Category: Devotional

The Next Step in Leadership

“Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. – Joshua 1:2

Joshua had pretty much spent his entire life in service to Moses. He had been there from the very beginning of the Exodus from Egypt, through spying out the Promised Land, and for forty years in the wilderness. He had seen miracles, he had seen plagues, he had seen victories, he had seen defeat. Moses wasn’t a democratically elected leader of the Israelites, he was a prophet ordained by God to lead His people.

In light of all of this, Joshua 1:2 recounts God’s first words to Joshua the new leader. “Moses my servant is dead.” Words which are heavy and final. Moses is gone and He’s not coming back. It would be tempting to doubt the future of the nation. For the United States it would have been as if President George Washington had died in office. Would the country continue as we have known it? Joshua, no doubt, must have wrestled with the future and his ability to lead. The good news is that God had plans for Joshua. God doesn’t stop calling and leading His people. He gives Joshua the charge to pick up the mantle and lead the people to the Promised Land.

God is not done raising up new leaders to carry out his mission. For many in my generation we looked to Dr. Billy Graham as a leader among born again Christians. This past year we saw this man who was a spiritual giant transition to glory. God will raise up another to give leadership. Many churches go through cycles of leadership as pastors leave or retire, but God is still at work and He will continue to call and equip those to lead.

Questions for thought:

What is God calling you to do with your life as part of His mission?

How are helping or hindering raising up the next generation of leaders in your home, in your community, in your church?

The Importance of Rest

As you may have noticed I’ve taken a few days off from posting to the blog. Many people take advantage of their income tax refund during this time of year to buy some much needed furniture for their home. With the uncertainties concerning the federal government (who went through a shutdown at the beginning part of the year), the timing of “tax season” varies, but once it starts it is fast and furious. It begins abruptly and just like that after a few weeks it is over. This year was a little more challenging as my team was a little short handed requiring me to work 20 days with 1 day off. Going that long without a break is physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually challenging. I don’t recommend it. In fact rest is an important life principle that cannot be overlooked.

The Bible teaches the principle of the Sabbath (Hebrew for “rest”). In fact, the very beginning pages of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1 describe how God created the world in six days, and on the seventh day He “rested.” Later, the entire Hebrew week would revolve around a work/rest cycle. Every seventh day would be dedicated to rest, no work would be done. I know maybe in our time and culture we look at that and say that’s a little skimpy-I mean, shouldn’t we have a five-day workweek, or four-day workweek? Think about it from the time period, however. The ancient peoples were agrarian in nature-completely dependent upon either raising crops or raising a herd. Life was hard. Living hand to mouth you didn’t really get a day off from survival. The idea of a sabbath, then, was a revolutionary principle in living by faith. The very God that designed us, also designed us to take time out to recharge spiritually and physically.

In our world of impending status alerts, updates, text messages, and the like, be sure to take time for rest. Take a day off. Use your vacation. Plan for it!

Finishing Well

“…So Moses finished the work.” Exodus 40:33b (ESV)

What project are you working on? What project do you need to start? What project do you need to finish? I’m constantly asking these types of questions in my own head, all at the same time running the seemingly perpetual project of the busyness of life! We all have projects we need to start and some we need to finish. I have plenty of little projects around the house that I definitely need to finish! Some projects feel as if they are never going to get completed.

For the last three weeks I have been reading through the book of Exodus. It’s amazing to read through this book and watch the transformation of Moses and his leadership. He is no perfect leader and he makes mistakes along the way, but when you boil it down Moses accomplishes a supernatural task. While on Mount Sinai God gives him the instructions for building a tabernacle which will serve as the spiritual hub of the newly constituted nation of Israel. God gives him the physical and relational resources to carry out the task, and one year after the first Passover, Moses completes the Tabernacle, consecrates it, and God’s glory comes down and fills it. This verse near the end of the book brings me great comfort – “So Moses finished the work” (Exodus 40:33b). Not to skip ahead, Moses has more projects ahead, and one major project he is personally not going to be able to complete. This time, however, we can see the beauty of a leader who receives a vision for a project and completes that project.

May this be an encouragement for whatever project you may be facing down at work, at your church or ministry, at home, or personally-with God’s help and God’s assistance, you can complete it. Let’s get it done and move on with the next project the Lord has for us!

Steps to Finding God’s Presence

“And he said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.'”

Exodus 33:14-15 (ESV)

I was recently asked about the presence of God. In this passage in the book of Exodus, Moses is interceding on behalf of the people after their attempt at idolatry in fashioning the golden calf while Moses was on top of Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments and instructions for the Tabernacle. God initially tells Moses that while He isn’t going to go on with the people, He will send the angel of the Lord. After Moses’ intercession the Lord then promises His presence. Moses makes an emphatic statement in verse 35, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” Moses had been able to experience first-hand as much of God’s glory, power, and presence as anyone else to that point. After experiencing God in that way, he was so convinced the future of the people of Israel absolutely depended upon having God’s presence with them. In fact, Moses says to the Lord, in essence, if He doesn’t go with them they don’t want to go.

In the Old Testament the presence of God was mediated through the Tabernacle and the priestly system. The redemptive work of Christ through His death, burial, and resurrection breaks down the divide between God and man, allowing us to experience the presence of God personally. Paul expresses the necessity of the presence of God this way, He says in Romans 8:9 “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ-does not belong to him.”

What an amazing prospect-the Spirit of the Living God, in dwelling us. Would that not have the opportunity to change our hearts, our attitudes, our lives? How would our lives look different were we to shift our decision making solely based upon the flesh-but upon the presence of God? God if you are here, I don’t want to move from this spot! God, you’ve pointed the way to the Promised Land, but if you don’t go with us don’t make us go!

Steps to Finding the Presence of God. You might say, that’s great, but where do I start?Might I offer a few suggestions:

1. Stop – In our culture we are notoriously busy. We have so many activities and schedules upon schedules. Some of the most downloaded apps for our smartphones are all related to helping us schedule and create to-do lists to organize our busy and hectic lives. In fact I’ve even caught myself scrolling through my phone at a stoplight-as if a 30 second stoplight is too long to just sit there! The first step many of us will have to take is to stop long enough to discern the presence of God. Turn off the phone, the tv and the screens for just a minute.

2. Look – We must also take the step of looking for God’s presence. It’s not enough just to look, but to look in the right direction. During this stage in my life I encounter the public on a daily basis who walk into my furniture store looking for something. It might be a new sofa for the living room or a new mattress because the old one is worn out. As big as our store is every now and then I get people looking for something we don’t have: lawnmowers, paint, doors and windows, appliances, tv’s, you name it, I’ve been asked about it. In speaking of the presence of God are you looking in the right direction? Have you sought out a Bible-believing church? In the United States you might have to look hard in some places, but you don’t have to look that far. Getting together with God’s people is essential to experiencing God’s presence. Jesus said as much in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Are you spending time reading the Bible? If you struggle reading the Bible I would encourage you to start today. Get a translation you can understand. If you can’t read, listen to the Bible. It’s absolutely fundamental. To go a little deeper here, I’ve written on this topic, “How to Read the Bible Book by Book.”

3. Listen – When we stop in the midst of our busyness, when we start looking in the right direction, then we get ourselves in the position of hearing from God. Don’t make a mistake here. I’m not saying the presence of God is something that we can work-up. He is not bound by a step-by-step formula. I do believe, however, that when we place ourselves in position we will hear Him when He speaks through His Word, by His Spirit, and through Godly counsel He places in our lives. When we surrender our lives and our will to Him. When we allow Him to renew our minds and our spirit we can start down the road of experiencing the presence of God.

Happy New Year

Yesterday, February 5th, marked the new year in China, dubbed the “year of the pig.” I wonder if that means they will be eating a lot of barbecue this time of year? The Chinese follow a lunar calendar so their new year appears to float around our calendar a little bit. It caused me to think about why in our culture the new year always starts on January 1st. I knew it had to have something to do with the Roman Empire, and after a little research determined that January 1st was the year the Roman Consuls (basically, the two guys who together formed the executive branch of the Roman republic) took office. Sometime around 46 B.C. Julius Caesar rearranged the Roman calendar and made that day the first day of the year. It’s amazing to think that separated by over 2,000 years our country, along with many others, still follow an ancient Roman custom for the new year.

When we turn to the story of God’s people in Exodus 12, God reorients the Israelite nation around an amazing act of redemption He is about to do. He is about to perform the greatest act of judgement against Egypt during what is called Passover, which will in turn set the Israelites people free from bondage and slavery, putting them on the path to the Promised Land. In the very opening part of the instructions to their leader Moses, the Lord says, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you” (Exodus 12:2).

I’ve always thought, how amazing this is, that the beginning of each new year for Israel would be a reminder of God’s great act of redemption on their behalf. Think about the feeling of renewal that occurs every new year, what if we added to that God’s love for us? What if we then took a moment each day when we woke up and just reflected on God’s great love for us?

So with that final word, “Happy New Year!”

How To Read The Bible Book By Book

1. Get a Bible

As a pastor I’ve been asked countless times revolving around what constitutes “the best translation of the Bible.” English readers have been blessed with the historical anomaly of a multitude of English translations of the Bible available to them. With the advancement of the internet and mobile phones many of these are instantly available at little to no cost. While for the past several years I have primarily used the ESV for devotional use as well as in the pulpit, how I usually answer the question over the best translation is this: “the one you will read.” If you are old school and like the printed page who also happens to live in the southern United States, just head over to your nearest LifeWay store and spend some time pulling a few different translations out and trying them out. What is easiest to read for you? If you are more connected I would suggest the YouVersion App available for Apple and Android devices. This app connects you instantly to tons of English translations as well as many other languages.

2. Get a Plan

Reading through the Bible can be a daunting task, but one that is not impossible if you have a plan. The easiest plan is to start at Genesis 1:1 and read all the way through to Revelation 22:21. Some people need a little more structure or a little more variety. The YouVersion App is also a great place to find plenty of reading plans to get you started.

3. Get to Reading

A plan is not really of much use if all it does is sit there. It must be put into practice. I have worked through different reading plans over the years. This year I have decided to change things up and over the next two years (2019-2020) I intend to follow a Bible reading plan developed by Stephen Witmer. It means I’m going to go a little slower (which is great for this stage of life) and that I’m going to spend an entire year in the Old Testament. I’m also going to be pairing that reading with an excellent resource entitled How to Read the Bible Book by Book, by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stewart. This book is like a reader’s guide to the Bible. It’s not a full-fledged commentary, but it helps set the stage and give some helpful insights to better help you understand what you are reading and a structure of a given book or passage.

4. Write It Down

Many times we may miss what the Lord may be saying to us in His Word because we hear it and it goes in one ear and out the other. Might I encourage you to write it down. If there is a verse or passage that jumps out at you-write it down. If there is a question that comes up that you wonder about, write it down so you may come back to it later. The Spirit may bring something or someone to your mind while you are reading, write it down, pray about it, and keep moving. A written record will help you log or keep track of what God may be saying to you.

Published
Categorized as Devotional