we cannot do. He leaves the miracles to Himself. My job is to know and obey God's will, not to part any Red Seas or create world peace. What is God asking you to do today? What would stop you from doing it? https://www.podbean.com/relate365

When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." The Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward." Exodus  14: 10-15   I could give you many reasons to fear this situation, yet God said...

"For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever." Exodus 12: 23-24   God is not tolerant; He is patient. Sin will never rule, even though it is put up with for a time.   God had this last plague in mind that would stun Pharaoh so that he would give in for a moment. God indeed had demonstrated who He was, and this last plague would be about death, the blood of one to free another.   Those who got it would be fine; those who did not get it would not doubt that they made a mistake. Yet, this was not the final act of God in this chain of events.   God would allow the Jewish people to leave, with the spoils of the land and from the people they were slaves to, only to head out to one last epic moment.   As God directed,...

But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. Exodus 7: 22   Satan is good at what he does. He mimics power and authority. He has neither power nor authority, for he is always limited by the One who does.   Satan is not above mimicking God to fool you. If you emphasize healing instead of the Healer, the gift instead of the Giver, the comfort instead of the Comforter, you will be a prime candidate for deception.   Many call themselves Christians today who are easily swayed by the circumstances of life. They believe that comfort and accumulated wealth are the measures of significance and security. They are in for a surprise, as were the magicians and leaders of Egypt.   There will be a future for you, and it will be a surprise or a confirmation. Those who were and are deceived will be surprised. Those who knew and know the truth will be affirmed. This is one you...

Thus says the Lord, "By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood." Exodus 7: 17   Moses got it. "By this, you shall know that I am the Lord." He did not say, "It is about time you respected me or that you know I am right." Instead, He said, "You will know who God is when this is finished."   When you understand that this life is about revealing God to the nations, you can enjoy this life while looking forward to the next. On the other hand, if you ignore God and His ways, and keep focusing on yourself and how you fit in, you will have no potential for enjoyment and fear the next life.   For now, the choice is yours. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

"When Pharaoh says to you, 'Prove yourselves by working a miracle,' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.'" So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. Exodus 7: 9 - 11   Whoa! This is a challenging moment. God told Moses to throw the rod down, and it would turn into a snake to prove to Pharaoh that God spoke. Yet, God let the magicians do the same. If I was Moses, I would have looked up to God and said, "Are you kidding?"   I wonder why God allowed this. Maybe it was because Moses was too dependent on the hocus pocus and not dependent enough on the very word of God, and God wanted to show Him that His word was sufficient. But, on the other hand,...

Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all." Exodus  5: 22-23   Moses said, "God, I listened to you, and you let me down." But, like so much else in life, God was setting the stage for the final act. He was preparing the hearts of both those He was about to deliver and those from who they were getting delivered.   Perhaps some of the Jewish people had become too comfortable in Egypt. But, on the other hand, maybe all Egyptians had become accustomed to a diversity of gods, and would never abandon what they and their ancestors believed.   Whatever the case, God set the stage for a performance that the universe would watch. He, once again, was going to show, very clearly, who He is and always will be.   So often, we do everything we can to prevent God from setting the...

Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.'" But Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go……" Exodus 5:1-2   The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, "You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, 'Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.'" Exodus 5: 6-8   Often it gets harder before it gets easier. Understand that this is the way it is and deal with it.   Remember, in the end, God wins. So join in on what He is doing and what He is about, and never give in to chang...

And the Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go." Exodus 4: 21   God told Moses to listen to Him, to do what He said, and that it would not matter, for Pharaoh would not listen.   Imagine that assignment. "Go and do what I tell you; it will not work."   Well, in a pragmatic sense, it did not make sense unless you were privy to why we exist. We exist to glorify God, not ourselves. We live to show the world who He is, not for comfort, ease, and pleasure. We exist to ensure that all men get a chance to experience the mercy and grace of God.   As the Egyptian world was lost in a maze of gods, God would harden a heart and use one who would never desire to be used for this purpose. Just as Satan has been used to show us God's grace and power, Pharaoh was going to be used to disqualify the other gods as God and leave ...

But Moses said to the Lord," Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue." Then the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." But he said, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else." Exodus  4: 10-13   "Send someone else." It's the war cry of the confused, misguided, and discouraged. "Here am I; send me." It's the war cry of those who get it.   When God says something, He means it. When He gives us a direction, it is not about God sharing an opinion or an idea; it is God speaking.   So often, we forget that this life and the tasks God gives us are not about us, but about Him. God is qualified to tell us what we need to do and how we need to do it. We are fools to argue or assume that ...

Then Moses answered, "But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, 'The Lord did not appear to you.'" Exodus 4: 1   Moses knew the skepticism that he would face. He understood that those who do not know God cannot understand God's voice unless God intervenes.   Yet, I wonder if Moses answered the way he did because of his failures. What if he lived a life of duplicity while he was in Egypt? The Bible does not say this, and I do not want to teach this; I am just wondering. It seems so easy for us to be all things to all people in a way that allows us to blend in and be unremarkable.   Yet, when Jesus said we were salt and light, He spoke of a lifestyle that could not blend in and could not hide.   If I were asked to talk about God to a group of people who did not know God, I might have the same questions Moses did. It could be for various reasons, some good and some bad. If God asked you to talk to those you live with and work with...

“And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.' But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians." Exodus  3: 18-22   Impossible is not a problem for God; it's something in which He specializes. But, unfortunately, we, mankind as a whole, tend to try to reduce a...

Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' What shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I am has sent me to you.'" Exodus  3: 13-14   How would you describe God to someone? Would you be afraid to talk about Him because you have never taken an apologetics course?   It seems that God does not spend much time on apologetics. It was simple when He was asked how Moses should tell the people who sent Him. Tell them "I," "God," the "I Am," sent you.   If I was the owner of a business and you worked for me, and I gave you an assignment that involved providing direction to others, and you asked me what you should say to the other workers concerning your new authority, I would say, "Tell them that I said so."   It would be ...

Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." Exodus 3: 10   It is one thing to see a problem, and quite another to solve it. It seems easy to see what others are doing wrong or to criticize a government, church leadership, or public figure. However, seeing a problem is a considerable step to solving the problem.   Yet it seems that we often see the problem and want God to solve it, without using us in the process. We know that if God uses us, we will probably feel uneasy. We will probably be less comfortable today and have fewer resources. We will probably be ridiculed, misunderstood, hated, and even despised, just like Jesus was.   If life were about comfort, resources, being understood, and being liked, then we should avoid any personal investment in the problems of this world. But it is not about those things. It is about glorifying God or showing the world who He is.   Moses had to think that this assignmen...

Then the Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their suffering." Exodus 3:7   We have no secret life. God is everywhere and knows what you are doing, thinking, feeling, and desiring. If you are suffering for His sake, He sees it. If you suffer because of your self-centered choices, He sees it and knows how to reveal it to you.   Remember, God is not tolerant; He is patient. He is not random, but works intentionally and according to a divine plan and purpose. He is love, as He defines the term, so you can know that He acts with your best in mind.   There is a host of activity going on right now in the heavens that is just as real as the circumstances you are experiencing today. God sees, He hears, and He knows. If that does not give you rest and courage, you do not know Him. The answer to your dilemma is not to change the circumstance, but to spend time knowing God. If you d...

…and the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning; yet it was not consumed. Exodus 3: 2   The bush was burning but not consumed. God can use something but not use it up. Likewise, God can use a person and not use him up. Being tired is one thing; being consumed is quite another.   So often, we place the burdens of ministry and life on ourselves, even though we are not equipped to handle the weight that comes with it. We are the bush, the donkey, and the messenger--not the message. If God uses us for His work, He will sustain us for His glory. If we are consumed, it is because we have put our faith and hope in us, and not in Him.   God and Satan are quite different. Satan wants to use you and consume you. God wants to use you in a way that frees you while giving you significance and security https://www.podbean.com/relate365

One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, "Why do you strike your companion?" He answered, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid, and thought, "Surely the thing is known." When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well. Exodus  2:11-15   From the palace to the wilderness in one easy step. But Moses, somehow, never lost his heritage. Somehow, Moses knew where he was from and was aligning himself with his own people, regardless of the comfort he would need to abandon.   I i...

When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the riverbank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children." Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." So the girl went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took t...

And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. Exodus 1:21   Some people feared God. That's the way it should be. People have no power or authority over God. God is now God and will always be God. We are created, and He is the Creator. That means something.   God decided to use these midwives to accomplish His work. I do not know their names or history, yet God, once again, used some "nobodies" to become "somebodies" so that He could intervene and re-establish who He was and what He was about.   The rules throughout history have not changed. God still uses those who fear Him, and the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.   Please think of how often we believe we cannot solve a problem or fix a bad situation and we are right. We would fail if it were about us and our ability and goodness.   But, when things are about Him, all involved win.   What is it you fear today? How far will that fear get you? https://www.podbean.com/relate365

So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves. Exodus  1:13-14   Can you imagine what the people thought when the Egyptian authorities decided to abuse them more than they had already been abused? I suspect that many asked where God was in this situation. Some might have turned away from God in anger and bitterness. Due to their disappointment with God, some probably began to live a hopeless, Godless life.   Yet, there is no doubt that if one is disappointed with God, they do not know Him. If they are angry with God, they do not know Him. God is not random; He does not sit idly by and watch those He loves suffer. Since He has the power to do something and can do something, He will do something. But many times, as in this case, He is setting up the future to ensure that His name is known and His ...

Now there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, "Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land." Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. Exodus 1:8 -11   People with no recollection of the past can be dangerous, often forgetting or intentionally refusing to look at what has been, and therefore, missing out on what could be.   Joseph made an incredible impact on Egypt. He had to be a legend, one that every history teacher taught about in Egyptian schools. Yet, this king seemed to forget who he was and for what he stood.   Was it that the king forgot or that the descendants of Joseph were no longer distinct? Was it paganism or those who knew God that caused this to happen, o...