Bible Gateway link Chapter 16
The true bread from heaven….Well let’s take a look at the bread that God gave the Israelites.
When the bread first appeared, no one knew what it was; yet it was in fact life-giving bread right before their eyes.
When they gathered it, no matter if they gathered much, or just a little it was always enough for their family.
Each day they gathered bread for that day, any extra that they tried to save for themselves until the next day was not edible.
On the sixth day they gathered twice as much, and it kept until through the seventh, so that the people would not have to work on the seventh.
They people set aside a tenth of the bread in remembrance, and thanks.
Just like the Manna from heaven:
Christ came among the people, and they did not know whom he was, yet before their eyes he was the gateway to eternal life.
No matter how much of Christ you put in your life it will always be filling. From the time you accept him as your savior to the time you cross into eternity, as long as you are searching for the filling love of Christ you will always have enough.
Just like the Manna, you have to search for Christ daily; you can’t save up a large portion, and hope that it will “hold you over”. When you try to “stuff” yourself with Christ, or you try to horde Christ for yourself, you actually dim the life giving flame of Christ. You have to feed on the bread of Christ daily, and you have to share whatever you have left. Christ is not meant to be hoarded. We should be striving to share Christ with everyone, so that we all might give Glory to God.
While we all want to work hard to spread the good news of Christ, we must remember to rest. We should all take the seventh day and use it to magnify God in our lives. We work every day, and through out that day we might periodically stop to give God thanks, but some part of our mind will be pre-occupied with work. There is always the “task at hand” On the seventh day, we should set aside our daily tasks, and not only give God thanks, but take the time to receive all of the love and attention that he wants to give us. We often use Sunday as a day set aside to give to the Lord, but we should also remember to use that day to receive as well. Church is a great place to loudly voice your thanks, but most of all it is a gathering place for us to receive his message, his love, his grace, and his compassion. We should be leaving Church with more than we came with. Not less.
Lastly we should remember to give back in remembrance and thanks. Why should we not? Just like the bread for heaven, the Lord will always give us enough……it might not be as much as we think we need….but it will be enough. As a result there will always be enough to give back, we might not get that new golf club, or that new purse….but I digress.
Peace,
Brian
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Exodus 15
Bible Gateway link Chapter 15
God made the bitter water sweet. That is what God does after all. He takes things that are bitter, and takes people who are bitter, and he heals them, he restores them........to some degree he makes them sweet, at the very least he removes the bitterness. Does Christ not continue this for us all? People cry out for a drink in this world, there is water available, but it is bitter, it is hard to swallow, and it just leaves us thirsty for more. By following the instructions set forth, we all can have sweet water drink. John 4: 13Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Peace,
Brian
God made the bitter water sweet. That is what God does after all. He takes things that are bitter, and takes people who are bitter, and he heals them, he restores them........to some degree he makes them sweet, at the very least he removes the bitterness. Does Christ not continue this for us all? People cry out for a drink in this world, there is water available, but it is bitter, it is hard to swallow, and it just leaves us thirsty for more. By following the instructions set forth, we all can have sweet water drink. John 4: 13Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Peace,
Brian
Exodus 14
Bible Gateway link Chapter 14
Verse 14 reads, "the LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
I think we all have a story that can show a time where the Lord will fight for you! I spent ten years banging my head trying to climb the corporate ladder. I took the classes, made the luncheons, and played the game well. For all of my trying there always seemed to be a stumbling block. I never did make it to the top of the ladder, I was well on the way, and was fairly sure I was playing the game well enough to win. For no good reason, I ditched it all and moved to Austin. Even now I could not tell you exactly what I had on my mind, other than it "seemed like a good idea" My wife will tell you that I went crazy for a short period of time! Looking at where I am now, there is little doubt that the Lord gave me one of those gentle shoves that change the direction of your life forever. He had the answer, and it was not even a question I was asking at the time. Had that unexplained change of heart not happened I would not be writing this to you today. There is little doubt that I would still be stuck in the same rut banging my head against the same wall, so sure that I was on the right track. The Lord is always fighting for us, we need to talk less, and be silent more!
Verse 14 reads, "the LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
I think we all have a story that can show a time where the Lord will fight for you! I spent ten years banging my head trying to climb the corporate ladder. I took the classes, made the luncheons, and played the game well. For all of my trying there always seemed to be a stumbling block. I never did make it to the top of the ladder, I was well on the way, and was fairly sure I was playing the game well enough to win. For no good reason, I ditched it all and moved to Austin. Even now I could not tell you exactly what I had on my mind, other than it "seemed like a good idea" My wife will tell you that I went crazy for a short period of time! Looking at where I am now, there is little doubt that the Lord gave me one of those gentle shoves that change the direction of your life forever. He had the answer, and it was not even a question I was asking at the time. Had that unexplained change of heart not happened I would not be writing this to you today. There is little doubt that I would still be stuck in the same rut banging my head against the same wall, so sure that I was on the right track. The Lord is always fighting for us, we need to talk less, and be silent more!
Exodus 13
Bible Gateway link Chapter 13
This was not two different pillars, but one and the same. smoke by day, and fiery at night. Anyone that had seen fire during the day knows that the smoke can be so dense as to obscure the flames, while at night the flame comes through the smoke very clearly. The reason that I point out it is one and the same is because God never left them in the wilderness. He was with them at all times. God has always been with his people, just as he is with us today....everyday.
Yes I think we can all say that we might feel like we are wandering lost sometimes, and we all would love to have something as visible as a column of smoke out in front of us to show us the path! There are days that it might seem as we are in utter darkness, but take heart we are not. The Lord has replace the column of fiery smoke with the Holy spirit, it dwells in each of us, and guides us daily. As it reads in John 14: 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Peace,
Brian
This was not two different pillars, but one and the same. smoke by day, and fiery at night. Anyone that had seen fire during the day knows that the smoke can be so dense as to obscure the flames, while at night the flame comes through the smoke very clearly. The reason that I point out it is one and the same is because God never left them in the wilderness. He was with them at all times. God has always been with his people, just as he is with us today....everyday.
Yes I think we can all say that we might feel like we are wandering lost sometimes, and we all would love to have something as visible as a column of smoke out in front of us to show us the path! There are days that it might seem as we are in utter darkness, but take heart we are not. The Lord has replace the column of fiery smoke with the Holy spirit, it dwells in each of us, and guides us daily. As it reads in John 14: 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Peace,
Brian
Exodus 12
Bible Gateway link Chapter 12
There are many things that symbolize Christ. Here are the two that stand out for me. Let's just start with the Lamb itself. Christ is often referred to as the Lamb of God in the New Testament. Then of course the condition of the lamb. Not a blemish, spotless. I do not know if you have ever searched for a lamb that is spotless, but since reading the Bible, it is something I look for every time I am around a herd. (yes, I am a little bit of a redneck, so I see cattle, goats, sheep, and horses more often than others). It is hard to come by an animal without a blemish.....but every now and then one comes along.....Christ is our lamb without a blemish, he was spotless of sin, something that none of us will ever attain, and when reflecting on Christ as a spotless lamb it paints a clear picture of just how precious, unique, and perfect Christ is. Then we have the command that the lamb be a year old, and male. Well the male is obvious, but the lamb being a year shows that God did not want a young lamb, he wanted a lamb at it's best. Here again like Christ. Christ was sacrificed in the prime of his life, not as a child, not as a man in his twilight years, but as a man at his prime, just like a year old lamb.
Of course the blood of the lamb will deliver the Israelites form the angel of death, just as the blood of the lamb which is Jesus Christ will deliver us from our sins. The blood was to be sprinkled on to the sides and the top of the door. This would be the outward sign for the angel of death to pass over the house. This also to me indicates how we should live our lives in Christ. Our actions and our habits should be our outwards sign of our faith in the blood of Christ. I think this is one of the biggest challenges we face in our daily lives. It is easy to love the Lord on the inside, but letting it shine is the challenge! I like the way Henry puts it in his commentary "there is a back way to hell, but no back way into heaven." We have to go through the front gates, and it is my prayer that we will be identified a mile away by our actions!
Just as the Lord said in verse 13 "And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you" may we all find a way in our life to model our outward sign of Christ.
Peace,
Brian
There are many things that symbolize Christ. Here are the two that stand out for me. Let's just start with the Lamb itself. Christ is often referred to as the Lamb of God in the New Testament. Then of course the condition of the lamb. Not a blemish, spotless. I do not know if you have ever searched for a lamb that is spotless, but since reading the Bible, it is something I look for every time I am around a herd. (yes, I am a little bit of a redneck, so I see cattle, goats, sheep, and horses more often than others). It is hard to come by an animal without a blemish.....but every now and then one comes along.....Christ is our lamb without a blemish, he was spotless of sin, something that none of us will ever attain, and when reflecting on Christ as a spotless lamb it paints a clear picture of just how precious, unique, and perfect Christ is. Then we have the command that the lamb be a year old, and male. Well the male is obvious, but the lamb being a year shows that God did not want a young lamb, he wanted a lamb at it's best. Here again like Christ. Christ was sacrificed in the prime of his life, not as a child, not as a man in his twilight years, but as a man at his prime, just like a year old lamb.
Of course the blood of the lamb will deliver the Israelites form the angel of death, just as the blood of the lamb which is Jesus Christ will deliver us from our sins. The blood was to be sprinkled on to the sides and the top of the door. This would be the outward sign for the angel of death to pass over the house. This also to me indicates how we should live our lives in Christ. Our actions and our habits should be our outwards sign of our faith in the blood of Christ. I think this is one of the biggest challenges we face in our daily lives. It is easy to love the Lord on the inside, but letting it shine is the challenge! I like the way Henry puts it in his commentary "there is a back way to hell, but no back way into heaven." We have to go through the front gates, and it is my prayer that we will be identified a mile away by our actions!
Just as the Lord said in verse 13 "And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you" may we all find a way in our life to model our outward sign of Christ.
Peace,
Brian
Exodus 11
Bible Gateway link Chapter 11
The Lord is going to kill the first born of the land of Egypt. This plague will not go away, or will it be taken back. This one is for "keeps". AS I have said before hard hearts take require hard signs. God has given Pharaoh nine opportunities to bend, but Pharaoh's heart has remained hard. Each plague has been a little worse than the last. At this point there is nothing left to impact. Crops, animals, water, light, comfort. It has all been taken away, but this last show of God's might will be the striking blow. The Lord knows this of course and informs Moses that not only will Pharaoh let you go, but when I am done, Pharaoh is going to drive you away for good.
The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. The first born will be killed. THE FIRST BORN. think about that, every house has at least one first born, but what happened if the Father and Mother of the house were first born from there house? No matter, once the Lord was done, there would be a lot of death in the land of Egypt. Here again though I think this shows the Lord even at the height of his impatience (if I can use that term) He still shows compassion. yes there is relevance to the first born being killed, and I will get it to that over the next couple of days (well Monday, I am out for a few days), my point right now still is that the Lord did not kill everyone. HE could have, but he did not.
Pharaoh's heart might have remained hard, but his people's hearts were changing. the Israelites were finding favor among the Egyptians. I have to say, it just goes to show you, the everyday people usually get it well before the people in power do........HUMmmmm I guess some things never change.
Peace,
Brian
The Lord is going to kill the first born of the land of Egypt. This plague will not go away, or will it be taken back. This one is for "keeps". AS I have said before hard hearts take require hard signs. God has given Pharaoh nine opportunities to bend, but Pharaoh's heart has remained hard. Each plague has been a little worse than the last. At this point there is nothing left to impact. Crops, animals, water, light, comfort. It has all been taken away, but this last show of God's might will be the striking blow. The Lord knows this of course and informs Moses that not only will Pharaoh let you go, but when I am done, Pharaoh is going to drive you away for good.
The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. The first born will be killed. THE FIRST BORN. think about that, every house has at least one first born, but what happened if the Father and Mother of the house were first born from there house? No matter, once the Lord was done, there would be a lot of death in the land of Egypt. Here again though I think this shows the Lord even at the height of his impatience (if I can use that term) He still shows compassion. yes there is relevance to the first born being killed, and I will get it to that over the next couple of days (well Monday, I am out for a few days), my point right now still is that the Lord did not kill everyone. HE could have, but he did not.
Pharaoh's heart might have remained hard, but his people's hearts were changing. the Israelites were finding favor among the Egyptians. I have to say, it just goes to show you, the everyday people usually get it well before the people in power do........HUMmmmm I guess some things never change.
Peace,
Brian
Exodus 10
Bible Gateway link Chapter 10
Goshen had light....without God = nothing with God = everything.
This chapter can be summed up by saying, glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.
The Lord finally just lays it on the table for Pharaoh in verse three "how long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?" more to the point when will you realize that even the highest earthly kings will have to humble themselves to the Lord? God does not care about our position in life, we are all the same....equal in the eyes of God. To borrow a line from Bob Dylan "you're gonna have to serve somebody" No matter your station in life you choose daily just who you will serve. That answer is often decide by how willing you are to humble yourself before God.
In Pharaoh we see the typical man drunk with power. He is not just letting his world crash around him. Pharaoh is letting his city fall to ruin over his foolish pride. Even with his advisors begging, his pride will not allow him to submit.....poor Pharaoh, he still thinks he might be in control! It is no surprise that while Egypt is in darkness, Goshen is in light. Egypt lost its fields, and it's livestock, yet Goshen still has theirs. It is quite easy to see that with God in your life everything is available. The Israelites, even though they are slaves to the Pharaoh, have a better life than Egypt. No matter your station in life, with God your life is complete, without him, you have nothing.
As you read through these plagues it is important to recognize the magnitude of them. It is not just a hail storm, it is hail larger than had ever been seen, it was not a swarm of flies, or locusts; it turned the sky dark, it covered the face of the land. The one that drives it home for me is the darkness, darkness that can be felt, pitch darkness. Have you ever found yourself in that type of darkness? I was in a cavern once, the lights were turned off while we were deep in the earth. It was pitch dark. You could not see your hand if it was an inch in front of your face. I could not imagine living in that for three days. I was in it for less than 3 min. and that was well long enough. Despair, loneliness, fear, a general feeling of being totally lost, with no hope. Those are the feelings of the Godless. That is the feeling of being in pitch darkness. Those emotions sum up the spiritual state of Pharaoh. Pride can hold many feelings at bay, it can also destroy you a little bit each day, until one day you wake up and see Pharaoh in the mirror. We all bend a knee to God for one reason or another, it is my hope that we all do it for His glory, in our humbleness is where we find His strength.
Peace,
Brian
Goshen had light....without God = nothing with God = everything.
This chapter can be summed up by saying, glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.
The Lord finally just lays it on the table for Pharaoh in verse three "how long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?" more to the point when will you realize that even the highest earthly kings will have to humble themselves to the Lord? God does not care about our position in life, we are all the same....equal in the eyes of God. To borrow a line from Bob Dylan "you're gonna have to serve somebody" No matter your station in life you choose daily just who you will serve. That answer is often decide by how willing you are to humble yourself before God.
In Pharaoh we see the typical man drunk with power. He is not just letting his world crash around him. Pharaoh is letting his city fall to ruin over his foolish pride. Even with his advisors begging, his pride will not allow him to submit.....poor Pharaoh, he still thinks he might be in control! It is no surprise that while Egypt is in darkness, Goshen is in light. Egypt lost its fields, and it's livestock, yet Goshen still has theirs. It is quite easy to see that with God in your life everything is available. The Israelites, even though they are slaves to the Pharaoh, have a better life than Egypt. No matter your station in life, with God your life is complete, without him, you have nothing.
As you read through these plagues it is important to recognize the magnitude of them. It is not just a hail storm, it is hail larger than had ever been seen, it was not a swarm of flies, or locusts; it turned the sky dark, it covered the face of the land. The one that drives it home for me is the darkness, darkness that can be felt, pitch darkness. Have you ever found yourself in that type of darkness? I was in a cavern once, the lights were turned off while we were deep in the earth. It was pitch dark. You could not see your hand if it was an inch in front of your face. I could not imagine living in that for three days. I was in it for less than 3 min. and that was well long enough. Despair, loneliness, fear, a general feeling of being totally lost, with no hope. Those are the feelings of the Godless. That is the feeling of being in pitch darkness. Those emotions sum up the spiritual state of Pharaoh. Pride can hold many feelings at bay, it can also destroy you a little bit each day, until one day you wake up and see Pharaoh in the mirror. We all bend a knee to God for one reason or another, it is my hope that we all do it for His glory, in our humbleness is where we find His strength.
Peace,
Brian
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