January 30, 2013 … Life Is God’s Call To Worship

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 30

Passage of the Day: Exodus 6: 9 [NLT] … So Moses told the people what the LORD had said, but they wouldn’t listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the increasing burden of their slavery. 
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Contextual Study of today’s passage: Exodus, Chapter 6 [NLT] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passage #1: Proverbs 13: 12 : [NLT] … {Life in bondage to self often blunts or blocks our hope of deliverance.} … Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true, there is life and joy. 

Reference Passage #2: 1st Corinthians 10: 13 : [NLT] … {God never brings or allows circumstances into our lives which we cannot handle.} …  But remember that the temptations [Greek “peirasmos” ... also translated “tests or trials or tribulations or troubles”] that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it..

My Journal for Today: … Today in my devotional study, Os Hillman referred to the truth of Proverbs 13: 12; … because it is so true that we find it so difficult to hold on to our worship of God and choose to find joy in life when hope is deferred or delayed or we find ourselves in excruciatingly binding circumstances. That’s where the Israelites were when God sent Moses to be their deliverer. They had been down and out, in the doldrums of slavery, for hundreds of years; and then along came Moses with God’s promise to set them free. And we know from the history of Exodus, it took plague after plague for God to soften Pharaoh’s heart to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt. Really tough for God’s people to be called to worship the Lord in the midst of all of that.

It is not uncommon for God to lead us or allow us to enter into tough times – sometimes even seemingly unbearable circumstances – for His plan to work itself out and for Him to be worshipped and get the glory He seeks for Himself and for His children. Sometimes, it is almost impossible to hold onto our faith in the truth of 1st Corinthians 10: 13, copied above because life has gotten so rough. But the reality is, as the title of my blog entry today indicates, “life is our call to worship;” and quite often life is tough. And the truth is that God is never going to allow His children to enter into any portion of life, no matter how tough it is, without faithfully being there to lead us through to the other side.

Really, … that’s what Psalm 23 is all about, isn’t it? So, if you’re in a tough place as you read this, please go back and meditate on that old and very popular Psalm; and see that even though we traverse the valley of the shadow of death, we should never fear … for the Lord, our Good Shepherd, will lead us to His green pastures so that we will be able to worship with Him always. It is also the promise of Revelation 3: 20, which I hope you know by heart this morning; so, … as The Lord, knocks on the door to your heart today, … let Him in … so that you can worship with Him and find His joy and love today.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I hear You knocking; and I open the door to dine with You today. … Amen