Good Morning All,
Exodus 24:17: “Now the appearance of the
glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the
sight of the people of Israel.”
Why don’t we see this anymore? Why don’t we see this miraculous display of
God’s majesty? When we think of the
story that surrounds the plagues of Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the
leading through the wilderness with the pillar of cloud and fire; when we think
of the awe and majesty of God’s very presence at Mount Sinai we think, “now
that is what God should be like.” “I
could easily believe in a God that was flashy!
I would never leave a God like that.”
“Just give me a God with thunderbolts and lightening and make Him very,
very frightening indeed to all my (His) enemies.”
You would think that wouldn’t you? It must have been so easy for those early
Israelites to believe in God; they saw Him and the mighty works that He
did. Yet a mere 8 chapters later in
Exodus, in chapter 32, while they are still camped at the bottom of Mt. Sinai,
they fall away and worship a golden calf.
Too often, our pleas for God to do something, is really a call for God
to do what I want, when I want and to whom I want it done. Ultimately, we do not want God to show His
power so we can have faith; we want God to show His power so we can try and
control God to do our will. We are
trying to trade places with God and place ourselves on His holy throne and rule
all. That is too often the “proof “we
seek.
We seek proof that meets our standards and
often that standard changes. When we see
one event, we simply add a new condition.
We always move the bar so we can claim “truth”. Yet through all this, we hurt ourselves, we
deceive ourselves and we place ourselves in jeopardy. For we do not see God where God is; God is
most often at work in the ordinary things of life. He comes to us through the love of a parent
or spouse, the concern of a neighbor or friend, or even through a stranger “just
doing his job”.
Fortunately, God knows better than all of
us. He acts in ways that are designed to
reconcile back to Him with love and not total fear. He does not try to scare us into faith;
rather He leads us back to Him with “a still, quiet voice” a voice that offers
hope and comfort. God’s majesty is all
around; all we need to do is look. It is
in the morning sun and the evening quiet.
God’s love is revealed to us in the empty tomb of Christ. We should then respond to the world with
love, as God did to us, and leave the “thunderbolts and lightening” to old rock
songs.
God of power and might, we give you
thanks for your great power, but we especially give you thanks for your great
love. Move us to share that love with
one person today. Send Your Spirit that
those who are suffering or are faint of faith may be strengthened and
encouraged by Your abundant mercy given to us through the still. Quiet voice of
Jesus. In His precious Name we pray,
Amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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