Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning.
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Subjecta:Gifts of the Spirit
Bible Verse:Exodus 4:1-12 (NLT)
"But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”
Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.
“Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.
Then the Lord told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.
“Perform this sign,” the Lord told him. “Then they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—really has appeared to you.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out again, his hand was white as snow with a severe skin disease. “Now put your hand back into your cloak,” the Lord said. So Moses put his hand back in, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.
The Lord said to Moses, “If they do not believe you and are not convinced by the first miraculous sign, they will be convinced by the second sign. And if they don’t believe you or listen to you even after these two signs, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, the water from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground.”
But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”
Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”"
Message:
This scene occurred after Moses had first been expelled from Egypt and is dwelling in the desert. He is preparing to return to Egypt to set the Hebrews free.
Stained glass drawing of Moses by James Frederick Fields ca. 1900
The final verse is much like several New Testament verses, dealing with gifts of the Holy Spirit after Christ’s ascension, or in one case, during His lifetime: “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:11-12) In Exodus, God specifically reminded Moses that it was He who had given man the power of speech and that He could make Moses (or anyone else) speak with eloquence.
Since Christ’s ascension, we have had the Holy Spirit available to us to bring us the gifts that we need, in order to carry out Christ’s mission. Do not forget that this Holy Spirit is a face of God. In many cases, this is nearly identical to the gift God offered to Moses, the gift of eloquent and convincing speech.
Of course, eloquence and persuasion are human traits; they are possessed by many people untouched by God’s Spirit and are often used for self-gain or, all too often, in the service of outright evil. But a gift of the Spirit is something slightly different from natural human talent. Even though it is difficult for the listener to differentiate between them, we should know, in our hearts and through prayer, what gifts God has given us to spread the Word and be careful not to abuse them; for it is only through knowing Christ and following His commandments, that such a gift will be given.
Meditation
:
Prayer :
May it please you, my good Lord, that there may come a day when I can repay a little of my great debt to you. O Jesus, strengthen my soul, you who are good above all good; and since you have inclined my soul in this way, show me how I may act for you, whatever it may cost, O Lord. Here is my life, my honor and my will; I have given them all to you and they are yours: use me to do whatever you want.....Amen
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