Burning the Bridges to and Enslaving Past

Exodus 14:26-31

We need to recognize that the power to break with our past is not found in our personal strength but in the power of God. Moses was used as an instrument of God. He never thought that the sea ripped open and then crashed back together because of him personally. The Hebrew children recognized that they were freed from the Egyptian army by the Lord and they feared and believed in Him because of it. We need to recognize that our salvation and release from the bondage of sin comes from Jesus.

We know that the Israeli children were not weaklings. As slaves that were the workhorse of the Egyptian nation. But as an Army they would be no match for Pharaoh’s top men. As Christians we are not weaklings either. Yet, in our personal strength, we are no match to the attacks of Satan.

There were other routes by which Moses could’ve led the newly freed slaves out of Egypt. However, God had chosen to back them up against the sea. Through the events that would take place over the next few days they would witness the amazing power of God. Going through the sea would allow many of them fully sense freedom.

As the Egyptian army pursued the former slaves through the dry bed of the Red Sea they must have sensed the power of God. As Moses stretched out his hand and the sea went back to normal every Egyptian who had pursued Israel into the sea were destroyed. The Scripture testifies that not one who entered the chase survived.

Every witness knew that the victory had been completed by God. We need to know that God completes the victory for us also.

When we are freed from our past we need to remember several things.

1. Our sins were overpowered and destroyed by Jesus.

2. Not even one of our sins from our past remains.

3. The Lord is our salvation.

In response to those things we need to:

1. Recognize that Jesus has paid for our sins in full.

2. Have a proper respect for God.

3. Believe Him with all of our heart.

4. Worship Him.

Prayer: Lord, help us believe that the freedom we have is real and complete. Lead us to focus on You, the One who gives us victory, and live in the daily victory that You bring.

Understanding the Cost

Matthew 16:21-27

Peter is a powerful figure in Scripture. He is the only one who stepped out of the boat during the storm walk with Jesus on water. Unlike the others, Peter was swinging his sword when they came to arrest Jesus in the garden. Peter was compulsive. He had a strong desire to be with Jesus where ever He was no matter what the cost.

But that’s just it, Peter really didn’t understand the cost. Just like the others, Peter accepted the idea that the coming Messiah was to be a ruling King. He dreamed of position and power along with being a close friend and the chosen follower of Jesus. All of his hopes and expectations superseded any idea of cost.

Jesus laid out a new understanding of what it cost to follow the Messiah. Giving the picture of the cross was 180° opposed to Peter’s thinking. Peter clearly understood that the cross meant shame, rejection, suffering, heart ache, and ultimately death. Yet now Jesus, the one he recognized as the Son of God, was saying that to follow Him would cost giving up ourselves daily to be abandoned to the cross. All the personal wishes, hopes, desires, and positions, would be vacated for Jesus.

The ultimate desire for Peter and any true disciple of Jesus is to treasure Christ totally. In valuing the Lord we become oblivious to those things which we have to give up. Just as Jesus faced the cross joyfully because He could see beyond it, making Jesus Master of our life will allow us to see the joy of following Him as more desirable than the restrictiveness of our own dreams.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for allowing me to place my hope in You. I now abandon all of me so that I may pursue all of You. The cost has been counted and understood. I treasure You more than life itself.

Who I am in Jesus! I am Alive!

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin,

yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. Romans 8:10

　

Life and death, what a major difference between the two. Death - inactive, unproductive, non-responsive, decaying, separate, this is the picture of each of our lives before we come to know Jesus personally. In the pre-Christ stage we are enslaved and blinded by the evil one who laughs at our "joyful" existence in total darkness, oblivious to our own predicament. (Romans 6:11; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 2 Corinthians 4:4)

　

Jesus came to give us life. Not just any existence but intense, God filled, energetic life. In John 10:10 the Lord issues a declaration that is nearly impossible for any person to wrap their minds around. He states that He not only comes to give us life but life in abundance. The Greek word used for abundance has a meaning of supra (above and beyond) abundance and super (more than, superior to, greater) abundance. Wow!

　

The life which Jesus gives us opens the opportunity to live so far above what we envision. Our minds almost immediately reject the possibility as being impossible to achieve. Here is where we need to be reminded that what is impossible with us is totally and easily possible for God.

　

Through Jesus I am alive. I am no longer held captive by the chains of sin nor blinded by Satan and living in darkness. The Spirit of God now lives in me. Jesus, through His blood, quickened me. As I confessed my sins, He cleansed me and forgave me. He restored me to the proper relationship that God originally intended. He now calls me, His!

　

In Him I have life. I am active, functional, aware, sensitive, animated, and enthusiastic. In God I grow, produce, and operate fully as God’s child. My life is real and renewed daily. The Holy Spirit lives in me. No longer do I have to hope for life, I am Alive!

Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37; Acts 10:43; Romans 8:10; Ephesians 2:5; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 8:12; 1 John 1:9, 2:12; Revelation 1:5

　

Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me life. Give me the strength and joy of living it to the fullest.

Who is to Blame?

1 Corinthians 3:8(NASB) . . . each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

God has called us to live according to His Word and imitate Him. Our only task is to be obedient. Through our obedience we see many fruits, honoring worship, effective witness, deepening discipleship, healthy families, and fulfilled lives are just a few. However, we usually do not see these fruits in the amounts or ways that God intends.

We fail in obedience and are quick to give valid reasons. Our debt prevents us from tithing. It would be impossible to tithe, feed the family, keep a roof over our head, and get new tires on the car. Working two jobs cuts into our family time. So to increase our time with family we cut out Bible study, prayer time, and much of our involvement with church. Our spiritual gifts sit unused. We know that the preacher often encourages us to live according to the principles of the Bible - but who has time to figure that out. Ultimately, obedience is not something that we have time for.

Have you ever stopped to think of all the life shaping and blessings we miss out on by not being obedient? No matter what or whom we blame, we are the only person whom God holds responsible for being obedient to Him. He is going to hold us personally responsible.

Our reaction to God, much of the time, is to transfer the blame in an attempt to shift the responsibility. Blaming is not a new way to seek to avoid our obligation. The tactic has been around since the beginning.

Take a quick look at these.

• Adam blamed God and was cursed by sin and banned from the garden (Gen. 3:12-13).

• Eve blamed the serpent and received the same fate (Gen. 3:13).

• Sarai blamed Abraham for the plan to conceive Ishmael and divided a people (Gen. 16:2,5).

• Esau blamed Jacob for giving up his birthright and lost his leadership and inheritance (Gen 27:36).

• Aaron blamed the people for his golden calf and 3000 men died and a nation was punished (Ex. 32:22-24).

• Saul blamed the people for his disobedience and lost his kingdom (1 Sam. 15:20-21).

• Pilate blamed the people for his poor decision and Jesus was crucified (Matt. 27:24).

Each of these people had a personal duty to be obedient to the way God had set out before them. Their failures affected them scores around them, and generations to follow.

When we act irresponsibly, we are hurting ourselves and impacting the lives of others. Why not be the person who stops the cycle and reaps the rewards? God has and always will bless obedience.

Prayer: Lord, I no longer want to blame others or my circumstances. I want to ask forgiveness for my sin of irresponsibility and become a person of obedience.

The Anger Trap

Even though we are sincere, we are rarely righteous in our anger. The Bible cautions us to, “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26). However, in reviewing our lives we would be more likely to discover that we are usually sinfully angry. We even find ourselves in heated discussions sharing our anger about others with those we love just before bedtime. Our justification is that if we share it with others or sleep on it, somehow it can get better.

To cover ourselves we couch our anger in different forms. We clearly are the “good guys” and the other person is the “villain.” Although the ire is dressed to make us look good or even righteous, we find that the root of problem looks hideous. Undressed our wrath simply is seen as avoidance, grudges, jealousy, slander, and hatred, to name a few of the molds it would take. Often our families feel the brunt of the side effects of our inappropriate anger which is exhibited through irritability and frustration.

Scriptures point out that anger is a snare which traps us, instead of just a way to vent (Proverbs 22:24-25). Also, instead of being empowered by our rightful tirade, we become a person who is defenseless and insecure (Proverbs 25:28). Job expresses the deadliness of anger when he states, “For anger slays the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple” (Job 5:2). Ecclesiastes 7:9, cautions us not to rush into anger. And Jesus warns that our unrighteous anger puts us at risk for judgement (Matthew 5:22).

Both the Old and New Testaments encourage us to walk in a new way of thinking. They promote that we stop being angry, abandon our wrath, and allow God to be the ultimate judge. James 1:19 challenges us to be “slow to anger.” And Proverbs states that if we do become a person who is slow to become angry that we are among the great and mighty (Proverbs 14:29; 16:32).

As a person who has a relationship with Jesus we need to actively pursue putting anger out of our lives. We need to replace our anger with understanding, self control, and a gentle answer (Proverbs 14:29; 16:32; 15:1). The effectiveness of this will be determined by the intimacy that we have with Christ.

Prayer: Lord, allow me to grow closer to you each day, rely on Your judgements, and desire to be one who readily mends relationships and deals with items that could become elements of anger quickly.

Get Into the Game

Spectator or player, which one? What do I do with God's call for my personal involvement in His work? These questions disturb many people who are investigating God's will for their lives. But let’s examine our Lord's desire for our lives.

The most important question is, "What will I do with what I already know God wants out of my life?" God wants me to involved. Am I waiting until some better day or am I getting in the game? Many commit to go later and see their Christian walk in the future tense. Involvement in what our Lord asks of us has no prerequisites. Being wrapped up in God's plan does not require completing our intended education before we begin participating. He wants to use each of us now! Just as now is the acceptable day our salvation, today is the right time to begin taking action on God's game plan.

To get in the game we need to:

1. Imitate God. God has been vigorously winning over people to Himself since Adam and Eve fell. He inaugurated the call for a renewed relationship in the garden. Since then He has continually sought people out. 2 Peter 3:9 (NASB) reveals, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." Since God is always aware of the need for people to come to know Him we need to mirror Him. We need to intentionally seek out opportunities to lead others to a relationship with Christ Getting into the game and witnessing indicates our desire is in the same direction as God's.

2. Present ourselves to God. Romans..12:1 (NASB) states, "I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." The sacrifice God is wanting is our life. He calls for a seven day a week commitment As we work, study, and fellowship our life is to be a witness for Jesus. It encompasses giving ourselves to Him before and after graduating. The need for personal involvement begins the moment of God's entry into our lives. The coach tells the players what equipment to wear and its function. He also calls the plays to run. Tell the Lord right now that you want to give yourself to be used by Him. Our giving of our lives shows we are eager to execute the Coach's plan.

3. Act out our faith. Through James, God declares that, "...faith, if it has no works, is dead.." (2:17 NASB). Action proclaims our belief. Instead of just telling others of our great love for Jesus, show them! Without the acts of our conviction shouting loudly our true beliefs who would know the difference in our belief and that of the demons? Can we claim a call of the Lord on our lives and not perform it? An engineer who doesn't design, a teacher who doesn't teach, a preacher who doesn't preach; each one declares a call without validation. Just talking a good game doesn't make you a part of the team.

Ownership is revealed by action. Even while learning we are to act on His invitation to be personally involved in His work.

4. Remember God's active interest. We are not asked to go be involved in something God is not already doing. Clearly He is working to save all people. He equips us to make a difference in our world. Without a doubt He has called us to be involved with Him. 1 Pet 2:9 (NASB) says it best, "But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has caRed you out of darkness into His marvelous light." If you daim to be on the team get in the contest. There are no bench warmers in the game.

In the Great Commission Christ expresses that He will always be there for us. Claim that promise and pursue an active participation right now.

Prayer: Lord help me always to be actively involved in Your work. May my life be a reflection of who You are and reveal who wonderfully You love us.

Imitators

Ephesians 5:1-2(NASB) ¹Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; ²and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

As a child I remember times that I attempted to imitate my father. Every move he made I copied. While walking through the field I stretched to make my foot land where his did. My desire was to be just like him. Now years later I am told that I do a number of things just like my dad. Years of love and observation showed me a great way to live.

The same should be true of our heavenly Father. To imitate Him we need to sharpen the skills we use in copying someone else. We need to study closely every move and attempt to make it our own. When we are intent on following someone else so closely, distractions are not a problem because our focus is fixed. Many times we are stretched as we imitate God. He moves us to a deeper faith, love, joy, skill, assurance, quality, and on and on the list can go.

One of the greatest joys for us is that someday, someone will say, "You look just like your Father." To be recognized as an imitator of God is a wonderful compliment.

Prayer: God help me to observe you well. Teach me the little things that make me like You.