Uncategorized

Waiting at the Red Sea

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14

trip-to-plymouth-041

One of my professors at Bible college once told me that the Christian life wasn’t hard to live, it was impossible. In each of our lives the Red Sea represents the place of impossibility. It is impossible for us to become Christians, impossible to grow in our faith and impossible to accomplish anything which God has called us to do – without the miraculous grace of God. But God in His miraculous grace has a process through which He operates. The story of Moses and the children of Israel leave us an encouraging example.

Maybe you are in an impossible situation or if one is looming on your horizon like a dark cloud. Just begin where all good journeys begin: at the beginning! The beginning is facing the Red Sea with the sound of your enemies at your back. It is quite natural to feel a sense of panic, but in that in that dark and lonely moment remind yourself that God Himself has led you to that shore.

The greatest fear we face is the fear of the unknown. We don’t know what will happen. We can’t imagine how our life will be if x, y or z happens. But God specializes in doing his best work when we don’t understand. Let your faith work in the same way that you welcome anesthesia before surgery. Your confidence doesn’t lie in your ability to direct the surgeon’s hands but in the knowledge that He is doing it all for your good.

You will never have a greater opportunity to grow in your trust towards God. Nothing is by chance in this battle you are in. You haven’t taken a wrong turn and this is not a dead end. In fact you are in exactly the right place in your walk. God has brought you to your own Red Sea. Stand strong with expectancy and you will discover what only God could imagine to do next!

Grace at the Hem of His Garment

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

 

And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment Matthew 9:20

There was only one hem on the garment of Christ. In fact when the soldiers went to divide his clothing they gambled for His outer garment because it was all on piece. The only hem available for the woman to touch was at the very lowest point of the robe of Jesus Christ.

img_4332

Like this woman in the crowd our own needs may have dominated our focus for years. Friends, family, holidays, and even her ability to enter a place or worship all were consumed by the power of her need – until that day. On that day as Jesus was passing by in the crowd a new found hope welled up in her heart. We are not told if she had listened to Jesus’ words herself or if she had simply believed what others had told her about him. What we do know is that the message she had heard about Jesus Christ was sufficient for her to throw off her reserve and by faith determine that she would do anything to get to Him. The power of her need was for that one single moment had no ability to prevent her from pressing through the busy crowd in order to fall to her knees and reach up and touch the hem of His robe.

The good news for us is that our invisible God gives us a visible point of contact but it may lie only in the lowest of places. Grace can always be found at the lowest place. When we are willing, when we are looking, when hearts are are humbled He will pass by and give us a small but visible connection to His invisible power and grace!

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble James 4:6

 

Walking With the Invisible God

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight 2 Corinthians 5:6-7

We walk with an invisible God on an invisible road to an invisible destination! What a totally insane thing it is to live by faith – and yet – God delights in exactly that. The apostle Peter puts this crazy walk of faith  in different words,

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory 1 Peter 1:8

Has your walk of faith today begun more like a trudge of faith? We all have days like that – and yet – God has chosen those times for us to have opportunity to know Him more. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to find a mysterious letter written from the future as happened in the film “The Lake House”? If you haven’t seen the film it has an odd twist of two people from different times who have never met yet through the letter box they come to know each other and fall in love. That is in some ways like our own mysterious love letter “The Bible”!

We would love to know more details –and yet- by God’s design we are given His word. It is our staircase to heaven, our river that runs from the throne room of God. The word of God is a light that shines in our dark place and it is our shelter from the storm. God’s word is a treasure hidden in a field and it is our pearl of greatest price. The more we don’t know or understand about how to live in the rat race and turmoil of our 2017 world, the more precious the riches of God’s eternal world become. I don’t understand this plan God has chosen and yes some days I am not sure how much I like not knowing and seeing in a more palpable way the things of heaven. -And yet- by faith I am walking with my invisible God on His invisible road to His invisible destination!

october-2012-086