Bibledoorajar: Can God Be Limited?

     “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”

                                                                William Shakepeare

The time had arrived. It was God's intent to free his enslaved people---captives to be set free. And before him stands a man (Moses) giving all kinds of excuses as to why he is not the one to get the job done. Why God could have struck him and all his excuses dead in a minute! But instead God would not be limited by all the human reasons Moses gave to Him about his abilities. He listened patiently to all the difficulties Moses saw. Moses, once the young, lofty and quick to anger Egyptian prince, now wondered what ability he would have in the courts of Egypt. But God was quick to reassure him. HE would be with him. He not only would be with him, but He shared some of the mighty acts that He would be doing with Moses. And He told him that this would be a token unto Moses---that after the mighty acts that led to freedom of God's people were completed---he, Moses, would worship God there in that very place where they were talking. 

God's love for the captive, for Moses, would cover the multitude of sins and weaknesses that God had seen everyday in His people. His power would be with them. When they could not, He would. HE WOULD! What wonderful words. Yes, Shakespeare, there is great trouble within ourselves, but those of us who serve a Mighty Risen Savior have a powerful presence with us all the way. But we must see that great ability. As Jesus walked the land, there were many who wanted to follow Him, but when given the opportunity found all kinds of reasons why they could not proceed with Him. It is, after all, trust and obey. Do you believe He will go all the way with you and that one day you will worship Him face to face? Is, therefore, what is within in you, less of a limiting factor? 

            " Seeking You as a precious jewel

               Lord, to give up I'd be a fool
               You are my all in all."

                                                       Dennis Jernigan

Bibledoorajar: Moses, You, and the Glory of God

     When I was in Graduate School, my class was given an assignment of dissecting an autobiography of an individual in order to try and understand the life dynamics that led that particular person to impact society in the way that he did. It was a fruitful lesson, but fell short in explaining the man's totality of being in his latter days. Here we are today, trying to ferret out some of the things that impacted Moses, but we soon see that the forty years of Moses' life experiences in Midian are not enumerated very much. We know he worked as a shepherd, an occupation not well respected by many. We know that he married and lived among his wife's people. We know that life was pretty ordinary compared to that of the Egyptian palace from whence he came.
     So "average" was his existence that the reader wonders just how God would empower him to do what he must in the courts of Egypt. But there on the desert floor, we are made to understand. Moses would find himself in the presence of the Shekinah glory of God. He looked afar and saw a thorny bush burning. The interesting thing was that it was not being consumed. The fire did not go out.
He was compelled to go nearer; he was compelled to know more.
     It seems that for any of us, Moses, me, you, who want to serve our Lord, we must first find ourselves in the presence of the Shekinah--the glory of God. From this perspective--all of Him and none of us--do we find the empowerment to do what we are called to do. Just as the thorny bush did not go out, the crown of thorns does not diminish in our lives. We have been redeemed and empowered by Everlasting Grace. And so we sing...

            "Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go
           Anywhere He leads me in this world below...."
                                                             Jessie Pounds

Later, a chocolate heiress, Helen Cadbury, would forsake her fortune and become a humble servant of God. She wrote this verse to the hymn:

            "Anywhere with Jesus,
             Over land and sea,
            Telling souls in darkness of salvation free;
            Ready as He summons me to go or stay,
            Anywhere with Jesus when He points the way,"

And so it is, for those who have confronted the Shekinah---the thrice Holy God.

Bibledoorajar: Providence and Illumination

What in me is dark, illumine, what is low, raise and  support, that to the height of this great argument I will assert eternal Providence, and justify the ways of God to men.                                              John Milton Not everyone believes in the providence of God, but the Bible is very clear that God is at work in the lives of His servants and "arranges" life experiences to illuminate His will for their lives and to protect and raise the bar of their ethical living. To this end, He was quite aware when His selected, Moses,  fled the country of Egypt. Fleeing, he wound up in the land of Midian near seven shepherd girls who were having trouble with some ne'er-do-wells. Moses took all of the guys on by himself and won. This, of course, made quite an impression on the girls who were the daughters of Reuel. Reuel was also  impressed by the stranger's actions on behalf of his daughters so much that he sent them back to bring him home for some hospitality. This "coincidence" put Moses where God would leave him for quite a while. He even gained a wife out of the deal: Zipporah. In our family, we have a saying if we have complications some how. We say God knew what was best and prevented us from doing what we thought we were going to do. It makes sense to us to justify God's providence in our lives. How about you?  See Romans 8:28.