Category Archives: Father / Yahweh

All Knowing, All Powerful / King of All, Father / Yahweh, Guide, Loving / Kind, Obeying God, Speaking, Through Prophets

Is Jehovah Is Too Busy To Get Into Details?

Our human nature typically feels best when we feel we have control of the details of our lives. It can be tempting to believe that Jehovah is too busy to really care about the details of our life, so we will just make all those decisions on our own. After all, He has a lot to look after, right?  Some even teach that we should pray not to the Father, but to dead people that are labeled saints. Somehow, we are to believe, Jehovah is not able to handle it all and must have the help of dead people for us to pray to? The truth is that we are to pray only to the Father, following the example of Jesus Christ. Never did he support or teach that we should pray to anyone except the Father. Jesus did not even teach that we should ever pray to Him… only in His name to the Father.

Jehovah is quite sufficient on His own to hear all our prayer and be involved in intimate details in our lives. Let us consider an example in Exodus. Several chapters provide painstaking detail of exactly what the Father wanted for His people to do in creating an altar and tabernacle in which He would dwell among them in the wilderness.

Exodus 27

The Bronze Altar

      1“And you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. 2“You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. 3“You shall make its pails for removing its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4“You shall make for it a grating of network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5“You shall put it beneath, under the ledge of the altar, so that the net will reach halfway up the altar. 6“You shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7“Its poles shall be inserted into the rings, so that the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8“You shall make it hollow with planks; as it was shown to you in the mountain, so they shall make it.

Court of the Tabernacle

      9“You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side there shall be hangings for the court of fine twisted linen one hundred cubits long for one side; 10and its pillars shall be twenty, with their twenty sockets of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver. 11“Likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, and its twenty pillars with their twenty sockets of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver. 12“For the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits with their ten pillars and their ten sockets. 13“The width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits. 14“The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits with their three pillars and their three sockets. 15“And for the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits with their three pillars and their three sockets. 16“For the gate of the court there shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a weaver, with their four pillars and their four sockets. 17“All the pillars around the court shall be furnished with silver bands with their hooks of silver and their sockets of bronze. 18“The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, and the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits of fine twisted linen, and their sockets of bronze. 19“All the utensils of the tabernacle used in all its service, and all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.

      20“You shall charge the sons of Israel, that they bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually. 21“In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout their generations for the sons of Israel.

Next time you are facing difficult decisions, whether great or small, know that you can come prayerfully and humbly before our heavenly Father and ask for His help. He is able and willing to help us even in the small details of our lives. He may be the Creator of all, sustaining all things, but He is also our loving Father who cares very much for His children!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Knowing, Father / Yahweh, Guide, Obeying God, Speaking, Through Prophets

Why Is God So Picky About Details? Is He A Control Freak?

Have you ever heard someone ask if God is a control freak? “Why does He care about details so much? Why can’t I just do things my own way?”  We do well to think of our Creator as a master craftsman. Would we criticize a world renown sculptor for working intricate detail into his work? Would we criticize a master painter like Michelangelo for taking time and paying attention to amazing detail in his work? Do we criticize Apple for all the detail it manages in design and construction associated the iPhone? Of course not! We marvel at their works. We appreciate the end result delivered by the  details in the user experience.

So too we must consider our Creator a master. He has a vision and a plan and it includes many details to bring forth His glory and teach us about His kingdom. Let us not criticize our Creator for His attention to detail, but instead remember He has a plan far beyond what we can see or understand from our perspective. He has the plan, but wants His people to be part of it.  Consider the relatively small example of how He led His people to design and build  the tabernacle for Him to dwell among them while they wandered in the wilderness seeking the promised land.

Exodus 26

Curtains of Linen

      1“Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. 2“The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall have the same measurements. 3“Five curtains shall be joined to one another, and the other five curtains shall be joined to one another. 4“You shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set, and likewise you shall make them on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set. 5“You shall make fifty loops in the one curtain, and you shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite each other. 6“You shall make fifty clasps of gold, and join the curtains to one another with the clasps so that the tabernacle will be a unit.

Curtains of Goats’ Hair

      7“Then you shall make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; you shall make eleven curtains in all. 8“The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains shall have the same measurements. 9“You shall join five curtains by themselves and the other six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the front of the tent. 10“You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the first set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.

      11“You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and you shall put the clasps into the loops and join the tent together so that it will be a unit. 12“The overlapping part that is left over in the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that is left over, shall lap over the back of the tabernacle. 13“The cubit on one side and the cubit on the other, of what is left over in the length of the curtains of the tent, shall lap over the sides of the tabernacle on one side and on the other, to cover it. 14“You shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red and a covering of porpoise skins above.

Boards and Sockets

      15“Then you shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright. 16“Ten cubits shall be the length of each board and one and a half cubits the width of each board. 17“There shall be two tenons for each board, fitted to one another; thus you shall do for all the boards of the tabernacle. 18“You shall make the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side. 19“You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards, two sockets under one board for its two tenons and two sockets under another board for its two tenons; 20and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, twenty boards, 21and their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board and two sockets under another board. 22“For the rear of the tabernacle, to the west, you shall make six boards. 23“You shall make two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear. 24“They shall be double beneath, and together they shall be complete to its top to the first ring; thus it shall be with both of them: they shall form the two corners. 25“There shall be eight boards with their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board and two sockets under another board.

      26“Then you shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle, 27and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle for the rear side to the west. 28“The middle bar in the center of the boards shall pass through from end to end. 29“You shall overlay the boards with gold and make their rings of gold as holders for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold. 30“Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to its plan which you have been shown in the mountain.

The Veil and Screen

      31“You shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. 32“You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks also being of gold, on four sockets of silver. 33“You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies. 34“You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the holy of holies. 35“You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side.

      36“You shall make a screen for the doorway of the tent of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a weaver. 37“You shall make five pillars of acacia for the screen and overlay them with gold, their hooks also being of gold; and you shall cast five sockets of bronze for them.

Prayerfully consider what you are doing in your life. Are you honoring God even in the details? Are you seeking His ways not just for church on Sunday and major celebrations but even for what you watch on television or the internet? Do you consider what He wants when you decide how to spend your time or do you just do what you want? Spend some time reflecting in prayer and asking God to help you identify changes you can make in your life even this week that can help you to follow the world less and follow God more… even in the details. It is the details that ultimately make a good work of art into a masterpiece. Allow the Master to work through you!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Father / Yahweh, Guide, Hearing from God, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Holy, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Promises, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Jehovah Does Not Accept You The Way You Are, He Calls You To Change

Sometimes we talk about our covenant with Jehovah without a clear communication and understanding of what a covenant is and what it is not. To put it simply, a covenant is an agreement between two parties, perhaps a bit like a contract. Each is expected to do their part and meet their commitment. There is no expectation that one side can ignore it and the other is still bound by it.

Others confuse scripture and think we have a separate covenant with Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew). Jesus is the way to the Father, He is one with the Father… He does not offer us a separate and different covenant that somehow accepts us just how we are without repentance for wrongdoing.

A covenant agreement requires commitment on both sides. Typically for Jehovah and His people this comes down to something like the following “If you will be My people and obey my instructions then I will be your God.” If His people break covenant, Jehovah is not pleased and He is not ambivalent or neutral… He is disappointed or even angered.

Leviticus 26

     14‘But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, 15if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant, 16I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up.

People often make the mistake of concluding that Jehovah has committed to “be their God” no matter how they behave and no matter where their heart lies and what they worship. Big mistake. Take note again in Exodus 24 as God calls the people to affirm their covenant with Him. The focus is on their obedience… not His acceptance of them the way they are.

Exodus 24

People Affirm Their Covenant with God

      1Then He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. 2“Moses alone, however, shall come near to the LORD, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.”

      3Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!” 4Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. 6Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” 8So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

      9Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.

      12Now the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.” 13So Moses arose with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14But to the elders he said, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a legal matter, let him approach them.” 15Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16The glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. 17And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. 18Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Another beautiful theme we see shared in Exodus 24 is that those who submit themselves to Jehovah in obedience will literally be allowed to draw nearer to Him spiritually and relationally. It is a transformational experience to come into the presence of Jehovah! Praise to our Father in heaven. What a glorious and loving Father that provides us guidance on how we are to live and draw near to Him. If we live out our part of the covenant through wholehearted obedience, then we certainly can count on Him to fulfill His promises to be our God!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Father / Yahweh, Hearing from God, Holy, Holy / Set Apart, Prayer, Through Prophets, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Those Who Consecrate Themselves To His Purposes Will Draw Near To Him

Those who come closest to Jehovah are those consecrated to Him… that is to say dedicated and set aside for His use for His purposes. Jehovah reveals to us this truth through scripture as we see examples of those who dedicate themselves fully toward His purposes are often those whom He calls to serve as prophets or missionaries or leaders for His people. In Exodus, Jehovah calls forth Moses and Aaron, who are called to His purpose. He also calls for the priests to consecrate themselves, dedicating themselves to His purposes. The rest of the people remain at a greater distance from Him.

Exodus 19:18-25

The LORD Visits Sinai

      18Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. 19When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. 20The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. 22“Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, or else the LORD will break out against them.” 23Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.’” 24Then the LORD said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break forth upon them.” 25So Moses went down to the people and told them.

Whether we discuss priests and prophets in scripture or those who follow Jehovah today, the principle is the same. Those of us who separate ourselves from the world and dedicate ourselves genuinely and wholeheartedly to our Creator will be allowed to see and experience more of Him. Those who refuse to die to their own desires and the ways of the world but claim to follow Him will remain at a distance from Him.

Prayerfully and humbly pray to Jehovah that He would help you to dedicate yourself to His purposes, surrendering your desires and preferences and living out His instead.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Faith / Trusting God, Father / Yahweh, Heaven and Hell, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Suffering / Adversity

I Go To Prepare A Place For You

When I experience pain and suffering in this world I find much comfort and joy in knowing that Jesus has prepared a place for His disciples. Scripture tells us that we will have suffering in this world, but take heart, Jesus has overcome death and prepared the way for all of His disciples to follow when we leave this world.

John 16:33

33“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

John 14:1-6

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

      1“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4“And you know the way where I am going.” 5Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

There is little comfort in this statement for those who do not submit to and follow after Jesus wholeheartedly. Those who reject Jesus will go to hell when they die. For those who are disciples after Christ, it is life giving water. We will be with Him for eternity in heaven. It is an extremely important choice… and we each have to make that choice. The offer expires for each of us when we die.

Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Father / Yahweh, Grace / Forgiveness, Heaven and Hell, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Sin

We Are By Nature Children Of Wrath

Contrary to what many today want to believe, we are not born holy and righteous. Human nature draws us toward sin and disobedience to Jehovah rather than submission to Him. Left on our own, we are dead in sin and will be held accountable as such by God on the day of judgment. Yes, there really is a heaven and a hell.

While this makes many uncomfortable, it is important to understand in order to have a clear picture of God’s love, grace and mercy. He displays all of it by providing a way to save us from our sin, to bridge the gap between our selfish and rebellious nature and His holiness.

God demonstrates mercy in that He is willing to withhold from us the punishment we deserve based on the gap between our behavior and attitudes and His holy standard. Further He shows grace by providing us forgiveness we do not deserve and a way to be reconciled with Him. He demonstrated love by coming to live among us and die on our behalf to pay the penalty for our sins and rebellion. He did this in the person of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:1-10

     1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

It is important to remember that we are not inherently good. We do not deserve forgiveness. We can not earn forgiveness. We can never achieve God’s standard through our own works. We are saved by God’s grace, through our faith in Jesus Christ. It is a gift we do not deserve, but still we must choose to accept it. Once we accept this gift, God does indeed expect us to walk in good works as evidence of our submission to Him.

Trying to bridge the gap between us and God without accepting Jesus Christ as Lord is akin to trying to climb down into the Grand Canyon using a step ladder. We do not even come close on our own. Let us remember and remind others that God shows His great love, great mercy and great grace by the offer of reconciliation and salvation He offers in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We should praise Him and glorify Him and never take it for granted as something we do not need or something we deserve based on our own works.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Can God Use Me?, Father / Yahweh, Hearing from God, Obeying God

Yes… I Really Want You To Do It

As a father of four children, I have great appreciation for the comparison the Bible draws between God’s relationship with His people to a father’s relationship with His children. Clearly the father will understand much more than his young children. The father loves his children and wants to guide them and be patient with them and help them to gain confidence in carrying out the duties or missions to which they are assigned. However, there is a point at which the father expects to be trusted based on a history of faithful guidance to and protection of his children. At some point the questioning must stop and the obedience must start… even if the children do not fully understand how things will work.

It may come as a surprise to many that, of all people, Moses struggled with this in receiving God’s instruction. God provided quite a dramatic encounter with Moses involving a burning bush and an extended discussion with lots of details and answers to Moses’ questions… but Moses was very much afraid to take on the task and just kept challenging God that perhaps Moses was not the right choice for the given task of confronting Pharaoh to release God’s people. God was very patient, but at last grew angry. Still God brought Moses through his insecurity and doubt and sent him on his way to complete the mission.

Exodus 3:10-22

The Mission of Moses

      10“Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

      13Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. 16“Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. 17“So I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18“They will pay heed to what you say; and you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt and you will say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ 19“But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion. 20“So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go. 21“I will grant this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. 22“But every woman shall ask of her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house, articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Exodus 4:1-23

Moses Given Powers

      1Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’” 2The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.” 3Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4But the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5“that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

      6The LORD furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7Then He said, “Put your hand into your bosom again.” So he put his hand into his bosom again, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8“If they will not believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe the witness of the last sign. 9“But if they will not believe even these two signs or heed what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”

      10Then Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 11The LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12“Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.” 13But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever You will.”

Aaron to Be Moses’ Mouthpiece

      14Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15“You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. 16“Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. 17“You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”

      18Then Moses departed and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19Now the LORD said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

      21The LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22“Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23“So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

When God gives you a mission, it is ok to ask Him for help and even honestly share your concerns. If you are uncertain about your ability to complete the task, you may even take comfort in knowing that Moses was uncertain and ultimately became a man of great faith and intimate relationship with God. Remember, you are not completing the mission alone. If God gives you a mission, He will provide what is needed to complete it. However, you must accept the mission and get started in order to demonstrate faith and obedience… even if you do not fully understand what will come next.

Is there something you believe God has told you to do, but you are fearful to proceed? First verify what you feel He is asking is consistent with scripture… an important part of ensuring you are hearing from God and not Satan… or your own selfish nature. Then seek God humbly in prayer and ask for help. Then stop coming up with excuses, trust God, and get started.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.