Snapshots: Day 51

The Snapshot: “ If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” (Ex 6:12) So I shared with my friend and they rejected my words. Why would my neighbour, my boss, my teacher, listen to me? I suspect I have shared with people who are just not ready, but the Gospel is never wasted; they have heard. Perhaps if I pray and listen to the Lord to see who he puts on my heart or what he puts on my heart to say, it might be different. Moses had to speak to Pharaoh and be rebuffed at least ten times. Hmmmm! Lord, make me a light – somehow! – and give me opportunities and grace to persevere to glorify you.

Further Consideration: As I talk and listen to friends, I am left feeling that most of us feel quite inadequate ‘witnessing' to others. In the UK at least, we live in a land where ‘religion' has been marginalized but that doesn't mean that God is inactive in reaching out and drawing those He saw from the foundation of the world who would respond. Our culture appears hardened to the Gospel and yet the truths of the Gospel still provide the only answer for the problems and perils of mankind. Still the consequences of living contrary to God's design are increasingly obvious and even the world itself is beginning to see these things, whether it is to do with lives of many sexual partners, cohabitation, infidelity, use of pornography, over-drinking, or excessive social media use, it is still the same: we need the Gospel, we need to call people's attention to an alternative way, the way of God.

But then Peter comes to our aid: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Pet 3:15) Our starting point is seeking to be a blessing to the world around us so that just perhaps someone with a hungry heart is going to say, “Why are you like that? I want what you've got.” It is then, hopefully with grace and humility we share our testimony. It is a good practice to sit down and think out what you could say in such a situation, a testimony that you could share in say two or three minutes. If they want more, they will ask for it.

If you really want to step out of the boat and walk on water, watch for the times when people open up their hearts and share their worries. There are two levels of approach. First is to say, “Would you mind if I go away and pray about that for you?” and the second is, “Would you mind if I prayed for you right now?” Very, very rarely is it that people will say no. People may not be open to church and religion, but they invariably are open to prayer.

Snapshots: Day 52

The Snapshot: “your brother Aaron will be your prophet.” (Ex 7:1) Lord I am just not up to this. Yes you are. But I can't speak. That's OK, others can. So I don't have to speak for you? Oh you will eventually but in the meantime I've got someone to help you; you're not alone. What do you mean ‘eventually'? You will grow, you will change; don't be put off by your limitations today. Trust me for tomorrow. Work as part of my body and leave me to do the changing in you. Just make sure your heart is open to me, and the rest will follow. So I can sit in the background until you've been able to change me? I didn't say that. Step out and see what changes. Trust me for today and tomorrow. Right…….

Further Consideration: There are perhaps four things we need to highlight here. First, I am just like Moses at this time: weak, frail, feeling inadequate and struggling to cope with the things that still lurk from the past. The answer is, therefore, that just like Moses, the Lord is not put off by this. What follows is His answer. Second, if I am like Moses, I am going to change, and it won't be by trying harder, it will simply be by being obedient to the bit-by-bit leading of the Lord.

Circumstances will open up that I will step into, people will ask things of me, life will go on, and I will be changed and so the places where I am inadequate today will become fewer as He leads and teaches and equips me. Third, of course I am not God and I am not the whole body of Christ. We seem to have lost much of this concept in the church today, it seems. We desperately need to reclaim the truths of the body of Christ. I am but a part of this body and I am what I am because God has so gifted me.

I am not a miracle worker; I am not an evangelist. I would like to be but that is not what God has gifted me to be. Knowing who you are and knowing your own heart and the gifting God has put within you, enables us to step out in faith in our area, the area God puts before us, and have the confidence that He will use us in it. In the meantime, I will not stress that He uses you in some other sphere; indeed, I will rejoice in it.

Snapshots: Day 53

The Snapshot: “the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts.” (Ex 7:22) Once upon a time the Lord's wisdom came only through His church. Today that wisdom is seen on bookshop ‘self-help' shelves. Once upon a time, healing came only through the church; now it comes as well through medicine, hospitals and doctors, all God's provision. The Lord works to bless His world but there is one thing that the world cannot emulate – the real presence of God and a relationship with Him. We should have a greater wisdom, a greater power, a greater understanding, if we seek Him and that which the world has, as a copy, soon flounders, for without Him the Lord will not allow it to continue. Seek Him.

Further Consideration: We live in a world of immense knowledge and experience and I believe this fact undermines the confidence of many Christians who perhaps have never thought these things through. I addressed this when I wrote a series of meditation entitled, “Reaching into Redemption” in Part 7 “In Defense of the Faith” where I touched on the subjects of drowning in materialism, knowledge, unreality, and social media. The world is good at drowning us in these things.

I wonder what Moses felt like when he opened the way for God to perform the early judgments and the stupid magicians copied them and made the situation worse. God's power was being challenged. So there is the challenge then and today, is God's power big enough to out-power the enemy? Really even thinking like that suggests we have lost contact with the truth. Our God is the super designer-creator of everything we know. He knows about everything. His knowledge is unlimited and His power is unlimited.

I love the account found in Luke 5 of Peter's boat being used by Jesus and then Peter being scared out of his wits as he realises that the one in his boat not only knows more about fishing that he does, but he also appears to have the power to conjure up a massive shoal of fish where there were none!

Snapshots: Day 54

The Snapshot: “ I will make a distinction between my people and your people.” (Ex 8:23) Living in a land under the judgment of God (seen by the increasing folly and the destructive consequences) means the people of God have to experience the culture, the environment of judgment, but that does not mean we have to walk in the same way as the world around us and suffer the same consequences. The blessing of God is always on His obedient children. It often appears on those who are not His, but that is His grace which, for them, is always temporary and thus misleading (see 2 Pet 3:9) We ARE distinguished by our sonship and the presence of His Holy Spirit; may that distinction extend to include the blessings He can bring to obedience.

Further Consideration: When the Lord called Israel at Mount Sinai he declared, “ Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Ex 19:5,6) i.e. you will be a distinctive people, a people who will stand out from the rest of the world. The apostle Peter wrote to the church: “ you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pet 2:9) i.e. we likewise are a distinctive people who are to stand out from the rest of the world.

Now tragically large parts of the Church don't live like this and so it is often said, for example, that there are as many divorces in the Church as there outside it. This should not be. Not only do we have the resources that the world lacks to survive the rough and tumble of modern living but we are called to be a community of love who are there for one another who should know one another so well that we see the warning signs and are immediately there alongside to bring support, counsel and wisdom to enable tension resolution.

Back in Day 49 I cited, “ A man reaps what he sows.” (Gal 6:7) and considered various ways we can get it wrong and the consequences are clearly seen. In Day 51 I stated (and it bears repeating), ‘ Still the consequences of living contrary to God's design are increasingly obvious and even the world itself is beginning to see these things, whether it is to do with lives of many sexual partners, cohabitation, infidelity, use of pornography, over-drinking, or excessive social media use.' These things are clearly visible characteristics of life in the West today and we should be distinguished from the rest of world by NOT succumbing to them; we should be different.

Snapshots: Day 55

The Snapshot: “ Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord.” (Ex 8:30) Moses prayed to the Lord on Pharaoh's behalf and the Lord answered. We can pray blessings on our families or friends or whoever else is apparently showing interest, and the Lord will again and again answer, but that doesn't mean that that is the Lord's heart, just to hand out goodies. God wanted Pharaoh to surrender to Him; the Lord wants your family, friends or whoever else it might be, to surrender to Him. Full blessing and life transformation can only come to a truly surrendered life otherwise that person will still continue to have tendency to go in godless ways. Pray for surrender, for repentance, for that is the doorway to salvation, nothing less.

Further Consideration: It is so easy to have a religion that is there in the background, an add-on that you turn to on odd occasions, or remember when you ‘go to church' weekly, monthly, or annually. Yes, it is so easy to have this sort of approach to God who is ‘out there somewhere', and yet that is not the approach or reality that the Bible conveys. It is of a God who interacts with His world and wants to interact with His people.

And who are His people? They are those who have come to see and accept that Jesus is His Son and when Jesus died on the cross he then rose from the dead and later ascended back to heaven, and his death constitutes the punishment that is due to each one of us because of our sin. We can thus enter into sonship, a relationship with God whereby we see Him as Father, there for us, providing for us, and guiding us by His Spirit.

We are forgiven, cleansed, adopted as His children, and indwelt and empowered by His Holy Spirit. THIS is what a Christian is, not an occasional church goer, not someone with some fuzzy ideas about God.

But why am I saying all this? Because, as I said in the snapshot, when we pray for people and God blesses them, that is only half the picture. It's like giving someone a packet of sweets, whereas they could inherit the sweetshop.

A poor analogy but I hope you get the picture. Yes, God answered Moses on Pharaoh's behalf and gave him relief for the current plague but that didn't mean He was happy with Pharaoh. He wanted Pharaoh to come to his senses and bow his knee to God and let Israel go; that was the ultimate goal, and so Moses occasionally praying for him and seeing God answer merely gave Pharaoh another chance to repent. The apostle Peter knew this when he wrote, “he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Pet 3:9) If God delays judgment and even blesses temporarily, that is Him giving us a second chance. Take it!

Snapshots: Day 56

The Snapshot: “ Every firstborn son in Egypt will die.” What a monster, the blind atheist cries, a God who kills children. One child per family, let's be accurate, just one child, not the whole family as it could have been. When a foot suffers gangrene the surgeon rapidly cuts it off. What a monster! No, he saved the life. Our limitation is that we cannot comprehend the awfulness of the life of Egypt under Pharaoh an occult-driven monster, the fear-laden superstition that the people were in slavery to with all their ‘gods'. This is a God who has sought nine previous remedies, all of which have been rejected. This is a judgment of the last resort. Nothing else will work and the plague of fear will spread elsewhere unless checked. Thank God that in His mercy He doesn't destroy us all!

Further Consideration: Living with a capricious, hostile God? Imagine what it could be like. A God who made all of Creation and mankind, to create toys to play with, to taunt, to injure and hurt, a spiteful Being whose emotions run amok and when they do He bursts forth and drops a plague or two to wipe out a few thousand or perhaps a few hundred thousand, a God who mocks our puny efforts and constantly demeans us and slaps us down.

Or try another scenario. A judge who gives us the free will we know and experience and then says justice decrees (as it does) that wrongdoing ought to be punished. (We may reject this concept of justice until we personally are harmed and then suddenly it becomes very real). But He is a very just God and so small sins are punished with sickness and big sins are punished with death and He looks with judicial satisfaction as the sentences are applied.

How staggeringly different is the picture of God revealed through the Bible: a God who gave us an amazingly diverse world to enjoy and the senses to enjoy it, who gave us free will so we could choose our path through life, a God who offered love and friendship and when it was rejected, continued to pursue us with His love, a God who saw our failings and the demands of justice and who made provision for justice to be satisfied by His own eternal Son taking our punishment, a God who yearned for us to turn to Him to be able to receive all His goodness and live rather than let the consequences of sin wreak their havoc on our lives.

Snapshots: Day 57

The Snapshot: “ when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” (Ex 12:13) The most significant words in Exodus! Words that will eventually be applied to the Son of God. Judgment is coming, death will come and so it will only be the blood of a lamb that will stop the destroying angel of judgment. The Egyptians could have done this if they wanted to – and perhaps some did. It is open for anyone who sees their hopeless state and grasps for the straw – for usually we have to come to that state before we will grasp for that which God offers, summed up as ‘The Cross', the work of the Son of God dying in our place on the Cross. God doesn't want death, He wants repentance that opens the door to eternal life (see Ezek 18:23,32, 33:11).

Further Consideration: The grumblers, the crusading but limited in knowledge atheists tends to focus on two complaints: what is all this talk of the need for judgment and what is all this terrible talk about shedding blood.

The first complaint is usually made by those who either want to protect their own life from prying eyes that will reveal failures, or from those who refuse to consider the subject except in only the shallowest terms. But ‘justice' is that strange concept that we all have that wrongdoing has to be punished. Accepting the folly of relativistic thinking, many people say that right or wrong behaviour is only what appears in each unique circumstance until, that is, until they are confronted by abuse, violent attack, or theft in their own circumstances and suddenly they are baying for justice, demanding that action be taken to apprehend the offender and punish them. Strange that! No, justice demands that wrongdoing be dealt with, all wrongdoing.

The second complaint, about blood, fails to miss the point. Such blood is the sign that a life has been taken, a life that Charles Dickens so ably showed in ‘A Tale of Two Cities', was given as a substitute so that another could go free, one stepping in and taking the punishment for another.

Snapshots: Day 58

The Snapshot: “ When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised….” (Ex 12:25) The Exodus is not the main goal, judgment on Pharaoh is not the main goal, entering the Promised Land is. Coming to Christ, being saved by the blood of the Lamb (Jn 1:29), is not the end goal, your ongoing life is not the end goal – life with God in eternity in the new heaven and the new earth is. Do you see the three phases: saved, being saved, saved? You've come to Christ – you are saved. Now you are ‘being saved', the ongoing work of God in our lives while we are still on this earth. Both of the first two phases are essential to reach the final phase. Go for it! Never give up, persevere to the end. Each phase means losing your life to receive a new life. Each phase more wonderful.

Further Consideration: Jesus declared, “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Mt 10:39) There is this strange paradox in Jesus' teaching that in order to find life you must give up your life. Indeed the opposite is true as well: if you strive to find meaning in life by your own life, you will find you come up against a brick wall of meaninglessness, the terrible realization that of ourselves we are inadequate to bring meaning and purpose; it comes only through the knowledge of God.

Living for the moment or living in the moment as one popular fad from Eastern religion suggests, may bring awareness of the preciousness of the moment but it does not reveal the bigger picture of not only the whole of life but also of what follows it. There can be much speculation about what follows, but it can only be the claims of revelation that take us beyond the material world of the present.

Israel were just like us, getting so caught up in the present that they struggled to comprehend and then apprehend the whole concept of the next phase of their lives that God was giving them. Throughout the period of the plagues and then throughout the period of the wilderness wanderings, both before and after Sinai, they struggled to cope with the present and that struggle meant they needed reminding about their ultimate destiny, the Promised Land.

Snapshots: Day 59

The Snapshot: “And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt.” (Ex 12:51) When Moses first returned to his people after having been away for forty years, telling of God's mission to set them free, no doubt there was rejoicing, but then it turned to anger and loss of that hope. The truth is that Israel had to go through a waiting period, a period of immense upheaval and opposition from Pharaoh. But God had said He would deliver Israel from Egypt, and He did! The Bible speaks of God as faithful, true to Himself and always to His word. Today we have a New Testament full of God's promises. Never doubt them, never doubt God's ability to bring them to bear in your life, even if it takes time. Trust is waiting faithfully when you have not yet seen your answers.

Further Consideration: I am aware this truth has arisen in these notes more than once but it bears repeating. The fact is we live in a fallen world where often things go wrong and times pass before it seems they are righted but the bigger truth is that our Lord works in the midst of these fallen things. Often we cannot see this until later but it is true nevertheless.

When His word declares that He, “works for the good of those who love him ,” (Rom 8:28) within the bigger plans He has for us (Eph 2:10) this does mean because of, in the midst of, and despite, the difficulties that arise in this fallen world, He will be there working on our behalf. That is His side of the equation; ours is to believe it and remain faithful. We need this constant reminder, for life in this fallen world often either blinds or distracts us from the truth, another reason why we need to hear it spoken of again and again, whether it be in these notes or on a Sunday morning.

The accounts of Moses' early life, his flight and years of hiddenness, his call and return and role in challenging Pharaoh and then leading his people out, is a most remarkable story of man's failure and redemption that is underpinned by the wonderful love of God that calls a people and then a world to know Him so that we may receive of all the goodness that He has for us.

Snapshots: Day 60

The Snapshot: “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt.” (Ex 13:3) The Exodus from Egypt was amazing but subsequent history showed that Israel – in the midst of their daily trials – found it so easy to quickly forget the wonder of what the Lord had done. The Lord knows our propensity to forget – hence the Lord's Supper – but it is something that permeates throughout our Christian lives, this ability to forget the wonder of what we have heard, what we have seen, what we have experienced, and so again and again we need to hear the word of God, on Sundays, on special days, on special weeks, all times to learn new things, yes, but also to remind ourselves, refresh our memories, of the wonders of the Gospel that the enemy would have us forget. Be there, be refreshed.

Further Consideration: I wonder how many of us have experienced those sunshine, glorious days of revelation and Presence at a conference, Bible Week or something similar, a time of those amazing awareness of the Lord's presence and His goodness and blessing? And then we go back home and a week later it is like the sky falls on us and we are in thick, dank mist-like loneliness, where it has turned cold and dark with a feeling of isolation. It's never happened to you? Be blessed. But it is a common experience even if it is not so stark as I have suggested, and in such times it is very difficult to remember and hold on to the things we experienced in that hallowed time with the many others, who were celebrating and worshipping the Lord together.

Now it is just you, and the battle is on. Where is the Lord now? Where are the words that stir faith from that anointed preacher? He is still here and they are still true and we need to commemorate them. Is commemorate the right word? Yes, remember that time, those words, celebrate them, recount them and declare again – it happened, they are true, nothing has changed except the outward appearances. Back then the enemy was afar off; now he seems to have come near, so what?

The call is to ‘stand': “ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then.” (Eph 6:13,14) And what is a good way to ‘stand'? To celebrate, worship, praise, give thanks, commemorate the good things, rejoice in them, and as we do all this we remember them, anchor them, use them, and rise up on them, as the Lord enables. The Holy Spirit loves the truth and as we declare it and celebrate it, He draws near and lifts us up, for we have just grabbed hold of and held up high, reality, and He also delights in reality. Let's commemorate our deliverances!

Snapshots: Day 61

The Snapshot: “On that day tell your son.” (Ex 13:8) Israel were given a duty, not just to remember what had happened to them, but to pass it on to the next generation and so on. Testimony triumphs over the enemy (Rev 12:11), is the Gospel story in action, of lives transformed (Mt 24:14, Jn 5:36), and speaks of our experience of God (1 Cor 2:1, Psa 92:12-15, 1 Jn 1:1-3). It is one thing to teach the word of God to the next generation but it goes live in testimony when our children hear from our lips the wonder of our experiences – and of course that is the challenge, to ensure we have such a testimony to pass on. It is the reality of our faith that our children look for, not church going, not religiosity, but reality, God who has changed us and moved through us. Testimony!

Further Consideration: It is said – and rightly so – that each generation has to receive the Gospel for themselves, but that means that they must first hear it. God's instructions to Israel were that parent should convey the good news about God to their children. We very often offload that responsibility to children's workers in Sunday school, and rely on Children's Missions to bring the challenge, but that is doing just that, offloading responsibility.

When our three children were small we used to have a family time on our double bed. We found a book of daily readings and each day they would gather on the bed and I would read one of these readings and then my wife would pray, and as they grew older we encouraged them to pray. Yes, they went to Sunday School as well, but we took on the responsibility. As they grew older we bought a new set of daily Bible Reading notes for children and did these for a few months. This seemed to pall and so I took an old portable typewriter and typed up daily reading notes that required them to answer six simple questions about a short passage, then three questions that checked understanding and finally a prayer. I produced, and we used these for several weeks and I began to realise I had created a job for myself and so as we approached the end of the month, suggested we go back to the professionally produced notes. “Oh no, daddy,” they all cried, “these are much better.”

Thus I started a process that I have carried on and developed for approaching forty years, but the point is that children are not put off the Bible if we make it relevant and personal to them. It becomes the foundation for their faith. Yes, it did take me time and effort but I have never regretted it and I have benefitted from what they led me into virtually every day of my life since then. Reach into the Bible when your children are as young as possible, feed them with the truth and help transform the next generation.

Snapshots: Day 62

The Snapshot: “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him.” (Ex 13:19) Wow! Weird! No, because Joseph had made his people promise to take his bones back to Canaan when they returned. Yet that had been some four hundred years earlier, but time did not worry Joseph. God had warned Abraham it would take that long (Gen 15:13) and Joseph believed God. Moreover he realised something of the significance of being back in the Land, the Land of Promise, the land of future hope, the land of identity, so much so that he had to be there – even if it was just his bones! Wow, that is faith, that is understanding! That is a challenge to us. Do I see God's big picture, do I see my part in it, do I see how important it is that I be where He wants the action to be?

Further Consideration: ‘The Land' played a most significant part in the life and experience of Israel; it was the place of encounter with God, the place where God would bless His people. Today we, the vast majority of the Church – the Gentiles – do not have a physical land, (yes, Jewish Christians may still look to Israel as their homeland) and so for us the Bible speaks of our ‘land' as ‘the kingdom of God', a place, a location, an experience wherever God is manifest in and through us.

Perhaps ‘the kingdom' is another of those doctrines that needs emphasizing across the Church today. If instead of majoring on our different expressions of ‘church' we instead majored on the kingdom of God, we would stop being inward looking as we focus on ‘our' denomination. group or stream, and instead focus on working out the will of God that He desires for us today.

Abraham clearly heard God's word about the future of what would become a nation, and their taking possession of this land of Canaan in the centuries to come, and obviously passed that word on to Isaac who passed it on to Jacob who told his twelve sons about it. Joseph, through all his trials, became a man of God who understood the ways of God (some of which were clearly passed on by his elderly father, Jacob – remember the responsibility of parents we saw in the last study) and part of that understanding involved the significance of ‘the Land'.

When Joseph had others promise to take his bones back to the Land, he was allying himself with the declared will of God. What was amazing was that that promise was conveyed down the generations so that when they did eventually leave Egypt, they took Joseph's remains with them. Amazing! So the questions that must follow. Do we see the same significance in ‘the kingdom of God'? Do we put that kingdom – the will of God – at the head of our agenda? Do we work at this for the long-term goal of creating something real for future generations? Well?

Snapshots: Day 63

The Snapshot: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm.” (Ex 14:13) Israel are in a mess. The sea is before them and an angry and vengeful Pharaoh is coming behind them – and it's all God's fault! And Moses says, “Do not be afraid”? You've got to be joking! This is a scary situation. Just like being in a small boat on a capricious lake in a vicious storm, when God seems asleep (Lk 8:23). Why do we have crisis moments like this? Why is it that sometimes the guidance of God appears to be going pear-shaped? Just so that we can learn that He is still with us, is still in control, is still working out His purposes which will succeed. Father wants His kids to learn to trust Him for all these things, but it is a process, often a slow process. Grumble or grow, are the two choices. Choose well.

Further Consideration: I feel almost in despair at times over the Christian world. A member of the church rings me up to ask me to pray for members of their family who are in a mess. Not wanting to be discouraging I say I will pray but deep down I know the only meaningful prayer for these people who have been living godless and unrighteous lives is, “Lord, please save them.” Then and then only will they start putting their lives straight and peace, order and blessing will start to flow. Until then, we may ask God to bless them – and He might well do that – but all that means is He will stick on a plaster and they will carry on living godless and unrighteous lives and getting in a mess.

This is very different from the mess that Israel are in at the present point of our meandering through the Scriptures. They have just received an amazing deliverance and are on their way out of Egypt but the cause of their past slavery threatens them yet again. In fact the present threat is worse than they knew before because Pharaoh is now determined to kill them. I say it is different and yet in both cases the past needs putting to death.

Snapshots: Day 64

The Snapshot: “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the L ORD .” (Ex 15:1) Note three things. First, the word, ‘Then'. It followed and flowed out of deliverance. Second, ‘the Israelites sang'. Music on our lips is an expression of joy. Third, ‘to the LORD'. Not just an expression of joy but an expression of joyful thanks to the One who had delivered them. Are our songs in our weekly ‘worship times', expressions that flow out of a week of blessing, or simply a performance? Are they times of purposeful thankfulness to the Living God who is there with us, or simply a habit to be performed week by week? Such times thus become a challenge to the realities of my life. They are also a challenge to those who lead them. Reality or ritual? Spirit-filled or songs performed?

Further Consideration: I don't know if you have noticed it but happy people sing and unhappy people don't. Singing is an expression of what is going on inside. It is something we do and take for granted. It's a strange experience when you stop and think about it. Instead of just flat words (speech) melodious words (music) flows out of us. A definition of music is, “ vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” There it is – ‘expression of emotion'.

When Israel were delivered and Pharaoh and his army drowned so that all the threat of the past was removed, they sang a song. The other thing about songs is that they convey a message, whether it is “All you need is love,” or a full blown story or account as you find in this song: “ The Lord is a warrior;   the Lord is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army   he has hurled into the sea. (v.3,4) … The enemy boasted,   ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. But you blew with your breath,   and the sea covered them. They sank like lead   in the mighty waters.” (v.9,10)

This was a song of testimony that spoke of their plight and their deliverance at the hand of the Lord. It is also therefore, a song of praise. I suspect it must have been composed, written down and then sung by all the people but it is the spontaneous expression of the joy that flowed in Moses and Miriam (see later verses) which has now been passed on down to us.

Snapshots: Day 65

The Snapshot: “In the desert the whole community grumbled.” (Ex 16:2) A desert, a place of dryness, brings out the worst in us. How do we overcome that? Remember three things. First, the glory that got you here, the goodness of God that saved you out of ‘Egypt' (the world). Second, the duration of this desert experience; it is supposed to be temporary. Don't accept it as a permanent experience; expect and seek for better. Third, remember the goal, there is a better day ahead, a ‘Promised Land', in the days to come here on earth and in the promised eternity that is our inheritance. Don't let the enemy have cause to rejoice when he witnesses the children of God acting as less than those children. Bonus: fourth, remember who you are!

Further Consideration: Let's consider in some more detail the three ways of overcoming the negative feelings that can arrive when we are going through a ‘desert experience'. But's let's be honest first of all and acknowledge that such an experience is normal. The teaching that the various experiences of Israel also act as ‘types' of the experiences of believers, has us now in the Promised Land, a place where we inherit the goodness of the Lord and have to battle to remove the old inhabitants who still have a habit of rising up (e.g. anger?) Yet the truth is that even in the Promised Land Israel went through times of drought that made for desert-like conditions. Each of us will experience all of these things and, as we said above, they tend to bring out the worst in us – which is why the Lord allows them, so the work of sanctification can continue, a joint activity between Him and us.

So, first , remember where you came from, the facts of your new birth. That reminds us we are supernatural works of God and He is the One who now has plans and purposes for the long-term of our lives.

Second , this is a temporary experience and although it seems temporarily dry and barren, the Lord has not left you (declare the truth of Heb 13:5) and His grace is still available in this time of difficulty.

Third , the outworking of this time is a new day where we have learnt afresh the Lord's grace and goodness and have come through into a place where light and love flow again.

Snapshots: Day 66

The Snapshot: “If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt!” (Ex 16:3) As we said, the desert brings out the worst in us. Present trials as a Christian make us question what is going on. We don't know about the future, we only know about the present and the past, and we wrongly view that past. Was it really that bad back there? Would I have been better off not becoming a Christian? But He never intended for them to die by His hand back there in Egypt! How present pains and fears distort the truth. The truth is I was a mess back there. The truth is God offered me a straw to grab hold of, and I grabbed it and was transformed. I may not understand the present and how it may yet work out, but I need to remind myself of the realities of the past. Forgive us Lord when we lose it.

Further Consideration: This verse challenges us to think through more thoroughly what was the first of the means of overcoming in the previous study. Put most simply, it is be realistic about your past. Now that has various aspects. In line with what is going on here, don't play down what life used to be like before you came to Christ.

Now there is a danger that some of us should face, that of childhood conversions. I have heard various Christians who came to Christ as a child, almost bemoan the fact that they have not known a life of sin from which they were delivered; they do not appreciate the awfulness of the life without Christ because they have almost never known it. The answer just has to be, well be grateful for that!

But then there is the temptation the enemy lays before us when we are going through times (trials) to look at nearby non-Christians who appear to be sailing through life without the same difficulties we often appear to have. However, many live in a constant state of tension and stress, on the edge of constant hostility with their partners and kids, worrying about work, and often on the edge of depression. The truth is that they are living in a Christ-less existence where they have no one to turn to for help, no resource to draw upon, and no hope for the future. Grasp something of how terrible that is.

Snapshots: Day 67

The Snapshot: “there was no water for the people to drink.” (Ex 17:1) There is an experience, and subsequently a lesson, that occurs a number of times in Scripture. It is the case of running out of resources, and what makes it difficult, God is always involved. There was Abram and the Famine in the land (Gen 12:10), the land where God had sent him! Now there is this time in the desert on their travels being led by God. Then there is the feeding of the five thousand (Mt 14:15-17) in a remote place where Jesus had taken them. It's a lesson we keep on hearing: how will I respond? Grumble or ask God? Such times are designed to check our maturity, or lack of it, but it is a long-term, slow, process I have found.

Further Consideration: One of our biggest problems as Christians, I have noted, is with unrealistic expectations. We came to Christ and were told life would be wonderful from now on. It was – and then it wasn't. God is not a dispenser machine where we feed in prayers and get an automatic response straight away. That assumes, of course that we pray and so really there are three responses when the resources we are expecting run out.

First, sit and grumble. Second, pray and then sit and grumble. Third, pray and wait in trust keeping a right attitude towards God. So yes, as the Paul wrote, “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor 9:8) But here's the thing: that grace will come as God sees you need it, not as you think you need it.

So a human enemy seems to be prevailing against you, and you pray for triumph over them, that they will be brought down. But then the Spirit of God convicts you: pray for their blessing, offer the other cheek.

Or perhaps there is a delay in life and we pray with great authority it seems that this ‘stronghold' that obscures the way be brought down, and then the Spirit of God convicts you: wait patiently, ask for patience, then be ready to persevere.

Snapshots: Day 68

The Snapshot: “Amalekites came and attacked.” (Ex 17:8) We need to remember that the path the Lord leads us down, is always a path through this fallen world. It's not necessarily that He caused this obstacle (though He may have done) but more likely it's just how stuff works in this broken, defective and dysfunctional world because of the presence of sin. So yes, there almost certainly will be opposition somewhere along the way (more gentle than outright persecution - promised Jesus' followers - Jn 15:20) but two things to remember: first, He is still with us and is for us, and second, His grace is available to us to enable us to cope graciously (turn the other cheek and pray – Mt 5:39,44) Remember, Jesus way is not the world's way.

Further Consideration: So we considered in the previous study that in the Christian life not everything goes as we might expect, because it is God who is working out His perfect will and, as that involves it, it means Him working in and through me to change me.

But we've also just observed that He does this in the midst of – and often using – this fallen world and sometimes it also includes giving the enemy leeway to act against us. Now that is not because He wants to bring us down and destroy us; it is so that we learn more fully who we are and what are the resources available to us, and how to use them.

Imagine a game of football or rugby and your team is told there will not be any opposition. Initially you can't believe it but then as you come to play you realise all that is left is running up and down the field and there is no joy in that; in fact it soon becomes boring. Your coach says he wants you to learn something so you will do this for a week. At the end of the week you are good at running but no good at anything else. The fact that there was no opposition meant you didn't get stronger, tougher, smarter, you didn't practice the different plays. You didn't improve as players.

Snapshots: Day 69

The Snapshot: “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning.” (Ex: 17:11) Lord, why was it so important that Moses should have his hands up and that Aaron and Hur had to support him? This wasn't about prayer (although that is the channel) but authority. Moses held “the staff of God” (v.9) in his hands. As he held it up, he declared the authority of God over the situation. If we are to triumph in life, we need to be standing in the place of faith and obedience where we know we are standing as God's representatives, seeking His will, declaring it (in prayer) and doing all we can to bring it about, as members of His body playing our part, some fighting, some supporting, some speaking with authority. May it be so!

Further Consideration: So few, it seems in the modern church, know anything of ‘authority'. We don't like it over us because it sets boundaries, makes rules and even makes demands of us. We live in an age that disdains authority because so much of it has been misused, so when it comes to our own lives and to spiritual warfare we have little understanding.

Any authority I have comes from being ‘in Christ'. While I remain ‘in him' I am under his headship and he is Lord over all things and therefore when he speaks, it is to be done. If I speak at his bidding, it is to be done. This is authority and it mostly happens in prayer.

A centurion (see Mt 8:5-) who understood authority came to Jesus and spoke of the authority that Jesus had: “just say the word and my servant will be healed.” (v.8) The centurion had that authority himself from Rome so when he issued orders to his soldiers, they were followed. That is authority. It starts by being under authority, responsible to, answerable to, those with the position and the power. It means being available to them and doing their bidding so when you speak it is done otherwise your listeners will be in serious trouble, answerable to those who pass on the orders you communicate.

Snapshots: Day 70

The Snapshot: “Now Jethro…. heard of everything God had done for Moses” (Ex 18:1) Testimony is a powerful thing. It appears in so many ways in the Bible. What had been going on with Israel had echoed across the nearby nations, so even Jethro back in Midian had heard what his son-in-law had been doing. In verse 9 after he came, we read, “ Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel.” The priest of Midian had become a believer in Jehovah: “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” The Church today is called to bear testimony, not only by words, but by good deeds and by the miraculous, just as Israel were. Result? Belief changes, lives change. May it be so!

Further Consideration: Again and again the records show that others heard what was happening with Israel, what God was doing with them and through them. When Israel eventually came to Jericho, Rahab testified how they had heard what was happening and that created a fear in them.

Now I wonder what sort of responses there can be when the works of God are heard about. In Jesus' day they heard about what he was doing and then saw for themselves some of the things he was doing, but they rejected them. Those were the religious leaders, people who had agendas of their own. People with their own agendas, their own prejudices, and their own fears, so often reject the good news, for it seems too good or it threatens their word-view, their stance in life. Having read some of the crusading atheists of the early twenty-first century, their prejudices and maybe some of their origins are very obvious.

You can tell a lot about a person by the way their respond to good news. Seeing people amazingly healed should have created at least a measure of joy and thankfulness, but when those enemies of Jesus rejected him, they rejected the wonder of these things and revealed their own blindness. Tell an atheist how a person has been wonderfully saved, delivered and transformed and if they respond with negative derision, it is their heart that has just been revealed for its terrible poverty of spirit.

Snapshots: Day 71

The Snapshot: “ Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said” (Ex 18:24) I find this amazing. Moses is the great leader, the follower of Jehovah, the one who experiences intimacy with God, and yet he listens to this older man. The misguided believe that instant Internet access makes us wise because we can find out anything, which means that few express the humility that is described here, in listening to the wisdom of the aged. The arrogance that comes with ‘instant knowledge' bolsters pride and becomes a stumbling block to many so only the falls through the years will teach wisdom when the easier way had been rejected. How sad, how foolish. May we listen and learn from Moses and Jethro and short-cut the pain.

Further Consideration: This snapshot reveals a deception that is so wide and so prevalent today that it is not only seriously worrying but is tragic, the belief that “I am greater than my forebears because I know – I have all this information at my fingertips. I am wise.”

Deception! Wisdom comes either as a special gift from God or with the experience of years, experience that has involved failure, patience, perseverance, endurance. These are the things that form wisdom.

And then of course, “The fear of the Lord is beginning of wisdom.” A complete submission to God, a trust in His wisdom, His ways, His salvation, His word, His Holy Spirit. Again these are the things that go to form wisdom.

Wisdom also involves honour and respect for the aged, if for no other reason than they have been there, done it and survived. I come across aging church leaders who have endured and struggled and fought the battles of the years, some have large churches and large churches mean bigger problems, greater experience. These are men and women who have done things many of us don't even dream about, they have been beaten and bruised, and these are people who deserve our respect and honour.

I remember one leader, now passed on I believe, who used to say when he was young he would find a senior leader and try and be with them to learn whatever they had learned. That was wisdom. He knew that such a person had so much of value that quick searches of the Internet cannot bring up. Experience of life.