God's Presence

Part of my daily reading is from the Old Testament, and I'm reading in Exodus right now.  I'm struck by a verse I read this morning from chapter 3.  In verse 10, God told Moses to go to Egypt to bring the Israelites out of there.  Here's Moses' response in verse 11: "But Moses said to God, 'Who am I, that I should go to Pharoah and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?' 12 And God said, 'I will be with you.'"


This is a good reminder for me whenever I begin to question God with "But what about...?"  Or, "But, I don't know what to do!"  God is with me.  Jesus said that when He was going up to heaven in Matthew 28:20: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  He has given me His Holy Spirit to live in me (John 14 and 15).  His presence is always with me.  If God has called me to do something, it doesn't matter what my excuse is; He's with me and I'd better get to it!


Notice, too, that Moses had asked "Who am I?"  God doesn't respond to that, because it doesn't matter if God is with me.  I should let Him work and speak through me and not worry about who I am, or what I have or don't have.  As I heard Louie Giglio say once, "I know I am not, but I know I AM!"


Live every day with His presence in you.

Election Season

Our local and state elections are next week, so I thought I'd do an election season post today.  First of all, make sure you are an informed voter.  If you haven't already done so, do to the Center for Arizona Policy website to download their non-partisan voter guide.  It's very helpful.  Also, if you need help with information on judges, click here for judicial review information.


Also, I'm re-posting a blog from our friends at Disciple Nations Alliance that you should read.

Your Great Commission Assignment Coming Soon

Posted on October 25, 2010 by disciplenations

What do the Philippines, Sudan and the U.S. have in common? Each has an important national election scheduled in the next few weeks.

Elections represent an important opportunity for Christians. Followers of Christ should be exemplary in our engagement in the political process. Jesus Christ calls us to forge godly culture and promote biblical values, and responsible voting comprises one dimension of living Christianly, one aspect of obedience to the authority of Christ.

As he closed the Great Commission, Jesus said, “Behold, I am with you always.” The English “behold” translates the Greek word idou. Some versions strip the original of its force by translating idou as “surely.” But the word is in the imperative mood. Asimperative, it has the same force as “Go make disciples,” thus “Behold” is a better translation. Christ is saying “Hey, pay attention!”

Why might Christ command us to “Look!”?  Maybe because we get so preoccupied with our own lives and circumstances that we fail to focus on his priorities? Do we fail to recognize Christ’s presence and purpose in our lives because our thoughts are elsewhere?

Look! Jesus is “with us always . . . to the very end of the age”! His power, authority, love, and grace abound! Behold! He is king of heaven and earth, and of time.

And of elections.

- Darrow Miller and Gary Brumbelow

Make sure you vote by early ballot, or at a polling place next Tuesday, November 2.  This is one of our greatest freedoms and opportunities to express a biblical worldview.

Warning - Do Not Love the World

I'm preaching on a great passage of Scripture this weekend - 1 John 2:15-17.  "Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."  (NIV) 


I've read this passage dozens of times, I'm sure, but not really ever taken the time to stop and think - "What do I crave - the things of the world or God?  What catches my eye - things I want or the needs of other people?  What do I boast about - what I've done or what God is doing in me?"


How would you answer those questions?  I hope I'll see you this Saturday, October 23, at our next Serve Sunnyslope.  If you're not already signed up to serve, call Cindy in the church office - (602)246-9206.

Fear

I've struggled my whole life with fear issues - mainly fear of people.  I've had many occassions, beginning when I was very young, where I was humiliated or embarrassed, so I decided to protect myself and not be put in those situations again.  To do so, I began to fear people that I thought were a threat to my safe, protected world.  Over the course of the last year or so, I've been discovering that this is not a healthy way to live!

I've spent some time during a week off to look at Scriptures that address this issue of fear and of trusting God.  I found many good verses on this topic, and one of my favorites is Proverbs 29:25 which says, "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe."  Other good ones are Psalm 118:6,8: "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?  It is better to  take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man."

What about you?  What are some key verses or passages that take away the fear factor in your life?  Let me know by commenting below.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Free Bibles

Need a Bible on your smartphone?  Click here to get yours free from YouVersion.  Now you can have the Bible in the palm of your hand, featuring 41 translations and 22 languages. Choose from dozens of unique reading plans to help you read the Bible consistently. Bookmark your favorite verses. Read contributions from other users from YouVersion.com.  I've been using mine for several months now and I love it.

Read, Memorize, Meditate, Do

A great verse:  "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful."  Joshua 1:8 (NIV)

The way I read this verse, if we want to be prosperous and successful in God's eyes, we need to read His Word, memorize it, meditate on it, and do it.  1 John 2:3 says "we know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands."  I think that the simplicity of knowing and doing God's Word sometimes escapes us - escapes me.  I have a tendency to over-think and over-analyze situations and want extra clarity and wisdom before I act.  But that's usually not needed.  Typically all I need to do is to what I know He wants me to do.

Think about the clarity of that verse this week, and read, memorize, meditate, and do.  Show God how much you love Him by obeying His commands.  See what He does as a result.

Nothing is Impossible With God

My Scripture reading plan for today put together 2 interesting passages.  First, the creation story from Genesis 1, and second, the angel Gabriel visiting Mary to tell her she would be giving birth to the Savior of the world, even though she was a virgin (Luke 1).  Both of these stories are pretty unbelievable when you think about it.  I mean, come on, God spoke and the universe came into being?  The Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will give birth to the Savior?

But in both stories, the words of Gabriel are true.  In Verse 37 of Luke 1, the angel says to Mary "For nothing is impossible with God."  Where in your life do you need God to do the impossible?  The improbable?  Nothing is impossible with Him!  Let that verse sink into your head and into your heart.  Trust God.  Believe Him.  Praise Him.  Nothing is impossible with Him.

Thanks for all of your words, prayers, and encouragement as we've been dealing with the death of our friend and part-time son, Matt West.  The last week was very rough, but our family felt the presence of God bringing comfort and peace through His word and through our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Thank you.  We love our church family!