Impact on Jesus Week #3

I am constantly amazed at what God pours out of the depths of His Word when we go to Him with an expecting heart. There are riches untold in the palm of His hand that he simply love to bless us with, if we only are willing to give ourselves to dig past the surface and listen to His still small voice. This week I was blown away and again wonder how will I ever be able to share all He is showing me in small daily thoughts. Hopefully He is sharing what He wants said as I am learning along this journey. Here is this weeks reflections:

Monday 1/30/17

Exodus 10:1-2 God declares his purpose for all his signs and wonders. He used this opportunity to show His power and might so that they would see how harshly He dealt with the Egyptians (the ones holding them in bondage) and so they could tell their children and grandchildren on down through the ages of all God had done and so they would know that He was the LORD! Imagine the #Impact this had on Jesus as a child, thousands of years later, still listening to these stories being told to children and grandchildren so he and all those his age could know God was the Lord Almighty. Think of the planning put in place by God, purposefully hardening Pharaohs heart so He could continue to perform those signs and wonders so His Son could hear them and know not only was His Daddy the God who did these things, but also the His Father would stop at nothing to deal harshly with His Enemy and set His people free from bondage. As Jesus lived his life and died and rose again, he knew that the miracle His Daddy would perform through him would be a story we could tell our children and grandchildren down through the ages so that we too can know the God is the Lord Almighty. #EnjoyTheShepherd

Tuesday 1/31/17

Mark 3:27 Jesus says you cannot plunder a strong mans house unless you first tie him up. This morning as I read the conclusion to the ten plagues, the truth of Jesus words were displayed. Pharaoh considered himself god and so did all the people of Egypt. They placed their hope and trust in the man the considered the ruler of the world. His pride led him to ask "Who is this God you speak of Moses?" And he received his answer. In Exodus 11 you see Moses torn and upset because he knows what the pride of Pharaoh is going to cost the people of Egypt, their firstborn. Because the man dressed as a god refused to yield to the one true God, everyone who followed him paid the price. The Israelites were spared their children, but they still had to pay a price. The death though would have a substitute. A lamb who had been brought into the family, became a part of their life, would lay down its life so it's blood would cover their doorway and spare them from the "destroyer." Jesus was very much impacted by this story as he looked out over those who were following their god, the law and their own understanding, and his heart broke knowing their path would lead many to their deaths (Matthew 23:15). He wept over Israel. His anger raged against the ones leading them astray. But he also rejoiced knowing that a Lamb who had become a member of their family would be allowed to shed his blood and cover them I n order to keep His people from the hand of the destroyer. Not only that, he knew his people would be able to plunder the riches of the Enemy because just like God had done to Pharaoh through all the signs and wonders performed through Moses and Aaron, his act on the cross would bind up Satan and allowed his people to leave the bondage of sin and take with them the riches they had been denied! The riches of being one with the Father once again! #EnjoyTheShepherd

Wednesday 2/1/17

Another rich morning as I read through Exodus 13. God knew that as the feast to celebrate their deliverance was held throughout the years, children would ask "why are we doing this celebration?" So He prepared their answer telling them to say "I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt (my place of bondage) v.8! The observance was to remind them that they had been redeemed by Gods mighty hand! Then again in v14 Moses says "in the coming days, when your son ask "What does this mean?" They again were to answer "With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery!" Think of this, in eternity past, Jesus was writing this story so that one day, when he was a boy, and he asked his dad, "Why are we doing this?" His father would quote to him the words he commanded to be passed down through the ages! He was writing his own script so He to could remember that it was His Fathers mighty hand that brought him out of Egypt. But also that He would remember that every firstborn was to be concentrated to the Lord! So that he would know that a lamb would be given as a redemption for the sons (v13). That he would know that the redemption was to be done so they could always remember that they had been brought out of a land of slavery by the mighty hand of God! It is no wonder that he then left us with these words, "Take this bread and this cup, and as oft as you eat it and drink, do it in remembrance of Me, the Lamb who was used to redeem you out of your land of slavery!" I stand amazed in the wonder of a Savior who saw fit to put in place a story from which He would one day learn from and remember that he was sent as a first born son who would be consecrated to God and himself redeemed by a first born lamb as a sign that He would be the Lamb by which I am redeemed! To God be the Glory! #EnjoyTheShepherd

Thursday 2/2/17

Exodus 15-16 is an amazing story! It opens up in song and worship for a mighty God who has completely destroyed Pharaoh and his army! The people are seeing the dead bodies that have been drown and Moses and Miriam lead in a song of praise. Then, in just a few days we see grumbling again over thirst as the Lord led them out into the wilderness. Then we see complaining over hunger. What struck me is when the Lord provided the bread, He said it would be a test of their obedience. Would they follow His command and trust Him for a daily provision or would they try to stock pile and hoard, worried about tomorrow's provision? (And boy did the Israelites stink it up, literally, as manna turned to mold and maggots) I can see a young Jesus soaking this all in. Then the day comes when He too is led out into the wilderness to be tested. He faced great hunger and great thirst. His body ached in pain and his human mind wrestled with delirium. Then he was asked through the trials, "Will you trust Me to provide for you?" His mind racing back to this story of the Israelites and how they were tested and failed. (As a side note, notice the test was not when he had plenty, it was brought when he too, like the Israelites, faced death by starvation and thirst. The test always comes when we are at the lowest point ) How would Jesus respond to this same test that the Israelites failed so miserably? Then we see Him choose to trust that yes, His Father would provide his needs, and "even if His Father let him die their in the wilderness, he chose to obey rather than trust in his own abilities. I truly do love seeing how these stories that Jesus himself helped write thousands of year before his arrival were perfectly set in place so Jesus the man could learn to trust and obey as He waited on His Father to act on his behalf. #EnjoyTheShepherd

Friday 2/3/17

This morning I will have to be honest. I had a great time in the Word, some thoughts were forming in my mind as I walked out to the sheep field, then they all vanished when I found another set of triplet lambs that had been born. Amazing how that will scatter your mind, especially when one of them is so small and weak. However, I came back to the Word and let it soak back in. In Exodus 17 we see another time of grumbling and complaining about water and the rock being struck and water flowing (there is something there but not for today.) we also see the fight between the Amalekites and Israel and Moses hands held high for victory (there is something there, but not for today). Then we see Moses and his father in law in chapter 18. I love the part where Moses shared all they had been through and how the Lord had saved them. However, it was the part about judging the people that was my #impact moment today. We see in 18:17-23 the discourse about setting up judges to help Moses. In v.19 Jethro says "You must be the people's representative before God .... Select capable men ... set them over people ... and all these people will go home satisfied." Wow! Think of how Jesus was impacted by these words. The temptation would have been for him to just do the work all on his own like Moses was doing and try to disciple every human he could. But as he pondered on these words, he remembered his job was to represent us, his people, before His Father. He was to stand as an advocate for us. If he tried to judge/disciple everyone, in essence he would have given way to the strain and became weary. Therefore, Jesus followed the path laid out "by God's command" (v.23) so many years before and as the Spirit led, he chose some men, those appointed before by God, to teach them the way so they could pass it on to others who would pass it on, and all His people would god home satisfied! John 6:39 #discipleship #EnjoyTheShepherd

Saturday 2/4/17

In Exodus 19, there are two references to the number three, which we will see in a minute. The first verse that jumped with impact today was 19:5. In that God told the people of Israel that "if" they kept His covenant and obeyed him fully, then they would be his "treasured possession." What a beautiful picture as Jesus realizes that all the suffering he endured from childhood on would ultimately lead him back to where he was before he came, His Fathers treasured possession. What motivation! Still though, there was the matter of obeying the law completely! No man had ever succeeded! But this is where the verse "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord! (Zechariah 4;6) Jesus learned his obedience would be through total dependence on the Spirit. How I love verses 10-11 where we see one of the first places Jesus would learn of the importance of the third day! God tells the people to consecrate themselves, wash their cloths, then appear before him clean on the third day! As Jesus declared he would rise on the third day, he thought back on these verses, knowing on the first and second day, he would undergo a consecrating period from all the sin and shame he would take upon him, but then on the third day He would stand before His father pure and clean! And to wrap it up, v16, on the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightening as God moved over the mountain, and the ground shook, and the people trembled! As Jesus rose from the grave, and the earth shook, those mighty men of Rome trembled and fainted, and He has stood in power ever since, watching over His people! What a glorious day! #Impact #EnjoyTheShepherd

Sunday 2/5/17

Exodus 21-22 is an interesting read. There is a huge focus on the correct judgement of situations. It truly is an in depth look at what the payments are to be for very specific situations. A tough narrative for judging difficult cases. In other words, the job of those set over the people was not an easy one. So many details had to be known before a judgement could be laid out. As Jesus read and learned these words, I can imagine the deep impact it had on him as he grew to understand the depth of the law and all it meant. However, it was Exodus 22:21-22 that stood out to me today. We see a very clear word not to oppress the foreigner (alien) in the land because you once were a foreigner in Egypt. Jesus would have had a direct connection to this as he was as foreigner in Egypt. How this molded his love, not only for his own national people, but for all people regardless of their nationality. As he reflected on what it meant to be a stranger in a foreign land, certainly living a despised life by the natural born citizens of Egypt (a common thing among all people as we tend to struggle with a foreigner in our lands and benefiting from our place) Jesus would know the deep impact of these words as he learned to love not only Jews, but people of all nations (shown in his grace and miracles performed on behalf of non Jewish people). But also verse 22, dealing with the widow and the fatherless. These appear to be terms he dealt with in his own life with the clear absence of Joseph from the latter part of his life and when he turned the watch of Mary over to John. Jesus had a mother who was a widow and that would have left him fatherless in the earthly sense. So these orphans and widows, these were his people. He knew their struggles, their hurts, their pains. He knew that in order to please his Heavenly Father, his love had to be to all people! And so it was displayed in his life. May it also be said of us! #Impact #EnjoyTheShepherd