MOSES

This morning Moses was the topic of the focus of my personal time with God. Why Moses? Because a thought went through my head that Moses was 40 years old (Acts 7:23) when he murdered the Egyptian guard and fled Egypt. Before that he had been raised by an Egyptian princess who had found him in the reeds in the river she where she was bathing with her attendants (Exodus 2). For 40 years Moses had been raised in the house of the Pharoah and taught their ways. Moses was the birth son of a Levite. 

Here’s my point. God chose a person who was an Israelite but raised in house of the Pharoah and “educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action”(Acts 7:22) to lead His people to the “promised land”. God chose Moses who had little contact with the Israelites that is evident in Scripture to become the greatest patriarch of Scripture. The Torah contains five chapters the Jews consider to be the “Law of Moses”. In our Bible, the first five books, are called the Book of Moses. Moses, at 80 years old, was chosen by God to lead His people out of slavery into freedom. 

God chose a person with a speech impediment (Exodus 4:10), a foreigner (Exodus 2:22), “educated in the all the wisdom of the Egyptians” to perform one of the greatest acts of faith. This further fortifies the truth that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Is God asking you to do a seemingly impossible task or are you facing a seemingly insurmountable situation, then I hope this aids you in becoming a victor not a victim.

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Words of encouragement taken straight from Scripture. They are from Romans 8:35-39 (NIV):

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. For i am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And from 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV):

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

SHOW ME!!

For many years I lived in Kansas and Missouri. The state motto of Missouri is “Show Me”. In my study today, I saw once again how the people of today are not any different than the people in Jesus’ time. I’m no different than the people of Jesus’ time.
As Jesus was hanging on the cross, the people cried out their insults: “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days’, save yourself! Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God! In the same way, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders mocked him ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him!” (Matthew 27: 39-43, NIV).
Too many times, ones have said to me, “If there is a God, He wouldn’t let small babies die!” “If there is a God, He wouldn’t allow ________!” (You fill in the blank) Unfortunately, if I attempted to fill in the blank, you would lose interest before getting to the end of the many ways of answering.  Am I not saying “show me” when I say I don’t understand why God allows: the shootings in churches, the cars or trucks running into crowds of people, the massacres of innocent people because they are Christians,.... Again, the list can go on ad infinitum.
Oh, how quickly I forget the warning the Apostle Peter gives us, “that our adversary prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1Peter 5:8, ESV). How many remain lost because they want Jesus to prove Himself? The more personal question for me is, how many remain lost because I’m afraid to speak up or am I hindering another believer’s growth by remaining silent?

SHAKE IT OFF

This is one of the teachings Jesus gave his disciples as He was preparing them to go off on their own “to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness”. Put simply, to minister to others. He knew the disciples would not be accepted in every town or house they asked to stay; so, He gave them this simple instruction, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and SHAKE THE DUST OFF YOUR FEET” (my emphasis). Shake off the rejection, don’t hang on to it, don’t keep re-hashing it. SHAKE IT OFF, MOVE ON, KEEP DOING THE TASK I ASK OF YOU. This instruction is as good today as it was then. What a good reminder not to allow rejection to make me a victim or give me a victim mentality. 

When I hear this instruction, I picture myself rubbing the sand of my feet before getting into the car when leaving the beach. Once the sand is gone, I’d put on my shoe and go on about my business never thinking about it again.  Not a one of the disciples returned from their trip complaining about being rejected. Rather they returned filled with joy.

MY AWAKENING

It has been five months since I’ve been here and many lessons have been learned. The strongest one is OUR GOD DOES NOT CHANGE. He may add but He does not subtract. God has done that with me and I’m sure its a lesson learned by many of you. The tone of this blog is going to change from devotionals to observations or things I’ve learned in my time with Him.
While reading the parable of the sower in Matthew, I was moved to check out my old blog site, www.faithfultraveler.wordpress.com to see if there had been any activity on it since starting this one. There had been some but only slightly causing me to think, “Well, this just proves I’m right in not writing anymore”.
Earlier in my time with God, I had watched a video study that focusing on  the Christian based store Hobby Lobby and the family who owns it. During one of the episodes, one of David Green’s family members was faced with a situation where one of the managers during a training session gave her testimony and basically did an “altar call”. Immediately, being legal counsel for Hobby Lobby, he thought of all the legal implications and costs that could be incurred by this incident and if it was repeated. Alarmed, he called a meeting with David and some executives of the company and explained the situation. David listened intently as the legal counsel laid out his concerns. When the legal counsel was finished, David asked him how many had accepted Christ as a result of this situation and he responded 11. David looked at him and said, “Let me ask you a question, what is the price of one soul?”
This was the very next thought that came to me after thinking I was right in not writing anymore, “What is the price of one soul?” So I went to this site to see if there had been any activity. This is information only I can see. Again, the number was low. Again the thought, “What is the price of one soul?”  This time I checked the countries on each site and they were from countries where Christianity is not prevalent. Once more, “What is the price of one soul?” Then I remembered a conversation I’d had with one of my daughters around Christmas where she told me maybe I wasn’t suppose to write devotional but observations.
Writing is a gift God gave me when I made the decision to walk His path, not mine. That is a story for another time. It’s a gift that I didn’t accept joyfully. For years, it was a double-edged sword. On one side it was a very heavy burden. But while writing, it was a joy to be partnering with God. For the words and thoughts are His, I’m only the instrument He has chosen to use.
In August when Hurricane Harvey struck Houston and the Texas Gulfcoast, God impressed upon me to start a ministry of quilts and pillowcases to send to Texas. Then Hurricane Irma hit in my home state of Florida, then Hurricane Maria hit in the Caribbean. So, my ministry quickly expanded to include disaster victims of natural disasters. All to say, this is in the very first stages of getting established.
 “How was I to do both?” Quickly, God showed me it’s not an “either/or” situation. The writing can be done anytime. When one is completed, work on the other can proceed. What’s important in this process is to know I’m the instrument of the One who says in Matthew, “IF YOU HAVE FAITH AND DO NOT DOUBT”. So, one day at a time...both ministries will proceed. My Partner has a plan, I trust Him.

AWAKEN ME!!

Luke tells us of a righteous man named Simeon and Anna, a prophetess, who were waiting for anxiously awaited "the consolation of Israel...the redemption of Jerusalem". On the day designated by  the Law of Moses both were in the Temple as Mary and Joseph brought their son to be "consecrated to the Lord" (Luke 22:21-40). At this very same time in the Temple were priests carrying out their duties, teachers instructing their students from the Book of Moses, people praying and seeking God, money-changers, merchants, and people like Mary and Joseph coming to fulfill the Law. Only two people noticed the long awaited Messiah was in their midst.
Two thousand years later we too get so distracted by the events of the day, pointing fingers, petitioning God that we fail to see the One we so earnestly seek is walking in our midst!! Lord, let your Holy Spirit awaken me to Your Presence in my life!! Don't let me be so busy seeking that I miss you completely. AWAKEN ME!!!

LESSONS LEARNED

This is my first post since April. Probably the longest I''ve ever gone without writing since God called me to this ministry in 2003. Over these last few months, God and I have been addressing my feelings of inadequacy I've had since He called me to this ministry. Am I the only one who feels hugely incapable and highly inadequate when being called to do something in His service? I don't think that is the case. Although the insights have been acquired through reading of Scripture and Bible Study, it can best be told through the making of this quilt.
The first time I started to make this quilt, I was very confident in my own abilities and cockily went about sewing it my way. By the second row, it was so out of square I had to throw it away. The second time I started it, I asked God to be with me and guide my hands every time before working on it. It stayed perfectly square from the first block to the last block, from the first row to the last. In order to complete any task assigned to me by God, He must guide me from the first word to the last, from the first sentence to the last sentence.
During the last fourteen years of writing this blog and another blog, facilitating Bible Studies, and speaking I've experienced feelings of being inadequate and being ill-prepared. After all, the only biblical knowledge I had was what I attained through Scripture or Bible Studies; the only writing experience was what I'd done on term papers and essays in school; and, the only photography experience was the pictures I took on trips or holidays. But then,, God showed me that Peter and John were fishermen and Matthew was a tax collector. All of the disciples were taught by Jesus just like me. To keep a quilt square, you must start in the center and work out. No matter what our calling is we must keep our eyes on the One who centers us to be effective, Jesus.
We are told in John 10 that the sheep knows the shepherd's voice and will not react to any other voice. An important part of doing this work is hearing my Shepherd's voice. Over the years, several people have either stated or questioned my ability to hear God's voice. This ministry cannot be undertaken without the ability to hear God's voice. No task or ministry can be effective without hearing our Master's voice.Too many times the Enemy has brought me to a standstill because of this one fear, maybe I'm not hearing God's voice. After all, who am I that the God of the universe would talk to me? Whether He speaks to you through Scripture or music or Bible Studies or thoughts or sermons or a small still voice, don't ever doubt that He can speak directly to you. Just as He guided my hand, He guides my ministry and yours. If you can call God, Father, and Jesus, Savior you know your Shepherd's voice.
Finally, while making this quilt it was necessary to seek the advice of others. In completing any task we are called to do for Him, we should not be hesitant to ask others for advice or assistance. No where in the Bible does it say "God helps those who help themselves." Jesus chose twelve people to spread the gospel, not one.