- araratchurch
- Aug 4, 2022
- 3 min read
“And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.”
Exodus 19:19-20 NKJV
Have you ever heard of a salmon run? It’s a very interesting phenomenon. You see, salmon are anadromous. What this means is that when they are mature they go up from the ocean into the rivers from which they came, to spawn. The word “anadromous” comes from the Greek “anadromos,” meaning “running upward.” (Merriam-Webster-Webster Dictionary)
The salmon run is truly amazing. Imagine, after developing from eggs, the salmon go into the ocean—where they do most of their bulking up—and then find their way back to the EXACT area from which they originated. Wow!
I used to sing the song, “A Perfect Heart.” (Reba Rambo and Dony McGuire, 1980) Here are the words to the verse:
Morning sun, light of creation;
Grassy fields, a velvet floor;
Silver clouds, a shimmering curtain, He’s designed a perfect world. I’m amazed at His talents, stand in awe of One so great; Now my soul begins to sing out to the source from which it came.
I love that line, “Now my soul begins to sing out to the source from which it came.” Our God and King has done great things for us to be able to approach Him. Now He calls out to us to come up to Him!
Looking back at a scripture from yesterday we see that we have been called out of darkness into the light:
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
I Peter 2:9 NKJV
Speaking of this call, the Apostle Paul said this:
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV
Additionally, he urged his fellow Christians to walk in a way that is worthy (respectful) of the calling:
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:1-3 NKJV
Today we find Moses being called up onto Mount Sinai by the Lord. From here the Lord would speak to the people. We see described the awesome display of the Lord‘s power and might; and then, within the context of that, God calls out to Moses; and Moses goes up.
Sadly, not all the people wanted to go up. Now, they were restricted to touch the holy Mountain, but they became so afraid that they didn’t even want to hear the voice of the Lord.
“Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.”
Exodus 20:18-21 NKJV
Even today we see that many people—though afforded the opportunity to approach the holiness of God—still do not want to hear His voice, much less be obedient to His call.
“Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.”
Hebrews 3:1 & 2 NKJV
Oh, that we all would be partakers of the heavenly call! What could possibly be more important?
For today let us discover what Moses discovered:
Our Lord has given us an upward call.
- araratchurch
- Aug 3, 2022
- 3 min read
“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."”
Exodus 19:5-6 ESV
When I was a little girl I remember that there was a cabinet in which my mother stored many folded aprons. Now, most people are familiar with the type of aprons worn on the chef shows; but these were “old school” aprons that tied at the waist and were made out of very pretty fabric. I guess you could say they were “Donna Reed” type aprons. For a period of time, one of my favorite things to do was to tie the waistband of the apron around my head, allowing the rest of the apron to flow down my back, and pretend that I was a nun. Now, my family was never Catholic; but I had seen nuns and I had heard that they were “married to the Lord.” That sounded very special to me and I wanted that.
So, the process of pretending to be a nun was always the same: donning the nun-apron and then staring in the mirror to see if I was “glowing.” From time to time I would conscript a cousin to share the experience with me and we would both stare in the mirror to see if we were glowing. Believe it or not, I think we did “glow” a time or two; at least we thought so.
I think that most people want to be special to somebody; for me, that somebody, was the Lord.
I realize now that the desire to be special to the Lord, probably led me to want to attain “perfection,” thinking that was what I needed to be to be special to Him.
Then, the realities of life made me see that perfection was not in my immediate future. Sadly, that realization led to fear in my heart and mind, thinking that somehow or another, my imperfect state would separate me from the Lord.
Thinking about it, I have always trusted Jesus as my Lord. I’ve always loved Him, and to be honest, I’ve never particularly struggled to want do the right thing. Even so, I was far from perfect and was yet to fully access the saving work of the One I so dearly loved.
One day the Lord clearly spoke to me saying, “Janet, you need to know you need a Savior, to have one.” What a thrill it is to know that our Lord chose us while we were yet in sin and gave Himself that we might be made perfect in Him; but that can’t happen as long as we are trying to “earn” being special to the Lord!
But wait, there’s more!
The Lord wants to make all who are His, priests, and ROYAL PRIESTS!
“you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
I Peter 2:5 & 9 NKJV
The Lord WANTS to make us special.
Today we find Moses hearing from the mouth of God that He wants to make His people “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
When Moses took this to the people, they accepted the challenge that came with the offer: to be obedient to the Lord’s voice and keep their part of the covenant. It would prove, however, to be harder than they thought.
Please know, you are special to the Lord and can walk in that station by accepting that Jesus Christ has done for you, what you could not do for yourself. All He asks in return is that we obey His voice, while trusting HIS perfection to give us entrance into His royal abode.
Look at this part of Jesus’ description of Himself to John the Revelator:
“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Revelation 1:5-6 NKJV
For today let us discover what Moses discovered:
The Lord wants us to be His special kingly priests.
- araratchurch
- Aug 2, 2022
- 3 min read
“So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.”
Exodus 18:24-26 NKJV
When I was in high school I sang a duet with my friend, Jewel Jones, for a school talent show. That song was, “No Man is an Island.” This song was made famous in the 70’s by Joan Baez; but the sentiment expressed in the title goes back to John Donne writing back in the 17th century. In the 70s, this song served as kind of an antiwar statement. Here are the lyrics:
No man is an island,
No man stands alone,
Each man's joy is joy to me,
Each man's grief is my own.
We need one another,
So I will defend,
Each man as my brother,
Each man as my friend.
I saw the people gather,
I heard the music start,
The song that they were singing,
Is ringing in my heart.
No man is an island,
Way out in the blue,
We all look to the one above,
For our strength to renew.
When I help my brother,
Then I know that I,
Plant the seed of friendship,
That will never die.
You see, Jewel Jones was black. I am not. Our school was predominantly black in the last three years of the five I attended. I don’t really remember there being much racial tension in my high school; but that may be a function of the fact that my circle of friends was mixed. Whatever the case, Jewel and I wanted to do this song as an inspiration toward understanding our need for one another. Now, whereas our duet didn’t earn us a Nobel Peace Prize, it was our gesture, and we enjoyed doing it.
Today we aren’t discussing race relations per se; but we are discussing our need for one another.
Most of us have heard the term “synergy.” Simply put, this means that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Or, the combination of two (or more) things has an effect greater than the effect coming from the total of the individual effects acting separately.
Are you glazed over yet? Before you are, let’s look at what the Bible has to say about this phenomenon:
“Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NKJV
Yes, we do need each other; and the effects of trying to go it alone can be debilitating.
Today we find Moses—having tried to go it alone—becoming very worn out. His father-in-law, Jethro, has come for a visit and has seen firsthand the strain under which Moses is operating. Therefore, Jethro offers him some very good advice to the effect that he needed to train leaders and let them help bear the load of dealing with the multitude’s issues.
Moses needed help, as do we ALL. Bear in mind, if any person had the wherewithal to go it alone, it would have been our Lord. But note, He chose twelve disciples, who, along with many others, followed Him wherever He went, helping in whatever way was needed. Additionally, when He sent out the disciples He did not send them out alone.
“And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.”
Mark 6:7 NKJV
“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.”
Luke 10:1 NKJV
I know that it’s tempting sometimes to want to operate as an island. There’s certainly less risk of hurt that way; and you definitely don’t have to worry about rejection. But, even if you find it tempting to be a “Lone Ranger,” remember, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.
For today let us discover what Moses discovered:
The Lord didn’t mean for us to go it alone.