MOSES ON THE WAY TO MOUNT NEBO

Moses. Old. Experienced. He had heard God’s voice on numerous occasions…but he also heard – more often than he wanted to – the complaints, the murmuring, the grumbling of the rebellious, stiff-necked people he was chosen to lead. Moses had seen God’s glory! He knew the Lord face to face (Deut. 34:10)…but he also saw the spiritual corruption in the people’s hearts when he saw them worshiping the golden calf. Moses was a godly leader…but first he learned to follow his God who said “I will send you.” (Ex. 3:10). Moses was an encourager….but only because he trusted in the words of his faithful God: “I will certainly be with you” (Ex. 3:12). As a young man, Moses was overly enthusiastic and took justice into his own hands…as an older, experienced leader, we see a mellowed Moses, who learned to wait and trust God’s plan; but it took years.

However, in one foolish act of impulsive disobedience, Moses was denied entrance into the Promised Land. After striking the rock to get water when God instructed him to speak to it, Moses heard God’s sentence: “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” (Numbers 20:12) Moses was told that instead of entering the Promised Land, he would die on Mount Nebo.

Moses. Old. Experienced. He knew he messed up; he didn’t blame anyone. He didn’t pout, whine or wallow in self-pity. Moses understood that he would view the Promised Land from afar, but not enjoy it. Before he went up Mount Nebo, where God, in His mercy, allowed Moses to see the land of Canaan from afar off, he called one last assembly of God’s people. There he shared with them a song he had in his heart; a song of praise to God, who was faithful every step of the way. His song, in part, went like this:

“…for I proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.” (Deut.32:3,4)

Moses. Old Experienced. He couldn’t enter the Promised Land, yet his last words were words of praise. Then he went up Mount Nebo.

LEARNING TO “DO WITHOUT” IS GOOD

The year was 1954. There were six children in our family between 15 and 3 years of age when Dad was laid off at Firestone. Thankfully, he didn’t see it as the end; he saw it as a new beginning. Being tired of the daily grind in the “rubber shop”, Dad took a leap of faith and started his own business, “Pavkov Sand and Gravel”, doing grading and excavating. Times were tough as he built his reputation and clientele. Not only did he have to provide for himself and mom, plus six growing kids; he also had to pay his employee/s and was buying machinery for the business, very often covering the expenses of costly repairs on the machines. Dad worked hard, putting in long hours to pay the bills and meet all of our needs. Under these circumstances, we grew up learning that there were things that we could “do without”; that was good!

Looking back on those years, I can see that God used them to train me for the future. As Jorge and I raised our family of three children in Argentina, we saw lean times and often had to “do without”. Just like in my childhood, our life was simple and God always met our basic needs. By the generosity of many family members and friends (to whom we are forever grateful!), God showed us His faithfulness over and over. Our children also learned to “do without”; and that was good!

And now?… We can appreciate that He used all those years of training to get us where we are now. There were a lot of things that we “did without”, but God never failed us; we never had to beg. Because we’ve learned to “do without”, out of necessity, we are choosing to continuously apply that wise principle of frugality and simplicity to our living. We realize more and more that everything we have is a gift of God’s grace, and we can totally agree with the Psalmist who wrote: “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; and his descendants are blessed” (Psalm 37:25,26)…and THAT IS GOOD!

WHAT MOSES FORGOT

The last few months, a friend and I have been studying Exodus. That’s why the past few blogs have been about some things we’re learning. Here’s another one, and we have more to share!!

Moses was chosen by God to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land, and on a number of occasions leading up to their freedom, God laid out His plan and strategy to Moses. One of the recurring themes was the fact that God would Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let them go.  (Exodus 3:19; 4:21) After the first encounter that Moses and Aaron had with Pharaoh, he cracked down on the Israelite slaves even harder, confirming that his heart was, indeed, very inflexible. The people’s logical response to his intense severity was rebellion. The entire group that Moses was to lead to freedom was worse off than before; they were very angry with Moses and Aaron, and let them know it!

So Moses had some very big issues on his hands. His first and biggest problem was Pharaoh; the second was the people, and the third was that God didn’t deliver His people as He had promised. Moses complained to God: “For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.” (Exodus 5:23) Moses was so disgruntled with the situation, that he forgot a lot of the conversations he and God had leading up to that moment. He forgot:

• God’s compassion: “I heard their cry…I know their sorrows…I have seen the oppression of My people…He looked on their affliction.” (3:7, 4:31)
• God’s plan: “I have come down to deliver them.” (3:8)
• God’s presence: “I will certainly be with you.” (3:12; 4:12; 4:15)
• God’s person: “I AM…this is My name forever; the Lord God of your fathers.” (3:14-15)
• God’s power: shown in the miracles He did with the rod. (4:2-17)
• God’s provision: He provided Aaron as a spokesman for stuttering Moses. (4:11-16)
• God’s promise: “I WILL bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt…to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ((3:17)

Finally, after a very frustrated Moses vented, God assured him: “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh” (6:1). He patiently reminded him that He was in total control of the situation, and that His plan would be fulfilled “to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.” (6:6-13)

Aren’t we all a bit like Moses sometimes? Don’t we get overwhelmed by the situation at hand that seems to engulf us and fail to see who God is, what He is doing, and that He has a perfect plan He’s working on? Don’t we, too, whine and complain when we make our problems bigger than our God? God give us the grace to remember often that He does have a plan; He is compassionate; His presence is with us; His power can overcome any obstacle; His provision is our daily bread; His promises are true; and that he was – and forever will be – the great I AM! AMEN!

WHEN IT GETS WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER

“But I will harden his (Pharaoh’s) heart so that he will not let the people go.” (Exodus 4:21)

In God’s first conversation with Moses, He identified Himself as the God of his fathers, assuring Moses that His covenant with His people was still in effect. God saw their oppression in Egypt, knew their sorrows and heard their cry. Now the time had come to release them from their bondage and head towards the land flowing with milk and honey that He had promised Abram centuries earlier (Genesis 12:7; 15:12-21).

Among all the wonderful promises of deliverance that God gave Moses, there was a warning that wasn’t so encouraging; in fact, it was discouraging! …yet it was part of God’s plan. God said “But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go…I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go…and I will harden Pharaoh’s heart…Pharaoh will not heed you…” (Exodus 3:19; 4:21; 7:3,4) Just as God warned, when Pharaoh was presented with the request to let God’s people go, his heart was hardened. He increased the workload of the already-suffering Hebrew slaves and they were savagely beaten. When the officials went in to Pharaoh and he didn’t let up, they met with Moses and Aaron to vent. Moses, in turn, went straight to the Lord with his complaint: “Why…why?…You didn’t make good on Your promise. You didn’t deliver Your people at all.” (Exodus 5:22-23) Caught up in this difficult situation, it was hard for Moses to remember a few truths. Here are some truths that Moses did not remember.

1. God had a plan. His plan was to deliver His people.

2. God would keep His promise (Genesis 12:7)

3. God warned Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart.

While all that was true, at this point God assured Moses: “Now you shall see what I do to Pharaoh…I AM THE LORD” (6:1,2) God proceeded to reassure Moses with a series of “I WILL” promises:

• I WILL bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

• I WILL rescue you from their bondage.

• I WILL redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

• I WILL take you as My people.

• I WILL be your God.

• I WILL bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

• I WILL give it to you as a heritage.

God started and ended the conversation with “I AM THE LORD.” (Exodus 6:6-8) Things would get worse before they got better, but GOD was still the “I AM”, and He nestled a series of “I WILL!” promises between two “I AM” declarations to remind Moses Who the Promise Giver was.

God has a plan for our lives, too that He will fulfill. That plan is to take us to that place He’s preparing for us. (John 14:2) We also have a warning we must not forget. Jesus said that it would get worse before it gets better: “In the world you will have tribulation.” (John 16:33) Unfortunately, when things get tough for us, like Moses, we forget that warning; we get discouraged and whine “Why?…why?…” That is when we need to hold on to the “I WILL” promises of the Great I AM who assured us that He will be with us every day until our final breath. One day we’ll look back and say, “Yes, it did get worse before it got better…but God – the Great “I AM” –  was with me even in the worst situation, and He kept every ”I WILL” that he promised!”

WHOSE BATTLE IS IT, ANYWAY?

“Whose battle is it, anyway?” Some of us have been in “battle” situations in the past and can testify of God’s faithfulness in fighting – and winning! – them for us. Praise God for those battles won! Others of us are facing fierce battles right now. The apostle Paul commands us in Ephesians chapter 6 to “be strong…put on the whole armor…stand…withstand…stand…stand…pray…be watchful…” When our minds and hearts are prepared and protected that way, God will fight the battle for us, and we can expect to be victorious! Searching through the Bible, I found that time and again when faced with a battle, it was God that fought it for His people. God never lost a battle. Look at this…

IT WASN’T DAVID’S BATTLE WITH GOLIATH! (1^st Samuel 17). David declared to the giant he was facing: “…the Lord does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord’s.”

IT WASN’T THE ISRAELITE’S BATTLE! (Exodus 14:13,14) Trapped between the Red Sea and the angry Egyptian army, Moses instructed the people: “Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

IT WASN’T JOSHUA’S BATTLE! When Jericho was conquered in Joshua chapter 6, it was God’s battle plan that they followed, and He brought down the city walls. Later, after a lifetime of seeing God win the battles, Joshua gave his farewell address to the people and reminded them that “…the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you.” (Joshua 23:10)

IT WASN’T NEHEMIAH’S BATTLE! (Nehemiah 4:20) “Our God will fight for us” was his declaration as the enemy schemed to stop the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.

We can read also of King Asa and the Syrian army (2^nd Chronicles 14:1-15); of Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1^st Kings 18); of King Jehoshaphat and the Moabites and Ammonites (2^nd Chronicles 20) and countless other cases where God fought the battles for His people. God always won!

So if you are caught in a raging battle today, remember: THE BATTLE IS GOD’S; His part is to fight it. Our part is to be appropriately prepared, stand firm and let Him do what He does best and that only He can do…win it!

THE CLOUD…THROUGHOUT ALL THEIR JOURNEYS

Reading in Exodus about God’s presence in the cloud, (see “Is God a Cloud?” posted April 4, 2011) I researched different passages about the pillar of cloud. Reading the last verse in Exodus, in awe of our faithful God, all I could whisper is “WOW!” Here are the thoughts that led me to that expression of praise…

At the beginning of their journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land, it is written that “He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.” (Ex. 13:22). The last verse of Exodus reads: “For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.” (Ex. 40:38)

What’s so amazing about that? God’s people miserably failed Him time and time again. They doubted Him; they fussed, complained and whined. They sinned and disobeyed Him. God even got so frustrated with them after the Golden Calf Incident that He would have destroyed them had it not been for Moses’ intercession. Yet in all of this, that cloud representing God’s presence was up there! It was within eyesight of every person, every day! God NEVER departed from them. He was with them “throughout all their journeys”, NOT because they deserved His presence, but because HE WAS FAITHFUL to His plan to get them to the Promised Land, and to be with them every step of the way.

Then I thought about my life. Like the wandering Israelites, I doubt, complain, sin, and disappoint God way too often. Even with all of my failures, because God is faithful to keep all of His promises, He is with me! In fact, the promise that Jesus made to His apostles in Matthew 28:20 is still valid and applicable to all of His followers:  “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” NOT because we deserve it, but because HE IS FAITHFUL to His plan. He will fulfill the promise of His presence with us “throughout all our journeys”, until we see Him face to face. Now isn’t that something to praise Him for??

DIALOGUE BETWEEN DOUBT AND TRUST

When Mr. Trust focuses on GOD, who He is and what HE promised, Mr. Doubt is totally squelched. He’s a loser. Listen to the following dialogue:

DOUBT: “I don’t know why this is happening to me…”
TRUST: “But God knows! He has a plan for me, and He will perfect it!” (Philippians 1:6)

DOUBT: “I sure can’t see any good that will come of this.”
TRUST: “But God is working everything for my good – to make me more like Christ.” (Romans 8:28)

DOUBT: “I’m afraid…”
TRUST: “But God is my strength!” (Psalm 18:1,32)

DOUBT: “I’ll never be able to do that; it’s way too hard!”
TRUST: “But God can do exceedingly, abundantly more than I can ask or think!” (Ephesians 3:20)

DOUBT: “My resources are so few…I don’t have enough…”
TRUST: “But God is the Maker and Owner of everything. His resources are limitless!” (Psalm 95:1-5)

DOUBT: “I just can’t go on anymore.”
TRUST: “But God gives me strength and grace!” (2^nd Corinthians 12:9)

DOUBT: “The future looks bad. Really bad.”
TRUST: “But God is with me, and promised never to leave me. EVER!” (Matthew 28:20)

GOD’S LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!

“For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:10

No doubt, everyone who loves God’s Word has a favorite verse. This is one of mine, because in it, God assures me that HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER. Even in the most extreme situation; in the greatest chaos, confusion and loss, God will never, EVER stop loving me! He will ALWAYS give me His peace, and surround me with His mercy!

I was looking through an old “quiet time” journal, and want to share with you the prayer of praise that I jotted down on April 3, 2004 after having written Isaiah 54:10 at the top of the page. It was the expression of my heart then, and it still is! Read it slowly, and praise God with me!

“Lord, I praise You and thank You that Your kindness, peace and mercy will NEVER depart from me – no matter what!!
            Even if I can’t understand what’s going on,
                        Your kindness, peace and mercy will be with me!
            Even if I can’t hear You,
                        Your kindness, peace and mercy will be with me!
            Even when I can’t see the next step -
                        Your kindness, peace and mercy will be with me!
            Even until I see YOU face to face,
                        Your kindness, peace and mercy will be with me!
I praise You, Lord, for knowing that!
I praise You for being the God who NEVER breaks a promise!
I praise You because I can trust in You, the unchanging God.
I praise YOU because I can rest on Your promise that “YOUR LOVE ENDURES FOREVER”…forever…and ever! AMEN!

There is a beautiful song by Michael W. Smith titled “So Great” that reminds us over and over that God’s love endures forever. Click on the link and take a few minutes to listen to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZZ5CWrufNg

HIS TRUTH ENDURES TO ALL GENERATIONS

“For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations” Psalm 100:5

Something I remember most about my Mom was that she loved to read. In spite of that fact that she only had an eighth grade education, she was well read in the classics, and many other books. But because she loved the Lord, what she read most was her well-worn Bible. That means that it was very normal to see her in the big green chair in the living room, or by the dining room table with her Bible; reading and re-reading those passages that gave her so much wisdom, comfort, guidance and strength throughout her lifetime. Up until her last days, at 95 years of age, even with her mind dimmed by dementia and her sight diminished by macular degeneration, Mom would use a magnifying glass and read her large print Bible.

Happy Birthday, Denise!

Today is our oldest child Denise’s birthday. Please understand that I’m not bragging here, just standing in awe of what God was able to do in her life because HE is good, HIS mercy is everlasting and HIS truth endures to all generations…. Denise, who came into our lives 33 years ago, has become a wonderful lady. God has fashioned her into an intelligent, diligent, responsible, fun-loving, caring person. And as if that weren’t enough, she received Christ into her heart at a young age and has delighted in reading His Word ever since. When she was in Junior High and High School in Argentina, she would get up on her own before anyone in the house was up, fix her breakfast and retreat into her room where she would spend time reading her Bible, getting strength for the day. When she went off to college, she continued to do the same. Being a married working woman, she still is drawn to the Word as her source of daily wisdom and strength.

Remembering Mom, and thinking about Denise just confirms again how faithful God is. His truth DOES endure to all generations! It’s a proven fact in our family! Click on the link below and listen to this beautiful song and worship God because HE is good and HIS mercy endures forever, from generation to generation….  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAGZ8HmiWCM

WEEKLY BIBLE READING PLAN – Sept. 20-25: Knowing God Better (2)

MONDAY: Nehemiah 9:31. Reading this verse, we praise God because He is a God of _________ and ______________.

TUESDAY: Psalm 62:7. It’s reassuring to know that God is a _________________ for us!

WEDNESDAY: 2 Peter 3:9. Thankfully, our God is __________________ towards us!

THURSDAY: Jude 25. God alone is ________________________.

FRIDAY: John 3:16. Besides showing us His love for us in this verse, we understand that He is also a _____________________ God.

SATURDAY: 2 Corinthians 1:3. God is the Father of _______________ and the God of all ____________ .

BONUS: Revelation 4:8. Reading this verse carefully, we can find 3 important characteristics of God. He is _______________,  ______________________, and ________________________.