2009 – Day 90.Apr. 1 – Doing Time

April, 2009 Topic: Moses … Continued from March 31, 2009

Blogger Bill’s Note: We continue in the life of Moses as I move from March to April. If you want to read or review the journal entries concerning Moses for March, 2009, the reader can do so at this website … <’BB><

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2009 – Day 90.Apr. 1 – Doing Time

Passage of the Day: Exodus 24: 12; 25: 1 – 9 … Link to Exod. 24 – 25 …

My Journal for Today: New month, … same study extended. And today – on April Fool’s Day - we see Moses extended way out of his comfort zone, going up the mountain to be with God and to receive His Holy, WRITTEN word. This was HUGE! … not just for Moses … but for mankind. And in many respects the motivation for God’s command to Moses is much the same as it is for you and me today on this day when we really ought to see just how foolish we can be in the presence of the God of Moses.

God wanted to give His children (think of it as you and me), His very character, defined and written for them to follow; and He wanted to dwell with them. Hence, God Himself gives, through Moses, His own word, written for the people to read and follow forever. Then He gives instructions for the Tabernacle where He could dwell with the people in His own special way. And what a picture this is of what the Lord has given us.

But we have His word in a much more elaborate and clearly defined package – the Bible. And we have “The Tabernacle” in Christ, Who now can – and does for the reborn Christian – dwell in the hearts of mankind. Who could ever refuse such a deal; but as we know from reading on ahead in the Moses account, those people became April fools – bigtime! The Hebrews, whom we read of yesterday, were declaring that they would obey and follow God anywhere and everywhere turned into the same people who would – in a very short time – reject God and begin building a golden calf at the base of the very mountain where God was dealing with Moses. … And flashing forward centuries, we see the same short-memory mentality where the people cried “Hallelujah, Messiah!” when Jesus entered the gates of the Temple during his Passion; and then, just a few days later, these April Fools were railing “Crucify Him!”

Swindoll makes some probing observations about how we are doing our time as Christians. He writes, “How many of us take a course in prayer but rarely pray; or we learn the techniques of evangelism but seldom share our faith?” And if you’re reading this, as I am, how many of you are feeling the barbs of conviction right about now?

Last night I shared with a group of men from the ministry I’ve been called to lead; and I told them that we are no different than the Hebrews who were at the foot of that mountain when Moses went up to be with God; and we are no different than the mob which crucified our Savior. We will worship our God with our lives as living sacrifices to the degree we know and see God. If we see ourselves as big and God small, we will serve self. But if, as Moses was getting the picture of God, we see our Lord as big – no, I mean really HUGE! – we will obey Him and serve Him with a life of worship and service He commands … and He deserves.

As I’ve said many times in my devotionals … the more clearly we see and know the God of Mount Sinai and the God Who died for us on the cross, the more readily we will obey and serve the real God. But when we see other things in our life, including our selves, as bigger than God, we will tend to serve them and turn aside from “doing time” for God. I pray that we all get to know God for Whom He is. We are loved by a REALLY BIG GOD; and I go on to pray that I’ll always be in awe of the God Who has given me His word so that I can live and serve Him with the reverence He deserves.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, You are God and I am not! Amen

2009 – Day 89.Mar. 31 – Written Instructions

2009 – Day 89.Mar. 31 – Written Instructions

Passage of the Day: Exodus 19: 16 – 20: 26 … Link to Exodus 19 – 20 for study …

My Journal for Today: Swindoll’s devotional for this last day of March – the 89th day of the year, still focusing on the life of Moses, emphasizes the importance of God’s WRITTEN word, noting that the passage for today begins the description of God’s primal effort to impart His written instructions – His life commands – to mankind. Swindoll leaps ahead a bit, citing Exodus 24: 12 – 13, to indicate where God imparts His intent to Moses to do just that.

And Swindoll’s point is well taken here in the Moses story … that we have a tendency to take this incredible gift – of God’s written word – for granted. … Guilty, as indicated !!!

I have at least a half dozen printed copies of God’s translated word in my possession, representing at least four different scholarly or paraphrased versions of the Bible. I can, with a few keystrokes, pull up a myriad of other versions of God’s word on the internet from this very computer right here where I sit this morning. And I can do all sorts of word or topical searches/studies involving God’s word with various software tools which I have available to me. And with all of that, I’m afraid that I – at times – take the written and Holy word of God for granted.

Swindoll tells a poignant story of a Russian man at a book convention in Moscow, in the days of the Soviet Union before the fall of Communism, who was waiting in line to get a free Bible at the meeting, the Soviets having finally allowed Bibles to be given away, … a rare instance in those days. Well, when the Bibles ran out before he could get one, the man asked for the cardboard box in which the Scriptures came. He was very disappointed that he couldn’t have a Bible; but if he couldn’t have a written text, at least he wanted to have the empty box in which they came. That’s how much he treasured and desired access to God’s written word.

We hear stories all the time about people in China, or in other places where the Bible is forbidden, passing a few pages from the Bible from one Christian to another so that they can memorize as much of the treasured Scriptures they can before they must pass them on to others. And I ask myself, “Does my ready access to God’s word take away my reverence for what God has imparted to me? It’s no wonder the early Hebrews revered the first five books of the Bible and the later copies which were passed on in scrolls from one priestly group to another. This was then – and now still is – God’s written word.

I stand convicted as I write this that I need to be humbled by the reality of the miracle I am writing about here. God has given to mankind – to me – His very word; and we New Covenant Christians have so much more of it than even His chosen people did. I simply MUST NOT take it for granted! Each morning I come here to journal my thoughts, ideas, and applications of God’s word; and I need to realize – with more intensity – just how important is this process.

Each day when I read and study from God’s word and I take my interpretations and instructions from it, GOD HIMSELF is speaking to me. Yes, GOD HIMSELF is imparting His love for me through His word. When I read the Bible, GOD HIMSELF is giving me instructions on how to live, move, and have my being. And GOD HIMSELF is telling me … from Genesis to Revelations about His Son Who came to ME, died for ME, and now is Heaven interceding for ME [see Phil. 2: 5 – 11 - link provided].

All of this is saying to me, Bill Berry, “This is infinitely important!!” And if you’re reading this, join me in saying a prayer in reverence for God’s written word.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, forgive my surface attitude about your Holy Word. Help me to take every word from the pages of my Bible to heart for my life and for my witness of Your truth. Amen