LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

I hope you enjoyed a great day of praise yesterday. How is today so far? It surprises me how quickly we move from praise to petulance. It happened to the Israelites also.

Exodus 15:22-27 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah. ) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.” Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

The Israelites are only three days removed from their deliverance by the powerful hand of God, and they are already grouchy and grumbling. The focus of their faith has already shifted as they look to Moses to solve their predicament and supply their need. But God graciously answers their complaining cries and turns this into a teachable moment. He gives Moses a solution to the water problem, and then reminds the people of a significant aspect of their faith in Him.

Think back to the first plague that God brought against the Egyptians. He turned the water into blood. The fish died, and the water began to stink so badly that they could not drink it. Now the Israelites are in a similar situation and they don’t know what to do. They have not connected the dots that if God is able to make good water bad, then He can also make bad water good.

God wants them to learn a lesson about faith and to understand something significant. He tells them that if their faith is properly focused, none of the diseases brought upon the rebellious Egyptians would be placed on them. If they will listen to the Lord their God and put into action what they have heard, then they will be protected, and He will provide for them.

God reveals Himself to the people as their Healer – Jehovah-Rapha. The word Rapha means to mend and to make whole. He has shown Himself to be their Deliverer, and now He wants them to experience Him as their Healer – the One who will fulfill their lives. He demonstrates this by bringing them to Elim, a place of rest, refreshment, and restoration. He brought them to a place of wholeness.

My friends, when the emotional excitement of the deliverance has faded and the realities of our physical condition have replaced our faith in the Deliverer, God will reveal Himself to us as our Healer. He will show us that He is the One who will provide and protect so that we are complete and fulfilled.

What kind of difficulty are you currently experiencing that has brought discontent and diminished hope to your life? Have you taken that difficulty to God Himself, or have you looked to the world and its residents for your solution? Has the focus of your faith shifted from God to self? Remember, the One who delivered you is also your Healer. Go to Him, and He will lead you to a place of shade from the heat of the day and a place of refreshment and renewal for the next part of the journey.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

When faith is properly focused on the awesome nature and character of God, our hearts are inspired to praise Him. That is what happens when God delivers the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. It is what happens when God delivers people from the slavery to sin.

Exodus 15:1-2 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

I see several principles of praise in Exodus 15.

• Verse 1 – We are to praise God’s exalted position. When you pray and praise, start with the sovereignty of God.
• Verse 2 – We are to praise the personal nature of God’s relationship with us (He is my God). It is in relationship that we find strength and deliverance.
• Verses 6-7 – We are to praise His majesty. The Hebrew word here is excellency, which comes from a root meaning to rise up and above all others in pomp and perfection. God has risen up on our behalf and conquered all enemies because He will not share His glory with anyone. If you look down at verse 11 you discover that His majesty is based in His holiness, and that He will destroy any who oppose the purity of His nature.
• Verse 13 – We are to praise His unfailing love, which results in guidance and protection for those He has redeemed. This leadership brings us into His holy presence, in our spirit today and in the flesh when He returns for us. (See verse 17.)
• Verse 18 – We are to conclude our praise the way we began – with the sovereignty of God. He will reign for ever and ever.

Take some time today to celebrate God. I’m sure there are some horses and riders that He has thrown down in your life. As you recall them you will be filled with praise. But remember to focus your faith and your praise on His nature and His character rather than on His works. When you do, your faith will grow and your relationship with God will deepen.

Have a great day of singing God’s praises.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, April 1, 2019

Between Friday’s events in the life of Moses and today’s, there is a lot that happens: plaques and promises, broken promises and more plaques, death and deliverance. Take some time to read about it all in Exodus 7-14. At the end of those events, we read this:

Exodus 14:29-31 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Let’s learn another of God’s faith lessons from this story. God has led the people of Israel to the edge of the Red Sea, and again their deliverance seems impossible. Pharaoh has decided he made a mistake and lost too much by letting the Israelites go, so he has organized the army and his pursuit is coming up fast on the rear of the entourage. The people are terrified because their focus has been shifted from God’s leadership to the enemies advance, and they begin to complain. They even wish they were back in their slavery. They have totally lost their focus on the goal and left their faith in God and His promises. They believe that the solution to this problem must come from themselves, and they are overwhelmed with the realization of their inability to handle it.

How often do we take our eyes off God’s leadership and promises and wish we could go back to the seeming comforts of our sinful ways? How often are we overwhelmed because we believe we must resolve all our difficulties and we know we cannot?

Back to the story. In one of the most exciting and encouraging statements in the entire Bible, Moses turns to the people and says with the authority of God Himself, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

God tells Moses to have the people refocus on the goal and to move on. When they obeyed, God went to work to resolve the problem in a way that would bring glory to Himself. The people got out of the way by getting under way, and God provided a way. The waters of the sea were parted, and the people passed over on dry ground.

Notice how their focus had to stay on the goal. While they were crossing the sea, the water was piled up beside them. That’s scary! One look at that and fear could cause a panic. Jesus had to demonstrate this same lesson to Peter and the disciples in the New Testament when He came walking to them on the water. So long as Peter kept his eyes on Christ he was delivered from the waves. When he looked at the water he sank. The Israelites had to keep their focus on God in the pillar of fire or fear would have overwhelmed them as well.

When all was done, and the Egyptian army had been destroyed in the sea, God was completely glorified and the people finally got the point – their faith was to be in God alone.

Maybe it’s time for your faith to be refocused on God alone. What waves of circumstances, insurmountable obstacles, and approaching enemies have caused you to take your eyes off God? Your faith has been minimized by a wrong focus. Refocus on God, and your spirit will be restored, refreshed, and re-energized to reach the goal God has given you.

Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith!

Pastor John