Bible Devotion

Meditative Reflection
Is the Lord among us or not?

“And he called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’” (Exod. 17:7)

It is not uncommon to have church fights, because we are only sinners saved by grace. As much as we are “saints” by position, we still have quite a way to go to become fully like Christ and His holiness. In fact, we will not achieve total sanctification until we see Christ. And so we can read in the Bible about the fierce quarrel between two leading saints of the early church, Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:39). We also read about the fierce quarrel between John Wesley and George Whitefield, two great spiritual giants of the past over the Universalism of Salvation. But in the end, Paul and Barnabas were reconciled and George Whitefield conducted the funeral of John Wesley.

But during times of controversy or church fights, we often hear some well-meaning Christians ask, “Is the Lord still among us?”.

The truth of the matter is, we are His body—no matter how divided we may be in attitude, in opinion or even in action—His body can never be divided. It is always one body.

Yes, there are times, based on our judgment, that one side may have done the most hurtful, unkind or even unethical thing. Still, it does not change the fact that we remain a body of Christ which is expressed through the local churches. Of course, unless the church denies Jesus Christ as the Son of God or other basic doctrines that in essence alters the gospel of Jesus Christ, I truly believe, such a question is not only inappropriate, but it also underestimates the long-suffering nature of the heart of Christ and the reconciling nature of the gospel.

Meditative Reflection
Do We Really Believe in Prayers?

“As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.’” (Exod. 17:11)

I still remember vividly as I began a new ministry in a church, that the one who considered himself “the” leader of the congregation (I did not make it up, he said he was the most influential person in the congregation) came to me and shared with me a problem in the church. I sincerely said, “Let’s pray about it.” To my surprise, he said something to the effect, “What’s the use?”!

While he was one of the rare leaders who would openly express his disbelief in prayers, I have found many who are far more spiritual and yet do not really believe in prayers. Even in the last little while, I have been approached by different leaders of a local church who, with long faces and frowns, shared their frustration over presumably a hopeless situation with the church. As I gave them the typical and yet sincere reply that the real solution is “prayer”, I could see the disappointment on their faces. Either they thought they had prayed enough, or they did not really believe in prayers.

This strange strategy of winning with Moses’ uplifted hands (or his staff) is God’s way of demonstrating beyond a doubt who was solely responsible for the victory. If God was solely responsible for the victory over the Amalekites then, He is solely responsible for the victory in the battles of our lives and those of the church today. Nothing has changed. God has not changed.

And, this strange strategy of winning undoubtedly demonstrates that the only method of securing God’s help is prayer — “For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord” (17:16).

Since we know the source of victory is God, and the only way to secure His helping hand is prayer, why don’t we believe? What are we waiting for?

If you are assuming the role of Moses, quickly find your Aaron and Hur and pray fervently and regularly. If you are an Hur or Aaron, quickly go to your Moses and support him or her with prayers, again fervently, regularly and as a team, together. It is time we truly believe in prayers.

Meditative Reflection
We All Need a Mentor

“Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake…” (Exod. 18:8)

I found the visit of Jethro most interesting.

Moses, by now, has established himself as “the leader” chosen by God to lead His people and the people “put their trust in Him and in Moses His servant” (Exod. 14:31).

Although Moses continued to face problems and rebellion from within, anytime he turned to the Lord, he would find answers and solutions and he would receive advice or power to overcome his problems. What’s more, the Lord often came down in glory to speak to him. One would expect Moses to be such a super-leader that he would need no one but the Lord.

But such was not the case. Being “the” leader, Moses was lonely. Both Aaron and Hur appeared to be his assistants. I am sure that Moses would consult them as well, from time to time. But to share his inner feelings—especially his doubts and fears—he needed someone more mature than he was. This he found in his father-in-law.

I believe  that he named his second son Eliezer because “My father’s God was my helper, he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh”. This son was probably born right after the crossing of the Red Sea—the drowning of Pharaoh’s soldiers and the end of Pharaoh’s pursuit. Then Moses sent his wife and sons back to Jethro, perhaps, due to the hardship of the desert, but more likely due to his wanting his father-in-law to know first-hand the miraculous deeds of the Lord. With such miraculous accounts, Jethro, being a priest, would not want to miss any of the action. So, he came to visit Moses.

Now, Moses did not only reiterate most of the miracles that his wife must have told Jethro, but he shared with him “the hardships they had met along the way” (Exod. 18:8).

One can imagine the loneliness of Moses as a leader, having to shoulder such an impossible task, facing immense hardship and opposition. Now God provided him Jethro, his father-in-law, a more mature, wiser and older saint to be his mentor, to listen and to give advice. I wonder if Moses would have listened to Aaron if he were the one who suggested the delegation of both responsibility and power. But coming from the mouth of Jethro, Moses took his advice immediately.

I believe all spiritual leaders, even those as great as Moses, need a mentor and a listening ear.

Meditative Reflection
A Matter of Trust

“What you are doing is not good. You and all these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.’” (Exod. 18:17-18)

I have seen quite a few Christian leaders who will do everything themselves without delegating any of their work to others. The reasons range over the following:

(1) The lack of time to train: As much as they recognize that they are over-whelmed already with their work, they are so busy that they cannot find time to train and so to delegate. They do not understand that although things will be hampered somewhat by the time they devote to training, in the long run it will work much better for everyone.

(2) The inability to relate to people: Many leaders have a hard time relating to other people. They are basically loners who cannot work in a team environment. So, they prefer to do it all, thus avoiding the need to communicate, to associate and to relate to other people. They might be great with people that they serve (i.e. people that benefit from their service), but not people they serve more or less together with on a similar or slightly lower level.

(3) Most do-it-alone leaders do not trust people — Because their responsibilities are so important, they think they are the only ones qualified to do the tasks. They are the only ones who know God’s will better; they are the only ones who can interpret God's word correctly; they are the only ones who can be trusted.

I believe Moses was such a humble person that he had no problem relating to other people. It would probably be that he was so busy (acting as the judge of some 2 million plus people) that he did not find time for training . But, being someone who was so faithful to God and His commands, it would be his genuine concern that by so delegating (no matter how carefully he might choose godly leaders with integrity), there was a good chance that some would turn out to be bad judges. And I believe some did turn out to be bad apples. But ultimately, it was a matter of trust. Moses would eventually understand that even he, himself, would err (it would cost him the privilege of setting foot on the Promised Land itself).

As spiritual leaders, we should learn to trust and to give others the opportunity not only to learn and to serve, but also to make mistakes and learn from them. Ultimately, we are trusting God to see us through, because it is, after all, His ministry, His people, not ours.

Meditative Reflection
Who is a Special People?

“(Y)ou will be for me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.” (Exod. 19:6)

As the Lord explained the very special privilege accorded to the people of Israel, He prefaced with these words: “Although the whole earth is mine.” It means while they are now being chosen as a special people, the fact remains that  the whole earth—every people on earth—belongs to Him. All peoples on earth are His, not just the Israelites.

However, they are now chosen for some very important and special purposes:

(1) A people belonging to God: The words God uses are “for me” which means they do not exist for themselves anymore. They now belong to God to be protected by Him, molded by Him and used by Him. That is a privilege—a privilege that extends, of all peoples on earth, only to them; but that is also a mission—a special mission that only they can fulfill.

(2) The mission is being described as being “a kingdom of priests”: Yes, they will be a powerful nation, comparable to any kingdom on earth, and yet it will differ or stand out from all other nations as a kingdom of priests—i.e. a people who stand between God and all other peoples—to reveal God to them and bring them to the knowledge of God. That is the chief end of a priest.

(3) The distinct mission is to be accomplished through how they live out their mission: To be a holy nation. It is their relationship with the Lord, lived out in their total dedication to the Lord, in full obedience and keeping of His covenant. The implication is that as they live out their holiness, their separateness as a people for God, the other nations will know that their God is the Lord—the Creator God.

We know the following:

(1) The people immediately responded “together” to do everything the Lord has said.

(2) They have never come close to fulfilling their end of the covenant.

(3) As a result, we who were once not a people, but now we, Christians, are the people of God. This is the way Peter puts it: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood and a holy nation…” (1 Pet. 2:9).

Therefore, that New Testament believers are a priesthood of believers is not a new idea, but one which is as old as Exodus, and God’s ultimate purposes for us remain the same as He had explained 3,500 years ago to the people of Israel.

Meditative Reflection
The Unapproachable God?

“Put Limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up the mountain and touch the foot of it’...” (Exod. 19:12)

A team of brothers and sisters and I were privileged to participate in an outreach ministry to Muslims in an Asian country. It was a short term learning mission trip, and before our trip, we had been briefed on both the culture and beliefs of Islam.

As part of the trip, we often engaged in cultural exchange dialogues as we visited some of the mosques in the area. At times, we listened to the Imam share his faith, and we also had the opportunity to share ours in return.

At one of these occasions, we were visiting an education center for Muslim youth, and received a one-sided presentation about Ramadan by a local Islamic leader. However, we were allowed to mingle with the young children and teenagers after having breakfast with them.

While I was having an interesting encounter with a young man who engaged me in exchanging views of Christianity and Islam, one of the sisters in the team had the wisdom to ask a girl if she ever heard of God dwelling within the hearts of people. Of course, according to Islamic teachings, this is something unthinkable, because God is so holy, how can He dwell in the hearts of humans?

The little girl was fascinated by her question, and when the sister asked if she would like to have God dwell within her heart, she eagerly said, “Yes!".

As longtime believers in Christ, we often forget how unthinkable it is for God, the holy and majestic God, to become a man. It is even more inconceivable that He could die, and especially die for human sin. It is even more incredible that He could and would live within the hearts of sinful human beings.

But such is the work of salvation brought about by the incarnation, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. As He became the Lamb of God who died for the sins of all mankind as an atoning sacrifice, the veil— the veil of sin that separated sinful humans from the Holy God — has been torn apart. With the blood of Christ, we who believe in Him can approach boldly before the throne of God which is not a throne of judgment any more, but a throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). We can enter into His holy presence. In fact, His Spirit now dwells in the hearts of believers―who even call Him Abba Father. (Rom. 8:15)

Such is the truth that Muslims find hard to believe; such might even be a truth that the people in the time of Moses would have found hard to believe.

As the Lord would later instruct Moses and the Israelites of the way to approach Him through sacrifice with the blood of animals (Leviticus 16), it actually signifies the truth that God can be approached and desires to be approached by us in spite of His holiness and majesty. The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. He never changes.

As one who now has the Indwelling of the Spirit of the same holy and majestic God, we tend to take His presence for granted. So, the question we need to ask as we study passages like Exodus 19 is “How then shall we live in the presence of our holy God?”.

Meditative Reflection
When God Speaks

“Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently.” (Exod. 19:18)

As I read the awesome appearance of the Lord at Mount Sinai, it reminded me of an old gospel song that Cliff Barrows used at the Billy Graham Crusade. The lyrics have touched me over the years, as I learned to listen to His voice, and I would like to share the song with you:

When God Speaks

Refrain

Speak to my heart!

Speak now I pray, God of salvation, and Lord of creation,

Oh, speak to my heart today!

1
When God speaks, the high mountains tremble.

When God speaks, the loud billows roll;

When God speaks, my heart falls to listening,

And there is response in my soul.

2
When God speaks, the angels obey Him;

When God speaks, all nature is stirred;

When God speaks, the hard hearts are softened,

For no sweeter voice e’er was heard.

3
When God speaks, the sad hush their crying;

When God speaks, the weary find rest;

When God speaks, in sweetness of comfort,

With infinite peace I am blest.

4
When God speaks, ‘tis mine then to answer,

When God speaks, my tempest to still.

When God speaks, ‘tis mine then to follow,

And following Him, do His will.