Imagine we're at a graveyard. You look at a tombstone and see the person's name, the date they were born and when they died. In between the dates, there is a dash. I think it's interesting that a person's whole life—from the time they are born until they die—is represented by that dash. The question is: What are you doing with your dash? Time goes by so fast, and you don't want to get to your later years in life and have nothing but regrets. David talks about this in the Psalms.
At their encounter at the burning bush, God empowered Moses with the authority to fulfill his calling and leadership role. God is responding to the cry of His people. He wants them to know He is coming down to save. And He is sending Moses. Despite Moses' repeated protests of his inability, God is firm in His decision. God has empowered Moses to perform amazing feats to demonstrate God's saving power. His staff would be the instrument of his authority.
Your chest tightens. Nervousness develops in the pit of your stomach. You knew better, so how could you have done such a thing? Then fear kicks in. You fear you can't talk to God as before; you fear you're not clean enough to be in His presence—not after what you've done. These symptoms of guilt and shame are almost as old as time itself. Adam and Eve instantly felt shame after the original sin. They tried to hide from God. Peter denied Jesus three times and then wept bitterly. After betraying Jesus, Judas took his own life. Not much has changed, has it? Thousands of years later, guilt and shame remain as crippling as ever.
It would be difficult to deny the importance of love in the Christian walk. We talk about love, and we can rejoice in the love of God that motivated God to send His only Son to redeem us from the powers of darkness, save us from sin and heal us from sickness. And, according to Jesus, the world will know we follow Christ by our love. It is love that draws people to repent. It is love that is missing in their lives, not theology and doctrine. Paul said in Romans 5:5 that the love of God has been shed abroad (poured into our hearts) through the Holy Spirit.
Many of my friends are walking through tough circumstances right now. One man's business has failed. Another man is experiencing chronic pain, and doctors can't find a medical solution. Another is battling an addiction. One married couple I know is struggling with infertility. And several friends are feeling they have failed as parents because their adult children have walked away from God. Meanwhile even many pastors are experiencing discouragement. Some of my pastor friends have even been thinking of leaving the ministry because they feel like failures.
Grace is a word that holds deep meaning in the Christian faith. It's the unearned favor of God, given freely to all, regardless of our imperfections. Jesus embodied grace in every aspect of His life, offering love, forgiveness, and compassion to those who least deserved it. But this grace wasn't meant to stop with Him—it was meant to be passed on. As followers of Christ, we are called to offer grace to others, just as Jesus offered it to us, and just as we would want it extended to us in our own moments of weakness. To offer grace to others, we first need to grasp the enormity of the grace we've received from Jesus.
Stay in the fight!!! All of our leaders were and still are being hit on, BUT the ones God will use will be those who stay in the Fight! God will notice and give favor. Of course, use good reasoning but know that we serve a God who can do miracles. Go by His Word! Others will notice and look to you for it later when they see you have survived. Your faith has value! Those who don't support HIS Work and His Move, will not get as many benefits.
It seems unnecessary to point out how God's priorities are seldom our priorities. That is the difference in the nature of man and the nature of God. He even said so: "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts," (Isa. 55:9, NIV). So, how do we position ourselves to hear from God? How do we free ourselves from our own desires in order to know His will? Well, I can tell you from firsthand experience that fasting causes you to take that sword of God's Word and separate what you "want" from what you "need."
Years ago, I was very frustrated at the spiritual condition of the church and our nation. I prayed, "Lord, many of us have faith that things can change, but nothing seems to be working!" Through Scripture reading, I soon realized that faith often involves action: "The day I pray for God to move the mountain, I often wake up next to a shovel" — Anonymous. By faith, Abel offered the right sacrifice. By faith, Noah built the ark and saved his family. By faith, Abram obeyed God and left his country in pursuit of the promise (Heb. 11). And on and on it goes—faith obeys God.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. Ezekiel 36:25-27 ESV
Follow Up
