One of the most dramatic stories in the Bible is the meeting between God and Moses at the burning bush. Moses was an eighty-year-old nobody, tending his father-in-law’s sheep on the backside of nowhere. God told Moses that he wanted him to go to Pharaoh and bring His people out of Egypt.
Moses was stunned. And he asked two key questions.
The first question is the one we so often ask, “Who am I?” The expanded version sounds like this, “I mean there is no way I can do this great thing you are asking, Lord. This is a big assignment, and I am not nearly big enough to pull this off.”
Interestingly, God never really answers Moses’ “who am I” question. The reason why is because it was an irrelevant question. It did not matter who Moses was. All that mattered is that God would be with him. The burning bush was a sight to see, but the amazing thing was not the bush, it was God in the bush. God could have used any old bush to produce the miracle. Who was Moses? Just a bush! And that was all God needed.
The second question Moses asked was highly relevant: “What is Your name” (who are You)? Now we are getting to the crux of the issue. “Who is God” is what matters in this assignment—and every assignment. God answered Moses’ question this way, “I AM WHO I AM …. Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
I AM is kind of a strange name, isn’t it? I AM is an unfinished sentence. I AM … what? I AM the ever-present tense God who is everything you will ever need, Moses. I AM able in any situation, and I will be with you when you face off with Pharaoh. I will deliver Israel through you, because I AM WHO I AM.
OUR BIG PROBLEM
Our big problem in life is that we spend way too much time thinking about ourselves and far too little time thinking about God. We constantly wonder if we are able. Well, wonder no more. We are not able. But He is more than able. We can do anything He calls us to do “through Christ who strengthens [us].”
It’s time you quit focusing on your frailties and limitations and start focusing on Him. Quit telling God why you can’t do what He has called you to do and start saying, “Yes, Lord. Thank you for calling me. I am able because You enable me.”
Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve,
From His Heart Ministries
Today's Bible Verse...
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Thoughts on Today's Verse... How do we win over to the Gospel of Christ those who are hostile toward us? While we need skilled defenders and expositors of biblical truth, the way most of us will win others is by the way we live and by the way we treat them. No matter how much criticism and harsh treatment we may receive, our deeds must remain Christ-like. To do less is to rob others of a chance to see the living Christ in action.
My Prayer... Holy and righteous Father, please forgive me for not being more aware of my influence on others, especially those who do not know Christ. Please fill me with your Spirit and strengthen me so that I can stand up under the criticism and scrutiny that sometimes comes my way. Help my life to impact others so that they may see the truth of what I believe and the hope by which I live. In Jesus' name. Amen.
The Thoughts and Prayer on Today's Verse are written by Phil Ware.
Today's Verse Illustrated...
Wife Drags Husband to Church by Steve Phelps
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