Devotional Thoughts

Exodus 5:1-5    "And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go. And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens."   Many times in life, things do not seem to go as planned. If we pulled this event out of context, we would conclude that Moses and Aaron must have been extremely disappointed. However, I would think the reality is that th

Isaiah 2:19-22    "And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.  (20)  In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;  (21)  To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.  (22)  Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?" "... When he (God) ariseth to shake terribly the earth."  We began Isaiah by God saying, "Come ye, and let us reason together."  I have been told on occasions, "Listen to reason." There are times in the lives of individuals when "all reason is thrown out the window" and we do what we think we want to do. When

Exodus 4:29-31    "And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped." God appeared unto Moses in the bush that burned but was not consumed. God spoke to Moses and told him all the things that he would do. He listened to all of Moses’ excuses, then told him again all that he would do. Moses finally understood that he was not going to talk God our of His purpose. God showed compassion for Moses as Moses struggled with learning to trust God and stop thinking about himself. He encouraged Moses by telling him that He would send Moses’ brother, Aaron, to speak for him. However, God told Moses that He would speak to him the things that should be said

Isaiah 2:17    "And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day." We saw in the book of Proverbs 19:21, "There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand." The Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And then in the book of the Psalms, "He maketh the devices of the people of none effect." (Psalm 33:10) The Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. Let's face it, there are times when men think too highly of themselves. It used to be said that "we get too big for our britches." The Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. Jesus had much to say about pride, destruction and humility. It is a dangerous position when we try to lift ourselves up. The Lord knows how to bring us down in a heartbeat.  Isaiah had much to say about the day of the Lord. He is speaking of those times when the Lord makes Himself know

Exodus 4:24-28    "And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him." Moses wife, Zipporah, was from the land of Midian. Midian, for whom the land was named, was a son of Abraham, and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law was a priest in the land. Circumcision as a token of God’s covenant with Abraham would likely be known to them. The Israelites certainly still practiced it since we find in the Book of Joshua that all the people that came out of Egypt were circumcised (Johsua 5:5

Isaiah 2:2-3    "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.  (3)  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." Jacob's vision of the ladder is the first time we see the House of God mentioned. it was there that he saw Angels ascending and descending/. It was there that Jacob received the message from God concerning correction and direction for his life. I will not say that it is only in the "building of the church" that we receive messages from God, but I will say that it is through regular attendance of worship services that our hearts are tuned to receive. Some might disagr

Exodus 4:18-23    "And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn."   Moses’ encounter with God at the burning

Isaiah 2:2    "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it." Let me begin by saying I believe the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is the highest living organism, organization, on the face of the earth. "The mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountain."  The Psalmist David spoke concerning the house of the Lord, "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple." (Psalm 27:4) He said, "I have desired of the Lord and I will actively seek  to dwell in the house of the Lord." What does it mean to "dwell in the house of the Lord"?  I believe he is speaking of the frame of heart and mind when we active

"Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by." Mark 6:48    Jesus had just performed the great miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 men, besides the women and children with a boy’s lunch of five loaves of bread and two fishes. Putting yourself in the sandals of the disciples, would you not think about the wonder of what had just happened? Yet, as you progress in the reading of these words, you will notice that this miracle will soon be forgotten. It is not just the miracle that will be forgotten, but it will be the display of power of the One performing the miracle that will be forgotten. The reason given by Mark for this failure of the disciples to consider the power of Jesus to do great miracles is because, “their heart was hardened” (Mark 6:52). This begs the question in the times of our great trials, “do we find ourselves at

Exodus 4:14-17    "And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs."   Have you ever made your father angry? As a child, I know there were times when I failed to do things my father asked of me. I was capable of accomplishing the task and offered this or that excuse as to why I failed. Although I managed to kindle his ire against me, I never once remember fearing that he had ceased to love me. On his part, he also never ceased t

Isaiah 1:19-22    "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:  (20)  But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.  (21)  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.  (22)  Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:" Again, the Lord has already said, "Come, let us reason together..."  But be assured, He did not mean that He would compromise His truth for any "wants" of the people.  In another place, God asks the question, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3)  This does not mean that God will come down to our interpretation of the truth; rather, His truth shall stand for all eternity.  If we are willing to submit to His way, we will enjoy the goodness and productivity of the land. BUT, if we refuse and rebel against Him, we can be assured that He will remain tru

Exodus 4:10-13    "And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send."   Excuses, excuses! How often have we heard (or spoken) this phrase over the course of our lives? When we, for whatever reason, do not want to do a thing, we can invent any number of arguments why we should not. This is seldom wise and is most certainly unwise when it comes to obeying God. Moses spent a good deal of time listening to God’s voice. He heard and understood God’s command. God plainly showed Moses what He would have him do. He had even given Moses abilities that were beyon

Isaiah 1:2-4    "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.  (3)  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.  (4)  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward." I like to think of myself as a positive preacher in that I like to speak things which uplift the heart and mind.  I have tried to pray about which book to attempt to study after finishing the book of Proverbs and my heart could not leave this book of Isaiah.  As we go through the book, we shall see there are words of warning, condemnation, and also words of healing and hope. I pray to balance my thoughts, but we must be honest with ourselves as we begin this book. What do we see as we

Exodus 4:1-9    "And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again a

Proverbs 31:10-12    "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.  (11)  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.  (12)  She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life." It is said that the man is the head of the house, but the wife is the neck that turns the head. It is no accident that the book of Proverbs ends with the thoughts concerning the virtuous woman.  The word, virtuous, in this passage means a force of strength. The root word for force means to whirl or spiral. It carries the meaning of being able to move with force as a tornado. The difference in this meaning is that a tornado brings destruction whereas a virtuous woman moves in a positive direction and gets things done.  I mean no offense to the men, but as a pastor I have seen many times that the "sisters" of the church are the ones who get things done. "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her." I k

Exodus 3:20-22    "And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians." In verse nineteen of this chapter, God has just assured Moses that Pharaoh will not let the children of Israel go a three days journey apart to worship Him. God was sure that Pharaoh would not do this because it was not God’s will for the king of Egypt to let the Israelites go yet. In fact, Pharaoh made the bondage of the Israelites harder after this request. However, God had a purpose in this as He does in all things. In the above verses, we begin to see

Proverbs 30:7-9    "Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:  (8)  Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:  (9)  Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." It seems to me that this book of Proverbs was a lifetime collection of wisdom that Solomon had acquired by his own experiences. He refers to himself as a gatherer of wisdom and now it seems in these verses that he is of old age. In his lifetime, there is no doubt that he had been surrounded by both men of wisdom and others who were self-serving. I can only imagine that people who had come to him with requests had also fed him lies and vain things concerning himself. It seems the worst thing that anyone can do is to believe everything said about them - both good and bad.  We've already seen that pride goes before the fall. When a person pays atte

Exodus 3:16-19    "Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand." God had just finished telling Moses that He was going to use him to lead the children of Israel out of bo

Proverbs 30:4-5    "Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?  (5)  Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him." It is as though he has given all these bits of wisdom and now realizes that everything he knows and understands is only the "tip of the iceberg" in comparison to the wisdom of God. He uses the name Agur in verse 1 which means a gatherer or harvester. I could speculate concerning these questions in today's verses as to whether or not Solomon knew the answers.  He is confessing that all the wisdom shared by him has God as its origin. There is something about these questions that I believe is most important for us to keep at the forefront of our understanding concerning God. Solomon reminds us of the power of God in

Exodus 3:11-15    "And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations." Moses was afraid to loo

Exodus 3:6-10    "Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt."   God had just called to Moses out of the bush that b

Proverbs 29:18    "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." Jesus spoke of the blind leading the blind. They can't see where they are at the present neither can they see where the road will take them. They wander aimlessly and then they both end up in the ditch. This is true both literally and figuratively. We need a vision of where we are going and how we are going to get there.  When I read this verse, my mind goes to the sixth chapter of the book of Isaiah. It speaks of a time when King Uzziah had died. It seemed as if the people had lost all hope and all vision of what would happen to their country. But it was at that time that the Lord gave the Prophet Isaiah a wonderful vision. "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." (Isaiah 6:1)  The vision that sustained those people and still sustains us today is the greater vision o

Exodus 3:1-5    "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."   The scriptures tell us that Moses had now been in Midian for forty years (Acts 7:30). He had made his home here and built a life for himself. He was raised in the courts of the king of Egypt with all the privileges that entailed. Yet here he was being

Proverbs 28:25-26    "He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.  (26)  He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered." We often hear it said, "Follow your heart." That sounds good, but there is a problem with that. God's Word tells us, "The heart is deceitful above all things..." (Jeremiah 17:9) We read that the heart can become haughty and filled with pride. The heart can become sorrowful and cause us to look inward rather than upward. There are many problems that can arise when we "follow our heart".    How can we avoid the mistakes that our hearts can bring? We have seen that we cannot trust ourselves to always make good decisions.  Is it not by walking in the leadership of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ? He always leads us in the right paths for His name's sake. We can trust Him in all matters.

Exodus 2:23-25    "And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them."   The phrase “in the process of time” is significant. It indicates the passing of many years. The king that was in Egypt when Moses fled ruled Egypt for several years thereafter. It was this same king who had no regard for Joseph (Exodus 1:8) and greatly afflicted the children of Israel with rigorous bondage.  The passing of this king did nothing to alleviate the suffering of the children of Israel. They groaned inwardly because of the weight of their burdens. That weight became so great they could not contain it. They were made to even cry out loud because of the suffering of it. 

Exodus 2:16-22    "Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon today? And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread. And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land." That there was a priest in Midian might seem a strange thing on the surface. However, Midian was a son of Abraham by Keturah (Genesis 25:2). It is possible that Reuel still held dear the kno

Proverbs 28:1    "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion." I had a conversation with the hotel clerk this week when we checked in for the Quartet Convention. I had someone a few months ago who decided they wanted to use my credit card. I had to cancel that one and get a new one. Well, it so happened that I had used the old card when making reservations. He told me the card had been declined and I proceeded to tell him why I had a new card. The conversation went to the subject of people who use their talents for bad purposes. He made the comment that he knew someone who had been caught up with that and the man had spent his life looking behind him to try to make sure no one caught him. He was eventually caught and went to prison. But our conversation concerned people who do things like that are always looking behind them to see if anyone is catching up to them. "The wicked flee (even) when no man is pursuing." In Leviticus 26:3